EDCI 3332 Post 8

For this blog posting I visited the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Online Journal and read an article on IPAD APPS for Education by Katie Stansberry at http://www.iste.org/connect/iste-connects/blog-detail/10-04-12/iPad_Apps_for_Education.aspx. What I discovered shocked me, I had no idea that so many applications were available for the field of education. I feel this new technological breakthrough is a win win opportunity for educators and students alike. There are apps available for geography, mathematics, art, music, science, astronomy, and even reading and writing. Wow, I just wish I had the spare 500 bucks to run to Best Buy and get one. After reading this article I would like to investigate what other apps are available that could be utilized in our classrooms to engage our students in productive and exciting learning activities

EDCI 3332 Post 7

For this blog posting I visited www.eduhound.com, the website that caught my eye was located at http://enablingdevices.com/catalog. Enabling Devices is a company that develops affordable learning and assistive devices that help people of all ages with disabling conditions. As a Special Education minor I was captivated by this site by the vast amount of Assistive Technology devices that I encountered. One particular device that I found interesting was a tabletop controller that adapts to the popular video game Guitar Hero that allows individuals with disabilities to play the popular game for a reasonable price. After visiting this site I would like to investigate other sites that manufacture assistive technology devices for other applications such as driving a car or operating appliances at home.

EDCI 3332 Post 6

For this blog posting I visited an Educational Technology Portal at http://www.education-world.com/. The article I read was about the gadget of the week “CamStudio by Alma Row” at http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/gadget/gadget003.shtml. I discovered a handy tool that allows screencasting. The CamStudio program allows you to create videos of what you are doing on your computer and add narration to standard AVI video files which can be easily converted to Streaming Flash videos (SWFs). The best part of CamStudio is that it is free and relatively simple to use by almost anyone. After reading this article I would like to investigate how I can use this program to create fully automated Powerpoint presentations with a voice over to narrate the slides.

EDCI 3332 Post 5

For this blog posting I visited: from now on the educational technology journal at http://www.fno.org/sept2010/overequipped.html and read an article titled “Over-Equipped? Is it possible to have too many laptops? By Jaime McKenzie. The article touched on the fact that the possession of a laptop at home or at school does not automatically create better readers, writers or thinkers. As the article states;“What matters is how those laptops are used and what pedagogical strategies teachers have employed to make the best possible uses of the tools at hand.”Furthermore, this article stressed the importance of thinking strategically about the types and the numbers of tools being used during any one lesson because there are no set rules to control what works best. After reading this article I would like to investigate additional methods that can be implemented in classrooms that allow my students to work collaboratively in groups.

EDCI 3332 Post 4

For this blog post I visited The Journal of Educators Online at http://www.thejeo.com/index.html
The professional development article I read was Reflective Pedagogy: Making Meaning in Experiential Based Online Courses by Kathy L. Guthrie, Florida State University and Holly McCracken, University of Illinois at Springfield. In their article, the authors found that instructional approaches with increased integration of technological tools via the Internet (such as synchronous conferencing platforms, asynchronous discussion structures, social networking environments, video sharing websites, and so forth) in educational programming hold the potential to guide and encourage a diverse range of students as they make meaning from learning from their advantageous experiences. I found this article interesting because synchronous and asynchronous technologies were just covered in Chapter 12 Distance Education: Using Technology to Redefine the Classroom. After reading this article I would like to investigate how these technologies can be used for other applications in the Education field.

EDCI 3332 Post 3

For this blog posting I visited another online journal at: http://thejournal.com/Articles/2010/10/01/Wow-3D-Content-Awakens-the-Classroom.aspx?Page=1 . I read an article on the integration of 3D technology into classrooms. The article was titled: Wow! 3D Content Awakens the Classroom: Three-dimensional classroom materials are thrilling both students and teachers with their stirring visuals and powerful impact on comprehension and test scores. The article discussed the integration of stereoscopic 3D technology into classrooms and touched on how this new technology is a lot more than just an attention grabber. Evidence by pilot studies indicate that students have demonstrated greater comprehension in less time and achieve considerably better test grades than their peers that learned the same material without the technology. After reading this article I would like to investigate the possibility of sampling this 3D technology at the University level so that we can attempt to integrate this new instructional "aid" development.

EDCI 3332 Post 2

For this blog posting I visited: http://www.techlearning.com/article/33032. I found an Online Journal at techlearning.com with an article on “Social Networking or Social Suicide: The impact of social networking on virtual DNA.” I noted this particular article as interesting because it discussed the fact that, "Students might think they are merely crafting and surfing a vast network of peers, but because their Facebook profile is, in essence, a public diary, there is nothing to stop anyone else—from marketers, to parents, to college officials—from reading it." If the vDNA overlaps into conflicting networks, it can jeopardize relationships.” (Kendall, 2010) All of the information that we place out in public on sites such as My Space and Facebook are open for anyone to read publicly and can become detrimental for our future careers. As future educators it is our responsibility to educate ourselves and our students of the potential hazards of placing our personal information out in public; I feel it is essential to increase the awareness of the harmful aspects of social networking.

EDCI 3332 Post 1

For my initial blog posting I visited http://www.edutopia.org, I found an article on The Outdoor Classroom: Science Experiments in the Environment about young children using technology to monitor an ecosystem's health which was of particular interest to me because it directly correlated with the assignment that we submitted to Dr. Esquierdo today. Our assignment was to design a mini lesson using the Backward Design Approach for the 4th grade Science TEKS 11.A (The student knows that the natural world includes earth materials and objects in the sky. The student is expected to: (A) test properties of soils including texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support life.) The online article and short six minute video illustrated how teachers and students in a small northwestern Minnesota town are using a technology program that enables students to leave the school grounds and get into nature for their learning. The students and teachers are carrying laptop computers, temperature probes, measuring sticks, and sample collection tools while visiting the Glacial Ridge four times a year to study how environmental policy changes can restore natural beauty and wildlife. As a result of reading this article I would like to investigate how we can acquire the same technology to use in our classrooms as well. I strongly feel this would be a great “new technology” approach of introducing and teaching science to our students.