Curate Educational Topics

I like finding new ways to teach children using different technologies.  The topics I have chosen to focus on is instructional technology and assistive technology in the classroom or online environment. Instructional technology is a fun and engaging way to reinforce a lesson.  Assistive technology is imperative to an online learning environment because you can’t “attend” any classes without technology.  It’s important to keep current on emerging technology to help with any type of learning environment.

One blog, ilearnTechnology, written by Kelly Tenkely (2018) focuses on instructional technology in the classroom.  Technology is a good support in the classroom to any lesson.  This blog focuses on educational technology for all levels. One blog post talked about a math application called Plus Happy Numbers that is for kindergarten through second-grade. It’s accessible on any device. One feature of this application that I thought was really interesting was that there was visual modeling of a concept as well as on-screen manipulatives that children will find really fun to play with.  

Another reason I like this blog is because she doesn’t just focus on technology for specific curriculum. She has other options on there such as an application that is a resource for non-fiction news articles that both teachers and students can use.  I like that she doesn’t just focus on applications for graphic design and math but branches out and finds even more applications for educational use.

The second blog I really liked was called Assistive Technology by Dr. Brian S. Friedlander (2018). He focuses on both assistive technology as specific technology tools as well as assistive technology in the form of applications teachers and students can use.  He talks about using different tools to write with – digital pens and the like, as well as tablets that can be written on for note taking or doodling. He also talks about software like MindMeister that students can use in the classroom for mind-mapping.  It seems to be a very well-rounded blog on assistive technology.

Technology and Web 2.0 tools are becomingly increasingly vast as the internet expands and grows. Applications and software provides a variety of ways to teach and differentiate instruction for educators.  There are more options than just opening a book and providing a lecture, which obviously wouldn’t work in the online environment at all.  It wouldn’t set learners up for success in any way.

I like blogs for a variety of reasons.  It’s a good way for learners to post and receive feedback from peers in the same workplace environment as they are.  It provides feedback from an outside source as opposed to just an instructor.  It’s also a more informal way for students to write and really delve into subject matter than just a simple essay would. Blogging as an assessment tool provides students a chance to build upon their creative and reflection skills.  It requires little training and is known to most students.

            Technology is useful to students and educators in a variety of ways.  Applications and tools can engage students and educators alike and provide for a better educational experience.  By continuing to research new technologies and improve on existing ones, educators can only improve their instructional design and add more effective tools to their instructional technology toolkit.

References

Friedlander, B., (2018). Assistive Technology.  Retrieved May 13, 2018 from

http://assistivetek.blogspot.com

Tenkely, K., (2018). iLearn Technology.  Retrieved May 13, 2018 from

http://ilearntechnology.com