LEARNING WITH TECHNOLOGY Presented by Mia Passerelli, Jarret Baker, Danielle Tronzo INTRODUCTION So many advanced and innovative ways of reading, learning, and exploring have been incorporated in today’s classrooms as a result of the development in technology. In our presentation, we will explore a variety technologies and how they are used to enhance education and learning. CLASSROOM PC’S • Although computers are more expensive than your average textbook, they are becoming more and more popular in the classroom. • They give students the opportunity to explore basic programs such as Powerpoint, Excel, and Microsoft Word. • Contain numerous tools including audio, visual, interactive games, and social software.1 •A basic PC for a classroom is only $200 per unit. 1http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/02/08/national/Computers-in-the-classroom- 30122013.html THE INTERNET • Having access to the Internet in the classroom is a huge benefit to students! • There are endless amounts of resources and information that can be accessed within seconds, including educational websites, dictionaries, and videos. • Search engines allow students to type in anything and retrieve endless websites to browse. • http://www.funbrain.com/ is one of the many great educational websites for grades K-8 • http://www.google.com is one of the most popular search engines IPADS & TABLETS Efficient and eco-friendly minimizing wasting paper. Lightweight so students have a less heavy load to carry. Instant access to internet so online articles and other information can be accessed. IPADs and Tablets can range from $100 to $500. Educational Video Games In the past video games were just a from of entertainment that provided no educational value. Today they are engineered to not only provide entertainment, but to hide the process of learning under the fun. One example of a popular educational video game is Math Muncher. This video game is designed to teach children how to perform basic math skills while having fun. The cost of is relatively cheap with each license only costing $9.99. There many more educational games that teach a wide variety of topics in many different play styles. More examples of games can be found at http://onlineuniversityrankings.org/2011/20-best-old-school-educational-video-games/ Simulation Software Learning in the classroom has always provided information for students, but has lacked giving students a hands on approach. Simulation software allows students to experience what they are learning and relate it to the real world.1 Molecular Workbench is a simulation software that allows teachers to simulate science experiments in a virtual world so that students may learn first hand as to how experiments work and what they yield.2 Molecular Workbench is open source software is completely free of charge. But a computer capable of running Java is required. 1http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf 2http://mw.concord.org/modeler/ Television Televisions have now been the in the classroom for a long time, but that does not decrease their importance to education. Televisions provide students with a window to view the subjects they learn from a perspective that differs from just reading a book. With the introduction of DVDs, classrooms may now use interactive DVDs as well. Interactive DVDs provide games, references, and tools for helping the viewer learn more about the subject. These use of DVDs in the classroom cost approximately $200 and provide children with new method of learning using familiar technology that almost everybody today knows how to use.1 1http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/137977/thies-ictd10.pdf Google Plus Helps the teacher remind students of homework, tests, and projects. Allows the posting of documents online ofr sutdents to download. The program Hangout, a chat room service, allows the students to interact with other students and the teacher at home. The teachers can post hints and news updates to help their students with assignments.