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= What's New in Educational Technology  =

Computers in Education 3412-2
Cait Deutschman and Suzanne Jokela

TPACK
(Cait Deutschman)

TPACK stands for the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. It highlights some of the aspects of technology that teachers should be able to integrate into a classroom. It focuses on the three main forms of knowledge: content, pedagogy, and technology. Each part of that knowledge is integrated into the technology aspect. This creates three separate integrations, pedagogical content knowledge, technological content knowledge, and technological pedagogical knowledge. All of which will create a well rounded teacher. I will try and implement this into my future classroom. The first step has all ready been taken in taking Computers in Education. I will implement things like the smart board into my classroom to broaden my student’s horizons and use the internet and technology to create deeper thinkers. Technology helps you reach people and ideas from all over the world. I think something like having students create a wiki page could implement a whole new way to think about cooperative learning. Technology will be used to learn to work together. []



Digital Divide
(Cait Deutschman)

The “Digital Divide” refers to the gap between those who can benefit from technology and those who cannot. The digital divide can occur for several reasons. For example, the divide between older generations and new generations. The older population didn’t grow up with things like computers in the home, cell phones in every pocket, and facebook and twitter being daily entertainment. The new generation grew up right with technology. The gap could also be due to social economical status, gender issues, or infrastructure. One way the digital divide can be avoided will be by implementing technology into the classroom. By the time I am a teacher my students will probably have an even greater understanding of technology than I have. I can avoid the divide but integrating technology into the educational setting. The digital divide could be bridged by using technology with my future collages as well. We could use technology to email each other, blog with one another, or facebook one another to get to know each other better and work better together. []

X0-1 Laptop
(Cait Deutschman) The XO-1 laptop can also be referred to as the $100 laptop. It is an inexpensive laptop that is distributed to developing countries around the world. The XO-1 is given to the schools and are intended to provide the children with access to the knowledge that technology brings them. The computers use things like flash memory instead of hard drive, a pre-installed operating system, and ROM backup. They also have access to the Internet. It is durable, unique, functional, and energy-efficient. The main goal of the X0-1 is to help the children collaborate and get exposed to technology. It is amazing because it helps children who don’t have access to adequate education benefits such as technology, get access to it. The students that I teach will probably grow up with at least some access to technology. They are lucky enough that they won't need something like the X0-1 because they will all ready have the exposer. I will always try an implement technology into the classroom, like using resources found online or smartboards. I will try and find a way to connect my classroom to the other children around the world to broaden their minds. []



Grolier Online Encyclopedia (Suzanne Jokela)

Grolier Online is a web-based encyclopedia that educators and students can used to access information about science, history, geography and current events. One of the benefits of using an online encyclopedia is that the information can be updated frequently. For example, if a student wants to do a report on Moscow, he or she is able to access the latest political developments and pop culture trends, as opposed to my experience in school where many books and maps available still displayed the USSR. Additionally, Grolier has an option for students to compare countries side-by-side, which is much more time consuming with print encyclopedias. Grolier also has a Spanish-language encyclopedia, which could be very for students whose first language is Spanish to get started on research for a report.

Schools must pay for access to the encyclopedia, so those who must determine how to use a school’s technology budget must take the cost of accessing the website, versus frequently updating print encyclopedias for the library, or making use of other online sources into consideration.

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= Cloud Computing =

(Suzanne Jokela)

The term "Cloud Computing" describes the network of services that are now available to computer users online. Instead of purchasing software at a store and installing it on their computers, users can access the services and programs online, and now much of the average computer user's work can be done and stored online. Google Docs, as discussed later in this wiki, is a form of cloud computing. Users can create, edit an share documents through Google Docs without sending attachments to multiple users' computers. Since Cloud Computing covers may programs and services, it is difficult to adequately summarize the benefits it has for schools, but the main benefit is that there is now a multitude of free services and programs available to schools, and online editing and sharing of documents can help save space on school computers and simplify group work for students and teachers. media type="file" key="CloudComp.mp4" align="center" width="300" height="300"

[|More on Cloud Computing]  ﻿     

= Wikis =

(Suzanne Jokela)  Wikis are webpages that can be easily edited by multiple users. [|Wikispaces.com], which we are using for this paper is a popular platform for users to begin developing a wiki page. One of the most popular uses has been Wikipedia.org, an online encyclopedia edited by people all over the world. Wikis can be used in place of sending out group emails when trying to coordinate a program or event. Wikis are also great for collaborative work in the classroom or the workplace. Since most wikis are public, users should understand that they can be edited by anyone, which can leave work vulnerable to inaccuracies or sabotage. Some websites provide the option of hosting a private wiki. Besides being good for group projects, wikis are a good starting point for students to learn about online work and publishing.

