Visualizing with Technology

Between discoveryeducation.com and safarimontage.com I prefer discovery. It may be because the information appeared readily available and I didn't want to spend too much time digging for information on the websites. It is very tempting to skim pages when reading online. The chapter nine about Visualizing with Technologies was mostly about how to use technology to help students visualize mathematics. This would be very helpful when trying to teach such abstract topics. Some examples were about biology and using technology to show how cells or chemicals interact. Using technology to demonstrate something like osmosis or cell division would be very helpful because it would save so much time for the teacher. Instead of having to sketch out a doodle about what happens within cells (or atoms or whatever else) the teacher can pull up a video or digital illustration of the process.

As a growing English teacher, I was looking for examples of how technology could be used in my future classroom, and I found no examples in chapter nine. I must be creative in my teaching and integrating technology into lessons. I do feel that Visualizing with Technology has great potential and can be a great tool, especially for illustrating mathematical and scientific ideas. I am not so confident in the use of technology for illustrating English and other similar topics.

Visualizing with technology can have a positive impact on the learning process. As one of those students who needs a visual image to learn better, I really would love to be able to use technology in this way. The trouble is finding a way to incorporate visuals with my subject of interest. 

Thomas Suarez is one of those rare prodigy children. Seeing kids like him who have already accomplished so much makes me wonder what sort of parents he has. Do they encourage his learning and using technolgy? And he's already such a good public speaker!  He must attend a very great school that can provide for and nourish hungry young minds such as his. His story gives me hope that maybe I can impact students who will make such great leaps as he has. 

Podcast

Podcasting is not a weird word meant for iTunes alone. Rather, it is a radio broadcast of sorts that can be downloaded for listeners to enjoy whenever they desire. There are many different ways to use podcasts. Some of my favorite suggestions were to record lessons or lectures as podcasts so that students can download them later to study. However, I fear that this system may easily be taken advantage of by lazy students who discover they don't have to go to class or pay attention because they can just download the information later. The second idea I liked for use of podcasts in the classroom is to make them available especially for visually impaired students. My mother works with visually impaired children and I suggested this to her almost as soon as I'd read about the idea. I imagine that teachers could read their worksheets, stories, or lessons aloud for the students who need to hear them rather than see them. However, braille transcribers make a living out of brailling worksheets for students, so I'm not sure how this could be used. Mother is the necessity of invention, however, and when the need arises I'm sure a podcast could be one option. Finally, I envision using podcasts to reach the parents of students, especially during the beginning of school. Teachers can introduce themselves, give some background, and explain very generally what the goals are for his/her classroom.

Podcasting is different from some of the other forms we have discussed because it is an audio file. Not only that, but it can be downloaded and listened to as if it were a music track. The other forms can be downloaded, but they can't be played so easily, as if they were a song. Podcasting is similar to voicethreads, but I believe that voicethreads require images. I'm not sure if podcasts have to have video. Regardless, all the forms we have discussed so far share information and can be used in a classroom setting (if the teacher is creative). Thankfully podcasting is a free "program" which makes it convenient for classroom or personal use.

I do own an iPod touch, but I don’t think I would use it in the classroom. I think about how it would appear to the principal or any other superior who walked in while I was staring at it and searching for tracks. If I did use the iPod in class, I suppose I could hook it up to some small speakers and play podcasts from NPR or another educational sort of resource. It could be a great way to engage students and get them thinking about a topic. For some students who retain information better when it is presented in an audio format this would be a very valuable resource. Online communication tools generally are very helpful, but they can also be distracting. There really is nothing like face-to-face conversation between students or students and teachers. I think it is a very valuable skill to be able to approach people and talk to them without embarrassment or shyness, and technology is making it more difficult to be physically social. There are great advantages, however, we need to keep in mind that human interaction is the most important form of communication.

References

Grenier, Brian. "Podcasting." Classroomtech /. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Web 2.0: Voicethreads, Wikis, Social Bookmarks

Apparently Web 2.0 is a parallel universe that exists within this one and of which I have very little knowledge.  I had no idea that voicethreads even existed.  They sure are helpful in the classroom though! Let me explain some more. First there are wikis. I’ve heard about Wikipedia.com, but apparently a wiki can be used in just about any setting where collaboration and communication are key.  They are primarily for sharing information and almost anyone can edit the information and contribute to the ongoing conversation.  The difference between a wiki and a blog is that more than one person can edit a wiki. Blogs are usually contained to one contributor and there is not really a conversation going on between the viewers and the writers.  Next is something called social bookmarking.  Rather than just bookmarking the webpage on one computer, social bookmarks can be saved on the internet.  This way it’s easier to find the bookmarks that have been made and other people online can see what you’ve bookmarked and utilize those sources.  I didn’t think this would be practical until it was mentioned that a teacher could more easily bookmark the useful educational websites they find in this way.  Finally the last thing I learned about in this unit are voicethreads.  Apparently a voicethread is a website where an image or media is uploaded and a voice recording is attached to the image.  It’s like a presentation where the speaker has already done their part so they don’t have to be present.

It’s pretty easy to see how all of these things can be used in a classroom setting. Some of my classes are currently using wiki (although I am not sure how to operate it. Maybe now I will try again.) as a medium to discuss topics and share information. Social bookmarking is a brilliant idea! I feel like I’ve been living in the stone age because I didn’t know that it existed until today. It’s so practical and I feel like I have been missing out. Voicethreads are awesome, too. I went to a small school so we didn’t use websites a lot or the internet.  I don’t know how practical it would be for a class to put together one of these voicethreads, but they are a great way to put on a presentation and share information.