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"Best Practices for Using Technology in the Classroom Technology in the Classroom When using technology for teaching, there are four basic principles to be kept in mind: Alignment: Technology should be used for a purpose-not for the sake of being flashy and not as a distraction from other forms of pedagogy. Carefully consider the ways in which video or other media that you share with your class are aligned with your learning objectives. Consider the technology that is most closely in alignment with your teaching skills and the needs of your students-if you don't like to teach with Power Point, consider giving students a handout outlining the main points of your lecture and listing major concepts to assist them in note-taking. Accessibility: Be sure that the technology that you intend to use is accessible to your students. While computers are virtually ubiquitous, and students living on campus have ready access to computing labs and other technology on campus, do consider whether or not your students have access to technology that you want them to use. Also, consider your own access to technology: make sure that you are familiar with all of the technology that you use and that media technology in your classroom is functioning correctly before the class. Plan ahead. If you are going to show a film, for example, don't wait until you walk into class to find out if the player in your classroom supports your DVD's regional format, or you will find yourself scrambling to come up with a lesson plan that does not include the film. By checking the regional format in advance, you will be able to have a matching-format DVD player delivered to the classroom by Technology Services. Assessment: As with lectures, discussions, and labs, provide your students with guidance when dealing with media technologies. If you are showing them a film, provide them with the learning objectives that you have for them in watching the film. Consider giving them a short assignment to be fil

"Five Ways Teachers Can Use Technology to Help Students Posted: 05/07/2013 8:34 am Follow éducation , Classroom Technology , Open Source , Public Schools , Teacher Technology , Technology In The Classroom , Technology News SHARE THIS STORY 57 273 34 Submit this story By Darrell M. West and Joshua Bleiberg Thomas Edison once said, "Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools... our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years." Amazingly enough, however, one of our nation's most important inventors was proven quite wrong. The American education system has a remarkable resistance to innovation and the classroom experience has changed very little in the 100 years since Edison's prediction. Advances in information technology have revolutionized how people communicate and learn in nearly every aspect of modern life except for education. The education system operates under the antiquated needs of an agrarian and industrial America. The short school day and the break in the summer were meant to allow children to work on family farms. Schools have an enduring industrial mentality placing students in arbitrary groups based on their age regardless of their competencies. Technology has failed to transform our schools because the education governance system insulates them from the disruptions that technology creates in other organizations. The government regulates schools perhaps more than any other organization. Rules govern where students study, how they will learn, and who will teach them. Education regulation governs the relationships of actors in the system and stymies the impact of innovative technologies. Furthermore the diffuse system of governance creates numerous veto points to limit innovation. To overcome these obstacles, we must persuade teachers that technology will empower them and help their students learn. We argue that there are five strategies for successful teacher adoption of education technology and that these principles will he

"3 Tips on Integrating Technology in the Classroom Former Gov. Bob Wise discusses Digital Learning Day and how high school teachers can embrace technology. By Laura McMullen Jan. 25, 2012 SHARE Integrating technology into a high school classroom isn't a one-step process. "You can't just slap a netbook [computer] on top of a textbook and say, 'Great, now we have technology," says Bob Wise, former governor of West Virginia and president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, an advocacy organization. Wise says that digital learning starts with teachers, whose performance is enhanced by technology-not the other way around. That's also the idea of Digital Learning Day, which the Alliance is spearheading. The first annual Digital Learning Day falls on February 1 and will celebrate innovative K-12 instructors who successfully bring technology into the classroom by assigning online course content, using adaptive software for students with special needs, and utilizing online student assessments and other digital tools. Educators, as well as parents, students, librarians, and community leaders, can learn about classroom innovations and get new ideas by chiming in during the virtual National Town Hall meeting held on Digital Learning Day. [Learn how a new iPad app is revolutionizing textbooks.] "The whole intention of Digital Learning Day is to really celebrate teachers and good instructional learning practices," says Sarah Hall, director of the Alliance's Center for Secondary School Digital Learning and Policy. And good teaching, especially the kind that involves working with evolving technologies, sometimes requires good advice. Hall and Wise shared the following ideas for effectively using technology in the classroom-not just on Digital Learning Day, but anytime. 1. Plan ahead: There has to be a comprehensive strategy in place to implement technology into the school system, Wise says, and the teachers have to be involved in the planning stages. "When a schoo

On going discussion of technology in the classroom.

This is an awesome wiki full of ideas, research of effective use, and examples of uses for voicethread in the classroom. I wont have time to go over it in my presentation, so I wanted to make sure it was posted here. If you are at all interested in using voicethread in the future, you should really check it out!

This had a major impact in my teaching. If the process he describes is what is innate in children, how does our teaching now help or hinder that effect? I think technology is a great way to bring students natural inclination for learning to the fore.

In this website teacher can find almost all of the essential tools In technology that could contribute to the students learning.

With Scratch, you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations - and share your creations with others in the online community. Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively - essential skills for life in the 21st century.

A logophone's dream. While I would love to possess a revered hard copy in my classroom learning center, I would definitely have this site bookmarked.

This link to the Oxford English Dictionary is an invaluable resource for Middle School ELA and Secondary Ed English teachers. I can see it as a frequent "go-to" site for Student Researchers, providing more interesting content than a standard online dictionary. Because the OED is concerned with word origins, I believe it would be helpful in creating bridges with ELL students as well, giving them a chance to see the linguistic contributions their language has made to ours. Check out the link in the lower center column for teachers and students (resources and lesson plans).

This site--English pedagogy guru Jim Burke's ning--is a treasure trove for middle school and secondary English instructors. Joining requires verification of your relationship to a learning institution. The site is well organized, allowing me to browse by general topics and within forums. It's a virtual teacher's lounge, allowing for quick takes on strategies for teaching any number of things, or in depth discussion on the viability of Literature Circles for Shakespeare study. I could easily get lost in the forest of great ideas here.

This site has music from around the world available in all languages. lyrics are posted in a target language with translation and students can play different levels of listening games, in a cloze (fill in the blank) type activity

This website has TONS of free books that students can read online. I kept trying a bunch to see if I could find a book that wasn't on it...I couldn't! I would suggest using this in your classroom as a tip for students in case they have forgotten their copy of the book at school, etc.

Reason Effectively * Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as appropriate to the situation Use Systems Thinking * Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall outcomes in complex systems Make Judgments and Decisions * Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs * Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view * Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments * Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis * Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes Solve Problems * Solve different kinds of non-familiar problems in both conventional and innovative ways * Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to better solutions

This Website is useful for those of us who need to convince our administrators that technology is essential in delivery of instruction.

Find more ideas for using twitter in the classroom!

case studies of iPad success in classrooms

Teachers Guide on The Use of Graphic Organizers in The Classroom free graphic organizers Med kharbach Gone are the days when planning and thinking were done mainly by pen and paper.Technology have made it pretty much easier to think in different other ways.

I've heard that refrain numerous times. "But... he doesn't want to be seen as different." It's usually uttered in response to specific technology recommendations offered during the IEP team process. The team typically nods their head in agreement; after all, it is a priority that the student completes school tasks in the same manner as their peers, or uses the same school tools as their friends.(Or is it?)

Using skype in the classroom.

I just want to introduce some program