Emerging Technologies Blog

As the years go by we seem to be finding more highly developed technological advances in the classroom. The teachers who come from earlier generations are struggling to keep up with these advances, and teachers from newer generations are finding it utterly important to learn the new technology for their classrooms. We as a society see new technology that pertains to education in the media, and we try to grasp a better understanding of the use and importance of it. The Internet is overflowing with the new advances of technology and how to utilize them in the classroom. Specifically there are three that stood out to me that are becoming much more popular in schools and can be used to my benefit as an educator; tablet pc’s, smartboards, and podcasts.

Tablet Pc’s are the newest development in laptops. All the information about tablet pc’s can be found on the “Encyclopedia of Educational Technology” website at (http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/tabletpc/index.htm) The laptops will allow the students to use their laptops as both a computer and writing source. The screen is capable to spin around and fold down onto the keyboard, just like a writing tablet. When the laptop is in tablet mode, students can use a stylus to write or draw on the display screen. The tablet PC can also record audio files such as a class lecture or student presentations. This way they can review what they heard in class, or it can be a tool for a student who happened to miss class that day so they do not get behind.

Note taking is probably the best use for the table pc because it will be easy for the students to keep track of their notes and to follow along with the teacher. I think that tablet pc’s would be a great resource for my future classroom and will have a positive impact. In my opinion they will keep the class much more organized when it comes to note taking, and online interaction. I think that this will close the barrier between deskwork and computer work. They will be combined, so it will be much easier for the students. I think at first the students might struggle with the new technology, but as time moves on and they feel more comfortable with the tablet pc’s they will see how they will benefit them.

Smartboards are being found in more classes each day. All information about smartboards can be found on the “Smart Technologies” website (http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Products/SMART+Boards/default.htm)The touch-sensitive display screen connects to the teachers computer and digital projector to show the computer image. The teacher can control computer applications directly from the smartboard, take notes in digital ink and save the work to share later. Unlike the tablet pc’s, smartboards are more teacher based. I think that the smartboards will come much in handy in my future literature classrooms. I will use it as a tool for reading in the classroom. It will be a great source for students and I to annotate novels in front of the class. The students can feel like they are interacting with the book with the smartboard and see everything laid out in front of the room. I am hoping that the students will enjoy using the smartboard an see the benefits that it can bring to their learning process.

One of the most prevalent new technologies that we are seeing in classrooms is podcasts. All information on podcasts can be found on the technology website (http://www.wtvi.com/TEKS/05_06_articles/classroom-audio-podcasting.html) A podcast is a web feed that is full of audio files with information on them. They can be anything from news, to talk radio, or an instructional video. They are available for anyone to download and can come into great use in the classroom. The best thing about podcasts is that they happen to be cheap. Schools are struggling to afford all the new technologies that are being developed, but podcasts are free online. This will be beneficial for the students because they can find wide variety of information on podcasts and learn about the subject that I am teaching. Many authors do readings of their books on podcasts, and it could be benefit the students to hear the author read the book.

I understand that it is going to be hard to keep with all the new technologies that we will have to implement into the classroom, but I think it will be very interesting to see where technology is going to take us. If tablet pc’s, smartboards, and podcasts are where we are at now; where are we going to be in 20 years? Are we even going to need a teacher anymore? Are we even going to need to attend school? Hopefully emerging technology will take us places that will help better the learning environment, and guide the students for the years to come.