What is a simulation?

While I was reading the assigned chapters to read, I came across a word I was familiar with but I could not figure out its relation with education. This word was simulation. The meaning I found for simulation is imitation of some real thing, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviors of a selected physical or abstract system.

I was familiar with use the use of simulation in video games, not in education. While I pondered on how it has relations to education. I came to realize that it can help with education to provide students with simulations to solve a math problem. This will help the students a lot and make them be interactive with the software.

E-Portfolio's

As we embark further into our educational path, new programs are being thrown at us. These programs can help us in numerous ways. One that I came across is E-Portfolio. E-Portfolio can be used for applications, transition, learning, teaching and assessment, and personal development planning (PDP). When you apply for a job e-portfolio can provide evidence in support for a job or admission to further your study, for transition it can provide a richer and more immediate picture of learners’ achievement. As for learning, teaching and assessment e-portfolio’s supports the process of learning through reflection, discussion and formative assessment; which provides evidence for summative assessment. Also, e-portfolio helps in personal development planning (PDP) by supporting and evidencing the pursuit and achievement of personal or professional competences.

New Era, New Technologies!

My how long have we come from when they was using telegraph to send messages. Now we have different devices to send our messages and they reach the next party within seconds. It is amazing to see how technology has enhanced right in front our eyes.

Now technology can even detect when a student has plagiarized in his/her papers. Growing up you was afraid of your teacher checking your sources to see if you plagiarized. Today there is no need for that at all; they have various websites to check such information. Fascinated!

Other than that technology is beneficial to everyone in different ways. It can work for teachers with online grade books. Technology is not what it once was before; it has opened many gateways for a lot of people.

How Do We Make A Technology-Integrated Lesson Plan?

With many students today being technology driven, how can a classroom teacher develop a technology integrated lesson plan that will engage the students? This is a question that maybe in a lot of existing teachers, especially the ones who have been teaching for a number of years. The ones that never touch a computer is foreign “technology”. With formulating a technology integrated there is 3 essential elements that they should keep in mind and they are: objective, procedure, and evaluation.
The objective is what the students will do as result of the lesson. The procedure is what a teacher will do to make the students get there. Finally the evaluation is how the teacher will see if the lesson was effectively taught to the students. Also the lesson plan should have a format that you follow so it can be cohesive. The seven steps in which the lesson plan should follow is an anticipatory set, statement of objectives, instructional input, modeling, and check for understanding, guided practice and independent practice.

What is a web quest?

Before taking Education 350, I did not know what a web quest was or even heard of it much less. Now coming across what a web quest is, I am glad that I am embarking on it in this class.

Taken from Teachersfirst.com, a webquest is "an assignment which asks students to use the World Wide Web to learn about and/or synthesize their knowledge a specific topic".

I believe incorporating web quest into the classroom is a good idea for students to explore the web in a different manner rather than for games or free time. They are surfing the web to further their knowledge on the given topic. This also enhances their mind and open up a gateway to learn outside of the classroom.

Games & Virtual Environment

Many people may wonder how playing a game can be educational for a student’s well being. But it actually can. Students may learn problem solving, how to interact, be adaptive, and how to follow rules. Those were some of the characteristics of a computer game and how they can reflect on students. Some characteristics that contribute to players engagement is the motivational skill one will acquire to complete a level, sparks activity, ego gratification, and they learn while playing.

Some education games may include solving problems, scoring points, solving mysteries, guessing words, enduring iterations, solving puzzles and handling sophisticated problem-solving. With these entire things students can learn from education games and many more can enhance their burst for knowledge.

Virtual reality (such as the game, The Sims) has the potential for supporting effective, educational, content-based learning environment. Players are given the opportunity to learn how to raise a baby straight through adult life through the stimulation of a game. Giving them the chances to feed, shelter, pays bills and maintain a job in a real life structure, but it is just a game. As to our future of applying gaming in education will continue to grow and become an integral part of everyday classroom tools.

Which theory is based in our Technology in Education class?

In my Technology in Education class we use blogging, email, online chatting, blackboard and wiki to communicate with one another on a daily basis. From the readings I have done it has occurred to me that Dr. Dong uses Scaffolding in our class.

Scaffolding means the teacher helps the student master a task or concept that the student is initially unable to grasp independently. The teacher offers assistance with only those skills that are beyond the student’s capability.

 
The use of technology within this class is extremely good. Reason being is that we can contact one another through various forms of social networking. Such as our weekly blog, online office hours via blackboard, emailing one another and our blackboard discussions. Thanks to the numerous technologies we have in this class it plays a major role in communicating effectively.

Technology & Education

Should technology be used in education? Yes, who would not say yes. Having the latest technology in your class is like having the latest fashion trends. According to the text, with most recent meta-analysis suggested that students who used technology in the classroom has the modest positive gains in learning versus students who did not learn using technology. The usage of technology reaches out to student in English, math, science, social studies and even students with special needs. How cool is that to have lessons that teaches all of the mentioned subjects and have students fully understand the material.

With the usage of technology in the classroom students practice basic skills better and faster, engage students, higher level of comprehensions, they are motivated, and also reach higher levels of esteem. I would like to speak upon the issue of engaging students, how many times have we heard our children come home and say that teacher was boring. So if the lessons are based with technology they would be fully engage because they incorporating with the lesson of the day. So say goodbye to the old form of teacher and say HELLO TO THE WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY.

Social Networking, Yay or Nay.

As we all are familiar with social networking. It may have it's pros and cons. I am a fan of social networks, I am on numerous different ones. So many I cannot keep count. But do we want to incorporate these social network into our classrooms? I say yes, many students may love to be on facebook or myspace and getting their homework done while communicating with other classmates. A question that arise is, how safe are the social networking for students? Social networking is safe for students the reason being is as a teacher you can be able to have limitations on what exactly a student may see or do. Like the social network we use in our Computers in Education class. We are limited to as to what we can do on the site. For example, we cannot go and change any of the assignments, rubric, announcements etc. All we can do is provide comments and everyone can read it and make comments if needed. Just like in the text it stated, "social networking is growing very rapidly in popularity." We demand them and we get them for free of cost.

How can teachers use social networking in the classroom?
Teachers can use social networking in the classroom for a lot of different reasons. Some may include studying geography with Google earth, use of video streaming bring the field trips into the classrooms, or even the newest one twitter. On twitter the teacher can provides links for lesson plans or any important information with 140 characters or less. All of these and more can be ways for teachers to use social networking in classrooms. The teacher will have to be aware of sexual assault, invasion of privacy and cyber-bullying from occurring. To make students aware on how to use social networks for what they are intended to do. Parents, teachers, and schools should host student awareness discussions mentioned in the text to fully educate students on social networking.

Technology in Our Classrooms

From when I was a little boy growing up computers was always my specialty. To look back at that specific time in my life when computers expand my mind just from books was like walking into a candy store; but this candy store had different gateways. As that was my first computer name. Learning all the cool tricks a computer can do made me love technology even more.

Enhancing our children's methods of learning today with the use of technology will be very beneficial to their futures. Today's generation is technologically driven, so what better way is there to incorporate teaching with technology. Now, a lot of children are aware on how to functionally use a computer. It wouldn't a challenge for them to grasp the concept of a lesson through the use of technology.