Digital blog post #H

     Technology has certainly brought about a change in the way that teachers provide instruction. When I was in elementary, middle, and some of my high school classes all of my teachers used chalk boards, and projectors that they would write on and then project the image onto the front board. If we needed to use a computer to do our assignments we would have one or two days where we would go to the computer lab and that was all the access we had to the internet during our school days. Now when I go into a class room I see smart boards and just about every classroom has computers. 

     

      In place of using projectors for note taking classes use power points for notes. Power points provide bright and entertaining visuals while note taking. Videos, sound clips, and pictures can be used in power points, and they can even be used to create review games. To me this is quite an upgrade from the technology we had in school. It makes note taking and lectures less boring and can be a fun method of teaching.

    

      Another tool that I really like the idea of is audio books. Audio books will allow the students to follow along in their own books while listening to a narrator read the story. This allows the students to hear the correct pronunciation of words that they aren't familiar with. Other technologies similar to this are Podcasts and vodcasts. Podcasts are basically the same as audio books but they can be recordings of a teacher lecturing. Vodcasts are essentially podcasts but with video. These can be highly beneficial because they will help audio and visual learners. Since the majority of these are available online students can use these tools at home to help them study or to work on homework. 

      Smart boards are probably my favorite new form of technology. They can do all of the functions of a projector, you can write on them like a white board, but you can save what you have written. They allow you to project your power points on them and really are an amazing advancement in technology. These have become an extremely common form of technology in the classroom and I certainly hope that my future classroom has this form of technology.

      Overall technology has come such a long way in just a few short years. teachers have almost every technological advantage that they could ever ask for, even attendance can be completed online. Of course teachers do have access to non computer based learning materials such as books, white boards, worksheets, and many other things. Needless to say teaching tools have come a long way!

References:

   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.

     Bellows, Adam. "5 Tips and Tricks for the SmartBoard." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.

   

   

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