Advantages and Disadvantages of Integrating Technology

Advantages of Integrating Technology

http://people.ucalgary.ca/~egallery/volume13/mount/benefits.htm

One huge advantage of integrating technology into the subject area of social studies is that it presents a stimulated problem-solving environment. (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 338).  This environment then makes complex and confusing concepts more clear and meaningful. (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 338).  The reason why this is the case is because stimulations allow the students to take an “active part in historical situations that would not otherwise be possible due to historical or physical distance (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 338).  Another big advantage that integrated technology has in field of social studies is that it has vastly improved the area of information visualization.  Due to the exponential growth in the capabilities of both hardware and software, visualization techniques for learning have greatly improved (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 338).

Disadvantages of Integrating Technology

http://www.studymode.com/essays/Disadvantages-Of-Using-Technology-In-The-1380583.html

A major disadvantage to integrating technology is first and foremost the expense of it.  The cost of integrating a school into the technological age can be extremely expense.  However, most of the expense is maintenance.  Maintenance is a must when dealing with technology integration and one that can bleed the pocket books dry in any school system.  The second disadvantage that technology integration can have is the potential for greater distractions.  Due to the emergence of Ipads and other gadgets students can now individually have their own private source of technology.  This can prove beneficial for most but for a select few it can provide enormous temptation and distractions.

Special Activities, Programs, Etc.   

Virtual Field Trips- Virtual Field trips is a great example of a special activity that without technology could not exist.  A virtual field trip is a “visit” that students can make via the Internet in order to see places that otherwise they would never get to see (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 339).  This is vitally important in the area of social studies because it allows one to see and feel history without any limitations.

Adventure Learning- Adventure Learning is another special activity or problem that is vital to the field of social studies.  This activity or program consists of students being assigned an explorer and then getting to travel with them virtually through their journey (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 340).  Studies have shown a vast improvement in students’ knowledge because of this program.  The reason students give is that it makes them feel in the action and part of the story (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 340).  Finding interesting ways to present the history curriculum to students can sometimes be difficult and that is why this program can be such a huge help.   

Electronic Research- Electronic research is a special program that allows students to find up-to-date research at an extremely rapid pace (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 341).  This is a big advantage in the social studies field because it allows for a vast amount of material to be displayed for students who want to learn.

References: Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Flipchart

Chosen Flipchart Title

http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-us/Resources/Item/28931/post-war-culture#.Uzmf14Wp3Tp

I chose the flipchart above because it is a great example of what I believe students need in the classroom.  It has information that students can read but most importantly it has information that students can see through imagery and pictures.  I chose this flipchart because it falls within my teaching field while also allowing students to see some of things that have come out of war.  Although war is tragic, it shapes culture and through this flipchart students can gain a key understanding of that.

Hardware/Software
The best thing about the flipchart is that is accessible through all kinds of hardware, or equipment (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 11).  The flipchart itself is a type of instructional software program that was made to demonstrate, explain, and provide examples to students in the classroom.  This flipchart does a great job at describing events, explaining the change it caused in culture, and showing first-hand accounts of that change through pictures (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 11). 

Technology use based on problem solving
A key element to this flipchart is how it can be used to motivate and engage students (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 25).  The number one way that it accomplishes this task is by gaining their attention through visual ways (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 11). 

Essential conditions for technology integration
“Teachers need system-wide support to implement technology.” (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 65).  This is a fact that cannot be ignored.  Studies have already shown that students benefit from technology programs like these flipcharts.  Technology and education are the key to a brighter future and together can become a deadly combination.

Software support tools   
Software support tools are increasingly growing into something more than just “basic capabilities of word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation software” (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 140).  A great example of this is the flipchart above as it provides viewers and students with an “improved appearance of the product” (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 140). 

References:
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. 

Wikis

Wiki

http://mrbruceshistory.wikispaces.com/ 

Wikis are quickly becoming a common educational source that teachers use in their classroom (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 224).  Wikis are effective because it allows students to gather information and to store that information on collective web pages for all to see (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 223).  I picked the link above because I felt this web page is the one that I would use in my own classroom.  It was created by a history teacher and the way it works is he presents topics or dilemmas to his students.  Then a pair of students is asked to find information and present their findings in wiki form.  I believe this is the kind of format I would use in my classroom.  It presents the material to all while allowing each individual group to go a research a topic. 

