Technology+Resources

=**Questions to address in this section are:**=

**1. What is it and how do I use it?**
A) Technology resources are software, hardware, and Internet-based programs. These tools can be used inside or outside the classroom to enhance teaching and learning experiences. As Jacobs (2010) described technology resources as “newer forms of expression” (p. 28). These resources help teachers choose the best assessment type for students to produce as evidence of their learning (p. 29). We use technology resources via a communication device such as a computer, iPhone, iPod, or iPad.

B)If educators are willing to prepare tomorrow’s leaders, they should design curricula that teach the skills needed for the future generation to be successful in the 21st century. Some of these skills are included in science, mathematics, information and technology, and the ability to process and solve complex problems. The use of technology in education is thus an important booster to provide the power for this transformation. Technology resources can include softwares, hardwares, or internet programs to aid the learning in an innovative way.

C)Technology, as defined with regards to education, is a collection of knowledge, skills and techniques that have been attained and are used to improve how we do things. Technology is used to change the way we do things by allowing us to approach a problem/situation in a completely different light as oppose to just adapting an old solution (Thornburg, 2004).

D). Technology is everywhere, touching almost every part of our lives in some way. The use of technology is very important to students when it comes to the classroom environment; it brings variety and it offers teachers effective ways to reach ALL learners and assess student understanding through multiple means. It has turned our students into constructivist, even if our schools has yet to make the change (Thornburg, 2004). Technology allows us to have flexibility in our teaching and if used properly technology will help students acquire the skills they need to survive in the society.

E) Technology is everywhere we go. At some point in our lives we use technology on a daily basis. The use of technology is a very important part of education and a vital tool in the classroom. Technology is so advance now that soon there will be no need to have textbooks anymore. Technology allows us as educators to be flexible but at the same time provide the necessary skills for our students to succeed in life.

**2. Provide a description of a specific technology that supports 21st century skills. Include the basic knowledge and steps necessary to begin using this technology**

 * A) __Assistive Technology (AT)__ **: The Atomic Learning website offers resources such as Tech Integration Projects that teachers can demonstrate and students to use. One particular tech integration project called “Budgeting Basics 101” uses an application for the iPhone, iPad, or iPod. Either the school or teacher purchases this resource from Atomic Learning. Students use their communication devices to download the application. This particular project involves step by step instructions for setting up a budget to tracking income and expenses. Students will set up budget categories and enter transactions; create reports in a number of ways to view and analyze the information entered; and a simple excel spreadsheet for figuring out budget categories.

Assistive technology can be an effective tool for students with multiple disabilities in overcoming functional and communicative limitations. A variety of evaluations should be conducted by qualified professionals to determine the appropriate technological support for the needs of the individual student. Positioning, language, motor skills, and sensory issues all need to be considered in implementing the most effective support system. Both the environment and the specific tasks to be addressed should also guide the selection of the most appropriate assistive technology.

One particularly promising technological support can be found in the handheld personal computer. Using software such as the Visual Assistant, teachers and service providers can program a number of different skill sets and instructions to be accessible to the student at any time. These technologies can include visual information in the form of digital pictures or line drawings, as well as audio messages and instructions. This can be instrumental in helping students gain independence in the community, such as during vocational training activities. These handheld computers use a touch screen, making them more accessible to students with motor control issues. Best of all, they are portable, and the students can take the computer with them into nearly any setting. They can also be quite effective in supporting communication with unfamiliar individuals, making them an excellent instrument for use in an augmentative communication system.

Assistive Technology A variety of AT devices are used to help children with severe and multiple disabilities in the classroom. Communication boards, computers, head sticks and adaptive switches allow disabled children to communicate effectively with others. Teenage Switch Progressions allow students to press a switch to activate activity-based instruction on the computer. Other types of AT technology include wheelchairs, walkers, speech synthesizers, alternative keyboards, pointing systems, talking clocks and calculators, voice recognition software, picture boards, Braille machines, reading machines, magnification software, phonic ear devices, telecommunication devices, and sound magnification systems (ehow.com).

The idea of playing to learn is not a new concept. Sociologists and anthropologists consider play as a human activity in which they analyze the principal characteristics observed in the age of the player. The theory of preexercise affirms that people do not play because they are young, but people have a youth because they must play to practice. Play confronts the child with a learning situation close to his or her area of development. That is, it would involve a task located slightly above the acquired skills. Older children and adults should continue to use this structure to entertain themselves and also to learn.
 * __B) Serious Games:__ **

Internet games have changed the perspective of entertainment for the young generation. They not only play games, they socialize, talk, read, and fantasize about. It became a part of their daily life. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS, 2006) called video games the next great discovery; as games provide a way for students to spend more time on their own learning. As a result, many games have been developed for this purpose. Such games provide productive play through which learning is supported and enriched.

“Serious” is the added naming description to such games as they embed within their attractive way of captivating the user a very serious outcome; improving an aspect of learning. Players come to serious games with that expectation. Serious games are used in emergency services training, in military training, in corporate education, in health care, and in many other sectors of society. They can also be found at every level of education, at all kinds of schools and universities around the world.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">C. __**Promethean Boards:**__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Promethean’s Personalized Learning Solution evolves the traditional, one-size-fits-all approach to teaching to a differentiated approach that adjusts content and instruction to ensure every student’s voice is heard.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Why Promethean's Personalized Learning Solution? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Real-time assessment—Instantly assess student comprehension and tailor instruction to meet individual learning needs.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Simplify lesson planning—Access a wide range of engaging lesson plans and timesaving, customizable resources and content designed to help create truly personalized learning opportunities.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Yugma Education is a free web conferencing site that allows anyone, anywhere to instantly share their desktop and ideas online with others. For each accredited school you are given 100 Yugma accounts and have access to the premium features. All the teacher has to do is provide your name, email, school’s name, phone number and create a password. The you have to fill out an application to ensure you are a accredited school. To use this technology you basically just have to know how to use your computer.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">D) __<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Web/Video Conferencing: __**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Phonevite is a free broadcasting service that can be used to invite people to a web conference via telephone. Teachers can record a message for attendees and have the message sent to a specific group of telephone numbers.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**E) __EdModo:__** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Edmodo is a secure social learning website for teachers and students. It's something like Facebook for teachers. Teachers can created groups and give their students a class code. The students can then access and complete assignments from anywhere they have internet access. Ed Modo is a great website because it gives students the opportunity to meet other students from other schools but it also allows teachers to network and meet other teachers and share lesson plans, ideas, etc.