in the future i think classrooms will see more and more of the technology we used here in class, such as a teacher being able to acess all their students computers, and of corse the use of smart boards. also such new things like the senteo to make shure students are in attendence and participating in class. Other things technology will improve on in the future is learning from across nations and cultures. Instead of just saying this is africa on a map students will be able to show american things to a classroom in africa while a class in africa shows the american classroom their culture through such programs as skipe. Another way technology will hopefully help classrooms of the future will be with dealing with students with disabilities. I believe that new things and different ways of teaching using technology is the future and will help us as a profession be better teachers.
Monthly Archive for October, 2008
Emerging and Assistive Technologies and the Future
The book says “In general, assitive technology is defined as any technology that, when used by a student, enhances the performance of a target skill, including cognative processes, learning, communication, and physical abilities. Technology is being used to accommodate many of there children. In high school I worked with a group of 11th and 12th graders with disabilities. They teacher had me think of a game or movement activity that they all could do. So we did DDR and wii! It was so much fun to watch the kids have fun! One girl was in a wheel car so she couldn’t do DDR because thats with your feet but we called the company and said that your game was not for all ages and types like it said. So they made a special game pad for her to use for arms to hit the different arrows that went accross the screen. I was so happy that they did this! Not just games and computers are the helpful hint to teaching. Visual reality is a great thing that all technology has and I would have technology in my classroom almost every day.
I thought Chapter 4 was a very interesting chapter in our textbook. I recognized most of the emerging technology the book touched on, but there were a few things in there that caught me off guard. Anyway, I can’t pick a single technological advancement contained in chapter four that will have the greatest effect on education in the next few years, because I think all of the ones dealing with education or the way students learn will have at least some impact. If I had to pick one that I’m excited about, however, it would have to be voice-recognition software.
Voice-recognition software achieves one of the primary goals of technology: convenience. Not only is it convenient, but it’s very reliable, too. “Speech and voice-recognition software,” state Bitter and Legacy, “usually allow the computer to be ‘trained’ to recognize your individual voice patterns, rhythms, syntax, and vocabularies” (Bitter, Legacy 94). Now that’s high-tech! Think about the applications: VR technology could not only help in the regular-ed classroom, but in the special-ed classroom as well, assisting students who have speech-related disabilities and tracking their progress. VR software could open up a whole new world of oral tests, thereby eliminating paper and allowing the teacher to conduct the tests all at once instead of scheduling them at separate times. Yes, I’m very excited to see what opportunities voice-recognition software presents to education in the next few years.
In chapter four of “Using Technology in the Classroom,” by Gary Bitter and Jane Legacy the authors talk about the Emerging and Assistive Technologies and the Future. They tell us “One fact is certain: Computers are here to stay!” We must start learning how to use them now, because this is our future. There are many new types of technology arising, in today’s world we see ipods, video games, white boards, personal data assistance, and so much more. With my experience so far I feel that the interactive white board will have the greatest impact on the teaching profession in the next ten years.
Within the upcoming years I believe teaching will be taught mainly through the white board also known as the SMART Board. This piece of technology will help students become more engaged within the classroom. It will help children with their confidence level and hopefully give teachers many new ways to incorporate different learning techniques with every lesson. As an upcoming teacher I am excited to learn all the new and exciting things the SMART Board has to offer.
I believe from my own experiences that the technology that will have the greatest impact on the teaching profession will be Interactive white boards and wireless tablets. These items allow for the teacher to interact more with the students while still being able to write on the board and do lessons. It also allows for students to be more involved in the teaching process by giving them a fun, hands-on way to learn and interact.
Students of day and future students want to be engaged in the learning process rather than just being lectured to. These two items allow for the students to be involved and makes learning more enjoyable! The SMART board website states that their projects help to make learning ‘simply inspirational.’ Their product is user friendly, and their sales (1 million boards sold) show how much the classrooms are already eating up the product! This product seems to be really worth the money invested into it!
According to “Using Technology in the Classroom” by Gray Bitter and Jane Legacy, chapter four asserts that “emerging technologies continue to play a major role in our future.” Video games, iPods, personal data assistants, and wireless tablets are just a few of the well known gadgets being used. Among all of these I feel that the interactive white boards will have the greatest impact on my profession.
