Speech With Milo

An application I stumbled upon while reviewing a Technology Review, is the application called "Speech With Milo".  It can be used for general education students, but it's mostly used for special education students through speech therapy. The creator is a licensed pathologist. While researching this topic, she presents videos on YouTube on why she created the application and how it can be used.  
She sees the access of iPads and iPhones will help the students advancement in their language development. 

This application can be accessed through any mobile device. The intended target of age is 2-10. Milo, an interactive mouse allows the kids to learn the topic through the adventures of Milo and his friends. For example, he'll go on a walk through the woods. He will then walk or run through the woods. The students have to then choose the action. Speech with Milo has verbs, nouns, prepositions, adjectives, feelings, numbers, and an interactive storybook. In result of this application, the students can see language development as well as gaining knowledge of the topic. 

The cost is only $2.99 for each application. It doesn't seem much, but it can add up, especially with how many applications "Speech With Milo" provides. If a school provides the educational budget, I would recommend using this application in the special education classrooms. Not only is it cost effective, but it's simple for all the students to use. It's only tapping on the mobile device. 

Instagram

Instagram is an application that may not be thought of as an educational resource, but it most definitely is. Instagram is a photo application that can enhance your pictures with the filters that they provided. Most commonly used for their "selfies", Instagram can be used as an technology resource! 

Here are some examples of what Instagram can be used for. It can showcase students' work. Students love to be able to show their parents what they did that day in class. It will give the students a boost of confidence if their work is presented to the Instagram page. An interactive lesson use can be through posting through a historic figure, or a famous figure of a book. So, for example, you can use President Lincoln and have the students post something he could've posted. 

The hashtag (#) can be used to let the students explore ideas and topics. Once you post, and hastag a topic. (for example: #PresidentLincoln) it can take you to other posts that other people did!

educational skype

<Educational Skype>

 http://www.edudemic.com/skype-in-classroom/

Skype has been introduced and is being used in the world as a social networking media to contact with people all over the world, through video calls or messaging. Although myriads of people are using this for non-educational purposes, I would like to strongly raise my voice in saying that Skype is a technology that can be used for educational purposes.

Many students who miss classes for going out of town or for being sick, can use Skype to contact teachers or friends to catch up on information and updates on class pace. Also, especially in college where all the students are busy with the work of load and work, and can’t get together for a group work or meeting, Skype is the thing they need. You can simply connect with other classmates, wherever they are, and discuss your work by looking at each other through the video call.

Now, don’t limit Skype as a social media that would bother students. We use them for educational purposes now! Meet your classmates, teachers, and friends through Skype. You can teach and learn.

The Role of Educators Will Be Changed

<The Role of Educators Will Be Changed>

Traditional	Technology
Teacher lectures at a set time.	World renowned expert lectures anytime / anywhere.
Assignments take days or weeks to grade.	Students get instant feedback.
Teachers teach students the same lessons.	Instruction is differentiated based on level.
Students consume books.	Students interact with reading material.
Student’s connect with peers based on the geography they were born into.	Students can create personal learning networks allowing them to interact with the world.

*Source: http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2015/12/does-tech-mean-end-of-teaching-as-we.html

This is the difference between traditional learning and learning with technology. Previously, teachers had to do almost everything for students. They needed to correct assignments, prepare classes, answer students’ questions and so forth. But now it has changed. The main task that teachers need to figure out is to guide students to learn. Students can find whatever they want online, so they can learn anything in their mobile devices. We also need to acknowledge that each student has their own personality and characteristics. It will be a bad idea for teachers to teach everyone with the same method,  with the same class direction. As a result, guiding students to study is a better solution because we have both online resources and teachers. Combining these two together can enhance students’ learning experience. They can learn what they want to learn because they have their passions to understand what they are learning.

Feedback is also important for teachers to knowledge the processes of each students and then suggest students to do further study. When students study online, teachers need to track the status of students to make sure that everyone is learning. Online assignments and evaluations are important for teachers when teaching students. If they usually cannot figure out those issues, we need to reach the solution of teaching students both online and in class. Just like the “flipped classroom”, we can have students take tests at school and prepare and study at home.

Educators need to follow the trend of this world and then use the contemporary tools to enhance students’ learning activity, despite facing some risks and disadvantages when using contemporary technologies. But what we need to do is to eliminate these side effects and to embrace these new ways.

Teach with more Professional Software

<Teach with more Professional Software>

Teachers need to have life-long education nowadays because of the rapid developing technology.

We not only need to learn the professional knowledge for teaching, such as psychology, education methods and so on, but we also need to learn what is special (only occurred in this era) in this society. There is no doubt that the mobile technology only occurs in these years. Although, most of teachers who are older than 40 may not be skilled in using advanced technology to enhance teaching quality, there are tools showed online to help these teachers who want to learn new methods to teach. They also made the video to teach teachers how to use these online tools, such as Google classroom, or Google docs.

