Blog Post 9

The "flipped classroom" is a term used to describe a classroom where the typical elements of lectures and homework are flipped. I actually had a flipped classroom in high school. My psychology teacher started posting video lectures on YouTube and we used class time for discussions, note taking, or individual studies. Sometimes it worked really well because we could have in depth discussions about topics that were more difficult instead of going over all of the topics. However, a lot of times it didn't work out because people would just get off task and not do work during the individual study time.

A web-based resource that I would use is   http://news.nationalgeographic.com/. I could use this to show students articles that relate to the curriculum. I would have the students read the article while filling out a handout that I would make based on the information found in the article. In the handout I would include space to take notes and at the end there would be discussion questions.

I learned how to use hyperlinks to link parts within the document. I also learned how to embed an audio clip in a slide. I really enjoyed this assignment because it allowed me to add a lot of different creative elements to my interactive quiz. It was kind of annoying to have to keep making different hyperlinks and it was really time consuming. Next time I will probably do more with the navigation and make the format less linear.

Blog #8

I think that online classes hold the most promise for education in the future. They are already being used today and they will continue to be used more often and more efficiently. Online classes are great for students because it caters to different speeds of learning and it helps people with different styles of learning. Moreover, they are necessary for students that are physically incapable of being in a classroom. 

I think I'm on the side of the digital divide that is more technologically advanced. I've always had access to computers and I've taken multiple computer classes. There are bound to be students in my classroom who do not have the access or skills that match the other students. The best way to bridge the gap is to use technology in the classroom that the students can learn from. 

I learned about how to use PowerPoint for educational purposes. I've used it before but I had to make my slide show while keeping in mind that it would be used as a visual aid for my students. I liked that the assignment made me use different aspects of PowerPoint that I wouldn't have thought of adding such as animations and transitions. I think that next time I will try to improve the way I present some of the information.