This week in our Internet for Educators class we had 2 great presentations. On Monday we had a presentation from Manitoba Education representatives Howard Griffith and Donald Girouard on distance education. On Wednesday we had a presentation on Google Apps by Shawn Kleebaum. Each presentation provided us with a lot of information.
Our first presentation on distance education was interesting. I hope to take advantage of their resources. The one thing that stuck out the most for me was their photography class. I enjoy photography and would like to take advantage of this and teach it, maybe as an after school extra credit course, to students who are interested. Through teaching this course I'd also gain some knowledge in photography.
Our second presentation on Google apps was packed with ideas. Google is really so much more than just a search engine and something we, as teachers, need to utilize if we want to infuse technology into the classroom. An idea Shawn shared with us that I'll definitely take advantage of is the E-Pals. This is a great way for students to learn from other students in different parts of the world. I have actually worked with Google Picasa in the past and enjoy it. There are many uses for this program in the school, this program alone could be used to create a year book. At the school I hope to work at there is no regular year book and this free program can arrange photos for you and create splash pages, with the help of a few students this program could create a relatively inexpensive year book. With all the apps shared with us there is so many ways to use the internet in our classrooms.
The things Shawn shared with us that I am definitely going do in my classroom is the use of the internet for the submission of assignments and the use of the calendar planning for the class. I feel allowing the students to see upcoming assignments and exciting events.
Thats all for now,
Lava Man
e-pal
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I agree with Tyler it is nice for the students to have an e-pal system. I will make use of this in my class too. It is a great way for the students to learn about art in different cultures. It is a new door way for the students to learn about art history, how to use different medias and new techniques with minimum time and at no cost.
ReplyDeleteI also think using the calendar to put up coming events and submission of assignments through the internet is a very efficient way of managing class room activities.
Lots of Good Points Tyler!
ReplyDeleteI love the thought of the E-pal system. I also think it is great that our students can connect with other students around the globe. Maybe for your photography class you want to start up, you can allow your students to take pictures to share with other students around the world, and vice versa! I think students would enjoy this as they would be able to see other parts of the world and show other students their world.
I wish you luck in your upcoming job search, and hope you get to teach at the school that you want too (that has no yearbook) so you can utilize these great tools and share them with your students!