summer2010

Back to Start Page _ media type="youtube" key="eUyLwXhqlWU?fs=1" height="385" width="640" And for my final contribution to the wiki, I leave you with a Charlie Brown video. Enjoy. – J. Angel Lara _ media type="youtube" key="W0fJKvdjQgs?fs=1" height="385" width="480" Are you a Teacher? Or, an Educator? -J. Angel Lara _ media type="youtube" key="0U05WeXPGlk?fs=1" height="385" width="640" The following is a short video highlighting some of the few benefits of smart boards. Enjoy. -J. Angel Lara _ The following link helps with the design of a school technology plan. I found this to be helpful as I did my technology plan assignment. [] J. Angel Lara _ Here is a link to a website created by MIT, designed to help high school teachers and students on core subjects. [] J. Angel Lara _ Here is a link to a website designed as a technology aide for teachers. Enjoy. [] J. Angel Lara _ For those of you who will be writing grants, here is some helpful tips. [] - J. Angel Lara

Local news regarding a school within the metroplex that is going to replace books with laptops. - []

- J. Angel Lara   FYI. President Obama officially signed a $26B stimulus package that will provide $430 million to Minnesota to assist with their Medicaid patients and educators. http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/100400499.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUg7Kk8P3iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUs - J. Angel Lara Refreshing ideas, if not video itself! (see video below) --Rebekah media type="youtube" key="hbYlbLshEAI" height="385" width="480" Online storybooks for little people... [] -Rebekah But wait! There's more! This site (to my surprise) also teashes young learners numbers, shapes, colors, and more. It is perfect for little language learners... http://literacycenter.net/parents_teacher/color_center.php --Rebekah This interactive site for prekindergarten students teaches manipulation of letters and sounds in French, German, English, and Spanish. [] -Rebekah Here is an article from the European education database, Eurydice, describing elements of Online Safety (Media Literacy) that are included in the instruction in various countries in Europe. As you can see, some countries are advanced in their safety instruction and some have yet to begin. [] -Rebekah media type="youtube" key="2-PT3vEjw5g" height="385" width="480" This video poses some good questions. Carter English media type="youtube" key="8q2pgreugWg" height="385" width="480" Another great video for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy. - J. Angel Lara * Here is a link to an article titled, Technology: A Catalyst for Teaching and Learning in the Classroom //by Gilbert Valdez, Ph.D. ////([]) // //I particularly liked the following paragraph found under the Overview: // “Technology can actually assist with some of these expectations and make teachers—and their students—more successful. However, as the world becomes more complex—virtually year-to-year instead of the generation-to-generation pace of most of the last century—educational needs continue to shift from teaching and learning isolated skills and information within each content area, to teaching skills that enable students to solve complex problems across many areas. Educators must prepare for a technology-rich future and keep up with change by adopting effective strategies that infuse lessons with appropriate technologies. This makes authentic assessment needs even more important: Assessments must keep pace with effective instructional technology use. All this while educators at every level, but teachers especially, actively pursue professional development that enables a lifelong exploration of ways to enhance the teaching and learning of science and mathematics and support science and mathematics education reform.” – Dr. G. Valdez - J. Angel Lara * The link below is to an article about 1:1 learning. I found it interesting because one of the reasons he gives for why 1:1 learning is so difficult is that school leaders don't measure for the resources needed to maintain the operation of new techonology. Our district is coming up on that problem right now. NSmall [|1:1 Learning] media type="youtube" key="Fnh9q_cQcUE" height="385" width="480" This video is great! It basically sums up the reason why we need to use and teach technology in our classrooms. It also emphasizes the need for the U.S. to produce educated citizens because the next generation will be competing in a much larger global market. On a side note: I like the way the music transitions with the pictures. Enjoy.

– Jose Angel Lara media type="youtube" key="-Ir4-EFVhzI" height="385" width="480" Here is another great video (above) regarding technology in the classroom. My favorite part is the opening slide which quotes: “Any teacher that can be replaced by technology deserves to be.” – by David Thornburg. Enjoy.

– Jose Angel Lara media type="youtube" key="DS8IsLqJ22o" height="385" width="480" This video, which is more of a marketing video, highlights how education has changed due to technology and the need for integrating technology in the classroom. I specifically liked the comment that stated technology is no longer a tool for enrichment, but now it is essential for students to learn. Enjoy. – Jose Angel Lara  media type="youtube" key="l72UFXqa8ZU" height="385" width="640" I've heard a lot about 21st century skills being taught in the classroom over the course of this summer. I thought this was an interesting video. Carter English

Thought I would share an article published by the National Cyper Security Alliance regarding children and internet safety. In summary, parents monitor their children’s internet activity on their desktops and laptops, but seldom do they monitor their internet activity done on cell phones. [] Jose Angel Lara

media type="youtube" key="CM5LB3DsrzM" height="385" width="480" Above is a video that aired on an Ohio news station on 6-15-09 about internet safety and kids. -Laura Holliday- __ **media type="youtube" key="RQcMKBgDAdw" height="385" width="480"Lindsay L.** __

__ **Cell Phones: Friend or Foe?** __ The use of cell phones in the classroom by students has become an increasing problem over the years. With the advancement of technology and competing markets, cell phones have become more high-tech and affordable. So the debate remains: Do we or do we not allow cell phones in our classrooms? If students are going to bring them into our classrooms, why not put them to good use and utilize them as a learning aid? The following article discusses a new application that does just that.

How do you feel about this new application? Do you see any problems? Are there any benefits?

<span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6727431.html

<span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">J. Angel Lara

=<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; margin: auto 0in;">* = // The Running of the Bulls //

[WARNING: The content of this video may cause giggles, chuckles, uncontrollable laughter, watery eyes, and the urge to share with others. If you do not experience any of these symptoms, please contact your physician and request a sense of humor.]

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This is our second video contribution, titled //The Running of the Bulls//. **__Starring__** Damsel in Distress: Rebekah Hunt Bull: Jonathan Tejera Narrator: Jose Angel Lara Director: Paula Rodriquez

(Wiki contribution by J. Angel Lara and Rebekah Hunt)

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Technological advancements have done wonders in improving the field of education by simply bringing the outside world into our classrooms through the use of videos and pictures. As part of our contribution to Dr. Berning’s Wiki, Rebekah Hunt and I would like to share two short videos that we filmed in Madrid, Spain during our study abroad program this summer with BEEP 5366. Enjoy. (J. Angel Lara and Rebekah Hunt)

My family is preparing to make the switch. We're going iPhone. I'm not particularly excited about it, but my fiancée and mother are both ecstatic. Doing some looking around online I found this article about the relationship between Apple and AT&T and how it all revolves around the iPhone. There is too much data for AT&T to keep up and this is Apple's premier product line. If you're an Apple person or an iPhone person or an AT&T customer, this article is well worth a few minutes of your time. Check out the following link: [] --Bear

'Adolescent Computer Use and Academic Achievement" by Sawyer A. Hunley, James H. Evans, Maria Delgado-Hachey, Judy Krise, Tammy Rich, and Connie Schell. Is an interesting article about the correlation between students use of a computer at home and their grade point averages. -Laura Holliday- http://libproxy.uta.edu:2067/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=12&sid=be41e5f1-d9c4-4b4c-91af-35fc911e2883%40sessionmgr12

