Saturday, September 21, 2013

Module 2 Blog Prompt


When I think about teaching History I wonder how I can get information across in the best way possible. How can I catch a student’s attention and engage them in a way they’ve never experienced before? Think about it. So many people are extremely visual. If you like something you see -if it entertains you- you’re more than likely going to revisit it again. You’re going to want to know more about whatever the case may be. The textbook says that “many educators believe the most important characteristic of hypermedia is its ability to encourage students to be proactive learners” (Robyler & Doering p. 176). Our videos explained how we need to use photos, not only clipart. The website www.shuttershock.com is a great collection of developmental resources. It is the most ideal website to find photos to use within presentations. Want to gain the attention of 13-18 year-old students? Then find images pleasing to the eye. Climb into their mind. Robyler & Doering explain how “hypermedia programs offer such varied options that most people enjoy using them” (p. 176). Students and teachers aren’t trapped in the one options of paper-writing-boredom to get their points across. Why not be eager to learn and teach? Multimedia helps with "segmenting, pretraining, and modality"(p.177). which helps the learner understand a more complex subject.
I chose the virtual environment as my multimedia authoring tool. The textbook gave the perfect example at www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/00-2/lp2165.shtml - students use a software called Hyperstudio “to create a multimedia presentation” in which they explore the lives of immigrants through research (Robyler & Doering p, 193). This is the perfect way to make students interact with the subject at hand. In my classroom I want to make students be involved in the past to help them learn how people were thinking. It is also very important to teach kids the correct way to use multimedia. Robyler & Doering believe that “teachers should try to give students an opportunity to display their projects...to broader audiences” (p.185).

 Here is a little article that just reiterates the positives of hypermedia in education! 


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Thursday, September 5, 2013

Blog Prompt 1


How many times have you heard a child or young adult express their dreadful opinion of the grand subject History. I do understand and, at times, fully agree that History can be the perfect sleep-problem solution. It can easily knock a person out on a cold, hard desk for hours. This only adds to the reasons why I want to teach this so-called ‘boring’ subject. Instructional software is becoming an extremely effective way to reach students. While keeping their attention with these programs, we the teachers engage the children, which allows the chance for them to actually retain the information we are trying to relay. There are so many softwares online that I found to help students understand and retain information about particular subjects. At Playing History by Center for History and New Media - http://playinghistory.org/, students are involved with a simulation software that allows them to learn from debating in argumentative wars of actual Supreme Court cases to growing a law firm while understanding the Bill of Rights. I would love to use this within my classroom setting or for homework activities because it would make the learning experience hands-on and, hopefully, easier to understand. Congress for Kids by The Dirksen Congressional Center - http://congressforkids.net is a great resource for a tutorial software that provides a wide array of different learning situations throughout mini-games, quizzes, and short paragraphs on all subjects about the Constitution. This would make it ideal for students in my classroom when it comes to practicing the material we have covered before actual testing days. A part of the textbook explains how constructivists believe people “construct all knowledge in their minds by participating in certain experiences” (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p.37). Social Studies Alive by TCI - http://tutorial.teachtci.com  is a tutorial software that gives students the ability to work through assignments and tasks at their own pace. I love this because each student is going to learn differently and it allows me to be able to assign things at home or in the classroom without rushing students to finish within a quick time frame. As a teacher I “can create presentation software reviews” in class as an easy way to show all students (Robyler & Doering, 2013, p. 132). It is important for our generation to take advantage of these software sources to better student’s education. Even as a teacher I need to take advantage of software tools such as Microsoft Excel to help me within my classroom to “keep club and classroom budgets, preparing performance checklists, and keeping gradebooks” (Robyler & Doering, 2013, p.125).  At Scribd - http://www.scribd.com/doc/26241993/Software-Support-Tools-Material-generators-and-Planning-and-Organizing-Tools there is a program that would allow me to generate my own puzzles and assignments in my class that would directly attain the information I am trying to get across. Integrated learning systems according to the text “offers a variety of instructional techniques in one place” which makes it ideal for both student and teacher (Robyler & Doering, 2013, p. 102). ILS should be a part of the “teaching methods and carefully be integrated into a total teaching program” (Robyler & Doering, 2013, p. 105). My short video that I tweeted about gives a great example of how a teacher has integrated youtube with his different teaching methods  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a7NbUIr_iQ&feature=player_embedded. What a better time than to become involved in a new and great teaching style through instructional software! 




Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. (2013). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. (6 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
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