Google Docs...

During my middle school and high school experience I remember doing a lot of group projects and always having trouble finding times to meet outside of school with my group members. Well I believe that Google Docs has the answer to that problem. Google Docs is a great way for students to work together on papers, presentations, or any other projects without having to meet face to face. As a future teacher I would suggest Google Docs to my students so that they could work outside of class on projects and let the class time be used for more learning. The part of Google Docs that I would recommend for teachers to have their students use would be the powerpoint. I could also see the Document part be useful for teachers and students to review papers before they are due; or even as a means of turning in the assignments. Technology is everywhere and it's programs like this that can reach our classrooms with little to no cost.

Amazon Kindles...

The Amazom Kindle is the newest thing in electronic books. It's a thin less than ten ounce device that can hold over 400,000 books, blogs, and newspapers. It's designed to be easy on the eyes and new books can be up loaded all the time. These seem like a really nice thing but would they be useful in the classroom? I actually think they could be useful. Even though they don't have all the books in the world on them they do have quite a few of the classics. Now I could see myself using this in a middle school/high school classroom having each student have one. The students could change the print to fit them instead of having trouble with regular books and needing other devices to read them. Once all the Kindles are bought, getting new material for the class would be cheaper for the school because of the discounted prices that are available through amazon.com. This could become the future literature class 'book'.

Smart Boards...

At my community college, there were smart boards in every classroom. So I became familiar with the basics of a smart board and grew to enjoy using them. They can be beneficial to teachers in a number of ways. First with a smart board instead of going to the computer to change or emphasize something on the screen you can go up to the board and write on it, circling important points. The students can also get in on the action and be able to write their ideas or thoughts on the board. For example during a brainstorming activity students can take turns going up to the board to write out their ideas, then the teacher can make a print out of what they came up with straight from their work. Both teachers and students will have fun using the Smart boards, because it's and interactive way to learn. The following video will go further in depth on what the Smart board are capable of.

My First Post...

This blog is for my EdTech and Design class at UNI. My first major assignment was to design a WebQuest. My WebQuest was on Life in the late 1800's and designed for 5th grade students. Before this class I had never knew anything about WebQuests, but now I think they are something that I could find myself using with my future students. Kids these days are using technology all the time and I feel that using a program like this would making the topic/assignment more interesting for the students. It's a good way to promote collaboration and problem solving, for the students must work individually and as a group to complete a task.