"Blending Learning in a Web 2.0 World" by Gary Motteram and Pete Sharma. This article is from the International Journal of Emerging Technologies & Society. Vol. 7, No. 2, 2009, pp: 83 – 96. It discusses how web 2.0 technologies can benefit language learners. All the articles I've posted you need to use your UTA username and password to get into EBSCO. -Laura Holliday- http://libproxy.uta.edu:2067/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&hid=12&sid=be41e5f1-d9c4-4b4c-91af-35fc911e2883%40sessionmgr12

Frog and Cyberfrog are Friends: Dissection

Simulation and Animal Advocacy, by Kenneth R. Fleischmann

[] --Rebekah

media type="youtube" key="mhhzSFWKw8w" height="385" width="480" This short features the Technology class offered at the Summer Math & Science Honors (SMASH) Academy. A program of Level Playing Field Institute, SMASH works with high achieving, low-income high-school students of color from the Bay Area who are passionate about math and science. The end of the video features a student-created PSA...very cool. - Robyn R media type="youtube" key="wUHthKiTQ98" height="385" width="640"

Interesting discussion about the conflicting messages parents receive about internet safety and cell phone use among children. - Robyn R.

media type="youtube" key="kUyQI0USNSY" height="351" width="435" Lindsay L.

"Analysis of the supporting websites for the use of instructional games in K-12 settings" by Mansureh Kebritchi, Atsusi Hirumi, Wendi Kappers and Renee Henry analyzes existing instructional games that use technology and survey teachers that use these games on its effectiveness and other qualities. -Laura Holliday- http://libproxy.uta.edu:2066/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=41435975&site=ehost-live

"Visual Literacy and the Content Classroom: A Question of Now, Not When" by E. Sutton Flynt and William Brozo is a short article from the International Reading Association about the importance of visual literacy to our students today and why we need to integrate it into our classrooms. -Laura Holliday- http://libproxy.uta.edu:2066/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=48376529&site=ehost-live

"What Do We Do with These Computers? Reflection on Technology in the Classroom" by Mark Goddard is an article about how computers in the classroom should be used to support the curriculum. -Laura Holliday- http://libproxy.uta.edu:2066/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=8559540&site=ehost-live

media type="youtube" key="_VnHdqpE4RM" height="385" width="480" Reasons we need to teach technology in school. Carter English

media type="youtube" key="6gmP4nk0EOE" height="385" width="480" This is something that's kind of cool about web2.0; it's done by an anthropology guy so it takes a little different approach. Either way, it's really neat. --Bear

media type="youtube" key="6svk_R_rVhA" height="385" width="480" This is awesome! It's a spoof of the popular TV show "The Office" and it's called "The Class." It's about a technology class and all the characters are straight out of the office. It's well worth a few minutes of your time to watch. --Bear

media type="youtube" key="OTrrp2-9gok" height="385" width="480" Check this out - a "Technology Percussion Ensemble"! --Bear



This is a program that we are implementing out my school this year. We are an all girls' school, so we felt that this program would play a beneficial role in brifging the gap between girls and STEM subject matters.

NSmall

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">The PLTW program is designed to serve middle school students of diverse backgrounds, helping them all to become high school, college and career ready, from those already interested in STEM-related fields to those who are more inspired by the application of STEM than they are by traditional math and science courses. PLTW classes are taught in school during the school day, and every PLTW instructor receives extensive training as well as ongoing support in the courses they teach. While the STEM subject matter is rigorous, the approach is never rigid. That’s because the PLTW program provides a flexible curriculum platform, which schools can customize to meet the specific needs of their academic environment. In addition, PLTW schools can tap into the generous support and active involvement of some of America’s leading corporations, philanthropic foundations, and prestigious colleges and universities. Their efforts help ensure that PLTW classrooms have the latest technology, materials and equipment, and that PLTW students are learning themost up-to-date information found in such fields as information technology, engineering design, alternative energy and ecotechnology. They provide assistance with the development and revision of PLTW coursework and, in the case of universities, opportunities for college credit. <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Annual studies and surveys of the PLTW program have shown it to be a launching pad for college and professional careers and a boost for academic performance. PLTW students achieve significantly higher scores in reading, mathematics and science than other career and technical education students. They earn higher GPAs as freshmen in college. And PLTW alumni are studying engineering and technology in greater numbers than the national average, with a higher retention rate in college engineering, science and related programs than non-PLTW students. As the nation’s leading provider of rigorous and innovative STEM education, our vision is to ignite the spark of ingenuity, creativity and imagination within all students. Indeed, by partnering with those in the classroom and boardroom, PLTW is preparing our students to become the most innovative and productive in the world. <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">To find more information about Project Lead The Way and take the first steps on a pathway of imagination, innovation and learning, talk with your teacher, counselor or principal. Or go online and visit our website at www.pltw.org.



As much as I concur with the usage of calculators and computers, I do believe there is value in remembering the grass roots products of our system... NSmall

When I saw this, I just imagined this was the little voice in our students heads that makes them think twice about reading a book....NSmall

"Implementing Partnerships Across the Curriculum with Technology" by Blanche O'Bannon and Sharron Judge. Out of all the journal articles I have read thus far, this one has been the most interesting to me. The article discusses challenges in technology integration as well as how as administrative leaders we can overcome those challenges. -Laura Holliday- http://libproxy.uta.edu:2066/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ690969&site=ehost-live

"Perceived importance and manageability of teachers toward the factors of integrating computer technology into classrooms" by Lih-Juan ChanLin. The title really explains what the research article is about very well. -Laura Holliday http://libproxy.uta.edu:2066/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=24154083&site=ehost-live

This article, "Video Games in Education: Why They Should Be Used and How They Are Being Used" by Leonard Annetta, discusses how and why we should integrate video games into the K-20 (kinder through graduate school) curriculum. -Laura Holliday- http://libproxy.uta.edu:2066/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=32794596&site=ehost-live

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High Tech High mentioned in the "Disrupting Class" book. Carter English

media type="youtube" key="eykEEva14iI" height="385" width="480" This is the new Engineering Research Building that UTA is building. This place is supposed to be a cutting edge research space for engineering students. If you watch the commercial, it's pretty exciting, and it reminds me of some of the things that were talked about in the Christensen book. --Bear

I took my kids to go to see the process of emerging blackhole at the Sky theater, ENV building, UNT past Saturday. While watching, I have been thinking about this course and I strongly agree that animation technology helps learners a lot in understanding complicated process. The show is very impressive. If without it, it becomes hard to understand. This video is another example of the explanation of a mumyfication process. It is little scary, but give a good example of technology in science fields.-Benchamat Laksaniyanon. media type="youtube" key="-MQ5dL9cQX0" height="361" width="456"

media type="youtube" key="pPply3vZVwM" height="385" width="640" Here is a video from an conference that focused on the use of technology in an educational setting. This particular video is one of several sessions from the conference and is approximately 50 minutes long but I wanted to share the first 9 minutes. – J. Angel Lara

media type="youtube" key="9QOcwXkYH6E" height="385" width="480" I found the South Dakota Virtual High School especially interesting, and would like to learn more... --Rebekah

media type="youtube" key="7vBHCdZjnFI" height="385" width="480" Jaws screen reader is an technology designed to provide opportunities for people with disabilities the ability to use the computer to access popular programs. - Greg Johnston

Below is an example of how you can use Remote Response systems in the classroom to get the students involved.-Greg Johnston media type="youtube" key="DaQRHzB-Qwc" height="385" width="480"media type="youtube" key="xw4Ax2AWvpc" height="385" width="640" As an elementary/intermediate level teacher, these Twitter ideas seem pretty feasible. - Robyn

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Old Apple commercial, a good example of disruption?.,..also fun to see how far the industry has come. Lindsay L.

