Blog Post 5: Driving Questions Answered

Why should teachers use technology to communicate with students, parents, and peers?
1.Teachers should use technology to communicate with students, parents, and peers because it is extremely efficient. As long as the person is familiar with the interface, questions can be asked and answered in under five minutes, even from hundreds of miles away! In college and in the real world, students are going to be expected to be able to communicate effectively via technology. Teachers can set an example of what this effective communication looks like.

Which technology tools have the greatest potential to improve communication between teachers and others?
2. I believe email and blogging have the greatest potential to improve communication between teachers and others. As of right now, most adults are familiar with email and able to use it proficiently. Blogs are not difficult to navigate if they are created well.

How do these tools improve communication?
3. Technology allows teachers to reach out to students, parents, and peers when they are not able to be in their physical presence. Whereas sending notes home can be somewhat unreliable, email ensures successful delivery. It also allows the person to reply at their earliest convenience without having to worry about the time it takes for the information to be returned. Websites and blogs are easy places for parents to visit when they have questions and a great place to showcase student work.

This Youtube video does a great job of explaining the importance of technology in the classroom.

Blog Post 4: In Defense of Gadgets

Ten gadgets are currently operating on this blog, each of which was chosen to enhance a visitor's experience. At first, a ten gadget requirement seemed excessive, but after exploration, I realized many can be very helpful. The gadgets found to the right of this post and below are:
1. Profile (About Me) 
2. Pages
3. Blog Archive 
4. Poll - this poll allows readers to participate and share their feelings on technological tools within the classroom. From the data, I can recognize themes that my readers would like to see more posts about. I could post research and articles backing up or contradicting the majority.
5. Technology News - this gadget posts up-to-date titles and descriptions from Cnet news articles about technology.
6. Education News - this gadget posts up-to-date titles and descriptions from Education Week news articles.
7. Visitor Worldmap - many of Plugged In's blog posts explore issues regarding access to technology. This gadget displays the location of all site visitors across the globe. 
8. Google Translate - this gadget allows visitors to view all blog content in the language that is most comfortable to them, making the information accessible and relevant to more people.
9. Tech Dictionary - many terms used in blog posts and news articles may not be part of the everyday language of visitors. This tool allows them to search the internet for technological terms they are unfamiliar with.
10. Search this Blog

Sustainability

Today, our class discussion revolved around sustainable technology and the disparities in funding that exist. Mrs. Langston put together a slide show of thought-provoking images about the topic. Each student then added their own comments to the slides.

Technology: Yay or Nay?

Accountability: Does technology in education HELP, HURT, or BOTH?

click image to enlarge