Widget #1



http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/google-calendar-embed/?id=c661a978-952b-4472-8fe8-46666216f590

The first widget I would use is a calendar widget.  No matter what subject you teach organization has to be a teacher's first priority.  This widget provides you with a calender on which you can put information like due dates and things for your students.

Widget #2



http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/this-day-in-history-cdouthard/?id=afb5547f-1ca6-4491-8e66-8bf1a72c9472

This widget would be a great use to my classroom because it provides detailed summeries on what hapened on specific days in history.  I could give students dates and then they could use this widget to find the topic that corresponds with it and get information.




Web-based lesson

http://www.tramline.com/trips.htm

This site specializes in the exciting field of electronic or virtual field trips.  A major benefit to this style of lesson is that it provides the students with some form of visual image that offers educational value of a place where they could not routinely travel  (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 239).  Real field trips present many problems with the most being expensive ( (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 239).  By doing a web-based lesson and choosing a virtual field trip it gives students the idea of being out of the classroom traveling but makes it much easier on the student and the school  (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 239).  As a history teacher, images and field trips are the most effective ways to covey an event to students.  Due to this, virtual field trips are a major benefit to the history department and one that should definately be used. 

References:

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.      

Learning the Role of the Internet

Chapter 7 discusses primarily the role of the Internet and the different strategies that can be used to make it an easier and more successful experience.  It also discusses many pitfalls and how to navigate through negative components of the Internet.

URLs 

A way to help oneself when browsing the Internet is to have a good understanding of a URL.  URL stands for uniform resource locators and simply put it is Internet addresses (Roblyer & Doering, 2013 p. 216).  A key component to a URL is the last three letters in the address line known as a “domain designator (Roblyer & Doering, 2013 p. 216).  Domain designators tell teachers and students extremely important information that allows them to surf the Internet quicker and distinguish which sites are more reliable.  Some of the common domain designators are .com (commercial site), .gov (government site), .net (network providers), .edu (higher education institutions), and .org (non-commercial organizations) (Roblyer & Doering, 2013 p. 216).

Search Engines 

Another way to help oneself navigate through the Internet is by the use of search engines.  Search engines are special searching programs to help Internet users locate different topics and information (Roblyer & Doering, 2013 p. 219).  The top three search engines on the Internet today are Google, Yahoo, and Bing (Roblyer & Doering, 2013 p. 219).  The way that search engines work is that keywords are put in and from that information different websites appear.  This provides students and teachers with an abundance of websites to pick through and choose from at an extremely rapid pace.  It also provides endless educational possibilities and endless topics of interest just a few words away. 

Favorite Website #1 

One of my favorite websites is http://www.nytimes.com/.  The reasoning behind this is because it fits in with my subject of teaching extremely well.  As a history teacher, newspapers are an excellent source of curriculum.  They provide reports on past historical events while also report daily on incoming issues or current events.  Both are important when discussing history as an educational topic.  The reason why this website is one of my favorites is for its good structure and organization and easy navigation.  At the top of the page, there are links that one can view depending on the topic at hand.  There is world news, U.S. news, political news, and many more.  These categories allow people to easily navigate and find what they are looking for. 

Favorite Website #2

Another favorite website of mine is http://www.discoveryeducation.com/. The best thing that I like about this website is their extremely good structure and organization.  At the top of the page, this website distinguishes first your reasoning for visiting this site.  Some of the different categories are administrators, teachers, students, and parents.  I find this website extremely beneficial to all because it provides curriculum and lesson plans for teachers as well as digital textbooks for students. 

Web Evaluation Video    

Reference:
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Hypermedia Tools for 21st Century Teaching

Commercial Hypermedia Product: Reference Materials

Reference materials are a commercial hypermedia product that comes in CD’s and DVD’s or on the Internet for little to no cost (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 175).  Some of the key examples of this product include atlases, almanacs, encyclopedias, newspapers, and conference proceedings (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p.175-176).  One reference material that is readily available and free to the public is the New York Times.  As a history teacher, this is the one reference material that I would use the most; the first reason being in order for students to keep up on current events and the second to find research on historical events that have happened throughout history.  Newspapers are great way to research a former event not just for the knowledge but so one can grasp the attitude of the writers’ during that specific time period. 

