End of Term Reflection

1. Have you opinions about technology integration in education changed since the beginning of the term? Why or why not?
          I don't think my opinions regarding technology integration in education have necessarily changed over the course of the term. I have always believed that it's important to integrate technology into all aspects of education (rather than just during designated "technology time"). Throughout this term my belief in the importance of technology integration has been strengthened and I have learned how to use many more interfaces that can be used in the classroom that allow for an easy integration of technology into all types of lessons.

2. Identify one or more programs/web apps introduced this term you believe you'll use in your future classroom. Why will you use these programs/apps?
          Examples of programs/web apps that I can imagine using in my future classroom include voki, bubbl, storyjumper, wordle, animoto, glog. I would use voki and animoto because it's an interesting way to grab the student’s attention for simple tasks like introducing myself or giving directions. I would use bubbl, storyjumper, wordle and glog because they are unique interfaces that break up the monotony of the average school day and have the ability to catch and maintain the students attention throughout a lesson.

Students Using Technology

Integrating Websites into the Classroom

The website I explored was called "Scholarpedia" (URL: http://www.scholarpedia.org/).

          Scholarpedia is designed for anyone who researches information on the internet and would like to know that the information they are reading is factual. This website is different from sites like wikipedia that can be edited by anyone, the information presented on this website is written by experts and it is then peer-reviewed, only the author has the ability to make changes to the website. This website offers information on a variety of topics, users simply need to search for their desired topic. A cool feature of the website is that you can do searches within certain encyclopedias such as physics and astrophysics.

          This website can be used in the classroom as a resource that is guaranteed to provide factual information. If a student asks a question that the teacher does not have the answer to then they could turn to Scholarpedia to find the answer. This website could also be used in a lesson to have students compare the accuracy of websites like Wikipedia to Scholarpedia. This could be done by having students research a topic on Wikipedia and then researching that same topic on Scholarpedia and then comparing the information. This would give students a first-hand look at how important it is to use reliable sources and to know that just because something is on the internet doesn't mean it's always 100% correct.

          This website could be used to extend learning opportunities outside of the classroom by being a key tool that students could have in their repertoire as a factual source of information.