Interesting video on incorporating the Wii into Phys Ed...still curious as to how this might work with 50 students in a gym as opposed to just one. - Robyn media type="youtube" key="Sn_DWrnpjg0" height="385" width="480"

Surely there are things we can learn from where technology has led us and where it will lead us - Leland Morrow **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 22.5pt; letter-spacing: -0.75pt;">Human remote control may spell end for teachers ** <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0.75pt;">By Mike Steere <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0.75pt;">For CNN **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">LONDON, England (CNN) **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;"> -- Teachers and textbooks beware -- your future could be under threat from a quickly developing and very smart technology. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">At the center of this technology is a man who recently turned his face into a remote control - Ph.D. student Jacob Whitehill, of the University of California's Machine Perception Lab (MPLAB). <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">More than just a wacky stunt, Whitehill's feat marked a major step forward in the way people could one day learn by establishing facial expression recognition in robot teachers. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">The teaching robots, or, Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) are computer systems that provide personalized instruction and feedback to students without human intervention. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">Using facial expression recognition -- which allows a computer to react according to expressions a user makes, Whitehill made a video change speed by altering his expression. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">He told CNN that the system used software created at the university, and was an important development in improving learning systems. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">Whitehill said it was about students interacting with their robot educators. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">"Classical ITS typically have a somewhat rigid architecture of 'first I ask a question; then I wait for a response; then I talk some more; then I wait for another response.' Facial expression recognition, I believe, will allow the feedback from student to teacher to happen while the robot teacher is talking," Whitehill said. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">Experts agree the latest developments in ITS open a plethora of new possibilities for how people could learn. The consensus among most is that further advancements in active, participatory systems, is where the future lies. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">University of Memphis researcher, Dr Andrew Olney, who recently received a US$1.3 million grant to develop an ITS called Guru, said the key to future learning will be enabling interactive, one-on-one instruction. [|Do you think robots could one day replace teachers?] <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">"The technology can facilitate these more advanced learning scenarios," he said. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">Although robot teachers of varying abilities have existed for more than 30 years, ITS developments such as Whitehill's and Olney's are pushing beliefs that robots could soon be as effective -- if not more effective -- than human teachers. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">"The ITS which have been developed are already better teachers than people who have no experience," Olney said. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">So, what is the future for today's teachers, classrooms, and textbooks? <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">Olney felt that human teachers would always have an important role, but said the current classroom set-up faces change. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">"The traditional model of learning is consistently shown as one of the worst ways to teach people. It's much better for a student to have one-on-one interaction. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">"I see textbooks falling away and students having large numbers of software packages," he said. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">Co-head of the Future of Learning Group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, David Cavallo, said technology would eventually lead to fundamental shifts in learning. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">"In time, we will see the end of the monopoly of classroom instruction with age segregation. We will see many different types of learning environments... we can truly close educational achievement gaps through constructive use of the technology." <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">Cavallo told CNN that from a holistic perspective, the future of learning meant escaping the "mass-production" type scenario in many schools. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">"Children in the future will be able to explore and learn about domains at far younger ages and with far greater results through computational approaches. They will be able to work with and learn from people around the world through connectivity. They will be able to learn without boundaries," he said. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">A critical advantage that ITS hold in the future is that they can be very cost-effective, said Jim Ong, from intelligent software producer Stottler Henke Associates. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">Ong's company produced training programs for the U.S. Defense Force. He said participatory virtual worlds would eventually become more effective than real life training. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">"In life not every moment is a learning experience. This gives the students ten times more experience compared to traditional methods." <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">According to Ong, the future of learning is about harnessing the use of natural language between students and robot teachers. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">Ong believed the technology could assist human educators, acting as an intelligence system giving information about the students' needs. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">So, is this a case of technology driving new learning concepts, or technology meeting existing instructional methods? <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">The answer appears to be a bit of both. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">While new technology provides a cost-effective means for one-on-one instruction, Whitehill said interactive models have always been a part of learning -- and he is simply refining those. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">"My goal in this research is not to change how people learn, but rather to adapt computer and robot interfaces to how people learn. I'm trying to bring the robot teachers to us, not the other way around." <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">Cavallo said computers were only a means to the end of a personalized, interactive learning system. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">For a new way of learning to be truly realized it would require a change amongst educational institutions. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt; margin: 9pt 0in;">"The technology is not the most difficult part. Helping institutions to change and adapt to enable the new possibilities is the most difficult element. What is needed is vision and political will," he said. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">Either way, all of the experts agree technology holds the ultimate key to how learning can progress, and they expect the role of robots to <span style="color: #004276; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">increase <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">.
 * <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt;">Story Highlights
 * <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt;">A Ph.D. student has managed to use his face as a remote control
 * <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt;">The rise of intelligent tutoring systems may see the decline of textbooks
 * <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 15pt;">Computer-based learning will allow greater interactivity for students
 * My Thoughts**__ (Leland Morrow)

Although I would hate to be labeled a cynic, I do know that I am a realist. With that being said, and placing my administrative cap on, I like the idea of having robots as teachers. My line of reasoning is that I am under the assumption that robots can adjust or be programmed to adjust their teaching methods better than humans, who more often than not tend to subscribe to whats familiar to them; I am also under the impression that robots can be programmed to have a wealth of knowledge that maybe humans may not have the ability to recall. I can see the effects of powerful software packages such as Rosetta Stone, Leap Frog, and other softwares that intrisincally engage students possibly better than your Foreign Language or early childhood education teachers. This can be economically beneficial, when we consider the costs per student. A district can dramatically scale back it's workforce, benefits packages, and facilities to allow technology to teach our children. I am under the impression that the only caveat to technology is that it does not make up for the interpersonal and social development that human teachers warrant. The economic ramifications of replacing teachers with robots or some other technology are huge. So the question lies in what way we will utilize technology to achieve consistent student academic success nationwide, cultivate student interpersonal and social skill, without economically impacting the United States with massive unemployment of education professionals?

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An article on technology in Early Childhood and with hearing impaired students. --Rebekah

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A "'bug' worth catching..." Virtual (bug-in-ear) Coaching is designed to coach, support, and retain struggling novice teachers and to attract teachers to high-need areas. All teachers know the horrors of the first year. Many struggle far beyond that (or quit)! This technology allows use of blue-tooth or a bug in the struggling teacher's ear. A coach can observe the teacher and classroom through a Web-cam and offer live feedback and coaching tips to the teacher, in such a way that only the teacher hears the comments. He/She can immediately act upon those coaching tips. I think that such a system would have a more direct impact upon teachers than delayed feedback from a formal or informal observation. Seeing this more immediate improvement in the classroom increases teacher confidence and ability, resulting in--as proposed here--increased teacher retention rate. This type of technology could also have potential with students... --Rebekah

[]

