Marlo+Burdette

  **Marlo Burdette Auburn Montgomery ECED 6170 Research and Technology**

**Today’s society is a fast paced world where people are on information overload. The need for people to be connected is unbelievable. Twenty years ago people would have never imagined a document could be sent from a telephone or even that you could have access to what people are doing at anytime through sites such as Twitter. This tech environment is having a major impact on today’s classroom. Educators are incorporating these ever present technologies into their classrooms.

6 Types of Technology for Today's Classroom Kidinspiration WebQuest Personal Response Systems (Clickers) Twitter Virtual Fieldtrips United Streaming**

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 * Kidinspiration **

Woolfolk, A. (2010). // Educational Psychology (11th ed.) //NewYork:Pearson Education, Inc. 
 * Woolfolk points out learning strategies play an important role in help students become more cognitively engaged. A great strategy to do this is concept mapping. Using a concept map helps students make connections and identify relationships among ideas. A great piece of software to use in today’s classroom is Kidinspiration. The software is an excellent resource for teachers’ to use when developing prewriting skills. The software is used to help students clarify their thinking and organize information. Concept maps or webs, as they are often called by classroom teachers have been a highly used tool in the classroom setting over the years. Kidinspiration is taking the idea to the next level. It has taken a very basic concept and developed it into something that is extrememly appropriate for the 21st centrury classroom. As Pink disscused it is not just about function anymore but also about design. Teachers across the country are using the software and have reported once they begin using it the possiblities are endless****.**

Cooperative learning groups are a great way to encourage students to interact with one another to complete an activity where learning is supported by others in the group. Webquest is a great technology that encourages the use of cooperative groups. Webquest is a lot like an online scavenger hunt. Students work together to develop a deeper understanding of the subject they are studying. Webquest is an inquiry oriented learning activity. Inquiry learning allows students to learn and process at the same time. Students need to be engaged for learning to be meaningful. One thing Woolfolk explains is cooperative learning requires careful planning in order for it to be effective.** Woolfolk, A. (2010). // Educational Psychology (11th ed.) //NewYork:Pearson Education, Inc. 
 * WebQuest

Personal response systems allow teachers to enhance the classroom experience by electronically interacting with students. The clickers are used for a variety of learning activities addressing the varying learning styles that can be found in a classroom setting.. They are effective in engaging interactions between students and teachers therefore will continue to be used in classroom across the country to meet the needs of students.** Pink, D. (2006). // A Whole New Mind. // New York: Penguin Group. 
 * Personal Response Systems (Clickers)

People everywhere are aware of Twitter. Twitter is a social networking site that allows people to keep an online journal using text based posts. People can follow one another and keep track of what is going on in someone else's life. This type of technology could be beneficial in the lives of students. Teachers often demand students disconnect when they enter the classroom. However, using such up to date technology students are more likely to respond in a positive way retaining information that is introduced. Twitter really taps into Pink’s concept of play. Students are excited about this type of technology and are eager to use it. Play can ultimately lead to valuable creativity. When students are interested in what they are learning and experimenting with it they will develop a deeper understanding.** Pink, D. (2006). // A Whole New Mind. // New York: Penguin Group.
 * Twitter

Virtual Field Trips are an excellent resource to use in the classroom. In this day and time of financial hardships districts everywhere are facing this allows students opportunities they would otherwise miss out on. The concept behind a virtual field trip is students can have a simulated field trip through the use of a computer. An example of this is a classroom in Montgomery experiencing a day in the life of an astronaut at NASA headquarters. Students can communicate and have open discussion on these “field trips” and learn a variety of concepts. Virtual field trips allow students to develop empathy for others, by giving them insight into someone else’s life and activities. It allows them to examine conditions in place they may not even know exist. What greater way to help students develop into more well round citizens.** Pink, D. (2006). // A Whole New Mind. // New York: Penguin Group.
 * Virtual Field Trips


 * United Streaming

United Streaming is an awesome resource for classroom teachers today. It allows teachers to use videos or video clips to enhance student learning. Students can travel back in time to be a witness to Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech or witness the fall of the Berlin Wall. These clips and videos are exciting and stimulating to students. Students have all heard the stories of their elders but often times never fully understood the impact of the events in the stories. United Steaming allows teachers the opportunity to give students insight into those stories and make connections that will have a profound impact on their learning.**



Pink, D. (2006). // A Whole New Mind. // New York: Penguin Group.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">As educators we must remember students are not all the same. It is our responsibility to vary our teaching strategies and methods to ensure that all studetns are learning. We must be lifelong learners and stay on top of the latest technology so we are providing our students with the most up to date resources. Our world is constantly changing we must be willing to change with it. ​