SARA

Technology in Education is a great class to take online, I have enjoyed to so much for a multitude of reasons. My favorite part of online learning is the amount of freedom on when the material is completed. I don’t have to fit this class into my schedule, when I get the chance earlier in the week and then again later in the week is when I get the work done. This class is also I nice class to have online because most of material about computers and the software on computers, the rest of the material concerning integrating them into the lives of students can be learning through readings and articles. So in essence this is the perfect class to have online because the material is not so challenging that we would need a teacher in the room to answer questions, the labs are mostly about software that most of us have always used.
If I had to change a part of this online class I would adapt it so that we could use online video lectures to replace the large amount of readings that are due. That way we aren’t loaded up with readings and it would feel more like a real classroom but we just choose when the teacher speaks .
It’s hard for me to imagine taking a different course online because it just seems like in most of the other subjects like math or science you would need that face-to-face interaction because there is just SO much explaining, questioning and problem solving going on. Even in a literature class it would seem easy to have it online until I think back to days when we discuss books in-depth and there is so much flowing discussion going on; it would be hard to do that online. I think for a literature class if would be best if the class meet once a week online and the once a week face-to-face. During the online meeting students could post questions and respond then discuss when the meet together. Through an online course you don’t get to experience the passion of the subject that the teacher normally instills in the students. There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of classes, online is more adaptable to the students life.
Next semester I am going to be taking Diversity in Education online, I am really curious how this will go because I can’t really picture what types of activities we will be able to do online like this class where we work with Work, PowerPoint ect.

Five specific software applications that every student should learn are:
#1. Word processor. I think is the most essential software tool for students because it enhances their writing skills through the thesauras which enriches vocabulary and spices up a paper, spell check which polishes the paper gramatically and a typed paper is much more professional looking and eligable than a writen paper. The word precessor should be taught at around grade 3 because it is at this age when students are starting to create pieces of writings and have the skill of reading and writing down good.

#2. Spreadsheets. I think that excel is an important software to be taught because it organizes data clearly. After organizing the data a student can go back and easily analyze and enter more data. With the data entered it can be made into a variety of different charts. Spreadsheets can used for a variety of different uses that will save the student lots of time. The skill of using excel should be taught at grade 3 or 4, whenever the student begins collecting data. It doesn’t need to be complex but a simple pie chart can show them a different way of looking at data.

#3. Powerpoint. This is a great professional and clear tool to present information. Powerpoint keeps the listeners attention, is fun to make and interactive. This skill should be taught at around grade 5 when students start to do presentations infront of the classroom. Also, at this age students should already know quite a bit about computers and be comfortable with the different softwares.

#4. Imaging software. With this skill under their belt students can enhance their powerpoint presentation along with a multitude of different things. With imaging software they can edit images which will add finishing touches to their projects or presentations. This skill should be taught at about grade 9 when students are going more indepth into specific subjects and are creating larger projects.

#5. Graphical organizers. Alot of times data and material are thrown at kids but with this skill they can organize it in a fun and interactive way. This skill is list last as far as importance becasue it can not be used for alot of different uses besides graphically organizing material. This skill should be taught at any age and low as Kindergarden because the program Kidspiration can be used which is specifically designed for kids.