Reviews of books on integrating educational technology--Rebekah

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"We cannot uninvent this..." Ever consider actually taking your 6th grade science class to Mars, as you discuss the universe and each planet's surface characteristics in class? More interesting than looking at pictures in the textbook... --Rebekah

media type="youtube" key="mLx-m-J36BE" height="385" width="640" UN and Albania working to prepare students survive in and compete in global market --Rebekah

media type="youtube" key="ltmZYgF9zGw" height="385" width="480" iPods in Austin ISD --Rebekah

media type="youtube" key="PczLCzit4YY" height="385" width="480" For thought... Rebekah (no sound)

media type="youtube" key="pNflFyEAM6o" height="385" width="480" Bilingual, interactive and international (well, kind of) student learning. I learned something new watching! --Rebekah

media type="custom" key="6632227"media type="youtube" key="hKGo9P44saM" height="348" width="402" align="right"Sixth graders talking about the classroom of the future. Maria Guido media type="youtube" key="fzw9vykNydE" height="385" width="480"A.W. Great stats in regards to students learning. Al WIdemon

media type="custom" key="6632217" Superintendents talking about technology in their districts. Maria Guido

media type="custom" key="6632183" I found this on SchoolTube. Maria Guido

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21st century pedagogy Carter English

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Al Widemon.

media type="youtube" key="FRZ15cXopEw" height="385" width="480" Cool video about the importance of technology in the classroom. Al Widemon

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Excellent benefits wiki provide in the classroom.Al Widemon

media type="youtube" key="AhoOG5Kf1w4" height="385" width="640" A vision of technology in education. Al Widemon

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Bentley College in Waltham, MA, where I taught in the early 90s had a laptop program. Students leased the laptops from the university as part of their tuition and fees. I did not like it. It was a big distraction to me then. I am in the Ed. Adm. cohort doctoral program at UNT and I see how these "doctoral" students sit in class while texting, pay bills online, do their administrative job (they are all principals), and other tasks. It may just be this group, but I doubt it. Look at this link and answer the last questions. The other day, my new principal told me that he was appalled to see all of the summer school teachers glued to their cell phone. He then opened his desk top drawer, put his cell phone in it, and said, "this is what I am going to do...I'm going to confiscate teachers' cell phones just like we do with our students." I can't disagree with him. There is an awful teacher who's on the cell texting all day long during instructional time while his students teach themselves. There is another who wears the earpiece (don't know what's called) and is on it all day long. Technology can be misused as it's true of everything else. Maria Guido

Didn't Dr. Berning mention that we must LEAD the way into the 21stCentury world? Who is in charge of these classrooms and schools that cannot say "There is a right and wrong way to use this technology. There is a right time and a wrong time to use the technology?"

Where are these leaders that can determine and take cahrge of the appropriate use of technology?

I found this article/essay on an academic search on EBSCO called the Digital Remains by Sarah Lowengard. []

Maria Guido

How technology is used in classroomes?: I found this article "technology in classroomm" from the link [] is interesting. While most content expresses the ideas about the advantages of using appropriate technology, this article also presents the reasons of failure or ineffectiveness from using tecnology inappropriately; consequently, it become ineffective or useless. For example, there is using a computer in teaching but still praticing similarily in the traditional way-no use of a computer or technology-. Technology is powerful for student learning if it is appropriately used.- Benchamat Laksaniyanon

This article is called "Integrating technology into K-12 teaching and learning: current knowledge gaps and recommendations for future research" by Khe Foon Hew and Thomas Brush. It discusses the challenges in integrating technology into the classroom and what we are educational leaders can do to overcome this challenges. -Laura Holliday- http://libproxy.uta.edu:2066/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=25318467&site=ehost-live

This article is called "Digital storytelling: a meaningful technology-integrated approach for engaged student learning" by Alaa Sadik if anyone is interested in integrating this onto their campus. -Laura Holliday- http://libproxy.uta.edu:2066/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=32729602&site=ehost-live

Lindsey Jones: This is a great visual depiction of just how much the classroom has changed. I am highly interested to see what the future classroom is going to look like.

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media type="youtube" key="Bn1dkLS-8is" height="385" width="480"﻿Computers and their impact in our everyday work is undeniable, yet we still try to teach students without daily usage of this technology; I thought this video over the change integrating laptops in schools had on success is very relavent to the future of teaching.- Christy Cooksey

media type="youtube" key="xWNCHG-xB9o" height="385" width="640" I actually have a smartboard and love this for the informationit provides to those who never had an official introduction to the technology. -Christy Cooksey . media type="youtube" key="_A-ZVCjfWf8" height="385" width="480" One of the most educationally relevant K-12 videos I have seen this summer. Carter English

media type="custom" key="6623601"media type="youtube" key="2L2XwWq4_BY" height="385" width="480"Video is a little long but show's the importance of 21st century learning. Lindsay L. I was seeking the software for teachning Math and then I found "Inspiration software". It seems to be easy to use. This video is quite short, only about 2 and a half minutes.-Benchamat Laksaniyanon

media type="youtube" key="V5VFWA2YKdo" height="385" width="480" The music teacher at my campus showed this video to my summer school students and I could not wait to get home and post it. Any ideas as to how to use it in the classroom? I know my students who are between 9 and 11 were amazed.

media type="youtube" key="8c-noPNQVRQ" height="385" width="480" I was looking for "UTA Tech Fair" things on You Tube and couldn't find anything. But, I did find this neat little technology project that a couple of high school kids did in Georgia where they built their own computer. I thought it was kind of cool so I decided to share it on the wiki. --Bear

media type="youtube" key="W2j9qw-A0NM" height="329" width="506" Module 3 The roles of technology: Technology cannot replace teachers. Instead, it changes the ways that teachers used to do in traditional classrooms. Benchamat Laksaniyanon

Module 3 The roles of technology: Technology increase outlets for students to learn things around them, not only in traditional classrooms. Benchamat Laksaniyanon media type="youtube" key="1srP6J7f9kY" height="385" width="480"

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I noticed in Module 5, cyber bullying was addressed. I looked up cyber bullying on youtube and this was really the only appropriate video I found. Carter English

media type="youtube" key="aEFKfXiCbLw" height="385" width="480" There are no images on this video and some very annoying music, but the content is powerful. Maria Guido

media type="youtube" key="NLlGopyXT_g" height="385" width="480" If you're a fast reader, you will enjoy this one. Maria Guido

media type="youtube" key="98alH6SughM" height="385" width="640" I was playing around in You Tube looking for "new technologies" and I found this new net book that looks really cool! ---Bear

21st Century Classroom- (Part 2 of 2) 5 minutes long. -Laura- I like a quote they used at the end from Albert Einstein. "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." media type="youtube" key="tg4EbeKcLd0" height="385" width="480"

21st Century Classroom (Part 1 of 2) 7 minutes long -Laura- media type="youtube" key="kQlNyTrKhAg" height="385" width="480"

Technology Trendsetters- Below is a 4 minute video of how Irving ISD uses technology. -Laura- media type="youtube" key="WB2fhhtg4dw" height="385" width="480"


 * Language Learning in Europe**

[|**http://www.linguanet-europa.org/plus/welcome.htm**]

If you are interested in learning or teaching a language, please check out this terrific, user-friendly site. I learned of it last week, in Spain. It is a free site developed in Europe to promote language learning and global community building. You can select a language, take free assessments, engage in discussion boards and even a virtual reality (for adult learners). The site enables you to select a chat partner or email exchange with another person on the planet who is either learning the same language or who already speaks your target language and is learning English. I was thrilled to find this resource, and think it is a great example of how technology can pave or even be the road, itself, to second language acquisition. (This one is me---Rebekah =)

media type="youtube" key="v4GUZspslY0" height="385" width="480" I searched "using technology for team building" in You Tube and this is what popped out. -Bear This is so cool! I can see using this for PE, Life Skills and GT classes. It appears to work for the benefit of both mind and body.~ Susan Salling