Here is a link to the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com  

Chosen Multimedia Authoring Tool: Audio and Video Production and Editing Systems     

Audio and Video Production and Editing has exploded into the world of education to rival the rapid increase in word processing of documents (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 188).  There are primarily three increases in technology that has allowed this phenomenon to happen and they are the emergence of digital cameras and cell phones, the iPod, and finally the start of YouTube (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 188-189).  Due to this, a whole new creation of better and more polished video presentations have emerged.  In my classroom, the one that I believe would benefit me and the students the most is iMovie.  None can argue that Mac computers have become the most popular type in today’s society.  iMovie is a creation of the Mac that enables people to make videos with audio and then go back and edit them.  As a history teacher, presentations and videos are key to getting the students interested in the topic at hand.  Students need to see the pictures and hear the sounds to really learn what was going on during a specific time period.  Also, iMovie would allow me as a teacher to create video presentations so that students could watch them if I had to be absent at any given time (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 196).  I truly believe that video presentations are the best way to capture young student’s attention and that is why I will be using iMovie in my classroom.   

Here is a link to iMovie: http://www.apple.com    
References:
Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, A.H.  (2013). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (6th Ed.).  Boston, MA: Pearson. 

The Basic Three in Education

In the educational department, there are three basic software tools: word processing software, spreadsheet software, and presentation software.

Word Processing Software

The first piece of software that we encounter in education is word processing software.  This piece of software is best explained as software that creates documents and uses text to fill them (Roblyer & Doering, 2013 p. 114).  This piece of software has become the most used of the three software tools in large part because of the popularity of Microsoft Word (Roblyer & Doering, 2013 p. 116).  Word processing software is great in education because it allows students to get their work done faster while also allowing the finished product to look more appealing and distinguishable.  The one major disadvantage to this software is the effect it has on handwriting (Roblyer & Doering 2013 p. 116).  Since this software allows students to type, handwriting is getting less and less attention in schools.  This can if ignored enough, become a major problem in the educational world. 

Spreadsheet Software  

The next piece of software that is used in the educational world is known as spreadsheet software.  Spreadsheet software’s main design is to “organize and manipulate numerical data” (Roblyer & Doering 2013 p. 122).  This piece of software is most used in teacher’s grade books as well as in mathematical exercises for students (Roblyer & Doering 2013 p. 114).  This software has been highly praised for making mathematics more exciting for students (Roblyer & Doering 2013 p. 125).  The main format for this software is a row and column look with the cell being the meeting place.  The numbers can be entered into the cells as well as formulas for making quick calculations.  The most popular form of this spreadsheet software is Microsoft Excel. 

Presentation Software

The last of the basic three software tools is what is known as presentation software.  According to Roblyer & Doering, presentation software is software that is designed to display information through images, text, video, or audio format (2013 p. 134).  This software has an array of different options and because of this it has many opportunities to impact students and the classroom.  However, a major critic to this software is that it makes students pay attention to the variety of the different slides instead of concentrating on the main message or topic (Roblyer & Doering 2013 p. 130). 

Classroom Use

As a teacher, it would be vitality important to have a firm grasp on all of these software tools.  All of these tools provide unique formats to help both the teacher and student achieve success in the classroom.  If I had to pick a favorite though, I would have to go with presentation software.  The reasoning behind this decision is because I am a history major.  I firmly believe that images as well as audio are vital when discussing history.  It is the pictures from the events in history that really get the mind intrigued not just the dates and text describing it.  Because of this factor, my teaching style would have to be molded in software that has the capability to display images and videos with audio so that the students can see and feel history not just read it.      

Reference

 Roblyer, M.D. & Doering, A.H. (2013).  Integrating educational technology into teaching (6^th Ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson 

Hi, my name is Dustin Kennedy and this is my life

http://www.nytimes.com/