April 27, 2006

Hello all. Well, this week's discussion about emerging technologies asks what prior knowlegde and/or opinons we had. So, the blogging discussions have opened my eyes to how I can have the same experience with my students that we have in our discussion forums in an organized manner. I was wondering how I could do this with my students without having to create a forum website. Blog.com helps to do this for free!

The ITV is not new to me. Our state has implemented this successfully into our curriculum. It's a way that rural, poor schools can offer more electives.

As far as podcasting and wikis, I have never heard of. I still think they are quite new, and some of the issues haven't been worked out yet. My opinion of podcasting is a very rewarding product that requires MUCH MOOLA of work! As far as wikis---how do you know what someone else adds to the content is reliable or accurate? Could someone enlighten me??

Thanks, Erin :)

April 19, 2006

Dear colleagues...My experience with the so called "free" educational games has been a spyware induced computer which did cost much labor of my time to clean and search for the virus and program that was locking up the computers. Such examples include the "Lemonade Stand" online downloaded for free by the marketing teacher in my lab. It took 2 weeks for me to clean all the mess off 30 computers! Frustrating in the least. Have any of you had the same experience with the "free" downloadable educational games? Does any of your districts have restrictions for free downloadables? Just curious...

April 11, 2006

Hello all. This is an image from the bus window of the Alps in Austria from my trip in March. I will add more images when I finally get them all on a disk. I took 900 pictures, so I'm guessing it will be around $250 to get them all printed.

Anyways, asynchronous and synchronous education is an interesting topic...I would like to put my 2 cents in and say that both have their place in the learning environment. However, with asynchronous, students can comprehend lessons with as much time as they need. The synchronous communication needs to be included in e-learning environments, like the online chats, for instantaneous question/answer sessions. Any thoughts???

Erin

Web Based Education BLOG

Hello all! I wanted to ask opinions on different web based programs you have used. I posted a discussion reply for week 4 about eCollege and Blackboard. Those are the only 2 programs I have experience with. I also do not know what else is out there. Any takers???

My experience with Blackboard was all good except when I opened all discussion posts at once. It was like it took forever to load. However, eCollege is better with that area. However, I did enjoy being able to post my assignments in Blackboard without sharing it with the entire class. This helped my to keep a Cyber Storage area, then download it all at the end of the class to a folder. It helped to organize my files better. Now, they are all scattered on my 2 harddrives, which I hope to organize when I have hours of time.

Please share your thoughts...Erin