Sep 08 2008
What’s hot and what’s not
I recently came across an article in the September 2008 issue of NEA on which technologies are hot, and which ones are not. It’s good to see that we are on the right path according to this article. As a district, we have been implementing Web 2.0 tools for some time now. I am seeing more and more teachers using tools such as blogs, wikis, Moodle and other Web 2.0 applications. In our local distrct offce, we have been using Google applications and blogs to streamline our efforts of communication and be more effective in collaboration with each other and with schools. I am also seeing schools purchasing more and more laptpos versus desktop computers. The fact that classrooms are limited in space, makes purchasing laptops a better choice. Below is the list from the NEA magazine listing “What is hot, and what is not.”
HOT
* Laptop computers
* Mini-computers that cost less than $400.
* Flash drives that let students load up computer contents and take them anywhere.
* Posting documents to a 2.0 site accessible from any computer using a program like Google Docs.
* Second Life, the virtual 3-D world of social networking, to interest students in classroom discussion. (They can meet online for group work or network with students across the globe.)
* Second Life for professional development sessions that cross district and state borders allowing for national collaboration.
* Online collaborative Web 2.0 applications.
* Digital cameras to enhance classroom activity.
* Microblogging tools like Twitter.com for professional development. (Put a question out to the Twitter community and within minutes get answers back from across the globe.)
* Giving students school email accounts.
NOT
* Desktop computers (too cumbersome!)
* Proprietary software. It can be costly and clunky and it’s tied to one specific computer.
* Typed papers and hard copies of teaching documents. Sending documents to students and parents via email. Textbook-and-worksheet-only instruction
* Boring professional development sessions on uncomfortable folding chairs with people in your school only
No responses yet
Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!)
