Week 7

There are many different types of writing activities that can be done in a classroom using technology.  As I read through the chapter I saw that it talked about collaborating with others students that were at different work stations using Writely.  This program allows students to collaborate on written works, by allowing the importation of documents from many different formats, sharing documents and allow collaborators to give input via e-mail, lets revisions to be made among many other things.  This tool I believe is a great activity that allows a class to freely express themselves.

When making a PowerPoint  presentation the many focus should be on the content of the main idea or purpose for the PowerPoint, NOT the visual effects of the the presentation which can distract the intended audience.  Some things to remember that may prevent the audience from becoming distracted can be simple.  Choose a font and stick with it, make it easy to read.  Don’t use too many transitional effects, it could make them focus more on the slides rather than you.  Chose a template that complements your presentation, not contrasts with it.  And keep your presentation short and sweet, if it is too long then you have lost the audiences interest.  I think that avoiding these types of pitfalls now that they are know should make it easy.

The use of different types of technology in a classroom in today's schools is becoming a necessity.  Making the lessons interactive and interesting to the students is the key to their success.  Using programs such as Writely and PowerPoint can help to facilitate this interaction but these programs and the students using them may need to be monitored to ensure they are being used to their potential.

Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R.M., & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful Learning With Technology. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Week 6 Blog Posting

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are hand held devices that can be used to simplify work, transmit data, and keep track of tasks with checklists and calendars.  The use of these types of devices in a classroom, according to chapter 2 in the textbook, can be a very effective tool of instruction and a positively impact student motivation.  There are many things a PDA can do that can enhance the learning of a student while making the lesson easier to understand and accomplish.  I believe the most efficient use of a PDA for a classroom setting would be in a mathematics, with teaching graphs,  or computer class with teaching how to use excel spreadsheets.  Information can be easily transmitted from 1 PDA to another by use of beaming, or syncing with a computer.  I personally have one of the Palm Tungsten E2’s and have found that I have trouble with using it for anything other than keeping a schedule of appointments, a checklist for assignment due dates, and as an address book.  My children have used it and seem to have no problem with navigating the different programs it offers though.

We use online surveys to gather information on a topic, marketing, likes or dislikes about issues, and in the case of the classroom, gather information on what a student knows or doesn’t know about a topic, which can guide a teacher in the direction on where to start a lesson on a specific topic.  If a teacher knows what the students already know about a topic or issue the teacher can spend much less time on teaching a topic that they already know and spend more time in areas that the students are less comfortable with. 

Two good rules to go by when writing a survey, in my opinion, are:  keep the question short and to the point (avoid long questions), and avoid questions that lead a person to answer in a certain way (avoid leading question).

The use of technologies such as those mentioned in chapter 2 can be an asset to the learning environment if used in the proper manner.  There is a lot of room for students to misuse technologies, like PDAs, so strict rules with their use must be enforced.  If teachers can properly integrate such technologies into the learning environment then great things can be discovered by their students by promoting active, reflective, and complex learning with the use of technology.

Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R.M., & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful Learning With Technology. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.