Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Chapter 6: Teaching with Educational Websites and Other Online Resources

Focus Question:


What is information management and digital content?


     Information management is a term used to describe the way in which "organizations and systems keep track of data for making decisions and setting policies."  In the educational realm, "information management means organizing and utilizing all the different kinds of electronic information one must handle professionally and academically." 

     Digital content is a term that simply means online information.  Digital content is a term applied to all information found online.  Digital content is used by both students and teachers to get information to further teach and learn information. 

Tech Tool Link: Goodreads


     Goodreads is a website that is designed to let its users organize their favorite books online.  In order to organize them, the users can create bookshelves by topic.  The user firsts picks books that he or she has read, plans to read, or wants to remember and places them on the bookshelf.  The user may add titles to the bookshelf through Amazon.com or by entering the book title manually.  The user may rate the books once they are entered on their shelf, he or she may join a book club, or even connect with people who have similar interest in books.  

     The site is visually pleasing and easy to figure out.  It seems to be a very useful website for teachers and students alike.  Students may form a book club and discuss books assigned to them.  Teachers may search for books based off of ones previously chosen.  There are also online quizzes for certain books and there are trivia questions as well.  The website can also be used recreationally by students.  After being introduced to the website, students may use it to find books to read for their own pleasure.  Overall I find this particular website to be quite useful. 

Summary and Connections:

     
     This chapter was full of information that focused on useful educational websites, such as bookmarking websites and webquests to find useful websites.  In particular, I found the section on interactive video conferencing quite interesting.  Videoconferencing is a form of distance learning that allows the student to have real-time access to people and places that students cannot easily go.  

     I personally have experience with videoconferencing in the academic world.  At the University of Miami, I used to work in the Modern Languages Laboratory, which is a computer lab for students and teachers in the language classes to utilize.  On certain days, we would have a specific class come in to do a Skype session.  For example, the Portuguese class would come in and Skype with students in an English class in Brazil.  The students would take turns practicing their language with the native speaker.  For ten minutes, the students would converse in English, and then for the next ten minutes, the students would converse in Portuguese.  It was a great way for the students to teach each other and make new friends along the way.

Resources:


Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2011). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN:10 0-13-159611-X, ISBN:13 978-0-13-159611-5 

Goodreads. Goodreads, Inc.  Web. 20 Feb 2013.


1 comment:

  1. Videoconferencing is excellent for distance learning classes as well as for 'ground' classes as your example showed...especially in language learning. I just read an article about schools who are using videoconferencing to teach Chinese. Since Chinese teachers are at a premium (if even available) in the US, they have contracted with a company which finds them a certified teacher in China and connect virtually. It really is awesome that technology can be the bridge to such learning.

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