Week Eight

Earlier in this course, we discussed the use of online communication tools in the area of education. There are numerous benefits to using online resources for communication among students and teachers. There are many online communication tools, including email and chat, which provide platforms for rich discussion among students. Also, they are beneficial because they allow teachers to implement collaborative projects and assignments, as well as foster peer review and encourage greater communication not only among students, but also teachers and parents. Using online communication tools in the classroom provides great opportunities for students to understand the use of technology in education and in their future careers.

This week is the last week of our Educational Technology class, and the focus of the lesson was on Ethical and Social issues in the use of technology. In particular, we took a look at areas of concern with security and ways to prevent malicious software and/or hackers. This has been a major problem with the use of technology in school systems around the world. Technological gurus have found new and creative ways to access private information and spread viruses to other computers.

As a teacher myself, I use a computer every day for work and for personal use. In my classroom, I only have one computer that I use, but we have several computer labs where students frequent on a daily basis. In the past, I have interacted with computer labs with my students working on assignments. There are different types of security that can be put in place to ensure that the students are safe on the Internet, and that their personal information is kept confidential. Every computer in the school has an anti-virus protection installed, as well as a firewall, and prevention for many other types of malicious software. One of the main concerns we see in public schools is the use of social networking. Therefore, our school has blocked students and teachers alike from being able to access Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc. on any school computer. Another concern that schools have with computer use is the viewing of pornography. Most sites are blocked from the domain, but sometimes I have seen students gain access to inappropriate material through a search engine that directs them to another page. These are the main areas of concern in the school setting for malicious software and breeches of security. That is why all schools have some type of security in place, so that students and staff can be safe while using the computers.

Week Seven

The focus of Week Seven was software and the management of files. We explored different types of educational software, including drill-and-practice, problem solving, creative/critical thinking, tutorial, simulation, image editing, and draw/paint software. Each type of software can be used for a different purpose in the classroom.

This week I was challenged to choose one piece of software to use with my students and reflect on the experience. In my Algebra Two classes, we are learning how to solve systems of linear equations, which can be a difficult concept for many students. Many students do not know how they can utilize a graphing calculator to help them solve complex problems, so I focused this assignment on teaching my students how to perform specific tasks on the TI-84 graphing calculator. My instructional objective was to teach them how to solve a system of linear equations graphically. They had to understand the concept that solving a system of linear equations means that you are trying to find where they two lines intersect when you graph them. By utilizing the TI-84 SmartView software, I was able to display the graphing calculator on a large screen so that they entire class could follow along on their own calculator. They were able to see how to input each equation into the calculator, graph each line, and use a list of procedures to determine where the two lines intersect.

Using the software had its advantages and disadvantages. Besides being able to display the calculator on a large screen, one advantage of using the software was the fact that I was able to split the screen to show my students the procedures on the calculator, and at the same time show them the history of the keys pressed in case some students were falling a little behind the rest of the class. One of the challenges I faced while using the software with my class was that many students had individual questions that had to be addressed because they were on a different step than the rest of the class. Some students were behind, and other students tried to work ahead unsuccessfully. Overall, the TI-SmartView software was very beneficial in my instruction of graphing systems of linear equations. If I were to use this software again when teaching this lesson, I will make sure to keep each student on the same step by not moving to the next step until everyone was on the same page.