Previously, we thought that if we study a lot in college about the professional skills of teaching, we wouldn’t need to learn more about teaching. But the actual thing would be that the whole world will become a big group and everyone will be able to share their teaching experience online. As a result, educators share their professional experiences with others. (Microsoft Education) If we don’t absorb knowledge from others, we will not know the trend of teaching and cannot provide high quality teaching. One good news is that everyone can learn things from the Internet. This information era brings us a number of opportunities to learn and to change our minds. Life-long learning is required in this society.

Games Enhance Children's Learning Quality

<Games Enhance Children’s Learning Quality>

When we were young, our parents restricted us from playing games. However, in contemporary, games do enhance our learning experience. Playing to learn is a good chance to teach students and allow students to love learning. According to an announcement showed by Apple, the top two Apps that have been used were games and the third one was social media.

The best way to eliminate the side effect of playing games is to establish some rules for children when they are playing. For example, just allow them to play games for two hours everyday for no longer than 45 minutes each. We need to forbid some games which are a bad influence to children. I think almost all of the children lose control when playing video games because when I was a child, my possessiveness was pretty poor. My parents always warned me to stop because of the long time playing. As a result, schools or parents must set limits to warn children not to pass the level of playing too much game.

Besides, combining educators and CIS (Computer Information Science) engineers wil create and develop a couple of educational games which are advantageous to students. Students who have pleasant mood will learn more when they play the games because they learn knowledge by themselves and they have plenty of passion to acquire those knowledges.

Educational games with addiction prevention systems can enhance the quality and efficiency of learning.

Celly

<Celly>

https://cel.ly/

        Texting in classes? With teachers? Yes, you heard that right. Because so many students are in class on their phones texting, they barely put their voices in class discussions. Therefore, teachers thought of an idea of having students who were quiet, be more involved into class, and participate. Now, teachers use Celly to communicate by texting and have students be more involved in class work. I think that this is an interesting way to grab students’ attention into class that I would like to use in my future class. However, I do believe that this would only work only on the basis that all students have a mobile device. Also, students may be distracted with other features of the phone rather than giving an input about the class lesson on Celly.

I mean, if it requires texting to have students participate, then why not, despite the way? As long as it doesn’t break a rule or law, go for it for the students’ successes.

Flashnotes

<Flashnotes!>

http://www.luvolearn.com/

        I remember that throughout my years of education, especially from my 9th  grade Geometry class, my teacher always complimented me for having such neat and well-written notes and homework. He always asked me if he can keep my homework and notes. Afterwards, I was always concerned when I was done with each class, if I should garbage my notebooks with such well-written notes and homework. However, this technology I discovered called Flashnotes allows students to upload their class notes and sell them to other students who need the notes for more resources or for students who cannot afford textbooks or couldn’t make it to class. This technology encourages the students to take good notes and earn money from it. You don’t need worry whether to throw away your notes when you are done with that class. You don’t need worry if you’ll fall behind for missing a class and wasn’t able to view the notes. You are now able to learn from other elites! Now, use Flashnotes and gather the notes you need, and share your notes with others to earn money from it.

The Galaxy Takes You To Tour Galaxy

I am currently a Galaxy S6 Edge owner and user, and I find that it contains myriads of educational apps that we can get help from and find convenience from it. This Galaxy takes you to observe and brighten the smart world of knowledge, in which I refer to as the Galaxy. You’ll have it wherever you go and whenever you need it. Makes life so much easier.

Google Drive: Many classes use Google Drive to turn in assignments, nowadays. Many students make excuses that they didn’t have a computer to turn in their homework. However, having Google Drive allows you to save your work in either a Google Document, Excel, or PowerPoint. Google Drive automatically saves your work each minute you update or add information into it. You can easily access all your saved documents and works, just by going into the Google Drive. The cool thing about Google Drive is that you can edit work on the same document with other people at the same time. So now, no more lame excuses!

Memo: Memo is one good app that I find very useful. You might not have a paper and pen, handy. Sometimes, you get ideas that you don’t want to forget. Memo is just the thing you’ll need! Type in your ideas or reminders (like agenda), and have them handy wherever you go.

QR Code Reader: QR codes are read by smart phones or tablets which leads you to view information of what you need like articles, websites, letters, books, and lot more. You don’t need to carry all the books and stacks of papers anymore. Just have your Galaxy and scan the bar code to view sources just through your phone.

Use your galaxy, to earn all the advantages and benefits you can get in education.