Channa ~Article that I found on 1-on-1 computing; laptops in secondary; very intersting article!![]

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News video reporting on a non profit organization that focuses on closing the gap between families who have computer access at home & those who don't...pretty cool. Lindsay L.

media type="youtube" key="1UY8km8cb60" height="385" width="480" Part 2 of Presentation. I found these videos to be very informative as a Facebook user. Carter English

media type="youtube" key="feO-sk39Dsw" height="385" width="480" A generic review of the Pro's and Con's of using Facebook in Education. Carter English

media type="youtube" key="AhoOG5Kf1w4" height="356" width="449" I love to see children learn with happiness and this video make me admire the American educators who try to truly understand the students. Benchamat Laksaniyanon

media type="youtube" key="xl7yozHNHek" height="385" width="480" This is an awesome video. Interestingly, I could have been among the first to have an internet affair, though then I called it "love is in the (electronic) air" referring to Barry Manilow's song. I was an assistant professor at Bentley College in Waltham, MA in 1992 when I started sending electronic messages (did not called them emails then) through the university's system to another professor at the University of Amsterdam. Maria Guido

media type="youtube" key="DQnSc1vI57Y" height="385" width="640" I wish we had this technology when I was studying classical piano at the University of Hawai'i in the 1980s. Back then, instruction was one-on-one in a dark cubicle. Maria Guido

media type="youtube" key="ehRtcbrZMCM" height="385" width="480" This is a fantastic video on remote mentoring. Maria Guido

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Learning about Living is a project using computers and mobile phones to teach Nigerian teenagers about sexuality and HIV/AIDS prevention. The demand for precise and non-judgmental information on these issues is bigger than ever. The teenagers love it and acquire IT skills at the same time.

Learning about Living (LaL) is a two year project led by OneWorld Uk, designed to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT), to teach sexuality education to young people in Nigeria. It is designed as an educational tool that can be used in and out of school to enhance the physical, reproductive and mental well-being of young people by engaging them in the issues and giving them accurate information to make informed decisions about their sexual health.

It involves the development and implementation of an e-learning system based on the national Family Life HIV/AIDS Education (FLHE) curriculum.

Learning about Living has three aims: * Utilise information and communication technology (ICT) to equip Nigerian teenagers with the relevant skills to enable them make informed decisions about their sexual health, prevent HIV/AIDS and gender based violence, and associated mortality and morbidity * Improve discussion and information on sexuality education and reduce socio-cultural tendencies that lead to reluctance in discussing these issues with young people * Increase gender equality by reducing the prevalence of and offering positive alternatives to gender constructs that assume male superiority and the acceptability of violence against women in the Nigerian society.

In addition to the e-learning tool, 2 further services involving mobile phones to provide additional support and further engage young people was launched in November 2007. The MyQuestion service is a 3-in-1 question and answer service provided through free text messages, by email and voice support through a toll free number, and a competition service called MyAnswer, designed to further engage young people by giving them a chance to win prizes. Maria Guido

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A brief (and incomplete) snapshot of the past 100+ years of educational technology. Maria Guido

media type="youtube" key="iG9CE55wbtY" height="385" width="480" Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. Maria Guido

media type="youtube" key="s7ux5z8E9iI" height="385" width="480" Proyectos de Robótica Educativa ejecutados en las escuelas y colegios costarricenses pertenecientes al Programa Nacional de Informática Educativa PRONIE,MEP-FOD. This is a video of my home country's robotic projects at primary and secondary Costa Rican schools under the Ministry of Education Educational Robotics program.

This is an example of Smart board technology that is currently being used in classrooms in the distict I work in. -Greg Johnston media type="youtube" key="d2ML4y0i1bg" height="385" width="480"media type="youtube" key="vO6I5OZpRDI" height="385" width="480" Here's a demonstration of "ancient technology" -Bear

media type="youtube" key="-Ir4-EFVhzI" height="385" width="480" This is an interesting video I found dealing with educational technology - Ed Watson

media type="youtube" key="hKGo9P44saM" height="385" width="480" Interesting display of first hand experiences with technology that transformed a classroom. Lindsay L.

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My sister is wrapping up her master's degree in dyslexia so I thought I would see if there was any technology out there for students. I stumbled across GHOTIT, "a program developed by dyslexics for dyslexics." Carter English media type="youtube" key="m1mflr-kQlk" height="347" width="592" I think teachers can use skype as a tool for instuction. Benchamat Laksaniyanon

media type="youtube" key="NOIbYGMH74I" height="385" width="480" Chris Barnes - Last Entry - The Simpson's know technology

media type="youtube" key="Gc9C4vmeTU8" height="385" width="480" Chris Barnes - Even the Wii has educational benefits

media type="youtube" key="qLRlRIV-alE" height="385" width="480" Chris Barnes - Integrating tech in the classroom.

media type="youtube" key="vdCC5USzchY" height="385" width="480" Chris Barnes - Kids, Computing, and adverse effects

media type="youtube" key="FABPc10rseY" height="356" width="554" Better to know before purchasing. Benchamat Laksaniyanon

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Chris Barnes - Is RoboTeacher going to far to interest students in technology?

media type="youtube" key="Ig27w_YIx0s" height="385" width="480" Chris Barnes - Here it is...Shift Happens.

media type="youtube" key="_VnHdqpE4RM" height="385" width="480" Chris Barnes - This kind of reminds me of "Shift Happens."

media type="youtube" key="Iu99aC8YK4Y" height="385" width="480" David McLeod

media type="youtube" key="DyNOL0lMidU" height="385" width="640" David McLeod media type="youtube" key="CDTDnkBzc8E" height="385" width="480" David McLeod media type="youtube" key="QLrENiGJQIA" height="385" width="640" Chris Barnes - The Dell Interactive PC competing with I Pad?

media type="youtube" key="il-k65CFqpE" height="385" width="480"media type="youtube" key="7At86OOmsME" height="385" width="480" Chris Barnes - Universities are considering Kindle in contrast to more expensive paper textbooks

And.......

Chris Barnes - Interactive Pen Technology heklps students with math( I don't know how I connected the two videos, but I can dig it!)

Chris Barnes -Outsmarting the Smartboad with Microsoft Tabletop Touch Technology.

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Chris Barnes - The 2010 Conference Call and other cool stuff to watch for this year.

Chris Barnes - What if your clothes could talk and inform you of when to excercise? Check it out. media type="youtube" key="y4HBZ-ggUG8" height="385" width="640"media type="youtube" key="3zWRSM09Y90" height="385" width="480"

Chris Barnes - For true sports aficianados and purists. Will 3D replay technology taint professional sports with offering too much information?

Chris Barnes - The future of compact hardware that fits in your palm. Panologic Technology

media type="youtube" key="MK6oaQlM4PU" height="385" width="480" media type="youtube" key="HHkZ1WWwueg" height="385" width="480" Chris Barnes - Does art imitate life or vice versa? The Star Trek Effect of science fiction becomes a reality(Star Trek TriCorder helps keep troops safe).

media type="youtube" key="dLdHbtuCIyY" width="425" height="350"
 * Chris Barnes (Cool Smartboard infomercial)**

media type="youtube" key="XMxuocCN1O0" height="385" width="640"
 * -Bear- This is the YouTube movie they're filming. The idea is that everyone films something in their life on Saturday, July 24th and then Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald will edit it and present the final product at Sundance Film Festival. This doesn't really have much to do with technology in education; but, it does show how these things that we've been talking about and playing with are permeating all levels of our society. Plus, it's just a really neat idea!**

media type="youtube" key="0jHzRHCFPHA" height="269" width="547"
 * Nadia (6/22)---** I mentioned the TI Inspire on our blog, so I thought I'd post this. This made me laugh.

