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Linking to learning
Today, thousands of podcasts are posted on the Internet every week, and millions of listeners download them on their iPods, smartphones, computers and tablets. Podcasts are an excellent professional development resource for teachers, and the creation of a podcast can be a valuable and engaging classroom exercise.
The tablet computer, especially the iPad, brings new meaning to assistive technology as free or low-cost third-party applications make the tablet an excellent tool for teachers working with special education students. With Apple adding the touch screen to smartphones and the iPad, the computer now is also a tactile and kinesthetic experience.
Though it’s too soon to know if iPads will become widely adopted in schools, a major driver will be the availability of inexpensive apps (applications) that focus on the learning needs of students and the teaching priorities of educators. More than 20,000 education-related apps have been created for the iPad.
Fraser Speirs, an influential Mac developer and a technology director at a Scottish school, recently wrote in his blog speirs.org that “the iPad is not the future of education. It’s the present of education.” Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is promoting the use of iPads in schools, says his company believes that the tablet can “change the way teachers teach and the way kids learn.”
The era of children bearing backpacks stuffed with heavy textbooks may soon be over. Instead, they will open their leather binders and flick their fingers across the screens of their e-book readers. Those of you who already read using a Kindle, Nook or other electronic book reader understand the convenience, the interactivity and the easy portability of these devices.
The ability to recognize and process printed text is heavily dependent on comprehending spoken language. Fluent readers should understand the meaning of both printed and spoken language. That’s why teachers of our youngest readers should take advantage of Internet sites that offer interactive, read-aloud storybooks and activities that foster literacy.
Free Technology for Teachers (www.freetech4teachers.com) is a must-see for teachers interested in integrating technology into their classroom practice. The blog by Richard Byrnes, a Maine social studies teacher, is chock full of the latest and greatest Internet tools for teachers.
If glaciers move faster than your computer’s hard drive, then malware, viruses or assorted temporary files may be bogging down your operating system resources. A clogged or infected hard drive will eventually grind to a halt unless you do something about its health on a regular basis.
Does your computer’s fan work overtime? Do keys on your keyboard stick? Is it a feat of patience to control your mouse? Is there a smudge mark in the middle of your screen? Well, maybe it’s time to clean up that computer so it looks and works like new again.
Researcher Donald Leu created a website on the fictitious “tree octopus” to test students’ information literacy skills. His findings revealed that students did not have the tools to evaluate information they found online. “These results are cause for serious concern,” he says, “because anyone can publish anything on the Internet.”
Summer seminar: The Cullman Center Institute for Teachers offers three week-long summer seminars with brilliant writers and academics at the New York Public Library's landmark building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.
WebQuests are a great way for teachers to infuse technology into their teaching and foster higher-order thinking skills in their students. A WebQuest poses a challenging, real-world problem or task that a student or group of students must set out to tackle.
Casting aside the limitations of physical space and time, social networking on the Internet expands the possibilities for teachers to take control of their learning and to push beyond the borders of the classroom, the school and the district’s annual professional development conferences.
Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” That maxim should be on every teacher’s desk, especially newer teachers who have less experience and fewer resources to fall back on. Internet-based resources can help you develop and enrich your classroom practices.
The Internet is a rich resource for teachers looking for fresh ways to reach students and to invigorate their classroom practices. Google searches usually return millions of results, making it time-consuming to find what you need. But what most members don’t realize is that the UFT and its affiliates, New York State United Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers, provide online resources for educators at every level.
Elections are opportunities for teachers to enrich their daily curriculum with current and real-life lessons about how democracy in American society operates. Here are a few websites that can help you expand how you use the teachable moments that elections provide.
Your iPhone is an incredibly powerful device, but did you ever consider using it for taking classroom attendance, as a grade book or as a lesson-planning resource? Well, there’s an app for that! Here is a short list of useful apps for the iPhone created with teachers in mind. Some of them are free and others charge a nominal fee.
Obviously, images have great impact on how society views a subject, so it makes sense that they can make an impact in the classroom, too. By using a digital camera, teachers can take advantage of the new technology and integrate photography into their daily teaching.
The intention of the Department of Education’s Internet Acceptable Use Policy was to establish a set of guidelines to inform users about the appropriate use of the DOE’s Internet services and “to establish a secure, appropriate virtual learning space” that will expand communication “between all members of the learning community.”
Seismic events have been part of earth’s existence since it became a planet and, with an average of 50 earthquakes a day around the world and the recent devastation in Haiti, maybe it is time for teachers to make a concerted effort to spark student interest in our planet’s most powerful forces.
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