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Class Twelve

DIGITAL BADGES:

Visit the links below and give your opinion about the future of digital badges and whether or not you would use them, how you could use them, and if they have a future. ( 5 to 10 sentences - 10 points).

I think that digital badges are something that can really make a student feel good about their accomplishments. I know that sometmes words can mean nothing to a student, but when they are given something to show what they've done and how well they've done it could boost their self-sesteem. Digital badges are like trophies that you could earn playing a video game, and I know that a lot of people who play video games strive for those trophies, making them work harder to achieve them and win the ultimate prize. I believe that digital badges could work very similarly to this, making students work harder to get that "trophy". I think that the future is bright for these badges and are a positive influence on students' work ethic.

AUGMENTED REALITY:

  • Define Augmented Reality.
  • Give an example of how you could use augmented reality in the classroom? Be specific.
  • Do you see a future for this technology?
  • What is the difference between augmented reality and virtual reality?

Augmented Reality is putting computer-generated images overlaying live images, like the first down marker in football, the line is not really there but is placed there for everyone to see. In the classroom, I think that it would be difficult to use augemented reality in a Spanish classroom, but I would use it as part of a Spanish culture lesson on Hispanic and Latin artists. The Getty Museum offers an augmented reality view of artwork and I would have students use pictures of famous paintings done by Hispanic and Latino artists to look at them in augmented reality, so that it's more than just a picture on a page. I think this technology definitely has a future because it takes students to a place they've never been and takes them through something they've never experienced. Augmented reality is a mixture of both the virtual (computer-generated) world and reality, while virtual reality is completely computer-generated.

DISRUPTIVE EDUCATION:

Many persons believe that online education, K–12 blended learning, and technology are going to change the entire school system. Michael Horn is a coauthor of "Disrupting Class" and many other blogs and activities relating to this topic. Visit his blog post and write a 5 to 10 sentence summary of the blog including your opinion of this concept. (10 points)

In essence this blog post was about how technologywill change the future of education as we know it today. Michael Horn believes that blended learning will flip the role that schools have from actually delivering their education to being a social spot where students can do sports, theater, music, etc. while the actual education takes place online. I don't think that this is true, I think that the school will always be a place of learning no matter how much technology influences society. I think that much of the learning process will be primarily technology-based, but I think that it will still take place in the school building as a way to facilitate learning. While it is possible for the school building to be rendered nearly useless, I think that overall it would benefit students to have teachers present for all their needs.

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS:

If time permitted, I would do more with this topic but for this class, I am only going to ask you to visit the links below and CHOOSE one virtual field trip that interests you and how you could use it in class. (5 points) Follow this format:

  • Name and Address of Web Site for the Virtual Field Trip
  • Why it interests you
  • How you could use it in class (Education majors only have to answer this one)

I would use this virtual field trip, found on surfaquarium.com, (http://www.holidays.net/travel/maps/na/mexico/map-mex156-mexico.htm) because it takes you on a journey through Mexico. This would be useful when talking about this country and its history and attractions, this would allow students to visit and get a look at somewhere that they may not have seen before.

SOCIAL NETOWRKING IN EDUCATION:

Write a 5 to 10 line paragraph of what you learned from this and your opinion of the use of social media in the classroom. (10 points)

I think that this article is exactly right in all of its points, and it shows all of the good things about using social media in the classroom to benefit the students. Social media is becoming something that everyone is using, from the youngest to the oldest. Many teachers are on social media already, in fact I am friends on Facebook with many of my old teachers, so the thought that these adults don't care about social media is untrue. While they are already using it in their personal lives, why not implement social media into the classroom as well. Kids often learn better when they are actively engaged and are having fun, they may think that they aren't learning but in fact they learn more than they think they are.

WEB SITE RESOURCES:

Visit each web site and write the name of the web site and a ONE sentence description of what it does. Indicate if you have been to the site before.

 

  1. Education Resources Information Center- ERIC is a database of peer-reviewed journals and articles for education sciences; I have never been to this site.
  2. Eduhound-This is a website full of websites for teaching purposes and you can add them to your curriculum; I have never been to this site.
  3. NASA- This site allows you to search through subjects, grade level, type, and even keywords; I have never been to this site.
  4. Tagxedo- Tagxedo allows people to create word clouds based on any variety of words; I have never been to this site.
  5. Voki- Voki gives the teacher and student the ability to create characters that can talk in many different languages to personalize it for you; I have never been to this site.
  6. Teachertube- Much like Youtube, but is used for educational videos only; I have never been to this site.
  7. Screenr- An easy screencasting website that allows users to make screencasts and share them if necessary; I have never been to this site.
  8. Savetube- This is a site for downloading Youtube clips using the video's URL; I have never been to this site.
  9. RubiStar- A website that has a database full of easy-to-make rubrics; I have never been to this site.
  10. Puzzlemaker- Puzzlemaker allows you to create many different types of puzzles, like word searches or mazes; I have never been to this site.
  11. Teacherworld- This site has templates for PowerPoint games like Jeopardy or Hollywood Squares; I make my own games so I have never been to this site.
  12. 3DTextMaker- Much like the name implies, this website allows you to create 3D images and text; I have never been to this site but will use it in the future.
  13. Bubbl- Allows one to brainstorm and create a mind map from your brainstorming ideas; I have never been to this site.
  14. Glogster- Rather than a PowerPoint presentation, Glogster creates a multimedia poster; I have used this site in middle school.
  15. LessonPlanZ- This is a website that lets one create and edit a lesson plan for a specific subject; I have never been to this site.
  16. Teach-nology- Teach-nology lets teachers create a free website that can be used by their students; I have never been to this site.
  17. IdeasToInspire- A presentation based web site where teachers have collaborated about a variety of subjects and compiled them all together to one site; I have never been to this site.
  18. DiscoveryEducation- Discovery Education has everything that a teacher could need (lesson plans, puzzle makers, other resources); I have never been to this site.
  19. Pinterest- Pinterest is a growing social media site that users share their personal ideas and instructions on how to mimic their ideas; I have never been to this site.
  20. LiveBinders- Allows you as the teacher to create an ePortfolio that their students can browse for information; I have never been to this site.

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS OF 2015:

The following article surveys 4 Educational Technology specialists to get their opinion of tend for 2015. The topics for each are listed below. Visit the article and summarize in 3 to 5 sentences what the panelist conclude and if they agree. (39 points)

Overall there were only two trends that the panelists concluded were "hot" for 2015. BYOD or Bring Your Own Device and Concerns for Student Data, were the only topics that everyone could agree on and were popular and growing in its popularity. BYOD is popular because it allows students to use their own technology that they are comfortable with to learn. Additionally, hackers are becoming more and more prevalent in this growing technological age and because of that there are growing concerns over the safety of students' personal information.

THE DIGITAL FUTURE:

This is on of my favorite videos about the future. it was made by Corning Glass to advertise their products. The technologies you see in this video exist. You will see them emerging shortly as they become cost effective. This is a fitting video to end this class. After you view this video, write a 3 to 5 sentence description on your reaction to this. (3 points)

This video makes me very excited for the future to unfold, these technologies are very exciting. I would love to have Architectural Display Glass in my room to use every morning instead of my computer or phone, I would feel like I was in a movie. The Automotive Design Glass is also something that I wouldn't mind having in my car, the ability to choose how much light is let into the car would be an amazing ability.

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