Great video on Ed Tech (Chris Barness) media type="youtube" key="nJ0nlh5FU5A" height="385" width="640"

Channa **Vernier Lab Pro**---Educational //SCIENCE LAB// Technology seen in secondary schools media type="youtube" key="9UPPvB3ebUY" height="344" width="425"
 * Kids love this stuff and it really beats using the "antique" pH meters, thermometers, etc. What I love the most is that you could really do lots of qual and quant analysis with the graphing...

media type="youtube" key="8GK8Idf4bBI" height="385" width="480" David McLeod

Thanks one of you who posted about "Smart board" and I feel that I really love this technology, so I am looking for more information about it. This vedio is impressive for me about the easy ways to use a smart board and its effectiveness to develop student learning. I can imagine how much students are interested in it. Benchamat Laksaniyanon media type="youtube" key="0U05WeXPGlk" height="320" width="648" [|Web 2.0 & YOU (article)] Within this article the author mentioned this wiki webtools4u2use this wiki is designed more for librarians but perhaps it will be useful for you! :) -Laura- media type="youtube" key="kq4JVkkCzKY" height="385" width="640" media type="youtube" key="zYNjOgXZH54" height="385" width="480"
 * -Bear-This is an attempt at modern workflow tools...**
 * News story about smart boards being used in the classroom. This technology is and will continue to revolutionize learning in the classroom.**
 * Carter English**

media type="youtube" key="KIcAd8eqI0g" height="385" width="480"
 * Patrick Agwu-** Tea Party, ugly political demonstration...


 * Nadia(6/20)---** This is outstanding to have our students present at such a young age.

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//I really like what this district has done. I think that if every district could hire a technology teacher, more classroom teachers would come on board with the idea of integrating technology into the curriculum. Susan Salling.// A nice video demonstrating technology in the classroom & how teachers are starting to think differently towards the whole idea. Lindsay L. media type="youtube" key="9BJNsMURmok" height="385" width="480" media type="youtube" key="dpNZoCWGy6Q" height="385" width="480" David McLeod

Local school district uses iPod Touches in preK. - Robyn media type="youtube" key="Z-TlMuJ_6hk" height="385" width="480"I am reposting this video, since it was accidentally deleted. ;) Robyn media type="youtube" key="fAdEOXD9Tvk" height="336" width="417" align="center"

media type="youtube" key="XQp7xwxotuY" height="295" width="475" I found this instructional technology video. It is very interesting, so I would like to share.-Benchamat Laksaniyanon

media type="custom" key="6557275" <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I believe most of us would agree that technology is an integral part and important aspect of today's teaching. However, sadly enough, many teachers do not use technology to its fullest potential. Here is a great video regarding technology in today's classroom setting, produced by the **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">MAHONING COUNTY EDUCATIONAL SERVICE CENTER (MCESC). ** Enjoy. - Jose Angel Lara media type="custom" key="6557033" David McLeod....Another way teachers are trying to implement technology in the classroom

I think that this video shows how teaching technology is important for students.-Benchamat Laksaniyanon media type="custom" key="6556259"

This is AMAZING. - Robyn[Dear Robyn, I apology for that I may make your video disappear accidently, I don't know how it happened, I tried to find it back but I cann't, please redo]

I think that Facebook would be a wonderful technology tool, especially for social studies/history classes. Susan Salling

I lomedia type="youtube" key="Vj-XCUIbbcE" height="385" width="480" align="left"ve this project idea....IF Facebook weren't blocked from our district computers. Robyn

media type="youtube" key="al8lQSGaHYA" height="385" width="480"
David McLeod

Double Rainbow video removed by Dr. Berning
=** media type="youtube" key="zRQqv_Pz7zA" height="385" width="480"-Bear- I searched "technology in student affairs" on You Tube and this is what came up. Apparently it was something done at Georgia Tech for their "technology in student affairs week". I thought it was really cool, but sorry teachers, nothing about technology in the classroom on this one. **=

Channamedia type="youtube" key="6dHPivZ5oJ8" height="208" width="301"~ The use of Active Votes....

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 * Found this video to be interesting on overall use of Technology in the Classroom. Lindsay L.**

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 * Nadia (6/13)---** I don't know if this teacher has an iPad for each student, but I would have liked for her to use an interactive board for a better visual for the students. Maybe she could have had a couple of students model how to use the program while others followed along on their IPAD. Of course, it depends on what she has available in her classroom. I love the idea of having each student have a minature interactive board on their desk!

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Channa ~ Close to home UT Dallas Twitter Experiment

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A slow video but interesting none the less.....David McLeod

Not sure if this is "appropriate" for Appropriate Use of Technology but I thought it shows that anyone can use technology! Lindsay L.media type="youtube" key="Q9NP-AeKX40" height="385" width="480" Since the iPhone 4 just came out, I thought it would be interesting to see what educational benefits were available on it. Click on the picture of the Periodic Table of Elements Application and take a look. Carter English

media type="youtube" key="3dNc5rft4eY" height="385" width="480" David McLeod

Wattch these videos that show students interacting with the robot teacher aids. This is research from the National Academy of Science: Rubi the robot can also share attention. When the child turns its attention to an object, like a ball, Rubi will turn its head and look at the ball. Then if the child turns and points to a clock on the wall, Rubi will turn and point to the clock, and so on. The child now has established rapport with the robot. In other words, the robot has been able to communicate with the child. (To see this in action, visit the [|Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences].)Rubi the robot can also share attention. When the child turns its attention to an object, like a ball, Rubi will turn its head and look at the ball. Then if the child turns and points to a clock on the wall, Rubi will turn and point to the clock, and so on. The child now has established rapport with the robot. In other words, the robot has been able to communicate with the child. (To see this in action, visit the [|Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences].) Dr. B

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media type="youtube" key="KtUOz57XaLU" height="385" width="480"Great example of classroom technology promoting learning. Al Widemon media type="youtube" key="UKnZc-MJbTE" height="385" width="640"

In this example, students can use technology as a media for inquiry and communication. This year, my students had to create a Rube Goldberg project to crack an egg, using whatever materials they could find within the classroom. They were allow access to the Internet, and they frequently used it to find new ideas. In this video, students were asked to record their final projects in action, in order to share with the rest of their class and--essentially--the world! - Rebekah H.

media type="youtube" key="_TI8xqLl_-w" height="385" width="480" This is a sample of how technology can be used in class. This year, my 5th-6th grade bilingual students appreciated the engaging, visual representations of content as provided by School House Rock. Especially for a second language learner, visual representations can be more effective than any verbal or textual explanation of a new concept. I experimented with video clips/media and without, and students consistently demonstrated greater understanding of (and interest in) concepts when media was incorporated into the instruction. --Rebekah Hunt

media type="youtube" key="dLdHbtuCIyY" height="385" width="640" OK so FWISD has made a commitment that ALL campuses, in every classroom will have a "Smart Board". I believe the initiative is near 90% completion. Check it out!:)~Channa Channa - A few teachers in my building used one this year as a pilot program...very cool! They all loved it!

media type="custom" key="6520205" width="280" height="280"-Bear- I'm not sure about classroom technology, but toys could help...right?media type="youtube" key="PEgyzJAf1EA" height="537" width="672" -Bear- I know we've all seen this before, but it still makes me laugh. media type="youtube" key="GT2pJrArbWs" height="385" width="480"A WIKI can be used to create a common document--much like wikipedia is an encyclopedia built by millions of people on the wiki platform. Our wiki will be a common document on the Appropriate Use of Technology in Education. Please feel free to add text, videos or pictures. To add content, click the EDIT button on the top right of the page. Put in your text, video, or pictures, then click SAVE on the toolbar above.

