Emerging Techonologies Project

Kelly O’Neill
T&L 466.01
November 13, 2006
Emerging Technology Project

Technology in the classroom has come a long way since even I was in high school four years ago. Technology in education has made a huge impact on what is accessible to students. Students can access the internet for research and then use power points to show a presentation. Teachers can use video and power points to present material as well as email to communicate with students outside of the classroom. New technology comes out all the time and may eventually impact the future of classrooms. Technology that I see having a large impact on my future classrooms are Interactive Smart boards, Apple learning mobile labs, and.
The interactive Smart board is a projected white board. With this board teachers can write notes that can be saved for later use. With a projector screen teachers can pull up notes or web pages from their computers to be projected on the whiteboard screen. This would be a useful tool for teachers to use if they are giving a lecture that they want to show notes and then a website. This would allow for the teachers to switch back and forth between technologies very easily. (Smarttech.com)
The Apple learning mobile lab is something that many of use have used in this class for our digital media projects. The mobile lab is cart that contains many Mac laptops convenient for student use. The piece of technology would help my future classes by enabling all students to have access to a computer. Having all my students have access to computers and internet in the classroom will be helpful when doing research or writing papers. (apple.com)
A third piece of emerging technology that will be useful in the classroom are E-books. E-books will allow students to read text books online instead of carrying the book back and forth between home and the classroom. Combined with the Apple mobile lab students would be able to access the book from their desks on the laptop.
The interactive Smart board would help engage students during lectures. Instead of just lecturing the teacher shows websites or concept maps while also using white board markers to highlight things on the page. The Apple learning mobile lab will help students learning to use and understand technology that they will possibly use in the future. E-books will impact students become more interactive and engaged with reading the text book. E-books will have interactive activities such as quizzes or links to other web pages that will be engaging to students.
Technology is the future of education, whether it is more computer use, online books, or projector whiteboards. Using technology in the classroom will help teachers be better prepared for lessons and create new ways to introduce or discuss material to students. Technology will benefit the students by creating more interactive activities and engaging material, rather then just listen to the teacher lecture or reading an overhead full of notes.

Work cited
http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Products/SMART+Boards/
http://www.apple.com/education/k12/mobilelabs/index.html

Kelly O’Neill
T&L 466.01
November 6, 2007
Are you Ready for Distance Education?

5 pros
1. Move through assignments at own pace.
2. Students can choose a “track” they want to be on whether it is taking AP, college prep or career prep classes. They can also decide to remain “trackless”.
3. Teachers are available through multiple means of communication such as email, phone, or interactive web boards.
4. Students are able to complete work and meet with teachers when it is convenient for them, to allow for the student to be more flexible in having a job or helping out at home.
5. In most cases the students get provided with a personal laptop to complete assignments and conduct research.

5 cons
1. Students do not get the hands on experience with the teacher.
2. Students miss out on social interactions and the high school experience.
3. If students have a question about an assignment they have to wait for the teacher to read their email or read through their messages. The teacher is not always available to help the student at the time of the question.
4. The student misses out on group projects and assignments in class. These skills, such as public speaking and working with peers would be beneficial to them in a future job.
5. There is no check up on the students to make sure they will be getting everything assignment done on time. If students can turn in assignments on their own pace who says they are not leaving it until the very end.

Students much show that they are ready to handle their own education to be able to participate in distance delivery of high school. The students must be able to demonstrate that they have good time management skills and struggling in school.

For me to be able to teach in a virtual school I believe that the student should still need to come into the high school at least once a week to meet with his teachers and interact with students their own age. The students must demonstrate that they are ready for a program like this.

Critique of Teacher Web

Critiques for Teacher Web

Critique of Becca Polak’s Teacher Web
Good Things
· Web Resource page is filled with related links to a History of Social Studies sites will be
very useful to students. The explanations for each site are very helpful in guiding what
the student could use the site for.
· The calendar page is filled with upcoming assignments and exams. This will help students
be better prepared when they know ahead of time when the test and assignments are
scheduled.
· I like the page linking to an email. Having this link allows students to contact their teacher
if they have a question about an assignment.
Suggestions
· The web resource page is filled with great links, but there are only 14 and there are
supposed to be 15.
· On the announcement page maybe make an instruction for students to check back every
day or week for new announcements.
· On the class handout page give instructions on what to do on with the handouts, when you
need to complete them or have them read by.

Critique of Marcus Logue’s Teacher Web

Good Things
· Web Resource page is filled with related links to a History of Social Studies sites will be
very useful to students. The explanations for each site are very helpful in guiding what
the student could use the site for.
· I like that there is a link to your email so that students can connect you at anytime.
· I like the schedule page so that students will know where you are at through out the day
and when you have free time to talk with the students.

Suggestions
· On the announcement page maybe make an instruction for students to check back every
day or week for new announcements.
· On the class handout page give instructions on what to do on with the handouts, when you
need to complete them or have them read by.
· You have a lot of different pages, maybe combing some of them would make it easier to
navigate and look less cluttered. For example putting all of the web links on one page or
the announcements and newsflash.

Concept Mapping Software

Kelly O’Neill
October 3, 2007
T&L 466.01
Concept Mapping Software

1. With the topic of Japanese-American Internment during WWII the use of concept mapping software will be very useful. With concept mapping software students will be more engaged visually with pictures and key concepts. With the concept mapping organization students will be able to see the connection on the topic of Japanese Internment between the government actions and social effects. Another way that this software would be engaging is to have students create their own concept map, using pictures and key concept words.
2. Students could use the concept mapping software as a way of assessment. Once you do the lesson in the class as a way to ensure student understanding have the students create their own concept map. This allows for students to demonstrate their understanding of the topic.

