Ways to accommodate with one computer...

Obtain Internet access. Use the Web’s many educational resources, such as audio, video, and multimedia applications to enhance instruction and learning.

Utilize educational application software. Both teachers and students can make use of the abundance of educational software available on CDs, DVDs, and school networks.

Enhance lectures and presentations. Connect the computer to a television monitor, and then use the computer to enhance lectures, create and give presentations, and take students on virtual field trips.

Use the computer as a teaching assistant. Tutor individual students by having them use drill and practice software, tutorials, simulations, and problem-solving software.

Foster group and cooperative learning. Students can use the computer as an informational resource or a creation tool for group projects, such as digital media presentations.

Write an ongoing story. Begin a story on the computer that serves as a creative writing center, and invite student authors to add to it daily. Before you begin, explain the rules for acceptable behavior, the types of content to be included in the story, and the types of entries that are satisfactory.

Start a class newsletter. Invite students to write articles and use word processing or desktop publishing software to create a class newsletter.

Create a class blog. Ask your students to evaluate the way we receive information today by reading and comparing two to three different Web logs about a current event. Then, have them write a response in the class blog about the Web logs they thought were most accurate and compelling.

Maintain a student database. Instead of having students fill out information forms, let them enter the information into a database on the computer. Students also can enter information on a variety of content-related subject areas, such as information on science projects, vocabulary words, historical places, and so on.

Utilize the computer as a teacher productivity tool. The computer is an excellent medium for creating curriculum activities, lesson plans and tests, maintaining grades and attendance records, writing letters to parents, and creating achievement certificates. Purchasing gradebook or student information management software helps to streamline many daily management responsibilities.

Use other low-cost input devices, such as netbooks, for students to create first drafts, take notes in class, and enter data into their documents. Later, the data can be downloaded to the computer. This is a super time-saver and is ideal for student projects.

Optimize computer lab time. Use the computer to introduce students to various types of software and thus create learning paths before taking students to the school’s computer lab. This will optimize the time students spend on computers while in the computer lab.

Share your ideas...

Barriers of using technology in the classroom...

Barriers to technology integration include the following: a lack of teacher training, lack of administration support, limited time for teacher planning, computer placement in remote locations making access difficult, budget constraints, and basic resistance to change by many educators.

Which barrier is the most important and why?

What are the advantages of using presentation graphics software programs? What are the disadvantages? How are teachers and students using presentation

Using presentation graphics software, you can create documents called presentations, which you then use to communicate ideas, messages, and other information to a group, such as a class or auditorium of people.

Advantages of using presentation graphics software include the following: Presentation graphics software typically provides an array of predefined presentation formats that define complementary colors for backgrounds, text, and other special effects. Presentation graphics software also provides a variety of layouts for each individual slide so you can create a title slide, a two-column slide, a slide with clip art, and others. Any text, charts, and graphics used in a slide can be enhanced with 3-D and other effects such as shading, shadows, and textures. With presentation graphics software, you can incorporate objects from the clip art/image gallery into your slides to create multimedia presentations. A unique feature of presentation graphics software is that it allows you to create a presentation that presents information in a nonlinear format. Slides also can be made into traditional overhead transparencies or printed and given to students as a handout.

Disadvantages of using presentation graphics software include the following: Care must be taken to ensure that all presentations do not look the same. Students can be turned off by the presentation if it is not well designed and if the message is not clearly stated.

Teachers are using presentations as part of their daily lesson plans and for parent presentations. Students are using presentations as a way to enhance assignments.

Express your thoughts...

Should computers be used in K-12 classrooms?

Computers should be used in K-12 schools because technology and digital media are everywhere and integrated into every aspect of individuals’ lives. Today’s educators must provide students with the skills they will need to excel in a technology-rich society. An extensive body of education research is showing that technology can support learning in many ways. Using technology in the classroom, for example, can be motivational. Teachers have found that using modern computers, digital media, and other computer-related technologies can capture and hold students’ attention. Computers also can provide many unique, effective, and powerful opportunities for teaching and learning, including skill-building practice, real-world problem solving, interactive learning, discovery learning, and linking learners to a multitude of instructional resources. Computers also support communications beyond classroom walls, thus enabling schools and communities to provide an environment for cooperative learning, for development of higher-order thinking skills, and for solving complex problems.

Do you agree?

My Story

Online Learning in 2010

I began my journey working in the distance learning environment in 2000 and began teaching an online course in 2005. Throughout the past 10 years I have experienced many course management systems such as Prometheus, Angel, WebCT, and Blackboard. These technologies have opened the higher education world to many opportunities. Convenience is one of the reasons why students take an online course. They love the concept of learning anywhere, at anytime, and at any place. Now modularized learning is adding a 4th component of at any pace.

I am always looking for ways to improve my online classes. Every day I hear of new technologies. I consider my online courses as "work in progress". There is always room for improvement.

Well, that is enough for now. Talk soon!