Kidspiration/Inspiration

I was recently introduced to Kidspiration and Inspiration in my Ed Tech class. I chose to use Kidspiration for a class project and found it to be a very fun and interesting tool to use as a future teacher. Kidspiration allows for interaction with your class and students. Kidspiration allows teachers and their students to explore numbers, concepts, words and so much more! Kidspiration also has an application that allows you to include real life and cartoon-like pictures to explain specific things to your class. I would suggest Kidspiration for grades Pre-K through second or third grade.
Inspiration on the other hand is geared towards older elementary through high school classes. I don't have as much knowledge on this application but I know it is very similar to Kidspiration in that it teaches and shows students ways to better understand words, concepts, numbers and more. Like Kidspiration, Inspiration can be made into worksheets to hand out in class and also be able to show on an overhead as well.

I think both of these applications would be great additions in any classroom as an additional learning tool for diverse learners.







Link: http://www.inspiration.com/kidspiration

Photos from Google Images.

Assistive Technology

Assistive technology is awesome, but not every school or child has access to such things. Assistive technology can include various things such as wheelchairs, voice activated software and customized laptops. Each of the things I mentioned may be very unimportant to so called "normal people" but for those with disabilities or special needs, assistive technology is their world. It helps them talk to others, do their homework, play an instrument, etc. Assistive technology is a great tool to include in education when needed. Assisitive technology can help support independence in elementary and middle school classrooms as well as in high school and college. Assistive technology can help those with special needs feel more like their classmates and teachers.

I have personally experienced assistive technology as I worked with a 9 year old named Ashly who was born with cerebral palsy as a baby and wheelchair bound. At the time, Ashly had her own specialized keyboard that she used to communicate with her friends and teachers at both daycare and school as well as her parents at home. Without her keyboard, Ashly would have very little ways to communicate with others. Ashly's keyboard made her life easier and better. As a teenager now, Ashly no longer uses her keyboard as much as she once did. But her keyboard helped her get to where she is today.

I hope that one day when I have a classroom and if I have any children who need assistive technology, the school district I work for will help those students and their families to get what they need to do well in school and strive.

Link: http://www.pluk.org/AT1.html

Photo from Google Images.

Smart Boards

I had never heard of SMART Boards until one of my first days in Education Technology and Design. SMART Boards are interactive whiteboards that offer great image quality, a precise touch experience and a large interactive surface for teaching and learning. Unlike normal projectors hung from the walls or ceiling, SMART Boards create virtually no shadows or glares which reduces unwanted distractions. This system can even be powered up in 10 seconds! An extended control panel is offered as well so that teachers are able to move around and be able to switch screens instead of standing right next to the SMART Board. SMART Boards allow up to 5 different video sources to be connected to it at once. A second computer, MP3 player and more can also be connected to a SMART Board. Doesn't this new technology sound great to you? It does to me! I am hopeful that one day I will be in a classroom that has the SMART Board technology installed and ready for me to use with my students!
I think a SMART Board would be a great edition to ANY classroom in ANY sort of educational place from a kindergarten classroom to a college class. I think that a SMART Board would help not only the teacher out by providing a bigger, more spacious area to show things to their students but it would also help students learn. SMART Boards could help students, especially visual learners as the SMART Board is large and hard to miss when sitting in a classroom full of distractions. It would almost make it easier to concentrate.

Link: http://downloads01.smarttech.com/media/flash/classroomtour/index.html

Photo from Google Images.

Twitter in education?

I believe that Twitter is a new technology that should be tried in classrooms. I think that Twitter cannot just be used in just any classroom though, I believe Twitter should be tried in higher education such as colleges. I think that Twitter would be very useful in some classes when teachers are sick often or need to update their students on important information such as due dates on projects or tests. Twitter can help professors easily connect with their students on a daily basis. I know this because as a Facebook user I check Facebook easily 3 times a day and if professors used Facebook I would definitely check their updates when I logged onto my Facebook account. Students could set up their Twitter account so that their professor can only see so much of their accounts and same with professors if they don't want specific things seen by their students such as personal stuff or information for other classes since most professors usually teach more than one class.
Specific groups could be made on Twitter that apply to professors and their specific classes that can be accessed by not only the professor but by the students as well to keep updated on class information and changes. I think including Twitter in college syllabuses in the future would be a great idea and probably have a lot of success! Twitter may also be introduced into elementary, middle and high school classes as well in the near future as students today are becoming more and more familiar with technology.

hyperlink: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_one_teacher_uses_twitter_in_the_classroom.php

Video from YouTube.
Photo from Google Images.

My 1st post

Hello everyone this is my 1st post in my blog site. I go to school at UNI.