Enjoy

media type="youtube" key="-Ir4-EFVhzI" height="385" width="480" This is from Patrick Agwu

Patrick, I thought this video was very interesting. Thank you for sharing! -Rebekah

media type="youtube" key="mqJZrtey1lY" height="385" width="480" Laura Holliday: Yay! It worked! :) I even opened a YouTube account and uploaded my first ever video! Only thing that was frustrating is that my video took over an hour to upload! Our classroom received an ELMO document camera mid year and we put it to work right away! The students read and recorded a story and would later go back during our reading block and listen to their story or their classmates stories. They were able to listen, watch and read along using my teacher laptop, the big projection screen or the student computers. Using a new technology can be frustrating, time consuming and a bit scary but the end result is totally worth it!

Adaptive and Assistive Technology Great (although a bit dated from 2005) article from Educause []

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I thought this video was relevant considering what we discussed about virtual classrooms in the conference call. Enjoy. Carter English

media type="youtube" key="pMcfrLYDm2U" height="385" width="480" My first shot at the wiki...David McLeod

Interesting video....David McLeod

media type="youtube" key="nJ0nlh5FU5A" height="385" width="640"media type="youtube" key="_RgL2MKfWTo" height="385" width="480" Ok, this is my first attempt to load a video from YoutTube. I am a bilingual teacher and recently at a workshop we discussed the challenge that any person faces when they are immersed into a new culture with a completely different language. When we hear a foreign language we don't hear words - we hear noices. In this video a Bolgarian woman is singing a Mariah Carey song....or should I say she is singing to us what she "hears!" Enjoy! ~ Regards ~ Jose Angel Lara

Jose- that was an interesting (and VERY entertaining) video! I have to admit, when there are words in songs I don't know, I make them up as I sing along too! haha! I think the language translation technologies would benefit that woman! - Laura

José I agree with Laura, very funny! ~Channa

Hello everyone. My name is Jose Angel Lara and this is my first entry into any kind of wiki. I am currently studying abroad in Madrid, Spain as part of a Dual Language program with UTA. With regards to technology, I believe technology is essential in a school setting given the fact that the world is, or soon will be, completely electronic and technical. Therefore, we should not only utilize technology in our classrooms, but teach our students the basic skills needed to function, thus laying down the foundation they need to build upon. Similar to what 1st grade teachers do with regards to teaching the fundamental skills of reading and writing; every grade thereafter, the teacher hones those skills. ~ Regards~ Jose Angel Lara

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The Author of our book, //Distrupting Class// Clayton Christenson media type="youtube" key="iaXmAmj1nb8" height="385" width="480"

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">I guess I will be first to step out and take my chances with the Wiki. I have developed an interest in generational differences and diversity awareness. I happened to run across this video on YouTube and it is right in line with our discussions regarding educational technology. It tells about how technology has advanced and how it has shaped the lives of the current generation. It's an interesting video, but I must warn you... the author speaks very SLOWLY! :o) -- Micaela S.

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Channa B. An Article that I found in USA Today recently...Considering both sides...Something I found interesting...Teens average at least 80 text messages a day...

Txting away ur education

Texting threatens to eclipse the real reason students go to school: to learn. But will schools, or parents, finally act to curb this disruptive obsession?
When students graduate from T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., on Thursday, school officials will do what they should have done back in September: Take possession of all the iPods and cellphones. As students go into the graduation ceremony, they will be searched and their electronic toys will be taken away. At a meeting of some 560 seniors a few weeks ago, the principal told them that they "could live without their cellphones for two hours." //(Illustration by Sam Ward, USA TODAY)//
 * By Patrick Welsh**

He might have been a bit presumptuous. The iPods are bad enough. Every day, students â€” between and often during class â€” are plugged into their iPods, seemingly off in another world. But it's cellphone text messaging that both parents and schools need to declare war on. Texting has become an obsession with teenagers around the country. According to the Nielsen Co., in the last quarter of 2008, teens were averaging at least [|80 texts a day], a figure double what it was the year before. T.C. Williams' handbook for parents boldly declares, "The operation of electronic devices including cellphones and iPods is not permitted in the school building. These items will be confiscated for a minimum of 24 hours on the first offense." Reality, though, is something else. The rules are so inconsistently enforced that kids consider them more an inconvenience than a real threat. Even parents send text messages to their kids during class time. And the problem is getting worse, as students become more adept at disguising their texting. One student admitted to often sending 10 texts during my class. Others admitted to sending and receiving more than 200 texts over the course of a day. Most kids are such pros that they can text while the phone is in their pocket, a purse or under the desk, while maintaining eye contact with the teacher. For the most part, all this subterfuge might seem like innocent adolescent behavior, but evidence suggests that texting is undermining students' ability to focus and to learn â€” and creating anxiety to boot. Many students have come to feel that they cannot live without texting. Says senior Laura Killalea, with a hint of hyperbole: "Most of my friends would die if they had to go to school without their cellphones." Another student, Yasir Hussein, admits that when he doesn't have his phone he gets anxious. "I feel like I am in the dark, secluded, isolated." Cellphones have taken such control over teens that virtually all the students I talked to said they often feel as if their phones are vibrating when they don't even have them. MIT professor Sherry Turkle told me that texting is "an always-on/always-on-you technology." She says cellphones cause not only "the anxiety of disconnection," but also "the anxiety of connection which comes from the expectation that you will respond immediately to a message you get." Despite all the technological advances that were intended to increase communication and efficiency, adolescents as well as adults are living in what Maggie Jackson, author of //Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age//, calls "an institutionalized culture of interruption, where our time and attention is being fragmented by a never-ending stream of phone calls, e-mails, instant messages, text messages and tweets." For students, these "advancements" only add to the difficulties an already distracted generation has had maintaining focus to do serious school work. "Attention is at the heart of any in-depth intellectual activity. When your times of focus and reflection are always being punctured by a cellphone buzzing, it's hard to go deeply into thinking and problem solving. You cannot be creative," says Jackson. "Texting is undermining kids' opportunities to learn. ... They will shy away from challenging material." One of the great ironies of the high-tech revolution is that devices meant to facilitate communication are actually helping to destroy it. For my students, rethinking what they wrote and hammering out second or third drafts is beyond all but a handful. In fact, texting has a language all its own, with its own abbreviations and terse messages, all of which hardly translates into good writing. Math and science teachers at my school see the same, with kids wanting the quick answers instead of going through the struggle that will help them understand what is behind the mathematical or scientific principles involved. Even so, there is hope. "We have fallen into bad habits with all the new technology," Jackson says, "but we can push back on the distractions, control those habits. We need to look at it all with fresh eyes, tally up the cost that distraction is costing us and our children and make changes." The summer break is upon us, but administrators and parents need to consider two changes before students return in the fall: â€¢ Parents should disable the text messaging function of their kids' cellphones. â€¢ Those students who curse teachers out and refuse to hand over their phones â€” as has happened often at T.C. Williams â€” will have to be punished. A crackdown the first day of school in September will set the get-tough tone for the rest of the year. At the very least, administrators and parents can agree that the school day should be the one time when kids can do without their cellphones. Or maybe I'm just being presumptuous. //Patrick Welsh is an English teacher at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., and a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.//

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">I found this video very interesting. The University of Minnesota researcher discusses the benefits of social networking sites on academic development. Communication, creativity, writing, student interest... she even touches on access! -- Micaela S.

