You Tube!

Schools either allow teachers to use You Tube, or block it completely, with the latter occurring more frequently. However, this flash based movie site does contain a wealth of educational videos and information. I believe teachers should have the freedom to use You Tube, while student use should be restricted. As we watched a You Tube video in one of my classes today, I realized how much better the video explained a concept than the traditional form of lecture would.

Podcasting

Almost everyone has an iPod or other portable music player. One frequently overlooked application on iTunes is that of the podcast. These "iPod broadcasts" are totally free to download, and can be put on any iPod. There is a tremendous potential for these in educational settings. For example, teachers could record lectures as a podcast, and students who were absent could be able to download the content and listen to it on their portable iPods. Podcasts could also be an integral part of out of school projects, and a fun way to get kids involved in the learning process.

Let's embark on a Webquest!

This application is really awesome, and I had never heard of it until now. A webquest is an internet based lesson plan designed by the teacher. The idea is that the lesson is web-centered, and not traditional. Teachers can take a traditional lesson and "beef it up" with webquest, by adding links and activities for the students to do. The 'quest' in webquest has to do with the fact that webquests are usually interactive, exploratory activities which involve internet browsing. It seems to be a good way to keep students motivated and excited to learn.

Sneaky, sneaky WIKI

A wiki is a website that is easily edited by any of its users. "Wikipedia.com" is probably the best example of one of these. One of the things I found to be very interesting is that there are so many possible uses for a wiki, because it is a knowledge sharing tool. Many wikis are unrestricted, which means you don't even have to be registered to edit content. This can create issues of credibility, and wikipedia.com is often cited as a poor source for school projects. However, there are site management systems that monitor the editing or addition of information, so that's nice. Even though online web pages can be useful sources of info, I'm a strong believer in using a wide variety of information sources on a project. The concept of wikis is nice for administration in schools, because they can set up their own knowledge sharing forums and pass ideas around without having to meet and discuss them.

D2L Course Management Systems

As a student at St. Cloud State University, I use the university course management system, D2l. There are similar versions of this software available to educators and professionals. Using desire 2 learn can make grading and schedule management significantly easier for the teacher. The thing I like most about SCSU's D2l is the grading system, which allows you to access your grade without having to go to the teacher, which can be beneficial for both student and educator. Putting up assignments on D2l is nice, because students can keep track of what's due, especially if they don't have a planner or forget to write the assignment down. It's a solid program, and I enjoy using our version of it.

Online image generators do not produce electricity...

Can you imagine how great it would be if these things could power America? Well, scratch that dream, because they can't. Oh well...at least they may be useful in the classroom. This is a good way to create images for interactive lessons, and you can combine elements. My map of the states I've had the pleasure of visiting is a great example...woohoo.

More Flickr...the grand ol' "Color Pickr"

This is a pretty cool tool associated with the flickr website. It allows you to pick a color from a palette and then shows an assortment of images that are of that color. Then you can pick images out from that conglomeration...sweet, huh?