After reading chapter seven of Transforming Learning with New Technologies. The most important concepts I found interesting were:
Evaluation Criteria
As college students and future teachers, it's important to considerate what websites we will use for our classroom projects and what websites we will share with my future students. As teacher and future teachers we need to evaluate a website before sharing its information with our students. We need to know what the software will offer to our students and if it's going to help them in their education. Although evaluating a website can be difficult at times, it's important to know and understand the kind of websites and programs our students are using. However, there is an iPad educational technology magazine that offers evaluation rubrics, which I strongly believe teachers should take advantage of. If teachers are having a hard time in evaluating the website the app will help them!
In 2005, Google Earth was available to download in your computer. Google Earth is a virtual globe, map, and geographical information program. It's composed of photographs taken by satellites and aircraft of virtually every location in the world . When I was in eighth grade, I remember downloading the Google Earth application. Google Earth took me into a journey where I started from my home to my community and even to my birth town (which at that time it had been five years since I last saw it). Google Earth should be incorporated in every grade level. Google Earth provides the students with an opportunity to learn new locations, different cultures, and human interactions. There many students who do not have the opportunity or privilege in traveling around the world. By using Google Earth, those who cannot travel at least have a virtual tour of the place they wanted to visit.I have attached a YouTube video that well educate you on how to use Google Earth!
Computer Games As Learning Resources
Student are becoming
more involve in today's technology. One of the most important software
applications among children and adolescents are computer games. Computer games where the students answers questions or learn by
clicking their mouse. There are some computer games that are more highly
interactive multimedia experience making the students interact with the
computer in many diverse ways. There are many educational computer games such
as knowledge, logical, and mathematical games that are beneficial to include in
the classroom lesson. By adding computer games to the class lesson the student participates,
interacts, and keep their brains active.
Computer games help students learn how to solve
different social scenarios, it helps them overcome different conflicts that they're
facing in today's society and it helps them develop social experiences that can
be valuable as they are grown-up.
Photo credit to Jonathan Reyes on Flickr
Resources:
Castellini, R. (2013, February 12). How to use Google Earth for Beginners. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgjMSBXsFZQ
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Your focus on Google Earth is important as we find our world becoming more global in educational (as well as economic and political) venues. Though many of our ELL students have already traveled in their young lives, a majority of our students are 'place-bound' and don't understand the world in which we live. It would be great if Google Earth could be incorporated into a variety of lessons.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo (love the pop of orange to draw in the eye) - unfortunately the Flickr attribution leads to a different photo and photographer. It would be best to change that to avoid copyright violation. Also to earn the digital tool points, you'll want to try one of the digital tools listed in the assignment and embed/link that in your blog.