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<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Ok... I couldn't resist. This was informational and entertaining and looks like it might have been completed by a student for a school project. Enjoy! -- Micaela S.

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<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">From switchboard to cell phones, black and white video to 3D, overhead projectors to smartboards... technology is going places. Distance education is stepping up, too! Check out this link: [|Distance Learning in High Definition] -- Micaela S.

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">As if technology isn't doing enough, it's now naming generations. Check out what USA Today says about the [|iGeneration]. -- Micaela S.

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Can a child ever be too young to start learning technology?!?! -- Micaela S.

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">In casual conversation with a family friend recently, it was mentioned that a local school is beginning a pilot program in which Kindles will utilized in lieu of printed textbooks. Take a gander at this concept paper published in July by former members of the Obama-Biden transition team. Then, Google "A Kindle in Every Backpack"... some interesting articles have been published discussing the pros and cons of implementing this program. As you can expect, there are advantages to the Kindle in the areas of convenience, student experience, and adaptive technology for students with special needs. However, cost is the biggest disadvantage and hindrance to implementation. -- Micaela S.

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Never too old to start learning!!! David McLeod

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Check out Microsoft's "Vision for Technology in Higher Education"... this is awesome! -- Micaela S.

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<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Click this icon to visit the video's web site:

Interesting little read about portable applications.....David McLeod []

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[] David McLeodmedia type="youtube" key="xWNCHG-xB9o" height="385" width="640"

Leland Morrow Here is an article I found relating to the direction of technology and teaching. [] <span style="color: #003399; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Technology <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 21pt; line-height: normal; margin: 3.75pt 0in 7.5pt;">Robots Could Replace Teachers **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 11.5pt;">By [|Robin Lloyd], LiveScience Senior Editor ** **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 11.5pt;">posted: 16 July 2009 02:08 pm ET ** <span style="color: #484848; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt;">Research at the University of Washington Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences shows that infants can learn foreign speech sounds when they interact with a live human being in a social setting. But infants under 1-year-old do not seem to learn language when they are read to over TV. The children stare at the TV and even point to it. They seem visually attentive to the images that flow past, but learn no language. Scientists think that social interaction with a live human being is crucial for learning to take place in children under 1 year. Credit: University of Washington Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">In the future, more and more of us will learn from social robots, especially kids learning pre-school skills and students of all ages studying a new language. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">This is just one of the scenarios sketched in a review essay that looks at a "new science of [|learning] ," which brings together recent findings from the fields of psychology, neuroscience, [|machine learning] and education. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The essay, published in the July 17 issue of the journal //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Science //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">, outlines new insights into how humans learn now and could learn in the future, based on various studies including some that document the amazing amount of [|brain development] that happens in infants and later on in childhood. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">The premise for the new thinking: We humans are born immature and naturally curious, and become creatures capable of highly complex cultural achievements — such as the ability to build schools and school systems that can teach us how to create computers that mimic our brains. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">With a stronger understanding of how this learning happens, scientists are coming up with new principles for human learning, new educational theories and designs for learning environments that better match how we learn best, says one of the essay's authors, psychologist Andrew Meltzoff of the University of Washington's Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">And [|social robots] have a potentially growing role in these future learning environments, he says. The mechanisms behind these sophisticated machines apparently complement some of the mechanisms behind human learning. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">One such robot, which looks like the [|head of Albert Einstein], was revealed this week to show facial expressions and react to real human expressions. The researchers who built the strikingly real-looking yet body-less 'bot plan to test it in schools. **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Machine learning ** <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">In the first 5 years of life, our learning is "exhuberant" and " [|effortless] ," Meltzoff says. We are [|born learning], he says, and adults are driven to teach infants and children. During those years and up to puberty, our brains exhibit "neural plasticity" — it's easier to learn languages, including foreign languages. It's almost magical how we learn a foreign language, what becomes our native tongue, in the first two or three years we're alive, Meltzoff said. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">Magic aside, our early learning is computational, Meltzoff and his colleagues write. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">Children under three and even infants have been found to use statistical thinking, such as frequency distributions and probabilities and covariation, to learn the phonetics of their native tongue and to infer cause-effect relationships in the physical world. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">Some of these findings have helped engineers build [|machines that can learn] and develop social skills, such as BabyBot, a baby doll trained to detect human faces. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">Meanwhile, our learning is also highly social, so social, in fact, that newborns as young as 42 minutes old have been found to match gestures shown to them, such as someone sticking out her tongue or opening his mouth, Meltzoff and a colleague reported more than a decade ago. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">Imitation is a key component to our learning — it's a faster and safer way to learn than just trying to figure something out on our own, the authors write. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">Even as adults, we use imitation when we go to a new setting such as a dinner party or a foreign country, to try and fit in. Of course, for kids, the learning packed into every day can amount to traveling to a foreign country. In this case, they are "visiting" adult culture and learning how to act like the people in our culture, becoming more like us. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">If you roll all these human learning features into the field of robotics, there is a somewhat natural overlap — robots are well-suited to imitate us, learn from us, socialize with us and eventually teach us, the researchers say. **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Robot teachers ** <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">Social robots are being used on an experimental basis already to teach various skills to preschool children, including the names of colors, new vocabulary words and simple songs. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">In the future, robots will only be used to teach certain skills, such as acquiring a foreign or new language, possibly in playgroups with children or to individual adults. But robot teachers can be cost-effective compared to the expense of paying a human teacher, Meltzoff told //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">LiveScience //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">"If we can capture the magic of social interaction and pedagogy, what makes social interaction so effective as a vehicle for learning, we may be able to embody some of those tricks in machines, including computer agents, automatic tutors, and robots," he said. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">Still, children clearly learn best from other people and playgroups of peers, Meltzoff said, and he doesn't see children in the future being taught entirely by robots. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">Terrance Sejnowski of the Temporal Dynamics of Learning Center (TDLC) at the University of California at San Diego, a co-author of the new essay with Meltzoff, is working on using technology to merge the social with the instructional, and bringing it to bear on classrooms to create personalized, individualized teaching tailored to students and tracking their progress. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">"By developing a very sophisticated computational model of a child's mind, we can help improve that child's performance," Sejnowski said. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">Overall, the hope, Meltzoff said, is to "figure out how to combine the passion and curiosity for learning that children display with formal schooling. There is no reason why curiosity and passion can’t be fanned at school where there are dedicated professionals, teachers, trying to help children learn." <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in;">The essay is the first published article as part of a collaboration between the TDLC and the LIFE Center, both of which are funded under multimillion-dollar grants from the National Science Foundation. Meltzoff's other co-authors on the essay are Patricia Kuhl of the University of Washington and Javier Movellan of the TDLC. P