Moderator

Moderator could be useful in the classroom and there are several ways in which it can be put to good use. Educators could survey classes or perhaps gain opinions of the class in terms of particular issues. It could also be used as a pre-reading guide with thought questions at the start of a unit, or perhaps a during reading guide throughout. In Literature, it is nice to prompt students with questions to get their ideas beforehand, discuss, then continue with the readings as necessary. Examining different opinions or answers can spark quite interesting conversations at times, and I am thrilled when my students control discussion. Our group discussed these various thoughts on technology producing different products: * Allows students to be creative and they can put their own personality into projects they create using PowerPoint, wiki pages etc. using graphics and videos * Even with the same assignment it can look or be set up a variety of ways and still be correct (for example each of our web pages for class have the same information but we all set it up a little differently) * For students with different learning styles or levels, technology can help differentiate instruction (students can work on different projects or at different levels/can offer more options) * Projects can be shared via technology for all to view * Students are expected to create products individually, and while exploring different avenues of technology for presentation purposes are often less likely to plagiarize another student's work as the creation ownership can be extremely valuable

InTime Videos

In viewing some of the InTime videos, it really allows the teacher an opportunity to use technology in the classroom on a regular basis for a variety of purposes. Students are able to be creative in a manner that can be useful to them, and are able to produce educational pieces that can be used in the future. It also allows them an avenue to present themselves to others in a successful manner, and perhaps a manner in which they might be most comfortable. Teachers can then reuse these pieces in future years, either as a learning experience for others, or samples of what had been completed in the past in hopes that new generations will push the creativity envelope further in their learning and expressions of their learning.

CEDO515 - Week Three

We went over a great deal of material this week. It was nice to get to know a few more technological options that could be used in the classroom. I am enjoying seeing what others post and find in their search to include technology in the classroom. The main focus this week was Google Spreadsheets. I have spent a small amount of time using this option, however, I don't believe it is something that I would use on a regular basis in my English classroom. There were a few frustrations among my classmates about how to complete the spreadsheet so that it appropriately reflected different measurements when calculating different serving sizes. I will blame the school's server and broadband for this, I am often frustrated with working on this homework while at school. It is much easier to complete at home! What will next week bring?!