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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Smartboard Project Wrap-up (Liz Exo)

Before this project, I was not really familiar with smartboard, other than having heard about the basics uses of it. To me, it just seemed like a more expensive whiteboard. But after doing the project and learning about the endless tools and applications, I've realized that interactive whiteboards are a very efficient way to teach. I really like how online videos can be linked onto the slides,and I think that there are so many interactive/multimedia options available for the teachers to use within their lessons. Not only does it have so many options, but I also really like how it is such an interactive experience for the students themselves- nothing gets students more interested in learning than using the "coolest" and latest technology!
Overall, I think that interactive whiteboard technology is the future of education, and educators should not hesitate to learn the many uses it has to offer.

Notebook Project Wrap- Up

Overall, I have really enjoyed learning to use the notebook software. I like creating these types of presentations because I can be really creative and incorporate many tools that are useful. Prior to this course, I could not have imagined all of the things that can be done on smartboards. For example, the amount of games and activities that already come with the software are truly outstanding. I'm glad that I was able to use videos to demonstrate the ideas I was talking about.
After watching everyone else present their projects, I have gained insight into other tools that I could have used in different ways. In the future I would like to use more of the screen shade and side-by-side screen functions so that students can be doing more than one thing at once and can reference previous slides to help them with an activity. I'm excited to learn about more types of technology and the tools that are available online as resources in the classroom. Prior to this project, I would have never imagined using Panoramio or artPad in a formal presentation.
I'm frustrated, however, with the amount of problems that I encountered while trying to create my project. The combination of notebook and my mac caused the program to shut down and lose my work multiple times. At least I am now fully aware of how these problems can be detrimental when trying to use new technologies.
Overall, I think that I will use the smartboard quite frequently in my future classroom.

Smart Notebook Project Reflection

I'm really glad that we did a project on the SmartBoard software because I think it will be extremely useful and relevant in my future as a teacher. This project not only allowed us an opportunity to practice using the software, but also made me aware of the huge range of resources available on SmartNotebook. I had no idea that there were so many templates and activities at our disposal. It really made me think about how kids will learn the best during a lesson, and I think that it is through interactive activities, which the SmartBoard can provide. There were some technological challenges throughout this project, but they provided opportunities to brainstorm solutions and discover alternate ways of doing things. I think that the time spent on this project will make me more likely to use the SmartBoard in my future classroom and more adept at doing so.

Social media blackout eye-opening, “annoying”

Liz Exo’s Blog Post:
Recently Harrisburg University banned access to any and all social media websites (Facebook, Twitter, AOL…etc.) on the school’s network for an entire week. It was meant to serve as a reminder to students to see just how much they are hooked on these websites and how much time they spend on them during class or instead of focusing on academics.

The point of this experiment was not to show that Facebook or Twitter has a large impact of student grades (because research has shown that it really does not affect grades), but rather to make students more aware of how it distracts them during class. Many college professors have noticed that in lecture classes students just log in to facebook and ignore the lecture.

After the week ended, students reported that the ban was “annoying,” and students still found ways around the ban (using private networks or blackberry phones to log onto facebook). The article also leaves us with something important to think about… should the students’ bad reactions to the ban warn us about how students will adjust in the workplace?