Dress Codes and Sexism

          I read an article called "The Sexism of School Dress Codes" where they talk about the fact dress codes are geared toward females and LGBTQ students. In the article one makes a documentary that interviews her friends and peers about eh dress code that is established in her school. This student said that at one point the administrators said that the dress code was to make sure the male students wouldn't get distracted. This was a crazy concept to grasp. The fact that female students are being critiqued on their clothing items because the school is considered about what the male students will think. In another student's school, female students would get called out in front of the class by teachers. Females students would get kicked out of the classroom and sent home to find a more "appropriate outfit." This baffled me because as the article suggested the teachers and administration cares more about the way the female students look than if they are actually learning anything.
          Another incident happened to a student that openly addressed himself as gay. During spirit week he decided to dress up as a house wife complete with a dress and heels. Many classmates and teachers were okay with his decision to dress as such, but one school official thought that it was not appropriate for a male to wear female clothing. This is sad to hear because in 2015 you would think that school officials would understand the different viewpoints of people. If you do not agree with the student's lifestyle that is  one thing, but if the student is following dress code, the student would have the right to express themselves whatever way they deem right.
         I believe that having a dress code is essential in any school, but making sure that every student is being treated the same is also important. Accepting students for the way they are is also important is making sure that it is fair for all students.

The Adherents of the Repeated Meme

Internet memes are a pretty controversial subject among my friend group. Some of them love the things. Some find them tiresome and repetitive, which kind of goes with the territory of, well… repeating the same basic concept over and over and over again. But whether you like them or not, internet memes seem to be here to stay. So why not make use of them in education.

I think a fun activity would be to have students create memes about educational topics. This would require them to do a bit of research. In order to make meme that is actually clever and funny they would need to know a reasonable amount about their subject. Some of the funniest memes I’ve seen have been about historical figures.

Sites like memegenerator.net and knowyourmeme.com show that there is a demand for these sorts of things. While the site I just mentioned isn’t appropriate for school children (the F word was right on the front page when I last checked), memes are easy to make. Free picture editing software like Paint.Net is readily available. Even the modern versions of Microsoft Paint are effective for placing words on pictures. 

How much is too much technology?

    In a previous blog I wrote about the advantages of technology in elementary schools.  In this blog I am going to talk about too much technology.

    My thoughts haven’t changed about the importance of technology in elementary schools, I still believe it is very important for children.  However, I also believe that as some point children, and even adults, need tech free time.

   With technology being ever so popular; computer use, iPad, iPhone, and android devices in classrooms and at home, researchers have suggested that over time “this can cause fatigue that diminishes out ability to learn and remember information” (Too Much Technology, 2010).  A study done by the University of Michigan showed that people “performed better on learning tests after taking a walk in a natural landscape rather that a stimuli-filled urban environment” (Too Much Technology, 2010), so instead of using technology to see a landscape, people should go out and experience the real thing.

    I am not say that while children are in school 6 – 8 hours a day they are continually exposed to technology, however, I believe that educators should take into account the amount of time children may be exposed to technology outside of school.  This I believe is also true for parents, give your children a book to read instead of having a program read it for them and let them play outside instead of on video games.    As the website study.com stated, “Just as social networking sites don’t replace the need for real-life friends, entertainment provided by electronic devices do not fulfill our need for authentic relaxation” (Too Much Technology, 2010).

    I am by no means saying that technology is bad for children and they shouldn’t have access to it, I am simply saying to remember to give them a break sometime.

References:

Too Much Technology. (2010, November 11). Retrieved from Study Web site: http://study.com/articles/Too_Much_Technology.html

Is Technology in Elementary Schools Really Important?

    Children as young as 6 months old have access to some sort of technology, be it their parent’s phones or a tablet designed just for them.  Many preschools have computers or tablets in classrooms to help introduce children to lessons from colors and numbers to letters and shapes, and with many of the lessons children are introduced to keyboarding.

   Once children enter elementary school most have already had an introduction to some type of technology and while in elementary school they will most likely have more exposure and build on what they have already learned.

    Yes, technology in elementary schools is very important.  Technology helps “helps create a learning environment in which students are more confident and productive as they engage in projects that empower them to take ownership of their education” (Thomas-Fox, 2005).  Children are diving technology by working on websites, writing blogs, and making digital stories.  These types of assignments are the perfect foundation for them before entering high school and beyond.

    Technology can help children “see” the history they are reading about, “hear” the president they just talked about, even talk to children outside of their immediate area to find out about other states or countries.

    According to the website, makeuseof.com, the article “Tech jobs of the future: What to Study if you want a cool job tomorrow list the following top jobs of the future; “Cybersecurity, Drone Programmers, Nanotechnology in medicine and virtual reality designers” (Dube, 2014), to name a few.

    I am not saying that every child in elementary schools who are working with technology will fill these fields, but I believe that with the foundation of technology given to them at an early age, they will have an advantage over someone who never really works with technology in the classroom.  So yes, once again I say that technology in elementary schools is important.

References:

Dube, R. (2014, July 30). Future Tech. Retrieved from Make use of Web site.

Thomas-Fox, M. (2005). The Importance of Computer Technology in an Elementary School. Retrieved from Everyday Life Web site: http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/importance-computer-technology-elementary-school-7383.html