Distance Learning and Introduction to the Internet...

Chapter 7 included a lot of information that is used daily online. The first part of the chapter was helpful because it discussed the different types of distant learning and different applications for the classroom. I think that as an educator integrating tools for distant education will be beneficial to students that have to travel or miss school. It can also provide a means for students to interact with there peers when off of campus. It will be important as an educator to keep in mind that there will be a digital divide, and not all students will have access to technology for additional resources. I enjoyed the first part of this chapter, and struggled through the second, which discussed navigating the web, bookmarks, search engines and emails. I feel like as a current college student I am required to use the internet daily and a lot of this information is common knowledge, especially at this point in this class.

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Innovative use of Technology in the Classroom

I have been doing field work in a pre AP 7th grade classroom this semester and the teacher I am working with is using technology in innovative manner with her students. This teacher has struggled with the temperature in her classroom for years and decided that she wanted to fight the school district for funding for air conditioning. She has now been recording the temperature daily in her classroom with a temperature probe and logger pro software. The students are aware of the project and participate in daily recordings. The data is then sent to the school district daily. The teacher has been consistently finding that the temperature in her classroom is above OSHA regulations and has made a valid case for her classroom. It is exciting to see her students participate in the scientific process with technology and witness first hand the importance of scientific investigation.