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 3 - Web Technology

This week the main focus of class was to talk about the history of the internet and discover the future of where our internet is going. In class, we watched a YouTube video about how the first internet connection was utilized and how we came to where we are today. There were many new terms that were introduced that I personally did not know about. They ranged from the beginning of the internet to the most common terms we use today, but they were taught more in depth than before. There was also this pretty cool video done on Frontline called Growing Up Online, which was really true for generation and a little bit scary how dependent we are on the internet and just electronics in general. I liked the Web 2.0 information that was posted for us to read because it gave insight into the tools that our generation will be using for education, communication, and other various aspects of life.

The future of the web definitely relates to my major because it is good to know where the next generation is going so that I can understand the technology my students are using. Also, many of these tools and programs and new innovations in technology and the internet will most likely end up in the classroom somehow, so I should be comfortable using them and knowing about them. The history aspect is kind of important, but I do not think it will be very vital to what I am teaching. Technology is a tool for students to learn, so I do not really need to harp on tools of the past, but encourage my students to keep learning and looking ahead. The terminology that I learned will help though because it will be good to have a strong vocabulary basis for technology so that my students can learn effectively.

I decided to use this video entitled "1967 Future Predictions - PC" because I thought it was funny how the video correctly portrayed what would happen now. It was a very outdated way of envisioning what would happen, but the online shopping and sending mail from computer to computer was really what has become of the internet and so much more. It was definitely correct on how far the computer would develop by 1999.