The SMART Board has quickly become one of the most used tools in education and their website was recently updated to note their one million mark in sales achievements. I believe that educators will soon base all of their lesson plans around the SMART Board to incorporate it into all aspects of the curriculum. I think that this tool will is a great way to keep all students of all ages engaged. If educators will take advantage of this technological opportunity, SMART Boards can provide a more efficient and more productive learning environment for the future.
The internet is a tool that is used daily throughout the world. I personally could not image not having the internet to look up simple information whether it is for school or for personal use. I feel that students are not using libraries like they used to. You can go online to even our school library and use many different search engines and find what you need without leaving your desk chair. I think that in the upcoming years that searching for information on the world wide web will be easier than it is today.
The world wide web is affecting the teaching field tremendously. In the text “Using Technology in the Classroom” by Gary G. Bitter and Jane M. Legacy it says “Even with the understanding that the Internet may yet be in its developmental infancy, educators cannot ignore the limitless resources available from the worldwide community.” (54) Teachers are taking technology and using it to benefit the classroom in every aspect possible. I feel that in these upcoming years teaching is going to be more engaging and exciting for students. Technology in the classroom is getting better every year I can not wait to see what the upcoming years have to offer. Especially since this when I will be entering the classroom’s as a teacher.
I believe that in the coming years that I will be teaching the aspect of the Internet which will have the most significant impact on the teaching profession will continue to be online reference sources. The Internet is a great and easy source to find information that a student would normally have to spend hours looking up in multiple books. These items include definitions, synonyms and antonyms, quotes, items on a map, statistics, etc.
I can’t remember the last time, at least in high school, I had to actually go to the library and select a real book to look information up on. Google has a feature called GoogleBooks which allows the user to look up actual books, and in some cases, can read the whole book. There is a search engine on that site where you type in your search item (such as a persons’ name) and it will search through all the books and come back with page numbers in those books where the name is mentioned. If these happen to be books they don’t have the whole of online then the students know at least what they are looking for when they go to the library, ultimately cutting back on student work time.
I was rather amazed that on page 82 of the book that Wikipedia was mentioned. It is an encyclopedia, but students need to know that they should use that one very carefully. People surfing the net can very easily, or at least it used to be very easy, edit the different pages. I find that using Encarta or Britannica Online a better source for information, and that is what I will promote in my classroom.
I am sure that the resources available online will continue to grow and expand in the later years and will make it even easier for students to gain pertinent information easily for their assignments.
The Internet is a great tool that has tremendously changes the education field over the years. The book, “Using Technology in the Classroom” by Gary Bitter and Jane Legacy, asserts that “the dynamic nature of the Internet..implies a future of continual growth beyond even what can be imagined today,” (54). I imagine that the Internet will eventually grow to change the educational realm completely.
I feel there is one particular aspect of the Internet that is likely to have a significnt impact in the near future, online chat and video conferencing. Currently, at many major colleges and universities classes are being held virtually. Videoconferencing abilities have eliminated the traditional classroom by allowing students to participte in activities, discussions, and even assessments without leaving their dorm room. Moreover, online chat alows individuals to communicate instantly, as if their conversation were in person.
In the future, I can picture that Internet tools will eliminate the traditional classroom setting. Hopefully the internet will not eliminate the teaching profession entirely however, at this point, anything is possible with technology!
I can’t imagine a world without the instant availability of information the internet provides. The internet allows us to share things with others thousands of miles away, it gives us a means by which research may be performed without leaving home, and society itself is constantly shaped by services the internet provides us with.
Personally, I love the fact that so many reference books and anthologies are now being made available online. I find myself going to the library to access books like the Oxford English Dictionary and Encyclopedia Britannica less often. All of the major reference books like Encarta and The World Fact Book have seen the implications of the internet years ago and placed their respective publications online (82). This makes updating editions a lot easier. Fewer resources are necessary (paper, publishers, distributors, etc.), so the consumer only has to pay an access fee to use said reference companies’ products.
Since I’m such an avid user of reference resources, I can only hope more authors and editors turn to the world wide web for distributing their product to their customers. It’s a digital world, and it’s only going to get more digital as software and computer companies develop more efficient, cheaper, and innovative ways to make the internet more accessible to everyone.