COOL TOOLS
One of the main issues about technology is: DO WE ALL HAVE ACCESS TO IT?
In realistic terms, 100% of schools have access to technology (Pew Internet research). the only problem is that low-income, African-Americans and Latin American do not have the same opportunities to gain access. This creates a great digital divide when it comes to equality and access to technology. Some corporations are already aware of this great digital divide and they are contributing to the "closing" of this gap. Some companys such as the "one laptop per child" program are attempting to reduce this equality by supply through donations and private funds, laptops for global equality. These programs allow poor countries to expand its social, economical and political knowledge via laptops. These laptops open the door to various opportunities. These laptops will allow people to interact on a global level, which expands cultural barriers and boundaries.
Our second topic was the tools that are available to further education. The first website we were directed to is the one laptop per child initiative. This program states that when children have access to this kind of tool they become engaged with their own education. Students will learn, share, create and collaborate while becoming connected to the world and a better future.
You have probably heard people say, "there's an app for that." They weren't kidding when they said there is an app for that! In today's technological advanced society there is over 500,00 different applications! Several interesting applications that educators might find essential for teaching is "Featured Books," which allows students to chose an appropriate book to read via cellphone or tablet. Students no longer have to worry about bringing a book to school because it will already be loaded onto their tablets and cellphones.
The "Googlemaps" app allows you to type or say where you want to go. This can help students locate places they find within text, within their neighborhood and perhaps the location of their peers. It allows them to explore outside of text, places that exist in the real world. It's a fun way to incorporate visual learning into the classroom.
Last, but not least there is "Pulse," which is a news reading app. It takes your favorite website and transforms it into a colorful mosaic. This app will save stories for later or you can send them to "Evernote" for safe keeping. You can even twitter, e-mail or Facebook your saved stories.
There is also the "Flipboard," which creates a personalized magazine out of everything being shared with you. Flip through Facebook newsfeeds, tweets from Twitter timeline and photos from Instagram, which was just bought by Facebook.
There is "iMovie" which would allow students to shoot their own thrilling movie or story. English teachers would love this app because it allows not only knowledge but synthesis. It allows students to apply what they know.
The "Keynote" app allows students to create their own presentations, which can be shared with others via iPad, iPhone or iPod. If multiple students are working on the same presentation they can share this information via iDevices.
If you're looking for a few new applications that will benefit your lesson plans I highly recommend you take a look at Android or iPhone .
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