The first concept I want to talk about from our textbook: "Transforming Learning with new technologies" is "information management." According to our textbook: "Transforming Learning with new technologies", "when applied to teaching, information management means effectively utilizing different kinds of digital resources to create meaningful learning learning experiences for students. " (Maloy, Verock-O' Loughlin, Edwards, 133) I thought this term was very interesting. I think it is very important that educators really think about how and where to incorporate technology into lesson plans. It can become really easy to "over use" technology. I think technology is a great tool to aid in teaching, but I also believe that if you use technology too much it can become less effective, and lose that appeal to students. Although, I could also see how some teachers who are not as comfortable with technology could unintentionally harm their students' education. As they could easily ignore the use of technology, and take away that necessary exposure to technology students need, in our modern day world.
The second concept I want to discuss from our textbook: "Transforming Learning with new technologies" is "word clouds." According to our textbook: "Transforming Learning with new technologies," "world clouds are a visual representation of text...and allows teachers and students to display large amounts of written text in a visually engaging format on a computer screen." (Maloy, Verock-O' Loughlin, Edwards, 253) I had actually heard of "word clouds." Although, I think it sounds like a very intriguing concept. I think of myself as a "visual learner", and could really see how "word clouds" could help students who are more "visual learners." It also puts a twist on what would normally be plain old text.
The final concept I want to discuss from our textbook: "Transforming Learning with new technologies" is"assistive technologies." According to our textbook: "Transforming Learning with new technologies," "assistive technologies apply the concept of technological convergence to the ways that information technologies enable teachers to differentiate instruction and pursue universal design." (Maloy, Verock-O' Loughlin, Edwards, 259) Educators should be very familiar with "assistive technologies," as they are what helps allow educators to help provide equal educational opportunities to all students. We have so many new "assistive technologies" available that help provide the best educational experiences for disabled students. It is key that educators stay on top of the newly available "assistive technologies", so that we can utilize them in the classroom.
(Schwarz, June 07, 2015, Made With Gliffy, Retrieved From: https://www.gliffy.com/go/publish/image/8298385/L.png)
Resources:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Schwarz, Gabrielle. (June 07, 2015) Chapters 6 and 10. gliffy. Made with cliffy. Retrieved From:https://www.gliffy.com/go/publish/image/8298385/L.png
Creative use of mind mapping in your Gliffy. :) Word clouds are very effective for visual learners and they can go deep to address interpretation, analysis and higher level thinking if properly introduced and scaffolded. Like anything if not used properly/effectively, it will lose its value. Try making a word cloud for a future digital tool using Wordle or Taxedo!
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