Interaction Balance

            

Interact Much?

            It is getting extremely hard to interact with people in this day and age without a cell phone. While cell phones offer convenience they also create a barrier between people. These barriers get in the way of collaboration and networking skills needed for today’s world. Students ought to be taught the balance between interacting with the digital world and the living world. After all, it is social interaction that drives people to come together.

            In my classroom I will encourage the use of technology, but I will also encourage collaboration. This collaboration will not only be over technology, but also in the classroom with physical materials. They will do projects that involve cooperation and communication. I will integrate speech into assignments and help them learn how to network. By the end of my class I want my students to be able to ask questions to get answers, learn the value of collaboration, and have the confidence in their speaking skills. 

Field Trips Through Tech? Preposterous!

Yeah, I said it. Virtual Field Trips!

            Virtual field trips are becoming more and more common in this day and age. Why? They are much easier to access than physically going. If you’re in Florida and your class is doing a project on Ellis Island it would be really pricey to go there. Now you can actually use the internet for that. It’s convenient and teaches tech skills.

            I personally have some ideas for using virtual field trips in the classroom While my idea may sound like it belonged in my other blog entry, Special Hardware, I thought a separate blog entry would be better. A piece of technology known as the Oculus Rift is being developed to integrate virtual reality into our world and eyes. Now, I know that this tech is being used for video games mostly, but hear me out. The Oculus Rift could be used in the educational field. Virtual field trips that involve video and tours through cameras at the location being looked at could use the Oculus Rift to make the trip more interactive. The Oculus Rift tracks head motion, therefore the wearer would feel more engaged in looking around. No more mouse clicks! The Rift could also be used to go on more computer generated trips, such as a trip into the space with Titans Of Space.

            Currently I’m actually looking at getting an Oculus Rift Developer Kit 2 to test out the possibilities. I want to center my ideas on disabled students. I believe they can benefit the most with this technology. We can liberate them from their disability through Virtual Reality. The biggest way I want to incorporate this is to use a mobile robot with a camera synced to the Rift that can pivot like the viewer’s head. The viewer then could go out on a field trip from the comfort of the classroom. Overall, I can’t wait to try!

Cyber Bullying

CYBER BULLYING

“No, you don't know what it's like
When nothing feels all right
You don't know what it's like
To be like me
To be hurt
To feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one's there to save you
No, you don't know what it's like
Welcome to my life” 

--Simple Plan  

          Cyber bullying. It is the new way to reach out and bully someone. You pick up a phone, you go onto Facebook and you type something that causes pain to another person. Students are committing suicide sometimes because of cyber bullying. Punches are no longer thrown in the hallway or classroom. There needs to be something done about cyber bullying and counseling victims of it. Victim? Who is the victim? Immediately, the person who is getting bullied. But have you ever considered that the bully is also a victim? Why are they bullying? Society makes us act out in different ways. For the bully it could be a way to impress a certain group of people they want to belong to. It could be a way for them to relieve their stress (albeit unhealthy).

            So we must attack the route of both problems. We educate the bullies and the bullied. As teachers we need to stand up and ask questions. We need to teach that it both victims can be hurt. For instance, if a bully causes a student to commit suicide the bully could become emotionally unstable for the rest of their life. They may even develop more habits of causing hurt to others. WE NEED TO STOP IT IN ITS TRACKS BEFORE IT CONSUMES ANYONE ELSE. I will always look for a way to protect my students.

Special Hardware

            We've learned about different pieces of technology that are integrated into classrooms across the nation. One of the one’s I find myself so fascinated with is the Smart Board. This piece of hardware is a white board that is interactive. It recognizes touch commands and has its own markers to write with. You can connect a computer to it and then use the markers to highlight important parts of a text that you are displaying. The students can also join in. This piece of equipment incorporates the various learning styles. Tactile learners will get a hands on approach while visual learners will feel right at home with the image being displayed.

            Overall, the Smart Board keeps a student’s attention and enhances the learning. I had a teacher in high school who had one. We used to look up articles and highlight important material. It enhanced the learning. I would use a Smart Board in my classroom too. Presentations would be much more interactive and the students would feel more engaged. I want to entice my students to come up the board and the Smart Board does just that. I believe that if you make education look enticing and interesting the learning will flow more easily. 

Why I Think Prezi Is An Important Tool

   

    Prezi, a tool that is similar to PowerPoint is a utility students should start using more. With Prezi you can make presentations that pop. Slides can have multiple layers and attract much more attention. Students have much more autonomy using Prezi than they do in Powerpoint. Students can incorporate text, video, and images into their presentations. 

    When it comes to incorporating Prezi into the classroom I have some great ideas. I would create presentations to explain projects or even recap on past classes. There is also a choice to share the Prezi with other people and have them edit it. The class could do a Prezi for the next year's class. I want to teach High School and overall I would love for a previous class to leave a presentation of what to expect for the next. It would be a great way to pull the class together to create something.