Wednesday, February 9, 2011

What is a Wiki?  Sharp(2009) defines a Wiki as a website that allows the user to view, edit, and add information.  Wikis can be used in online education for interaction and collaboration between learners.  Wikis are an ideal tool for allowing learners that may not meet face to face to collaborate on a group project.  Group projects require students to come together and delegate different responsibilities for the project amongst themselves.  The students could list all of the different assignments that need to be completed in the Wiki, and then each individual student can log in to the Wiki and edit the page to show what part of the project they will work.  Students can then complete their portion of the project and upload it onto the Wiki page for others to discuss and make changes.  Feel free to go to here and start your own Wiki.

Sharp, V. (2009). Computer education for teachers: Integrating technology into

            classroom teaching (6^th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Most people are familiar with the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words".  This is so very true in education.  With the ease and availability of digital cameras and cell phone cameras, there is no reason not to include pictures when teaching a concept or lesson.  During my tenure as a math teacher, it was always a struggle to present the idea of solving equations to my students.  Some students did not seem to grasp the idea that when solving an equation, they must perform the same computations on both sides of the equal sign to keep the equation balanced.  It seemed that no matter how many example problems we worked, some students still could not master the concept.  When I introduced a picture into the lesson, I could see the idea become clear in some of the students that were struggling.  It seems the picture was able to add the finishing touch on my many words in the lesson.

Monday, February 7, 2011

The flu season is upon us.  Inevitably, many students will miss important lessons in the classroom due to sickness.  Teachers can take steps to help the students who are absent.  Many teachers simply send home the assignments that the students have missed for the students to complete on their own.  There is a better way.  Teachers can create a Podcast that covers the lesson that the students have missed while absent.  A Podcast is an audio broadcast that is formatted for playback in a computer or digital music player (Sharp, 2009)  All that is needed to create a Podcast is a computer, microphone, and simple software for editing.  After the podcast is recorded, the teacher can post the file on a Web page so that the absent students can easily download and listen to the information.  This is just another example of how technology can have a positive impact on education.

Sharp, V. (2009). Computer education for teachers: Integrating technology into

            classroom teaching (6^th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.