Journal 8

Curtis , Diane (2002, November 1). A '"Fantastic Super" Use of Technology: Closing the Digital Divide. Edutopia, Retrieved October 11, 2008, from: http://www.edutopia.org/fantastic-super-use-technology

The article is a great example of how technology is a huge asset in schools, specifically the classroom. Curtis explains the positive outcomes of using technology as a means of communication between teachers, parents, principals, and other school staff. Email is faster, easier, and a simple way to quickly give a message right away. The use of such email communication not only allows for a paperless community, but encourages the involvement of every individual impacted by the school one way or another. Scroggs even developed a way for communicating with the families who may not have access to a computer. Another message in the article was about how Scroggs encourages the involvement of parents. It was important that they implement a program practicing inclusivity. Overall, the article showed positive goals and positive outcomes.
How does the use of technology promote inclusivity? By creating a website or blog for classroom use, parents, students and teachers are all able to stay interconnected. It is a great way to communicate quickly and efficiently without the use of paper and wondering whether or not messages have been received. Email is accessible to all even if there is no internet in the home, email is attainable elsewhere and is easy for anyone to use.
Why aren’t there more schools using technology like Scroggs? I think with technology advancing everyday, more and more schools will be implementing the use of these programs. I think the promoting of technology teaches and encourages students to utilize the resources provided.

Journal 7: Mapping

I chose to look into the tool “mapping”. Mapping is using a search engine that provides maps and pictures of earth that can be used to assist in an assignment or learning of some sort. When I first read mapping as a tool, I thought there were very few uses for internet maps in a classroom. While reading in the classroom 2.0 discussions about mapping as a tool in the classroom, I learned some very interesting ideas and learned that these maps are actually very helpful and beneficial in a classroom. One of the threads I read discussed the use of Google Maps to assist in a postcard exchange project where anyone can add to the class’s created map of important landmarks, locations, and/or unique aspects of various states. This allows students to use Google maps to learn more about the world around them. It would be a great assignment/project for a geography class or even an English/language arts class. Another thread I read discussed the use of mapping as a project where they are able to add postmarks and personalize the maps with text and colors. This allows students to use their creativity in a project while learning the maps of specific parts of the world. Mapping is a great tool for classroom projects and seems to be very popular based on the blogs posted by many teachers. If anyone is looking for more information about mapping, this website provided much information and ideas: http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=maps

Journal 6

1. I enjoyed learning how to use the iMovie and the inspiration programs. The inspiration program was very simple and seemed useful in many ways. I could see the program being useful in the classroom. I think students would love the program because of the creativity involved. The iMovie was surprisingly easy. It usually takes me a long time to catch on to new things, but I found the program very easy and surprisingly fun.

2. The inspiration program could be used in many ways. As a prospective English teacher, I think it would be extremely useful in analyzing characters and themes in stories. It would be a fun activity for a literature assignment or even simply brainstorming. The iMovie program would be helpful in engaging students in certain subjects. As a class, we could create a video, edit and post it for a learning activity as well as for showing parents the interactive activities that take place in the classroom.

3. I did not use Atomic Learning, however it seemed to be a very helpful resource. I'm the type of person who needs to figure it out for myself or have someone show me. That is the only way I would learn. The programs were simple enough to figure it out without the help of Atomic Learning.

Inspiration