Technology Friend or Foe.........

-->

Advantages and Disadvantages

Technology tools are abundant and we have to figure out how they work and what will work best in a teaching environment. The Advantages.  The more students read, the better developed their language and writing skills become,” (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 271).  It provides countless programs that teach phonics, letter and word recognition, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 272).  With apps on I-phones, I-pads, computers and other hand held devices these skills now can be practiced anywhere and anytime.  Through technology students’ comprehension skills can quickly be assessed with engaged reading and interactive stories and books.  Writing is more popular with outlets like blogging, social media and twitter and it has given many students more confidence in expressing their thoughts on paper or a screen.  They are now sharing with their peers in their classrooms and around the world. 

There are challenges for English and Language Arts teachers, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 266).  The Disadvantages for teachers can be defining literacy today and help students to adapt to all the new ways we read and write, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 268).  Language Arts and English teachers are responsible for making sure students are fluent in these new communication skills.  There are debates of what is lost thru technology, including cursive writing vs. word processing, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 272).  The dangers are on teachers’ minds of how much screen time is too much and what is being lost with it, or if conversation skills and how to interact with people face to face are in jeopardy.

Technology Products

  “Information now comes to students via email and ebooks: web pages and podcasts: blogs, vlogs and wikis: instant messages and twitter feeds; and movies and streaming videos,”  states Roblyer & Doering, (2013, p. 268).

The Blog – What began as a way to journal has become a place where students have open discussions and give opinions on topics, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 268).   Providing a creative outlet and a place to free write their thoughts and ideas.  Teachers can use this tool in lesson plans to give assignments, get feedback, check progress and assignments. Writing is an important skill and a few websites that encourage writing either in a blog or other format and publishing it are Bookworm :http://www.bookworm-mag.comand Writekids: http//writekids.tripod.com  The Wiki, I have learned is a wonderful way to group resources and information in one place for students.  It can be used for individual projects or for a class as a whole.  It encourages collaboration and communication between students and the teacher and can be added to on a regular basis by both, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 269).   I think this is a very inclusive way to teach a topic and can easily see how it would be a top pick for a classroom.  Technology is here to stay so as teachers it is our job to find what works best and teach these skills to our students.

Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, Aaron H. (2013). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (6th ed.).
    Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, INC.

Letting Technology do the Work

-->

As individuals we look to the Internet as a way to increase our reach to those we work with, learn with and are in contact with all around the world. One of the reasons for this revolution is the recognition of how important it is to have ready access to resources and people, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 204).   It has brought us closer together and some of the tools that have made this all possible include, wikis, pod casts, video and photo sharing communities, (Roblyer & Doering, Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching, 2013, p.223). 

Wiki - As teachers we research and review hundreds of online sites trying to find the ones that are most effective. A wiki groups web pages in an online community that can be accessed and added to by the community, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 224). This takes some of the searching out of the equation, saving time.  One Wiki I found that would be very beneficial is “Reidenglish”  at www.reidenglish.wikispaces.com. This is a wiki written by 9^th grade students guided by their literature teacher on Shakespeare.  Not only does it give a breakdown on characters, plot, language, and meanings of his plays it gives background on the Shakespearean world.  Included are pod casts, videos, essays and clips. It is students learning from their peers on their level and in their language. 

Pod casts – Resembling a radio cast or interview a podcast can be automatically downloaded on a regular basis once a person has subscribed, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 224).  Digital audio files can be found on just about any subject matter.  I found two that I think are easy to understand for middle to high school students.  One, www.literature_lady.podomatic.com gives a summary of Shakespeare’s plays even breaking it down into acts.  This is a wonderful resource for students to use as they read the plays simultaneously as a reference.  The other,  www.grammar.quickanddirtytips gives a quick and to the point grammar lesson in each podcast.  It is a quick review of those rules for students to keep grammar fresh on their minds. 

Social bookmarking site – Creating a list of all the sites of a common topic is a quicker way to organize and sort sites by topics, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 218). I found one on Symbaloo that has anything and everything about William Shakespeare.  It would be a great reference for teachers and students.
http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/3710-William-Shakespeare?searched=true#aboutpublicwebmixes Teachers could go here for new topics to discuss on Shakespeare for lesson plans and students could use it for information on reports or papers, etc.

Widgets- Today we have ongoing of integration of online lessons and activities in the classroom, ( Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 238). As teachers create these lessons they are adding in enhancements to their lessons to deepen the understanding by the students, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 238).  Widgets due just that, they add more. They can be added to blogs or online lessons as an additional resource.  Two that I found that would be great add-ons are, Vocab Ahead, which gives a new vocabulary word and its definition and Dictionary.com., which allows you to look up keywords in a dictionary, thesaurus or reference format.    Both can be found on the site www.widgetbox.com/widget 

The Internet is a great resource and in time all that information will be sorted, cataloged and at fingertips reach.  Lucky us!!!

Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, Aaron H. (2013). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (6th ed.).
    Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, INC.

Web Work Made Easy

-->

The beauty of the Internet is that it presents opportunities to find information on ways to improve education, yet it has the ability to be personalized and individualized, (Roblyer & Doering, Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching, 2013, p.202).  It is a young resource that has seen a surge over the past 20 years, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 214).

What do URLs tell students about websites?
Uniform Resource Locators can define a website for teachers and students.   Knowing the domain designator one can determine what the content will be, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 216). Examples are .com/commercial site, .gov/ government site, .net/ network, Internet providers, .edu/ higher education institutions, and .org/ non-profit organizations, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 216).  It is important for teachers and students to learn how to locate and read URLs. 

How can learning to use search engines help students find better information?
Once Students learn how to use search engines they are able to pinpoint the information they are looking for on the Internet. Some choices include; Google: http://google.com, Yahoo!: http://yahoo.com, and Bing: http://www.bing.com and over time people become comfortable with a certain one, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 219).  Students can choose topics provided or type in phrases or a combination of words to find URLs, (Roblyer & Doering, 2103, p. 216).

 Internet Tool - I believe one of the most important and useful tools are the social-networking sites including Facebook.   Roblyer & Doering show statistics that 73% of adults have a Facebook page and 60% to 100% of college students use Facebook as a means of communication, (2013, p. 225).  It provides a medium for students to present work and give and gain feedback from their peers, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 225). Used as a discussion place for first time research papers, students could present topics, thesis, rough drafts and final drafts. The teacher would provide input but it would be the peer reviews that would guide the students. 

Web-Based Lesson -One website I found to be a resource and lesson for early writers is http://www.teacher.scholastic.com.  Students learn how to write and publish their own for the enjoyment of others, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 244).  It walks through the steps of brainstorming, writing, editing and publishing a story. 

Favorite Websites
Epals, http://www.epals.com is also a favorite. Providing students the chance to communicate in a global classroom, through virtual field trips and games.  By communicating with others effectively with the Internet they gain a new perspective and skill they need, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p.202).  Making this site both a multicultural experience as well as a visual learning experience which are appropriate for teaching about other perspectives than their own, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 245).  Another website is http://www.readwritehink.org which provides some electronic mentoring and practice of using Internet resources, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 245).  It is an online organizer of other websites for designing lesson plans giving great examples of sites that have been successful.  Roblyer & Doering comment that characteristics of an effective and well designed course must include the qualities of being engaging, include collaborative activities and an interactive learning community, (2013, p. 230).

Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, Aaron H. (2013). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (6th ed.).
    Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, INC.

     The beauty of the Internet is that it presents opportunities to find information on ways to improve education, yet it has the ability to be personalized and individualized, (Roblyer & Doering, Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching, 2013, p .202). It is a young resource that has seen a surge over the past 20 years, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 214).
     Uniform Resource Locators can define a website for teachers and students.   Knowing the domain designator one can determine what the content will be, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 216). Examples are .com/commercial site, .gov/ government site, .net/ network, Internet providers, .edu/ higher education institutions, and .org/ non-profit organizations, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 216).  It is important for teachers and students to learn how to locate and read URLs. 
     Once Students learn how to use search engines they are able to pinpoint the information they are looking for on the Internet. Some choices include; Google: http://google.com, Yahoo!: http://yahoo.com, and Bing: http://www.bing.com and over time people become comfortable with a certain one, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 219).  Students can choose topics provided or type in phrases or a combination of words to find URLs, (Roblyer & Doering, 2103, p. 216).
     I believe one of the most important and useful tools are the social-networking sites including Facebook.   Roblyer & Doering show statistics that 73% of adults have a Facebook page and 60% to 100% of college students use Facebook as a means of communication, (2013, p. 225).  It provides a medium for students to present work and give and gain feedback from their peers, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 225). Used as a discussion place for first time research papers, students could present topics, thesis, rough drafts and final drafts. The teacher would provide input but it would be the peer reviews that would guide the students. 
     One website I found to be a resource and lesson for early writers is http://www.teacher.scholastic.com. Students learn how to write and publish their own for the enjoyment of others, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 244).  It walks through the steps of brainstorming, writing, editing and publishing a story. 
     Epals, http://www.epals.com is also a favorite. Providing students the chance to communicate in a global classroom, through virtual field trips and games.  By communicating with others effectively with the Internet they gain a new perspective and skill they need, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p.202).  Making this site both a multicultural experience as well as a visual learning experience which are appropriate for teaching about other perspectives than their own, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 245).   Another website is http://www.readwritehink.org provides some electronic mentoring and practice of using Internet resources, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 245). It is an online organizer of other websites for designing lesson plans giving great examples of sites that have been successful.  Roblyer & Doering comment that characteristics of an effective and well designed course must include the qualities of being engaging, include collaborative activities and an interactive learning community, (2013, p. 230).