I tried a few of the applications listed. I really liked Google Documents. My husband has been talking about this for a while and I just hadn't tried it, but I will definitely use it in the future. He created a table to track his gas mileage and likes that he can access it anywhere. I like Microsoft Office, but you have to save whatever you've created to some sort of hardware and take it with you. However, I like that with Google Documents you can access the document that you created anywhere there is an internet connection. This is just as helpful as the delicious bookmarking site in the sense that it is saved online and not on a specific computer.
I also tried the photo-editing sites Picnik and Fotoflexer. Both were very easy to use, but Fotoflexer had a lot more options to adjust your photo. I thought the scrunching and pulling different areas on the photo were hilarious!
I would definiteley recommend using Google Documents as a viable alternative to Microsoft Office. I plan to use it myself so I don't have to keep saving things to my USB Drive and then bringing it to school to access those same files. Obviously, if you don't have an internet connection, this site won't have your documents handy like a USB Drive would.
I'm not sure I would have students use a photo-editing site. I could imagine students getting carried away with editing photos way beyond what was necessary. However, if I taught an art class that used Photoshop, I would probably recommend using Fotoflexer to do some of the same applications. I would recommend using this site for personal use anyday!
Also, for those of you who are interested, I was just introduced to another photo-editing site called yearbookyourself.com. It doesn't have much in the way of editing photos, but you can upload photos and the site automatically gives you the hair and outfit of different years, starting in the 50s. It is quite entertaining.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
D/B13
Chapter 31
The main idea that really caught my attention in this chapter was the possibility of wearing technology as a way to learn. In one example, a "body tracking" suit was worn to teach a person better tennis playing techniques after the technology had sufficiently tracked the person's own techniques. When the body tracking technology helped the person's muscles relearn a better way to serve the tennis ball, I thought that this would be useful technology for people who need rehabilitation for some reason or another. If someone had lost the ability to walk and then was able to again, this body tracking technology might speed up that process.
Another way to wear technology is to get it embedded in your skin. While this sounds invasive (and I still do think it is to an extent), we embed pets with microchips all the time. However, where it gets tricky is when we embed a type of technology that actually works with our nervous system to do things instead of doing them ourselves. In some cases I think this would be beneficial (maybe for people who have lost a limb and can't perform everyday tasks.) However, it does seem like the more technologically advanced we become, the lazier we become as well. I hope this technology advances or is used in more noble ways than simply do tasks we'd rather not do. Either way, the fact that this technology is on the horizon is amazing.
My favorite activity this semester was creating a blog. I know it was sort of a basis to for posting thoughts and ideas, but I had never created a blog before and had always wondered about it. Since we tried a lot of applications and linked them (or embeded them) in our blogs, I feel I have a good grasp of some of the capabilities of blogs. I also liked learning about the delicious bookmarking site as well as Google Sites. I liked these applications because I actually have plans to use them or am currently using them in my personal life and professional life.
The main idea that really caught my attention in this chapter was the possibility of wearing technology as a way to learn. In one example, a "body tracking" suit was worn to teach a person better tennis playing techniques after the technology had sufficiently tracked the person's own techniques. When the body tracking technology helped the person's muscles relearn a better way to serve the tennis ball, I thought that this would be useful technology for people who need rehabilitation for some reason or another. If someone had lost the ability to walk and then was able to again, this body tracking technology might speed up that process.
Another way to wear technology is to get it embedded in your skin. While this sounds invasive (and I still do think it is to an extent), we embed pets with microchips all the time. However, where it gets tricky is when we embed a type of technology that actually works with our nervous system to do things instead of doing them ourselves. In some cases I think this would be beneficial (maybe for people who have lost a limb and can't perform everyday tasks.) However, it does seem like the more technologically advanced we become, the lazier we become as well. I hope this technology advances or is used in more noble ways than simply do tasks we'd rather not do. Either way, the fact that this technology is on the horizon is amazing.
My favorite activity this semester was creating a blog. I know it was sort of a basis to for posting thoughts and ideas, but I had never created a blog before and had always wondered about it. Since we tried a lot of applications and linked them (or embeded them) in our blogs, I feel I have a good grasp of some of the capabilities of blogs. I also liked learning about the delicious bookmarking site as well as Google Sites. I liked these applications because I actually have plans to use them or am currently using them in my personal life and professional life.
Monday, August 3, 2009
D/B12
Chapter 30
This chapter was refreshingly relevant to educators and was reminiscent of some of my previous education classes. One idea that was presented in the reading was the idea of utilizing and accessing prior knowledge while presenting new knowledge. In my experience as a student and an educator, whenever I or my students make the connection between something we've learned before and the new material, it almost always helps me remember that new material. In teaching students, I always try to refer back to an idea or concept that we've talked about before when I'm bringing up a new idea. I try to scaffold their learning by touching on previous concepts and then building on those concepts as a bridge to the new concept. I can imagine that when using technology, prior knowledge of the technology is just as important as the new material itself. If the student is expected to write about the Revolutionary War and the teacher expects the paper to be typed, that student's knowledge of Microsoft Word is just as important to complete the assignment as is their knowledge of the Revolutionary War.
Another interesting concept that the book presented was overloading visual or auditory cues to the extent that learning was actually depressed. When I look at figure 30.1, I can see where students would be motivated to learn about whatever this program was teaching, but I can also see where students would be distracted by all of the visual information. The authors go on to say that after conducting studies on learning they concluded that, "extraneous information added to spice up a multimedia presentation depressed learning by activating inappropriate prior knowledge." (p. 319) Teachers are often told that school, or perhaps a certain lesson, is boring. Teachers have to compete for students' attention with TV, video games, MP3 players and computers. It would make sense then, to use "edutainment." However, I was surprised to learn that students don't actually learn to the best of their ability with edutainment.
I plan to apply these two concepts to my teaching by continuing to address and utilize prior knowledge when presenting new ideas to my classes. I also plan to use the advice of the authors and use both text, audio and visual information in my lessons. However, I will re-evaluate the information the students are given audibly or visually to make sure they aren't getting bogged down by "seductive details."
This chapter was refreshingly relevant to educators and was reminiscent of some of my previous education classes. One idea that was presented in the reading was the idea of utilizing and accessing prior knowledge while presenting new knowledge. In my experience as a student and an educator, whenever I or my students make the connection between something we've learned before and the new material, it almost always helps me remember that new material. In teaching students, I always try to refer back to an idea or concept that we've talked about before when I'm bringing up a new idea. I try to scaffold their learning by touching on previous concepts and then building on those concepts as a bridge to the new concept. I can imagine that when using technology, prior knowledge of the technology is just as important as the new material itself. If the student is expected to write about the Revolutionary War and the teacher expects the paper to be typed, that student's knowledge of Microsoft Word is just as important to complete the assignment as is their knowledge of the Revolutionary War.
Another interesting concept that the book presented was overloading visual or auditory cues to the extent that learning was actually depressed. When I look at figure 30.1, I can see where students would be motivated to learn about whatever this program was teaching, but I can also see where students would be distracted by all of the visual information. The authors go on to say that after conducting studies on learning they concluded that, "extraneous information added to spice up a multimedia presentation depressed learning by activating inappropriate prior knowledge." (p. 319) Teachers are often told that school, or perhaps a certain lesson, is boring. Teachers have to compete for students' attention with TV, video games, MP3 players and computers. It would make sense then, to use "edutainment." However, I was surprised to learn that students don't actually learn to the best of their ability with edutainment.
I plan to apply these two concepts to my teaching by continuing to address and utilize prior knowledge when presenting new ideas to my classes. I also plan to use the advice of the authors and use both text, audio and visual information in my lessons. However, I will re-evaluate the information the students are given audibly or visually to make sure they aren't getting bogged down by "seductive details."
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