Technology is cool

I was crusing around teacher tube and came across a great little clip which talked about the uses of technology, and I thought what a great way to open my blog!.

“ Technology is cool” really opened my eyes to the benefits of using technology in the classroom. It was refreshing to see such a fun way to present something that most technophobia people such as me would dread to do in the class.

Kristy and John described the four main categories that technology is used in, this included communication, demonstration, organization and also classroom presentation.

Communication included parents communicating with websites, schools interacting with other schools, it also had communication through pod casts. It was interesting to note just how much of a communication tool technology has become and how much of a great learning tool it can be as children discuss points in a fun way. Children can discover websites and alternately learn new things at their own pace.

Classroom presentation was one thing that caught my eye the most. I never really stopped to think about the exciting ways technology can be used to demonstrate information; I guess it is becoming quite a tool considering the introduction of smart boards. How many times have we used a power point presentation for an assignment? Very intriguing. Kristy and John also pointed out pod casts are a great way to demonstrate information; I guess it allows children to communicate and demonstrate what they know. Demonstrating using technology is a fantastic idea, considering children are fascinated with computers and anything they really can interact with I guess it gives learning a lot more of an edge and really motivate children, on the plus side for teachers it caters for a whole new learning style.

Demonstration was interesting I suppose it also gives children motivation to learn, this however leads to self discovery as children learn at their own pace, anything like a vod cast, pod cast or even i-movie allows children to be interactive and explore information in a new way.

Organization was different when I first heard this I was a little confused as to what to think. But giving it more time I realised technology doesn’t only have to be about researching or presenting information it can be about organizing your own thoughts, in such a way that is easy to understand and also quite fun. It can be about organizing things into categories for an assignment as well. I know a lot of children who would rather do that then write down their every thought.

Kristy and John emphasised how important it was to use technology in the classroom, it motivates, stimulates and encourages children to explore and adapt information and present information in a variety of ways.

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=a59e32fad80cb0b65b9d