Concept Mapping Summary

Kelly O’Neill
Concept Mapping Software
October 1, 2007

Inspiration is a tool used to help students link concepts together for better understanding. Using this software rather then making these maps by hand will be more useful for students today who are use to doing things on the computer. Using the mapping techniques to link concepts will provide students a better understanding and possibly help student become more engaged in the topic. Three ways that I found interesting this software could be used in the classroom are to help students visualize ideas, improve writing, and plan and organize project.
Visual learners especially will benefit from this type of learning. Students will be able to see the connection between different concepts and are able to understand them better. Students will also improve their writing. According to the inspiration web site, students will be improving their writing skills by making notes and outlining their ideas. A third way that this software could be used is to help student organize their ideas. This software will allow students to create and organize their own ideas so they can understand the concepts.
There are many ways that this software could be used in my future classroom. Many projects could begin using this computer program to help students visualize and organize their ideas.

http://www.inspiration.com

Blogs in Education

Kelly O’Neill
T&L 466
September 24, 2007
Blogs in Education

1. There are many different types of Educational Blogs that can be found out on the web. When typing in Educational Blogs into three different search engines I came up with many of the same responses. I used the search engines of Google, Yahoo, and AOL. These search engines most likely came up with the same results because they are the blog pages that came up are very popular sites.
2. Educational Blogs can be used for many different purposes in the classroom. I remember going home from school sometimes and then having a question about an assignment. With blogs students can post questions to other students or the teacher on an assignment or anything else from class. Another interesting way to use blogs is to have an online discussion. This could be questions posted between the students and having their peers help them to answer instead of the teacher. The discussion could also include the students posting comments prior to an in class discussion that way all students can have some prior knowledge of what the other students have to say about the topic. A third interesting way to use blogs would be for the teacher to post different links that would aid in research for a project or assignment. For example a link to the local newspaper or a website that is not easily found if a student was to be searching on Google or Yahoo.
3. RSS readers and aggregators are used in blogs to have a connection to another web page that updates regularly. In a classroom a teacher could use a RSS reader or aggregator to allow students to stay updated on the latest news. A teacher could post a link on their blog to a national or local newspaper that has daily updates.
4. Blogging and the use of RSS readers will have a huge impact on the classroom. The blog pages will allow for better communication between the teacher and student and also between the student and another student. Teachers can post readings, assignments and grades on blogs while the students can post back questions to the teacher or other students. Also the use of blogs will help students become better equipped with using the internet. RSS readers will help students stay up to date on local or national issues.
5. While there are many advantages of using blogs in the classroom that I have already mentioned, there are some disadvantages as well. Two of the most important positive impacts of blogs would be the communication between the student and the rest of the class and teacher, and with RSS readers students will be able to say up on changing news. Some cons may be that while most families today have internet access, not everyone has a computer at home so it is important to know who has a computer and how does not and make different arrangements for those students who do not. Another con would be that students using the blogs in class may become distracted and go on to other non educational websites such as checking their facebook or myspace pages.

Focus on Learning Styles Project

Kelly O’Neill
T&L 466
Focus on Learning Styles
September 4, 2007

Learning Styles are very important in knowing how to teach your students. Not every student is going to have the same learning style as you the teacher nor will all the students in the class have the same learning style as their peers. The Abiator’s Learning Styles Inventory Test is a learning style test that’s purpose is to inform the tester on what learning styles they learn form best. It can be found on the Teach-nology website, http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/learning_styles, under the current trends in education. This test measures for three different learning styles including Visual, Auditory, and Tactile-Kinesthetic. The test asks question pertaining to what type of situations are best learning, test taking, and studying. The questions ask how good you are with maps and charts or if you would rather read instructions or have the instructions read to you. This is a good test in trying to find out what the different learning styles are in your classroom so you can make sure you try and reach each student.
My learning style according to the Abiator’s Learning Style Inventory Test is that I am primarily a Visual learning, then Tactile-Kenesthetic, and I have very little of an Auditory learning style. The site gave me a lot of useful information on my learning style such as I learn better when I watch my professor to help stay focused, writing things down will better help me remember them later, and when studying I should be in a quiet environment. This information will be useful to know when I’m teaching in the future. Although I will not stick to this style knowing how well I work with my learning style will help me try and reach all the learning styles of my students.
Better understanding my own learning style will be very useful when it comes time for teaching. Knowing what my learning style is will help me create ways of presenting the material that all students can learn from. Just because one student and myself are Visual learners does not mean that every lesson created needs to cater towards that learning style. Being a Visual learner myself I will need to prepare lessons that are not just catered towards the visual learners as well. It is very important for all students to be exposed to all different learning styles. This will help them prepare for college and jobs when students’ professors and bosses are not going to be catering to their learning styles.
I looked at the teaching strategies for all of the learning styles that the Abiator’s Learning Styles Inventory tested for. One strategy that was discussed under all three categories was the use of media. Using forms of media such as video or computers incorporates all three learning style. Using this strategy every once in a while in the class room will help to reach every students learning style. As mentioned earlier it is important that students are exposed to every learning style so they are able to adjust to a boss or professor in the future who only lectures or like to show videos. All three learning styles that are discussed on the Abiator’s Learning Style Inventory can be easily achieved in the classroom. By mixing and putting together different strategies students will come out of the class with the ability to adapt to different learning styles.