Technology+Resources

﻿Technology Resources
Technology: "the use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful ﻿things or to solve problems" []

For both my Art and Spanish instruction , I use mainly my laptop and LCD projector to deliver instruction via the internet and DVD videos. I believe that this technology is the cornerstone of 21st century skills in all disciplines. There is an infinite amount of information available online to teachers and their students, textbooks will soon be obsolete for those schools that can afford to replace them completely with technology. Textbooks become outdated so quickly, but the internet and software applications are updated amost instantateously. Teachers can use the wealth of information and activities the internet provides in their instruction every day without ever having to open a text book.

Contrary to the perception that each student needs a computer in order to benefit from the internet is incorrect. I have used the internet almost exclusively in my instruction for the past 3 years using the projector so that all students can see my screen and provide input as we navigate. On occassion I have been able to use the computers in an other teacher's classroom, but this is a rare occurance. I do all of my research online and compile activities for classwork and assessments from there as well.

At my school, many of the technical area classrooms have laptops or PC's for the students within the classrooms (but not in my class). I solicited feedback from the teachers at my Technical High School and recieved the following feedback for technology resources:

Implementing Social Media in any clasroom: [] media type="youtube" key="qQPe8bNnjx4" height="390" width="480"

For Art Instruction []

For English Students use Bibme.org or other documentation sources online so the computer can figure out the format for the documentation style (APA, MLA etc.). Teacher projects the SAT question of the Day with Laptop for students to discuss. Textbook is used online and aduio recording for book readings.
 * //__@http://www.paperrater.com/__  Students or teachers can copy and paste their papers in the box on the website and view detailed stats about word choice, grammar, spelling, and more. Their paper will be analyzed immediately in real-time. It also detects plagiarism. //**

For Spanish and Social Studies [|www.tolerance.org] ~ lesson plans with intedisciplinary connections

For Horticulture and Landscape Design www.mycaert.com online curriculum

For Engineering 3D modeling software

For Cosmetology Laptop, power point presentations used to teach theory. Computer and dvd's that correspond with text. Power Point presentations

For Computer Gaming Computers and software, Web sites, digital cameras, digital scanners

For Early Childhood Education Professional Journals online

Some of the many web-based technology resources that I have come to hear about through my school are the following:

[|Edublogs],[| Kidblogs]-blogging in the classroom

[|Voicethread]-collaborative audio projects with pictures

[|Glogster]-poster alternatives

[|Smilebox]-parent newsletter alternative

Googledocs

Additionally, some of the hardware that I think are excellent resources to use in the classroom are:

LCD projectors SmartBoards Document Cameras Laptops/Netbooks Personal Response System

Software that I have found to be useful in updating curriculum and assessments are: Audacity Kidspiration/Inspiration MovieMaker Photostory Hyperstudio Microsoft Office programs

The possibilities are endless!! One of the things I have discovered is that there is so much out there that it is impossible to incorporate it all or master it all. We can only take one step at a time, as Heidi Hayes Jacobs (2010) recommends, take on one assessment a term and update your unit from that assessment.

For more ideas on how to use the resources above, see replacement ideas

Resources Jacobs, H. H. (Ed.). (2010). //Curriculum 21: Essential education for a changing world//. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.