Pam Hamilton

http://415084508596415651.weebly.com
EDU-225
05/17/15

Entry 2: Technology to Enhance Instruction

Integrating Instructional Technology
Integrating instructional technology is an important part of educating our students today.
There are several helpful sites that will enhance our students understanding of specific topics. It
will also help explain different concepts for students that need a little more help. There are also
some bad aspects to the new technology. In this paper, I will introduce a few different
technologies and explain briefly how they can be used in the classroom.
BRAINPOP
Brain Pop is a technology that has been available to download since 1999. The cost is
free. This site helps reenforce the lesson that I presented to my students during class. It can also
introduce the subject of my lesson for the day or the week. I will use the site for several different
subjects like math, social studies, and/or science. We will use this site in the computer lab or on
the interactive whiteboard when labeling the bones of the skeleton or the states on the map. The
students will take the quizzes as a study aid to prepare for their test. According to a Brain Pop
journal article, It is a powerhouse of rich information (Nichter, Nicole)
EDMODO
Another technology resource that I would incorporate into my classroom is Edmodo.
This site is also free. This is a type of social media site that allows access only with an access

code. I can communicate with my students quicker and easier than with an e-mail or hoping a
parent would or be able to answer the phone. I can update our classroom calender, post an
announcement, or attach a file that may be needed to complete an assignment. This site is
accessible in the classroom or at home via the internet. This also allows a student to see their
assignments when they are at home sick. With this site, a student cannot say that they lost their
paper with their assignment on it or the information for the assignment. Audrey L. Harper stated,
Parents were creating accounts separate of those of their students This is a good tool to use
and it is also very encouraging when other instructors using it notices the parents becoming
involved as stated previously. This is a good tool to teach any subject you would want to use it
with.
YOUTUBE/EDU
Another technology I would like to discuss is YouTube/edu. This is a good site for a
science class. This is a site that has a variety of educational videos available. This technology
will help my students see an actual video footage of a tornado forming, a volcano erupting, or
various other subjects. I would either show the video in class or attach the video I want my
students to see onto my Edmodo page. When using a YouTube/edu video I would also have a list
of questions that my students would need to answer. I would also have a question or two on the
unit test from the video. This tool would help my students be able to actually see what my topic
is about through video and virtual tours. We could visit a lot of interesting places right from our
classroom.
Pros and Cons of using Technology to Facilitate Learning
Technology in the classroom has a lot of good traits. Some sites, like Edmodo allows the
classroom to be accessed even at home. One instructor noted, Students who were absent were

checking daily posts to see what they missed. (Audrey L. Harper) Another good thing about
the new technology is that it can help explain different concepts when the student doesnt quite
understand. Some sights can even allow you to take a virtual tour of a place far away right from
their classroom. Sites like Brain Pop will allow students to teach themselves, self-correct,
research, and play without boundaries. With new technology comes its down falls too. There is
a lot of sites that use inappropriate language as well as inappropriate content in the videos. I will
have to view the material in its entirety before I show it to the class looking specifically for
inappropriate content. There is also the problem of internet interruptions due to weather or other
conditions that makes it unavailable from time to time. There is also the problem of the student
not having an electronic device with web capabilities available.
Wired and Wireless Classrooms
In a wired classroom, the computer system uses a LAN (Local Area Network) where the
computers are connected to a central computer. (Gunter and Gunter. p57) Also in a wired
classroom, you are not able to connect a wireless device like a tablet or iPad to the internet.
Most schools now have networked computers due to federal, state, and local funding. In a
wireless classroom, computers are able to access the internet through a WLAN (wireless LAN).
A WLAN uses radio waves. The input devices are also going wireless by using Bluetooth
technology. Both of these ways wireless or wired, works with the classroom. A con to the
wireless is if the weather causes your WLAN to loose signal. A con to the wired is you have
students pulling on the wires and potentially causing a short within the cable or a wire to
completely break.
Conclusion

In conclusion, I have discussed some different technologies and their usefulness in the
classroom. I have also discussed a few negative points about them too. We need this new
technology incorporated into our classrooms so we can teach our students with the most recent
information. Also these resources give our students a place to turn to when they need a little help
along the way.
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References
Everhart, Jerry. (2009). Science and Children, volume 46 (9), 33-35
Gunter and Gunter. (2014). Teachers Discovering Computers 8th edition (57)
Harper, Audrey. (2010). Kentucky English Bulletin, volume59 (2), 19-21
Nichter, Nicole. (2010). Brain Pop. Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal,
volume10 (1), 137-139