Week 14 - Virtual Schooling

This week we watched two YouTube videos that describe online schooling in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Topics were discussed about the benefits of virtual schools and the critiques about them. Some of the benefits include working at one's own pace, accessibility, more independence, more free time, and a closer relationship with the instructor. This type of schooling has turned out to be very successful and useful in many cases where students are not working well with regular schools or are not able to attend them. Gaming is another tool for virtual education in which students can learn and engulf themselves in, but it would be beneficial. I would not substitute this for full time education, but for a supplement or during the summer it would help students to become familiarized with online education and enjoy it.

Virtual schooling applies to my field because it could be my field one day with teaching online to my students or even having a few who take classes online in addition to being in school. I do not plan on teaching a class online any time, but it might happen someday with the way technology is exponentially growing. It is good to be at least familiar with this type of education so that in the future I can be equipped to help students or adjust to that type of teaching if I needed to. Online education could even be a possibility for me if I decide I would like to further my education.

This map shows what kind of online education is available in the United States and it surprises me some of the states who do have access to this type of education and the ones who do not. New York, for example, has neither, yet Hawaii has both. It shows that virtual school still has a way to go in entering our school systems throughout the United States, but it is pretty widespread to say the least.

Week 15 - Gaming

During this week, we learned the usefulness of gaming in teaching and learning. We learned about different games online, such as Second Life and Mii. These games bring us, most of the time, to virtual worlds, but have an underlying mission, for people to interact and learn. Although, not all sites are secret about their purpose of teaching. Many sites offer that as an incentive for teachers and parents to agree with the site for their students or children to use. Either way, these sites enable students to learn about core subjects and about technology.

I hope to use games in my classroom for educational purposes. I know many teachers who use educational games during reading and math for a center can choose to go to or must go to. Students love it, but they are only participating in learning material. Especially if there are free periods or breaks within the class, gaming for the students would come in handy. It is a great way for students to learn, use technology, and have fun all at that same way and I plan on utilizing that as much as possible in my classroom.

This was a technology I was not even thinking of that is being incorporated into classrooms, but it still proves to be beneficial. I have observed computers in the classroom, but there are usually only a few in which students must take turns, but this would eliminate that hassle and would be easily accessible and portable. This should encourage United States schools to approach this type of technology and utilize it if possible.

Week 11 - Open Source Software

Open Source Software is free software that is open for anyone to download and we explored these this week. I have personally used Open Office before and it is almost simultaneous to Microsoft Word except free. It is very useful, especially for people who use Macintosh computers. Sourceforge also is very helpful in finding software that I would need as a college student and even in the future as a teacher that can aid me in my field, while being convenient and free.

Open Source Software definitely can be beneficial in my field because many times teachers are limited on resources and finances. The kind of software that is offered online can fulfill what I would be missing in my classroom. Sourceforge is a website that I would take advantage of because it is a database of Open Source Software and Programs. Anything from instant messengers to anti-virus software to word processors are available on the website and would all benefit me in communication, safety, and creating documents. Even prior to entering my field of teaching, Open Source Software would all help me as a college student. The fact that the software is free and open to everyone is what makes it worth using.

This picture depicts exactly what I think sometimes. Although Open Source Software is very useful, it is also kind of nerving that other people have access to these same programs and they can create them. This could cause many harms to your computer, even if unintentionally they do. Just like the fish says, it gives me the creeps.

Week 9 - Podcasting

This week I learned about podcasting and different uses for them, especially in education. The articles that I read about podcasting explained what podcasting was, how to retrieve a podcast, and how to create your own. Also, the articles went in depth about the benefits of podcasting, primarily in the classroom, and the issues that arise around podcasting. One article by MacWorld described how to make your own video podcast, also known as a vodcast. It was all very informative and prepared me to make my own podcast which is an activity that I must do for this class, but I will probably use in the future.

Being a teacher, I could see where this could be beneficial. Having extra aid for homework, providing material for students who were absent, and assigning projects that where students have to create their own podcasts are all advantages of podcasts. Although personally I would want more physical, interactive learning with my students, not just listening or new technology to teach the students. For me, the internet can be a distraction at times, and teaching young students the internet could definitely be a distraction. I just believe students learn best with hands-on activities and even interactive videos or activities online. I think podcasts could be beneficial in my classroom, but for limited purposes.

This is what it seems that are classrooms are coming to because of iTunes being such an influence on young people. It is starting to flood over into the classroom and sometimes that is really helpful, but in this depiction it is making fun of it. As the teacher is trying to teach her students, the students are engulfed in the new technologies of this age.

Week 7 - Visual Literacy

This week we learned about Visual Literacy in which we equate visual symbols and signs with words or ideas in our heads. For example, if we see the golden arches of McDonald's, most people probably think of fries. There are other forms of visual literacy though, such as tables, graphs, charts, maps, trees, and graphics. As humans, we have visual literacy because we have the ability to evaluate information in the form of something visual. With our Photoshop project, we use our visual literacy of one image to create a new one.

This relates to my major because most people are visual learners, which would mean that I would need to use images for my students to learn material. Whether it is through a graph or through a funny cartoon, it will usually benefit my students to use visuals. Not only will it help them learn, but it will make them more visually competent and recognize images faster, thus inhibiting faster thinking and recalling of information.

This one frame cartoon just seemed funny to me because that is not what students want, but actually quite the opposite. Although students never can articulate it or stand up and say they want more visuals in the classroom. Half of the time, they do not realize what they are missing in school. Society has put such a large emphasis on media outside of school and schools have put stress on teaching as much hard. raw facts as possible, it is only natural that children desire visual aids in the classroom.