Post # 7

What I find to be the biggest advantage of presentation software in a K-12 setting is that it offers a different format to learn information from. Using software such as powerpoint can give a students the ability to learn from pictures, texts, animations, sounds, and movie clips. I think that powerpoint allows for all different learning styles to be attended to because it enables the teacher to put all of these things into the slides. I feel there are disadvantages to this however because if powerpoint has to be viewed off of a television screen, it can be hard for a student to see. When I was in school, this is how I had to view powerpoint and I always found it difficult because the screens are to small and there would be too much information on the slides. Overall, however, I feel that powerpoint is advantageous in a classroom environment.
I might use powerpoint to support student learning by perhaps creating presentations that can be used by the individual student. I could make a vocabulary game or have a math quiz. In a particular lesson, I could use powerpoint in teaching a lesson on Vocabulary words. I could use this to exhibit different words followed by their definition and then showing it used in a sentence.
With educational technology, I have now learned how to use technology in a classroom setting. I think it is interesting how there are so many options available to use to teach students. Before this class, I was not really aware how many different sources of technology there was that could be used in a classroom. One tool that I would really use in a classroom is definitely Powerpoint. I think that it could help me organize and present my information in a clear manner, as well as give student's the notes in a written manner.

Post # 6

I think that the use of Web 2.0 Technologies in a K-12 classroom would be very beneficial. I think that the web provides a lot of unique information that can be accessed with your fingertips. By using web technologies, I believe that students will only benefit from it by finding out more information about what they are studying and by seeing many different vantage points that are out there on that subject. Web 2.0 provides a better learning experience, I believe, because there are more media's available to learn the material from. It can be presented not only in text format, but also in videos, pictures, and animations. I would use Web 2.0 in my classroom because I think that there is so much to be gained by using it. The way that I would use it is by having my students look up different things on the subject we are studying. I would teach them which websites are appropriate for research, and what sites should be avoided. I would also use sites such as YouTube to give them videos to watch on something we are studying. Also, I could have them make websites such as Wikis for class projects to help teach the class about a topic. I would also incorporate a blog site for class discussions. I think that Web 2.0 would help my students better themselves in ways they didn't know were possible. 

When it comes to Wikipedia, however, I would be very cautious in using this as a learning resource. Because of the nature of the website, where anybody can edit the material, I think I would be wary of using this as a source for information, especially for a research paper. Some of the information on there could be false, and I would not want my students to be led astray by something that was posted on Wikipedia. I think the idea behind Wikipedia is good in general, but using it for formal work is probably not something that I would encourage. I think that if you are looking at Wikipedia for fun that you could gain more knowledge, but you could never be sure that everything you read is true. 

Some new skills that I have acquired within the last week that I think would be beneficial to my educational career are learning about Wikis. I think that these webpages are an awesome idea that I could use for my students to create and share things that they learn about with each other. I think that Wikis would enable my students to have a more connected learning experience with each other. Another new skill that I have learned this month is Inspiration. I think that this will help in my career because I could organize and present information in a creative manner. These skills will help my education career because I will be technologically savvy in many different areas and this will help me to teach to all types of learning styles. Technology will help me become a great teacher. 

Post # 5

Using the internet to support student research can be very helpful when it is used in the right manner. If is used to better research, then it can be advantageous to the research that the student is doing. When the internet is used properly, the results can be fantastic. I have found this tool in my own academic experience to be extremely rewarding. I think that using the internet can help lead students' in the right direction when it comes to doing a research project, or to help them find new and innovative ideas for a project. Beneficial as this tool may be, it does have some negative consequences that make a student's research a little more difficult. Because of it's nature to be easy to use for all, the internet makes plagiarizing an even easier task to accomplish. When this comes into the picture, it makes the internet seem as a bad tool for students to use in their work. As exhibited in chapter 3, it shows that using the internet can be resourceful. For example, the internet provides various forms of the information. It is not only presented in text, but also in sounds, movies, and pictures. Some downfalls for the internet is that it can give faulty information. Not everything you read online is true, and websites such as Wikipedia allow anybody to edit their articles. With Wikipedia, you are far less likely to find good, factual information, than if you looked in a printed version of a book that you find in a library. 

Web-based resources might support student learning in several ways. It can allow the student to find information more quickly, with the push of a few buttons, rather than taking a long time to find it in a library. Another way that web-based resources can support student learning is to offer them more than just text to enhance the learning process. Videos and animations can help to give the student a more in-depth look at a subject. 

My concern as a teacher supervising students that use technology based resources would be that they would use the technology incorrectly. For example, if I was teaching 8th grade Science, and I requested my student's to do a report, there would be the danger that the student's might plagiarize something that they found on the internet. They might also find incorrect information that would lead them astray in their endeavors to write a report. I think it could become difficult for my students to know what information is credible and likewise what is not. My job as a teacher supervising the student's would be to teach them what is good information and what sites are most appropriate to lead them to the information that they need. I would want to make sure that they found the very best information that could lead them to learn more about the subject.