media type="file" key="wikisinenglish.mp4" width="330" height="330" align="center"

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Rubistar for Teachers
(Cait Deutschman)

Rubistar is a tool that teachers can use to create unique rubrics for different types of assignments in the classroom. It covers everything from multimedia presentations, plays, math assignments, and English papers. It is especially useful for project-based learning activities. It allows the teacher to make exemplary rubrics in a short amount of time. They are also extremely effective and helpful. There is also access to new ideas to try in the classroom and project ideas. I will implement this into my classroom if I ever want a creative, useful rubric. It will also be wonderful if I haven’t written a rubric and need one in a short amount of time. I know that the rubric from this site will only benefit my students and will never hinder them. []



= Clip Nabber  =

(Cait Deutschman)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Clipnabber is a very useful tool. It is fun and easy to use as well. You begin by finding the video you wish to download, have, or watch. For example, lets say you want to watch your favorite video on youtube. All you have to do is copy the URL of the video, then go to clipnabber.com and paste the URL in. After that click on the button that says "Nab Video" and it will download the link and you are then able to save it. It is easy to use and it makes watching videos convenient, even for someone who is not good with computers. I will impliment something like clipnabber into my classroom if there are videos online that I would like to show my class but can't access those websites at school. This way they would be saved on my computer and there would be access to them anytime I wanted.

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Google Docs- Word Processor
(Cait Deutschman) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Google docs are a fantastic way to connect with people and work. The word processor portion of this allows people to work on a word proccessing document, edit in it, write in it, and save your work in a variety of different forms. This is a great way to colaborate with teams when you are in a different location yet still work in real-time. Documents can then be tagged and shared with others in a work place or a classroom situation. All of the google docs, including the word proccessor are free. This would be a fantastic school to impliment into a classroom someday. I would use this if I wanted to assign work to my students but knew that they wouldn't be able to work at the same time. They could work each from home and it would also allow me as a teacher to see who made the edits. I think this would be a great application to use and it is more exciting for the students than something like microsoft word. []

Google Docs- Spreadsheets
(Cait Deutschman)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Google Docs also offer the use of spreadsheets. You can create and share these spreadsheets online. Google spreadsheets are a fantastic way to track budgets, create documentation, make financial calculations, track data, and learn collaboration. This doc has so many interesting tools. You can invite others to look at your spreadsheets and you can store your files online and your computer. It allows others to make edits as well. You can also publish these documents to as many or as few people as you want. I would impliment this type of google doc when I wanted to get students to work together and share their work. I think this is a good lesson for them to learn because in their future careers and life they will need to learn how to work with others. I think they would benefit because they not only would learn the pratical side of spreadsheets but also the people skills of working together. [] = = = <span style="color: #420542; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Google Docs- Presentation =

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Suzanne Jokela)

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Google Docs Presentation allows users to create and share slide show presentations online. One of of the greatest benefits of Presentation is that someone can travel to a conference or a teacher could teach in any classroom where internet is available and access the same presentation. Many people have seen ill-fated presentations where the speaker can't figure out how to get to the file he or she created on a different system, or the formatting has been changed in a way that he or she did not want. Since the Presentation file is stored online, it should be the same on every computer. If someone wants to save the presentation as a PowerPoint file, there is an option that allows the user to do this. Google Docs Presentation, or programs like it, could become indispensable in the classroom. Teachers can save the presentations they worked so hard to perfect online, so if their computer crashes, all of their lessons do not have to be lost. Additionally, lessons can be shared with students who were sick, or who need to study before an exam. Students can use this program to build a presentation together, without worrying about copying and pasting slides from each other's individual files. This can prevent the need for one student to do all the work on a slideshow, and ensures that the formatting will stay the same for all students on the same project. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[] = <span style="color: #420542; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Google Docs- Forms = <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Suzanne Jokela)  Google Docs Forms is a tool for developing surveys and automatically collecting data, which is filed in a spreadsheet. This saves the user a vast amount of time when compared to sending out paper surveys and manually recording the results. Forms allows a number of options for survey responses that range from short and paragraph answers to multiple choice or numerical answers. Google Docs Forms could be used in the classroom for formal or informal course evaluations. Additionally, it could be a powerful tool for statistics and other math students in learning how to develop a survey and analyze data. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[]