Over Looked Much?

Lets start with a little riddle. This is something that an estimated 25% of the world uses on almost a daily basis, and almost every single school has access to? It's the Internet! I feel that the Internet is one of the most overlooked pieces of technology used in schools today. Students access the Internet at school on a daily basis. It seems that every class now days incorporates computer technology in the class, whether it be by online activities, research papers, or just looking up info for assignments.

Photo attribution to gerhardlazu


But there are so many different benefits to using the Internet for students. First students can access more information on one computer than all the area libraries combined, not to mention that the information can be updated more often than the most recent text books available. When students use search engines it stimulates creative thinking and questioning skills because the students must know what they want to search for. And the students seem to be more likely to do homework that involves the Internet because it seems to "hide" the homework factor. But there are also some dangers associated with Internet usage in schools. First and most obvious is the abundance of information. Students need to properly learn how to narrow down their searches. Next is graphic sites, info, or pictures. This is a worry for all teachers and parents, they do not want their students looking up explicit materials. Overall the Internet has been a great tool for students to use as long as they use it properly!

What Can Smart Boards do for You?

In recent years many school have been making the transition from the traditional white board or the chalk board to the interactive whiteboard. There are many different brands out there now that make these interactive white boards. SMART Board, ActivBoard, eBeam, and Mimio are a few examples of the companies that produce them. There are so many benefits to using these boards compared to the contemporary ways of the past. When using these boards teachers have many different choices for what they can do to instruct the students. They can take notes on the board and they will transfer directly into PowerPoint. Also some of the boards have preloaded maps and activities. Or if there is something important that the teacher wants to emphasize they can use the highlighter feature.

Photo used with permission from AV-1 off Flickr





When using one of these interactive boards teachers can actually records the instruction that was given that day. This is a benefit that will allow them to present the information to students that were absent, that have learning disabilities and need to view the info again, or just for student that needed a second look.

Tweet That Stuff

Today's society is becoming more digital that ever before. It seems that everywhere you go there is Internet capability. And it seems like every single student that you speak with in high school is all about social media. Using Facebook, Twitter, Hi 5, IM, and even texting are all the rage with students now days. So it only makes sense that if students are using these forms of media to communicate outside that classroom, why shouldn't you as a teacher try to incorporate it into your teaching.

Watch this video I found on youtube.com on how some teacher are using twitter!


I believe that using these forms of social media in the classrooms are a great way to get students into the material. Using social networks is a great way to associate with teenagers, mainly because they all use these websites anyways. You can use the skills and talents that the students have with computers to your advantage. There are many ways to use Twitter in your class, for example lets say that you are a History teacher and your students are studying the presidents. You can have all your students follow you on Twitter and under one of your status titled who where the first # presidents, you could have your student comment with collaboration and fill in all the wanted information.

  Photo used with permission from pics4learning.com

 Or if you were teaching a Anatomy class and you were studying the bones, you could post your status as largest bone in your body, or bones from your waist down. And the students you go post a comment to your status as the answer to the questions.