Week 3: #7 Technology Related Blog Post

Businesses once spent thousands of dollars on technology to hold business meetings without the necessity of travel expense for attendees. Several years ago I worked for a company that installed a special meeting room that could host real time meetings - with a big screen for viewing the guests and split screen capability for several guests to attend the meeting. They spent $$$$$ on this "new" technology.  Now there is Skype.  Now that real time meetings can now held for nearly nothing, imagine the dismay of the IT departments at large companies like the one where I worked, who invested so much money to host those meetings. 

Skype is an accessible tool for school systems with limited funds for technology. The inexpensive resource can be a great tool for collaborative learning around the world, and for teachers to connect with other teachers.  For instance, students in Florida can discuss an issue and then communicate with other students around the world to get their input on the issue.  They can also understand what it is like to live in another part of the world by talking to other students in that part of the world.  Students who are learning about North Dakota can actually talk to students in that state to learn about what it is like to live there.  Real life situations are an excellent way for students to connect to the concepts and to connect to others like themselves.

I also read about the use of a variety of technologies...for instance students had a question about an animal carcass they found near the school they attended. They wanted to find out what kind of animal it was.  The teacher twittered about the animal and connected with other teachers whom she met through a teachers group that used Skype, who forwarded a photo of the animal to a friend who was a college professor. While the request was out, students used inquiry to come up with ideas on how they could find out what the animal was.  They emailed a local extension agency, Googled pictures of animals they thought it might be, researched online animals that were indigenous to the area they lived, etc. In the end, this learning experience exercised inquiry and research skills and eventually the professor was able to help them identify the animal.  

I find the use of technology can be one of the ways to keep students' interest in the learning process.  It aids in motivation and is the future of our classrooms. The downside of this is that many schools are unable to provide the technology because of budget cuts and although students are more tech savvy and more and more have cell phones and use the social networks, we have many students whose families are not able to provide technology for their use.  This poses the challenge of how we can ensure that our low SES students can take advantage of learning the new technologies.