Visualizing with Technology

Having been raised with many of these programs and different types of technology that we use on a daily basis, thus it is hard to have much of a negative opinion of technology in the classroom. Although technology is extraordinarily helpful when it comes to visual aids, visual representation, and many different forms of visualization it can also distract students from lesson and prevent the necessary learning that is intended. So although I believe that there are ways that visualizing with technology could actually prevent and deter students from properly learning the necessary information. The simple truth is as much as we use visual learning in technology the consequences and the repercussions of the use of technology are not as noticeable when compared to all of the positives and benefits that the technology could potentially and even currently do provide.  

Visual aids are a significant part of the learning process. Technology has had many ways of enabling students to learn and connect with the information they are learning. Not only has technology allowed for new ways to view visual aids, but also produce and create new visuals of all kinds, using programs such as Paint, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power Point, Prezi, Photoshop, and many other programs meant specifically for visual aids and other learning tools. However visual aids are not strictly limited to the visual aspect of learning, videos bring audio into the equation as well as the already present visual stimulations. The combination of audio and visual helps audible learners, visual learners, and those that learn best under the audiovisual learning as well.

Here is your Daily Podcast

In simplified terms podcasting is YouTube mobile without the need for internet connection. Podcasting is an easy way to save movies, tv shows, radio shows, and other various recordings, share them over the web to download onto mobile devices to be viewed and heard at any time anywhere. In a classroom setting this is great especially for disabled students or students that are unable to attend every class. For example some students will miss class due to conferences, sporting events, family emergencies, medical problems and emergencies, etc. and having the option to listen to a podcast in order to keep up with ones assignments and lectures would be highly beneficial, and the ability to re-watch a lecture to slow things down to a better pace or rewind to understand something better would allow students to actively engage with the information that the least understand.

Web 2.0 applications such as Wiki, Social Bookmarking, and Voice Threads are helpful in relaying a message but they also rely on using an internet source. That is one of the primary differences between podcasts and applications. The other applications are better off for working in a group setting when a discussion is needed to be made to finish the task at hand. Podcasting differs because it is more of a one on one working tool. If I were to use podcasting, I would use it when I am on a long bus ride or on an airplane to recap a class lecture or listen to one of my shows, something to pass the time without relying on finding a Wi-Fi signal. Now if I am at home working or viewing something, I have the internet at hand to use the available sources.

Due to one of my uncle’s own personal purchases recently, I have access to all types of Apple products in my house, such iPhones, iPad, iPod, iTouch, MacBook, etc…. Now the uses for these devices all differ depending on what they are, the MacBook would be used for project stuff because of all the editing software it offers, iPad for its larger screen and mobility for gaming. However personally I like to use my iPhone for my online research, gaming, and social media. If there is a need for it, I tend to use my phone in classrooms to do online discussions and to pull up eBooks for the classes. I don’t see a problem with using these tools in classes as long as the usage for them are monitored in a way that doesn’t cause the class to loss its integrity.  

 

 

 

 

"Social Media" Tools

Before today’s video, I always saw wiki as an easy source to compose data of a group of people’s research. As in I could copy and paste someone else’s words and rephrase it so that I could use it. However, I now know that they can be used for better uses like social planning thru the use of the web. One person writes this, the other responds with that. A huge conversation with a written log for reference, wiki the world reference so to speak. With a filter system for bookmarking, this takes away the hours of searching thru all the sites for the ones needed for the task. Also it’s pretty nice to be able to share all of the bookmarks all at once instead of individually sending them to the other party. As for the other tools of Web 2.0, I personally do not see a future need for me personally. But I think that they could become helpful for others if given the time to practice.

In today’s educational system anything that can be linked to social media is a gold mine to a person’s attention span. What Web 2.0 does for today’s system is to put the task of sharing knowledge, not only in the composure, but into the hands of the respondents. Everyone is about expressing their opinion and getting their word out so that they can be heard. The tools like Wiki, Social Bookmarking, and Voice Threads; are areas where you can save something not only for your use but share it to help others that need it as well. A social media back scratching so to speak, the great thing is since I heard about this book marking site I now have a way to filter out all the junk in my favorites tab.