Other internet as a tool for education (Wk 3-2)

Reading a post on Wikipedia, I found many examples of the internet as a tool for education. In this post, I will discuss three of the examples that I found to be great tools for education at all levels.

The first example showed me how useful the internet could be for primary education. If a sixth grader was doing research on weather patterns in Spain, why not contact someone who is in Spain? Students are not limited to the encyclopedias or news papers, but on-line they can look up real time weather or weather patterns past and future.

The article also introduced the idea of connecting classrooms, which connects different classrooms from different geographic regions to learn about culture, geography and different points of view. I can imagine the classrooms utilizing Skype with a classroom across the globe and can see where they live, observe their culture and discuss differences with the other classroom.

A third area that I would have appreciated when going for my undergrad degree would be Collaborative Projects. This is something I use today in my job. Having a place to share documents between team members, having version control and date/time/user stamps on documents is invaluable data in and of itself. Back in the day, we traded floppy disks and if a deadline wasn’t met, you had no confirmation of whose piece wasn’t done or when it was provided to the team lead.

The more I read on the topic of internet and education, the more I learn and the older I feel!!! When I went to UML for my bachelor degree…..




http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Social_Networking_-_EPS_415

Social Networking

Hello, I missed class last week due to school vacation for my kids. I don't know anyone in class.

Please take a look at my facebook & linkedin sites under sullybailey@gmail.com. I appreciate if some classmates can have sympathy on me and send me friend requests. :)

Thanks!!
Sue

The Internet as a Tool for Education (Wk 2-2)

When asked about using the Internet as a tool for education, I think about how I use to wait in line at the computer lab at UML in the early 90’s to do my assignments for Accounting Information Systems or to type a paper. At that time, only a few students had their own computers. Now, not only does everyone have a computer, but some attend classes through the internet without leaving their home.

As a mom with three kids and a full time job, the internet has been my resource for going back to school. I have attended three on-line classes toward my certificate in information technology. I would not have been able to do this without the internet.

Two of my daughters learned to tell time from the internet. http://ellerbruch.nmu.edu/classes/cs255w01/cs255students/bsarvell/p6/time/time.html
There are many sites that are interactive to help kids learn. Encyclopedias are a thing of the past with all the information now being at your fingertips. Even Church education is using You Tube as part of the curriculum.

While the internet is a great learning tool, integration into the classroom still remains a challenge. Most teachers did not grow up with computers and their training does not include how to teach utilizing computers or the internet. The biggest obstacle of the internet as a tool in the classroom is the cost. Not only are there implementation costs to consider, but also the maintenance, including upgrades. As with anything, it all comes down to the all mighty dollar.

http://kidoz.net/blog/the-internet-as-a-learning-tool/
http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/soc/courses/stpp4C03/ClassEssay/education.htm#4

Introducing myself (Wk2 - 1 BLOG1)

I have been married for twelve and a half years and have three kids. My daughters are 10, 7 and 4 years old. They keep me very busy.

I have bachelors in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. I worked in Accounting for nine years before moving over to the IT side of Accounting. I now work full time as a Business Analyst supporting Oracle Financials application software.

As you can see from other posts on my blog, I am participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. This is my third year walking with my best friend, who lost her mom to breast cancer. We walk 40 miles over two days. Each participant has to raise $1,800 in donations to qualify for the walk.

I recently started coaching my oldest daughter’s volleyball team. It has been 13 years since I touched volleyball. It’s going to be interesting.

iPad and Education

When asked how the iPad can impact the education industry, my first thought was how easy it will be for college students to carry to and from class. With it’s integrated Wi-Fi, smaller than a standard magazine and weighs only 1.5 pounds, it would take up hardly any space in a student’s backpack.

The iBooks application will allow students to download their text book from the Apple store and have it available on the computer. With at least 16GB of internal storage, there is plenty of space for the semesters books. The online Notes application would eliminate the need for paper and pen utilizing the onscreen keyboard. The 10 hour battery life would eliminate the need to carry a power cord and the touch screen functionality would eliminate the use of a mouse.

There are almost 140,000 apps available from the App Store to be used with the iPad. This will combine e-mail, photos, iTunes and video all in one resource.

This is all great, but will this one advance in technology see a change in our primary schools?

Today, many school systems are struggling with budgets and find technology as a place to save funds. In the 2009 budget for Hopkinton, they combined the school and town technology services eliminating 2.6 teaching positions and eliminated funding to purchase computers for the elementary schools. This is just one town, but it echoes through our state.

iPad is not the first electronic textbook reader. Many of the articles and blogs are comparing the iPad to the Kindle DX, each having pro’s & con’s. I don’t think that it is a matter of technology, but one of finances. When society puts more value into education, you will see many technology advances providing tools to education. I am sure that iPad can be one of them.


http://www.apple.com/ipad/
http://www.pcworld.com/article/188239/apple_ipad_vs_kindle_dx_which_is_better_for_education.html
http://www.hopkinton.k12.ma.us/newweb2/schoolcommittee/budget/08_09/Budget_Booklet_FY09.pdf

Adding Images to a Blog Post

I found this image on Google Images and I have been using it a lot with all my fundraising efforts.

MORE LINKS :)

This link is to my Avon Walk team page. Again, feel free to donate to the cause!

I am a big fan of snopes.com. This site is good for checking out the validity of e-mail chains. Can you get a cash reward from Microsoft and AOL forwarding an e-mail message? False.

Once in a while I will check out the Lowell Sun on line. It's always nice to see who in the community has been arrested.

I hope you enjoy these sites.

Link to Other Sites

This post is full of links to other sites of interest.

I am learning how to create links from my teachers site annunziato.org.

Click here to go to my neighbor's blog.

This is my first try at links, so I will add another post with additional sites once I confirm that these work!

Expectations

Like all the classes I am taking as part of the Information Technology Certificate program, my expectation is to become more knowledgeable and versed in the technology area.

I work in an IT department and, as an accountant, I am not always familiar with terms or technology that would be helpful in trying to communicate with my co-workers.

I am often heard stating that I am not technical. I am not looking to be technical, but don't want anyone to send me in the wrong direction. I just need to know enough!!

Currently, I have a blog attached to my Avon Walk for Breast Cancer site. Check out my team page at http://tinyurl.com/2010Hooters. The team page has a link to my page to find my blog. Not much yet for the 2010 year, but there will be more to come. The walk is in May. Feel free to make a donation while you are there. :)

Welcome to my blog

Hello!

My name is Susan Bailey. I am an Oracle Business Analyst for Finance, which means I support the Oracle Applications for a Finance organization.

I have a degree in Accounting from UML and am now pursuing a certificate in Information Technology.

This blog has been created as part of my class, Exploring the Internet.