Last Class??

It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be my last EdTech class. We have covered so much in the past seven weeks. Some of the major topics (a good review for the final exam =] ) include:

• Technology Foundations Standards for Students/Teachers
• Blogs
• Wikis
• Copyright and Plagiarism
• Digital Imaging Basics
• Searching the Web (Search engines vs. directories)
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Collaborative Tools

It's amazing how much I've learned in this class. I think my favorite lesson was when we did the group activity with GoogleDocs. I thought it was really neat how all three members of my group could be editing a document all at once. Even though we ran into a few problems when two people would be trying to finish the same sentence at the same time, it still was interesting to see how the idea of Collaborative Tools works. All in all, I enjoyed the class and will try to apply what I've learned when I teach.

Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive Whiteboards are becoming more and more popular in classrooms across America. They allow teachers to show images and PowerPoints and write directly on them. No longer is a mouse needed to change slides or point to specific things on the screen. Instead, just by touching the Interactive Whiteboard, you can change to the next slide or follow a hyperlink that appeared on the screen. Interactive Whiteboards are a wonderful way to get students involved in a particular lesson. For example, a calculator can be projected onto the Whiteboard and students can go up and press the buttons to solve the problem. A common example of an Interactive Whiteboard is a SmartBoard. With a SmartBoard, you can use various colored markers to write on the whiteboard and an artificial eraser is there if you make a mistake. Students seem to really enjoy being involved and being able to use the new technology. Interactive Whiteboards are a form of technology that I feel will become more and more popular while I am a teacher.

Microsoft Publisher

The other day, I had some free time and decided to play around on my computer. I opened up Microsoft Publisher 2007 and experimented with all the different options it offered. Through experimenting, I have discovered that Publisher is a wonderful resource to use to create a variety of different things. It has a vast array of templates for banners and flyers and documents, more than one person could ever possibly need. Also, it has color schemes that you can chose from and you can also create your own. Publisher makes it extremely easy to put together a project, and allows you to do it quickly. Also, the new layout is very organized so you can find what you are looking for easily. It makes inserting clip art and text into the same document a breeze. As teachers, we will have to use our creativity to create a variety of different documents and Publisher makes it easy to do.

Plagerism

As future teachers, we have to be especially aware of students using other people's work without giving them the proper credit. This is the issue of plagerism. Through the Internet, students have access to a wide variety of materials. Many students use these word-for-word and don't give credit to the author. Students use the ideas of others instead of their own. As teachers, there are resources we have access to that can help to catch plagerism. First, be aware of different online sources that sell papers on a wide variety of topics. Sometimes, they even allow people to view parts of the paper before they purchase it. Be aware of what common topics that have papers floating around on the Internet. Also, consider using a resource such as www.turnitin.com . This resource scans the paper that a student submits and automatically looks for phrases and paragraphs that match other documents and web sites. Students can submit their work online so that it's very easy for the search to occur. As teachers, we must be aware of the possibility of plagerism and do whatever we can to try to prevent it.

A Problem In Today's Schools

Even though technology is becoming a major help in today's schools, cell phones and iPods have been the center of a number of different controversies. The major issue...cheating. It has been found that with the increased use of cell phones and electronic listening devices among students, there has also been an increase in cheating. Many students in high school have mastered the fine art of text messaging without being seen by teachers and even their peers. However, this can result in students sending other students answers during tests. With the increased technology of cell phones to include cameras, students can take pictures of their tests and send the picture message to their peers as well. It is because of this that when taking AP tests, students must remove their cell phones from their bags or pockets and place them either on the floor where they can be seen at all times by the proctor or in an area in the classroom where no one can access the phones during the test. The issue of cheating using cell phones has become a very common and serious matter. Another common cheating technique, especially when writing essays, is using electronic listening devices, like mp3 players. Students, especially those that are very good with using their computers, are able to record essays and import them to their listening devices or save them as photos and view them on the screen of their device. A lot of teachers feel that some students find it easier to concentrate and have less distractions from the rest of the class when they listen to music as they do a test. However, many students are taking advantage of this and cheating. Teachers need to be aware that they are providing many ways for students to cheat, and should put a stop to these actions!