Podcast

A podcast is a series of digital media files, usually digital audio or video, that is made available for download via web syndication. These links can be very helpful whether it is for educational purposes or recreation, there are thousands of free podcasts just waiting to be heard (or seen).

http://www.learnoutloud.com/podcaststream/listen.php?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/LitSummaryPodcast&all=1&title=24192

I listened to this podcast for awhile; it was simply a reading of “Great Expectations.” The purpose of this podcast is for people who can not or will not read the classic western books. The advantage of it is that you can listen to it while doing other things such as cleaning or cooking. The narrator is animated enough to captivate the listener’s attention as well, this is a great tool for students who are audio learners. However, some students are visual learners and this podcast would not suit those students because they would understand the text better reading it rather than hearing it.

http://frontrow.bc.edu/program/agresto/

This podcast about the value of democracy and questions whether or not our country has learned from its experiences with Iraq. The speaker has had real life experience in Iraq and is the author of a book about democracy. This is very advantageous for students who are looking for the perspective of an American who volunteered to go to Iraq to help them rebuild. It would be extremely difficult to obtain such an interview in real life, so this podcast provides an excellent account of John T. Agresto’s experiences in Iraq. The disadvantage is that students listening to his story cannot ask questions like those who attended the speech could.

http://www.cod.edu/multimedia/podcast/CODcast/English%202228/6560D23C-A8A6-11DA-9C02-000393BA0D94_files/01%20Lesson01.mp3

This lesson was from the College of DuPage and provides the Shakespeare class lectures via podcast. This is very valuable for online classes or even for students who were unable to attend an on campus session. However, it may allow students to miss class more often than otherwise because the podcast serves as a “back up plan.” It is convenient and certainly practical, but students must take care not to take advantage of this technology for these reasons as well as not being able to ask questions during the lesson.

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/typo3conf/ext/naksci_podcast/xspf/player.php?track=Naked_Scientists_Show_09.03.08.mp3&podcast_type=Normal&playlist=/rss/xspf_playlist.xspf

The Naked Scientist Podcast series is very interesting and informative. It involves a cast of different scientists and researchers covering a variety of subjects from the solar system to smoking data. This is only an audio clip, which can be seen as disadvantageous because a lot of their evidence would be best supported with pictures and/or video clips.

http://education.podcast.com/show/5025/Learn-Spanish-Survival-Guide/
This is a podcast series of Spanish lessons. The greatest thing about it is that it is free, but it also comes with other features such as both Spanish and English speaking. This podcast is a listening quiz, taking advantage of the audio feature so that students can become accustomed to the language. Once again, you can not ask questions during the podcast so it loses the interactive edge of classroom learning.

Future of Technology in the Classroom

The future of technology in the classroom is heavily debated. Will computers continue to be a significant feature in the classroom? Will its appeal fade? Or will it become the central focus of the classroom?

I think that we can all agree that teachers will always play a central role in the classroom. Robots or other forms of technology will never gain control of the classroom because kids need human interaction, motivation and moral support from teachers, not simply a source of information. I think that computers will eventually be used in a cheaper, more transportable way, in a device very much like the iphone which features almost all of the great tools that computers do, in addition to its functions as a cell phone, camera and video recorder. Education is always looking for innovation but not necessarily reinvention. The core curriculum will continue to be taught in the future, however it would be modified especially in the growing field of computer science, business and even history because students will learn about events that are taking place now such as studying the Obama administration. Because technology caters to the student, as more and more advanced software comes out grades will also improve more and more because certain types of learners require a certain type of approach.

Voice Synthesizer

Speech synthesis refers to the computer’s ability to duplicate sounds similar to the human voice. The speech synthesizers of today are rudimentary and often difficult to understand, but researchers are constantly improving their quality. Computer speech is a very important development for those who are voice-impaired and this new technology would give those people a voice. This website explains one use of speech synthesis in the classroom. For readers who are just beginning it is sometimes difficult for them to grasp key vocabulary terms. With the assistance of speech synthesis these students can get extra practice and audio recognition for the vocabulary words they struggle with. In this way teachers can devote their time to other lessons while the students can practice on their own.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/e436q1186073051p/

Speech synthesis technology can be used to assist students with who are deaf or cannot speak by giving them a voice to do so. Because students with these disabilities have difficulty with communicating with others and sharing specific emotions or feelings, this new technology would allow those thoughts that could otherwise be overlooked or miscommunicated to be heard, giving them an efficient way to express themselves. This technology also allows students in need of the speech synthesizer to be more independent and self confident. The synthesizer would be useful in any classroom for students and teachers to ensure that they are understanding each other during the lesson.

Autism and Second Life

I am doing research about Autism for my Exceptional Child class and thought this was really interesting. It's not a long video, and demonstrates a completely relevant and educational way to use second life for people with autism or anyone who struggles with social interaction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmTXGQ2BhUA&feature=related

Second Life

How could you use this tool in an instructional setting [K-12 classroom]? What instructional strategy or strategies would be applied in your use of 2nd Life in the classroom?

