- i-clicker: http://www.iclicker.com/
- Skype: http://www.skype.com/
- virtual tours: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/climb/summit.html, www.travelape.com/tape/360.html, http://www.virtualgettysburg.com/vg/panoramas/multi_node.html, http://mars.sgi.com/vrml/vrml.html
The i-clicker is a response system that can be used in classrooms for formative assessment. It is basically a handheld device that each student (or group of students) uses to answer multiple-choice type questions. Students' responses are then collected once they are entered by the students and then a graph reflecting the collective responses can be generated for the instructor to gauge student learning. Individual student responses are also collected, so the teacher also can associate each answer with its corresponding student who gave that answer. I-clickers are used to reflect students' understanding of what is being presented or taught. A tally of student responses can be shown and based on this data the instructor can determine if he/she needs to go over a concept once more or move on to the next topic because the students understand the material.
Skype is a software that enables people to make phone calls over the Internet; not just in the United States, but even across the world! Skype can also be used to video conference, call mobile phones, call landlines, instant message, and transfer files. Essentially, a person's computer is their "telephone" to connect to the other person that they are seeking to converse with. As long as both parties have Skype, then the call is free.
Virtual tours offer a panoramic window for the user to navigate all around a stationary standpoint. Some tours even offer sound effects to help one learn more about the specific site that one is “touring.”
This technology has already had an impact on my preparation for teaching as I have explored them each with the intention of possibly using them within my future classroom. The i-clicker can be used as a fun means for me to gather formative assessment of my students. I have researched pricing and the uses of the i-clicker and feel that, if resources provide, I can easily integrate it into lessons. Skype can be used for students to communicate with others around the world, both to broaden their perspectives and to provide a new medium to learn about other countries. I plan to use Skype to communicate with my relatives overseas, as currently I rarely get a chance to talk to them over the telephone; perhaps with Skype I will have more success. Virtual tours would help me in my teaching because students can use virtual touring as a way to explore attractions and sites that are otherwise difficult to travel to. There are so many virtual touring sites, so the possibilities of places to see are bountiful (Mars, Mt. Everest, London, etc).
These new and emerging technologies can impact the students in positive ways by providing a different means of learning that is not what they are used to (it's not a textbook, worksheet, lecture). They also help students become more technologically savvy in this ever-changing technology world. Students can demonstrate that they have met the objectives of lessons through the assessments gathered by the i-clicker. Objectives can be met in a unit on different countries as students gain greater perspectives on a country through the use of Skype. Students can show that they have met the objectives of other lessons through their experiences through virtual tours. Ultimately, technology can give students a new way of learning that might even be more beneficial to some than the traditional methods of learning.
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