Week 3 Assignment

There are many types of technologies that can be used for example 2 about the history class offering interactive tours online to prominent NY museums. One technology that would facilitate this lesson would be the use of blogs.  Since this teacher would like his or her student to participate in a critique about the exhibits seen in the interactive tour, a blog would facilitate discussion among the students in and out of the classroom.   According to Simonson et al, “Blogs can be excellent tools for student reflections about course content or reporting activities in a student teaching experience (Simonson, 2011). The blog would allow students to voice their opinions as well as learn from their peers.

Another piece of technology that might be beneficial to use in this lesson would be a podcast.  Podcasts can be audio presentations or a combination of audio and visual presentations.  Students would be able to use podcasts to create a critique about the exhibits seen in the interactive tour.  The media learning resources explain that research indicates that when audio and visual cues are shown together, learning is more effective (Laureate Education, 2012).  I believe that this is also the case, for these critiques. Students would best present their ideas using a combination of visual and audio and not only use their work as learning tool for themselves but for their peers.  The media resource also states that, “the results of several studies also indicate that online students who listen to podcasts demonstrate more effective learning, greater satisfaction, greater autonomy, and greater motivation than online student who do not (Laureate Education, 2012).” Using this technology does not only provide students with avenues to increase their learning, but sparks enthusiasm in their work and the skill to become a self-directed learning.

The internet is the source of many interesting ideas on how to use blogs and podcasts in the classroom. For instance, on the website http://www.edutopia.org/blogging-history-taking-classroom-discussions-online, it discusses how a history class and other disciplines have used blogs as a book club.  Students are able to read and discuss their ideas with a large audience.  This allows students to become motivated to read because there are then able to showcase their ideas to their peers.

Another website that addresses the use of podcasts is http://thwt.org/index.php/presentations-multimedia/podcasts, which demonstrates how history classes can use podcasts to conduct interviews and then post them for an audience to review.  Students will not only learn from one another in these types of lessons, but also become engaged because their research is being showcased for a large audience to view and critique.  Students need to feel that their work has a bigger purpose, to truly become engage, and that is what technology provides for them.

In summary, the use of technology in the classroom has many benefits.   It allows students to become more self-directed, gives their work a greater meaning, and allows for greater communication with their peers.

Resources

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education . Baltimore, MD: Author

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson