Blog #7

Chapter seven includes a lot of information on what you should look for when you are evaluating educational technology. Before any teacher begins using any form of technology in their classroom, they should make sure what they are using is reliable and if it will enhance the students learning. To be appropriate for the classroom, the technology should be motivational and should be at the correct level for all students. Teachers should always check to make sure that wherever they go their information from is a relaible source. Many schools provide lists of different software products that they recommend to their teachers. Every year there are conferences held for teachers where they can all get together and discuss the different types of software they have used and what was effective or what to stay away from. When you are evaluating any software application, the first thing you should check for is content to see if the information provided is something that will be useful in your classroom and will go along with your lesson. Lastly, you should confirm that the software has appropriate content and teaches what you want to be better explained.

Technology plays a huge role in classrooms because they have to motivate students and change the patterns of traditional teaching. Most classrooms these days have one digital media computer and are known as one-computer classrooms. Teachers can use computers to present new material to their classes and they can also use it for individual presentations by their students. A great idea is to make a class newsletters and ask your students to write arrticles for it every so often. Another idea that teachers can use to integrate technology is to create a classroom blog. Teachers can use this to begin to get students involved with the internet and using technology for feedback.

You can ask your students to discuss whether or not they liked the way the lesson was presented and they can give you their feedback.Since my last post, I have learned alot more then I ever knew before about powerpoint. I have had a lot of teachers in the past that use power point to provide the notes but I never realized how much time goes into making one. I learned that there are so many different tools and options in power point that I never knew about before. I also learned a lot about what you have to look for in an education software product before you allow your class to use it.