Chapter One, EDTC 614

Chapter one of the How to book gives us an introduction to web 2.0 tools as well as a trip down memory lane with the internet. In the past, the internet was a way to do research and maybe copy and paste information needed for a particular task, however, when forums came about people could actually post information and discuss topics collaboratively, however, this was primarily news forums and forums like IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) to discuss movies, TV shows, and celebrities.  Using forums in the classroom is a fairly recent event, In my introductory post I elaborated on how I grew up using the traditional 1.0 tools like search engines and how even for me, as a fairly young person is still new to some of these tools that I am being introduced to.

            Growing up, computer usage in classrooms was very limited, in fact, the only computer usage we had (besides keyboarding classes) was in the school library for research projects and more often than not it was in groups, and even if it was not, we only had a limited time to do it, now as a graduate student, every class that I have had so far has required significant computer usage, and my master’s program is completely centered around how technology can be integrated into classrooms and businesses.  In the past teachers were hesitant to consider these usages.

When I was in grade school, and until I got to graduate school I had never heard of cellular phones being used in the classroom, growing up it was instilled in my head that they were a disturbance or distraction and had no room in a classroom setting. Now things to education apps, teachers across the globe are saying otherwise, when we take a closer look at smartphones and see the educational tools that they offer, for example, in geography, if a Bing application is available, a student can map out something much quicker, by simply typing the city or country into a phone versus looking in a book or index. In life science or environmental science, thanks to the cameras that these devices offer, a student can take a picture of any given plant and use it in a project.  

This is all new, even to me! This is someone while, I am a 90s kid, it was not until college that I got to explore technology as in depth as this. The who online class thing was new to me. Prior to the fall of 2005 I had never heard of taking a class online, and quite frankly I thought it was the greatest thing, only to find out that even with online classes there are still deadlines, and that they are easy to forget if one does not check the internet every day.

I actually have a handout that I would like to share w/ my edtc 614 class that I did in a professional development course, you may find it in the forums, and give me your feedback. It’s a Skype handout that briefly goes into the use of smartphones and oovoo. This is a handout that teachers, administrators, and businesses alike can all benefit from.  Enjoy!