Ed. Tech

 QR Codes      QR codes have been a huge help for easy access to links and applications. I remember back in school we never had QR codes for anything. I also had to look back and forth and type in the whole link for any games and websites we needed to go to and it was a struggle. Kids often type one letter wrong or need to remember a backslash, etc. The bottom line is it has become so much easier to scan a code and have it pop right open to the website for you with no hassle.      When it comes to the younger ages this becomes significantly easier and more accessible for them as well. I couldn't imagine trying to have a class of first graders all type in a long link to get to a webpage, you would be doing that all day. with QR codes it becomes a much quicker and time-saving advantage. It also ensures that every student is on the same page and not all going to a different website.      You can use a QR code for so many things. Q...

AR/VR      Virtual reality has come a long way in the past years. They keep finding new ways to make it better all the time, and it can only get better from here. Now can VR be helpful and a tool in the classroom?  Yes, absolutely As technology continues to advance using VR becomes a good skill to learn. it prepares students for a tech-driven future and will help them later in life as well.  VR also makes learning more engaging with VR students are going to be interacting with the lesson firsthand and have a better experience with it. it can also help enhance their memory retention. when you are in VR you feel like you are there and that is a lot more memorable than listening to a teacher lecture for an hour and taking notes.     There are also a lot of negatives with VR in the classroom as well. Cost is the biggest one. VR is very expensive especially if you plan to have one for every student then it becomes a big issue. another big issue i...

 The Maker Movement      Every year technology keeps improving and getting better. There are many ways that we can use technology in education. Do you remember the technology you had back in elementary school, middle school, or even high school? I never went to a fancy school, but we had the pull-down screens with the old huge projectors that always froze and glitched, the roller cart overhead projectors to show papers on the screen, etc. You get the point, technology has improved so much even in the past 10 years.      We now have interactive touchscreen TVs, interactive projectors, and 3-D printers, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Not only has technology itself improved so much, but also the way we can use it for education as well. With smartboards, we now have the ability to give a child many more hands-on activities, such as games, solving problems, watching videos, etc.      I think the newer generation of teachers has endle...

 Gaming Up The Classroom      Incorporating games into the classroom can have many advantages, but it can also have many disadvantages. using games to help them understand and learn the lesson better. But simultaneously, you must ensure they are playing only the games allowed. Now, if it's a personal device that can be a tricky task. If it is a device provided by the school then this becomes less of an issue. There are lots of parental controls and settings you can put on devices from the school, and most schools do this already.      There are lots of interactive games and websites that have great benefits for keeping kids engaged in learning. Kahoot is a great one for instance, I remember playing that even in high school and I so badly wanted to get first place so I would try my best to learn the material so I could answer faster than everyone else. By the time the real quiz came, I usually performed better and knew the questions more after playing a...

 Social Media And Education      Social media has been involved in schools a lot, especially recently. Let's talk about some of the advantages of using social media in school. Students constantly have their faces buried in their phones 24/7. Teachers and schools would benefit a lot from implementing social media. you can use social media for online discussions, and posting upcoming events and assignments.      Using social media in school can also help build a better and bigger community. With everyone posting about upcoming school events, football games, charity events, and fundraising. Using social media also makes it a lot easier to connect with and contact students. As I said before we are always on our phones.      Social media can be a huge advantage to teaching and education, but it also has its disadvantages as well. Inappropriate things can be shared and said, and bullying can happen a lot more as well.  Unless people are k...

 Accessible Online Learning      Regarding accessible online learning, I am not too familiar with how it all works. Everyone obviously has the right to an education, But with disabilities, I feel like that becomes more of a challenge, especially depending on the disability. A person who is blind, they have technology that can read the text to you and have voice commands to navigate a webpage. When it comes to textbooks used in class this becomes more challenging, seeing as how every single textbook may not have an online version that can be read to you. If you happen to teach a person who is blind it is important to try your best to minimize pictures and PDFs in your curriculum or provide an alternative assignment for that particular student that will accommodate their needs.