Second Life is a very complex program. Even when I went to Brookens Media Lab to try it out it went incredibly slow. I was there for approximately two hours trying to figure out this new virtual world. After 30 minutes of walking my avatar around I figured out how to customize myself (that took about 45 minutes) and talked a little with other newbs (first timers). It was a confusing program for me, maybe because it was running so slowly but I felt like I made absolutely no progress in my two hours. I may go back and try it again and add to this post, but I just didn't get a lot out of it.

I suppose, if the classroom was equipped with computers that had little or no memory on them and a very advanced, high speed internet Second Life could be used in an instructive way. Today I used SL again and found it running a lot faster and I saw the potential for the program. As you mentioned in class, we could construct virtual classrooms and post information in places in SL itself. Like an online classroom we could communicate and view technology resources in cyberspace. This allows students to learn in a world with no limits, where they can feel comfortable with their appearance (since they decide what they look like) and provide a learning environment where the sky is the limit. People all around the world could visit the class and offer their own ideas and perspectives to the discussion.

UIS Technology Policy

Research on the UIS website current AUP privacy laws governing electronic communication at: http://www.uis.edu/its/about/policies.html Blog at least 200 of your words discussing the following questions: What is UIS Information Technology policy on the acceptable use of passwords? Downloading music or movies? Virus protection? Spyware? E-mail responding? Email distribution lists? UIS technology resources? Computer labs?

The rules for Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources consist of many guidelines and pretty much speak for themselves. I’ve added a few examples and further explanation of the general policies.
• Using campus technology for personal gain or any violations to University technology conduct.
For example, printing homework without paying for it.
• Using accounts not belonging to the student.
Hacking into accounts or knowingly using someone else’s account is against university policy. University personnel may have access to highly confidential information that can only be seen by certain employees.
• Using computers to send violent messages. Online threats are very serious and are not jokes.
Offensive websites are prohibited when using campus facilities.
• Using the resources for activities not directly related to academics.
Chatting or playing games can be very distracting during class or even in a computer lab.
• Installing or using unauthorized copyrighted materials or licensed software.
• Using computing resources to interfere with the normal operation of university computing systems.
Also downloading music and/or movies is strictly prohibited as those actions are illegal and students who abuse this policy may face prosecution for breaking the law as well as university discipline.
Email distribution lists also have guidelines and individuals using them must be aware of the consequences of misuse. They must follow standard procedure ensuring that they are only to be used for relevant matters, they must pertain to all persons mentioned in the email and should never be used for private matters.

The purpose of the Computer labs is for academic use only. Due to necessary precautions with available technology, food, beverages, children or pets are allowed in the labs. Users must speak at a reasonable level as not to distract fellow students/faculty. Also, lab workers are allowed to check up and see the work being done to make sure that all the rules are followed.
• Your computer must have a UIS domain.
• You must have a network ID to use personal and public computers.
• Each computer must have installed on it and use the latest version of McAfee.
• Do not interfere or block anti-virus updates.
• Connecting game consoles is permitted.

Post 2

With the constant updating of technology there are always problems and confusion between teachers and students regarding it. Students have different versions of Microsoft Word, making it impossible for them to open certain documents (unless they convert them). Beyond the differences in technology versions available, teachers can anticipate having problems with students misusing the internet. Most inappropriate websites are blocked by the schools, but there are ways to get around those blocks, and in this age students are able to do a lot of things that past generations were not. Even beyond the inappropriate sites, just generally surfing the internet during a class is a constant problem for teachers who instantly lose the attention of their pupils. Rules must be enforced to limit these instances.

Teachers also have their own problems with technology. From my own experiences I have seen countless teachers prepare a lesson with a website, PowerPoint or video and have seen that technology fail to work. This is crucial to the lesson plan because often teachers are not equipped with a back up and an entire class could potentially be wasted. While these things aid teachers in the classroom they are not essential to teaching. Technology can always have problems, but I think it should be used just the same because it often makes assignments more exciting and allows students to do more with all of the different programs that are now available.

Technology for Teaching Post 1

Technology Journal Blog 1: In 200 words or more, describe what issues you expect to be addressed in this course in consideration of teacher or student use of technology and media. In other words, what are you expecting to learn in a course entitled Technology for Teaching?

It is commonly thought that teachers' understanding of technology is behind the knowledge of their students. Classes such as Technology for Teaching are meant to inform teachers on effective ways to use technology and teach skills relating specifically to subject matter to enhance learning capabilities in their pupils. I expect that the purpose of this class is also to encourage lifelong learning in teaching through technology, keeping up with advancements in an attempt to teach students with the very best technology. The resources that my school used as I grew up have changed significantly. From Oregon Trail on Apple computers to cds with math concepts/games to Microsoft word, excel, power points, and making our own videos, education has made enormous strides to improve the way students learn through resources such as these. I have not taken a computer class since high school so I expect at least a few challenges and surprises along the way. However, I use technology very frequently in my everyday life so I feel that I may have some skills that will relate to this class. For example, I was selected to be a UIS Blogger last year and since have become very familiar with the site. I'm excited that we have this opportunity to use technology to creatively express ourselves while accomplishing the goals of the class.