Blogs and Wikis

I like the idea of using blogs and wikis in the classroom but have some reservations about it. Blogs can be helpful when doing class assignments and recording data in group projects. It teaches kids about using the computer and internet. My reservations are safety. No matter how much you monitor kids on the internet, accidents can happen. The safety of my students is most important therefore I would hesitate before allowing them to use a class blog. Also, using a class blog could inspire students to create their own blog and there are many predators out there. Blogs can have their educational uses but student's safety must be taken into account. I go back and forth as to whether or not I would allow a class blog to be used in my classroom. A class blog without student access could be good. For example, a class blog could be used to update parents about class progress. Blogs have their benefits but I do not think I would use it is my class for student use but perhaps to communicate with parents about lesson plans and homework.

PDAs

I always thought PDAs were used by people in business and never realized how helpful they could be in the classroom. Teachers can use them to organize lesson plans, bring documents from home to school, and avoid the expensive cost of personal computers. They are an expensive tool but less costly in comparsion to desktops or laptops. Students can also use them to get themselves organized and write down assignments and task manage. Kids with disabilities such as ADHD can use the PDA to organize themselves. Overall, the PDA can be an extremely beneficial tool in the classroom. They do have downsides such as small screen and use of stylus. They also could distract students in the classroom so rules may have to be set as to when PDAs can be used. Overall, PDAs can have a place in the classroom so long as use is appropriate.

Interactive Whiteboards

Today, I posted on the Wiki about interactive whiteboards. I had never heard of them before but they sound really cool. You can project the computer onto the whiteboard and then the students can work on the computer interactively via the whiteboard. This sounds like an extremely beneficial tool. Kids get bored listening to lectures and powerpoints over and over again. With the interactive whiteboard kids can become involved in the lecture and enjoy the subject. This tool is probably very expensive and would be difficult to obtain but if I can use it in my classroom in the future I definitely will. This tool is so cool and hopefully more teachers will hear about it and be able to infuse it into their lessons.

Educational Software

As a future teacher I think that education software is imperative in the classroom. I really enjoyed using it as a child and actually remember a lot of what I learned. I remember using a typing program to learn how to type properly. There were games but it still taught you the benefits of typing properly. Kids are more enthused about learning when they know they are having fun. Alot of kids do not think that school is fun but if we infuse fun yet educational activities kids may enjoy school more. Therefore as a teacher I will use educational software in order to excite my kids about school and allow them to learn what they need to and have fun simultaneously.