SMARTboards in the classroom

This video shows how the SMARTboard is used in a second grade social studies class. The students are willing to participate in the lesson and are fully engaged in what the teacher is teaching them. With the SMARTboard students can be hands on in the lessons and each student can see the board because of the size of the SMARTboard.

I believe that a SMARTboard in the classroom is a great idea. They will help get the students involved more in the lessons and will help the lessons be more hands on. They would make the lessons more fun and they would make the students want to learn. SMARTboards would be a great investment because they would save money in the technology center because teachers can make their own lessons and software on the SMARTboards and just save them to the SMARTboard software. SMARTboards have been proven to work in all grade levels and have shown improvement in students attention spans throughout the day. I would love to have a SMARTboard in my classroom because it would make my students lives easier and my own life easier. Students will want to come to school and participate in class. So yes I believe that SMARTboards should be in the classroom because they improve every aspect of the classroom.

Kindles Good or Bad in the Classroom

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2009/0715/a-plan-to-put-an-amazon-kindle-in-every-backpack

This article explains the plan for the government to provide each of the nation's 56 million K-12 students with a Kindle, or an electronic reading device. This program would equip 400,000 students with Kindles for an entire year. This plan would be 9 billion dollars more than the 6 billion dollars schools use on textbooks but they would save 700 million dollars within the first five years and eTextbooks cost begin to drop. If this pilot plan succeeds the new plan is to equip every student with a Kindle in the next four years. Some Universities have already allowed the use of the Kindle in the classroom when Amazon signed partnerships with some textbook companies. California also allows students in high school to use the Kindle in math and science classes.

The Kindle is the new generation of textbooks. It will save paper, money, and help schools stay-up-to-date with technology. The main highlight of a Kindle is the fact that you don't have to go and pay for textbooks, this saves time and money. The Kindle is light weight so students won't strain their backs by carrying big heavy textbooks around, they will only have to carry their Kindle around that has all their textbooks on it. A draw back to this is if the student was to lose their Kindle they would lose all their information for their classes. Another draw back is that you can not highlight the important information that the students might want to come back and reread for a test. Students might have their Kindles out during a class and you think that they are following along with the text but they could be doing something else on their Kindle without you knowing it. I believe that the Kindle can be a good thing and a bad thing for the classroom. It is good because it will save money, and the backs of the students. It is bad because it can be a distraction for some students in the classroom. I believe that if we make the switch to using a Kindle or other electronic reading sources in the classroom that textbooks should also be available to the students who learn better by reading out of a book, or for students who are sensitive to light. So I leave with this are Kindles good or bad?

Image from: flickr.com by goXunuReviews

Cyber Safety

http://student-web-skills.suite101.com/article.cfm/teaching_cyber_safety_in_school The article Teaching Cyber Safety in School: Students Need to Begin Thinking Computer Safety Early, says that students are beginning to use the internet at earlier ages for school and recreational activities. The article talks about how we should teach students at an early age about the dangers of the internet and how to prevent anything from happening to them while they are online. There are many different ways to get the information out to children about the dangers of the internet, one can have a power point and share it with the class, watch a movie about some stories about kids their ages and what happened to them, and a guest speaker can come and talk to them about this issue. This is a very serious issue that needs more than a parent talk or two about it, students need to know the dangers of the internet both at school and when they are home.

I think that this is a serious issue that needs to be talked about at home and in the classroom. Students need to know the dangers that are on the internet and just having their parents tell them is not enough because come on what kid listens to their parents, I know I didn't it went in one ear and out the other. Having them hear it from their parents, teachers, and maybe a guest speaker might get them to believe that this is a serious issue that they need to know about when they are on the internet. Most of us have probably used some form of internet chat or had a profile on the internet, but using these things right and knowing who you are talking to or who is looking at your profile may cause no harm to you. This is why it is important for kids to learn about internet safety both in school and at home because it could save one of your students lives.


image from iCLIPART for schools.

Online Classes

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/26/AR2010032602224.html?sid=ST20100326030212sub=AR
This article is about online classes becoming more popular and maybe even better for the students who take the online courses. Online classes have been proven to work in many states for college course classes and for high school students. Florida has classes online with teachers available to the students from 8 in the morning till 8 at night every day of the week. The schools get paid when the student has a full understanding of the material no matter how long it takes the student to learn the material. Online courses will allow students to learn at their pace and not worry about saying the wrong answer in front of the class. They will also allow the teachers to have one on one time with each student and cater to those students' particular needs in whatever subject. Online classes have been proven to work and are a good idea because the student's individual needs are addressed. Each learning type is able to take online classes because of the availability of the teachers and students don't have to sit and wait for students who don't understand the material to catch up while they sit there bored out of their minds. So is it possible that online classes might take over the traditional school setting?

I think that having online classes can benefit or hurt the student. Depending on how a student learns will have an impact on how the student does in the online class. If the student is self driven then they will have no problem accomplishing the task that the online class throws at them, but if the student is driven by others to do well then that student might not do so well on the projects in the online class. With teachers being available every day of the week for 12 hours will help the student that is driven to do better by that teacher and then can succeed in the online class. Online classes are cheaper and easier for some students. Students that are in TAG or ones that have learning disabilities can learn at their own pace and not get bullied for being smart or for having a disability causing these students to be less self-conscious and care about their school work. Online classes can have both a negative affect and positive affect on a students learning.

Image from iCLIPART for schools