Using Computer Games in the Classroom

Many teachers are using computer games in classrooms, and some parents think that "playing ont he computer" in school is a waste of time. Well, they can be if students are playing the wrong types of games on the computer, but teachers have done a good job of finding educational computer games for students. In playing computer games, students can "play", or learn, at their own pace; they are not tied to the pace of their peers or their teacher. Also, many students don't consider computer games as learning and therefore are more compelled to play these educational games.

I think that using educational computer games in the classroom is a good tool for learning. The students are more likely to pay attention to the computer because they are the ones that are controlling the game opposed to the teacher controlling the class. Although I think it is a good tool, I do not think that educational computer games should be used in excess; the games should be a supplement to the lesson at hand.

This video shows some tips and tricks to using games in the classroom. This type of game is different from a computer game, though. Nevertheless, using a game like the one in the video can help keep students engaged in the material.

Open Source Software and Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is taking away the mess of emails that are sent back and forth in order to collaborate on a certain idea. Google docs is an easy way to edit a document online, while the changes are being updated in real time- with the ability to allow others to edit the document as well. This cuts down the time you have to spend looking through emails trying to figure out which one is the most current and most updated. I think cloud computing is becoming more widespread, especially among companies.

Open source software is also a great tool. In my opinion, if I was planning on using a certain application everyday I would purchase the proprietary software, thus ensuring that the server will not be down, or crash at an inopportune time. Otherwise, I would recommend using the open source software. If a photo needs to be edited and you do not have Photoshop, the open source version of Photoshop will do the trick! This way, money is not being unnecessarily spent on programs that will not get much use out of.

In the field of education, this could help students, whose family cannot afford to buy Microsoft Office, complete assignments. I remember when I was in elementary school and I had to type up a paper to turn in, and my parent's computer was in the shop getting fixed. It was a hassle for my mom to find a friend that has a computer that I could use for this assignment. Open source software if also useful is students need to use a program, but only once or twice, so they do not need to buy the proprietary version of the software.

This article explains another way that open source software is useful in schools. James Gaskin writes about how, instead of updating software on computers in the schools, the schools turned to open source software to save money. This is a good idea in the aspect that it will save thousands of dollars by operating on the free versions of Microsoft Office and others. On the other hand, it would be a problem if the server of one of these programs was down while trying to have a class work within the program.

Distance and Virtual Education

Distance education is a type of education that is being more widely used these days. Distance education includes online teaching and learning, as seen in Florida Virtual School and other programs similar to FLVS. Universities are also offering online classes, and now a chance to get a degree completely online. Primary schools have now also started offering whole grade levels online.

There are pros and cons to this type of learning. One of the pros is that it is now easier for adults, with a job and/or children, to go back to school and complete or earn a degree. On the other hand, a con to primary schooling online is the argument that children need to interact with others to gain the social skills they will utilize for the rest of their lives.

As preparing to be a teacher, this is a huge concern for me. I will need to actively keep up with the new technology and new programs that come out for this distance learning. I could possibly teach one of these online classes and I need to have the skills to do so.

This video gives a little information about k12, which is an online learning curriculum. This video also explains how the learning is facilitated and some benefits of online education.

Technology Tools for Critical Thinking

As we already know, there are many free applications on the web that are very useful. Another example of one of these tools is Webspiration, the online version of Inspiration. This program helps organize ideas and thoughts for a paper, project, or just to stay focused on a topic. In Webspiration, you are able to create a concept-map, or a web-diagram. Once this has been done, you can then choose to make an "outline" of your concept map. This puts all of your information into, well, an outline format.

In education, this could be helpful to new writers. Young students sometimes struggle with making an outline for an essay. If they were to use this program, they could first create their web-diagram, then see how it translates into an outline. Then, from the outline, then can write their essay; this helps ideas stay organized throughout a paper.

This blog has some more information on Webspiration, it's features, and how Webspiration can be implemented in the classroom. Webspiration, and Inspiration, are really great tools that can help students get familiar with the outline format when writing essays and doing projects.