Week 15- Using Games for teaching and learning

  In class we learned how games are used in classrooms today in society in order for students to learn and how these games have shifted over the years.  An example of a game we learned about was called Take Back Illinois and it was a game for learning about Politics.  In the game you had to learn how to pass bills and move up in the political world.  It is a great educational game to learn about the topic of politics.
  My major is Special Education and I believe that games are a great way to learn material.  It is a fun way to get the students interacted in the material.  Children love to have fun and whats better than having them play a game in order to learn stuff, I feel like this is a great technique to use in the education world.  Here is a website to a game called Wheel of Fortune, http://www.gamehouse.com/wheel-of-fortune which teaches you about marketing.

Week 13- Creating a Professional Web Presence

  This week in class we learned about Professional web presence and what distance education is.  Distance education is also know as distance learning and is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom.
  Distance education relates to my major which is Special Education because if I am teaching a class and a student gets sick through distance education the student can still do the work I am teaching even though they can not physically come to the classroom.  I believe that distance education is a really realistic approach because many students get sick through out the school year and this is a great solution for them not to miss work.  This website,http://www.indiaeducation.net/DistanceEducation/, is really interesting because it shows how they do distance education in India!! It is interesting to see how education is like in different countries.

Week 12- Social Tools & Cloud Computing

  This week in class we learned about some of Google's tools like Google Docs as well as social bookmarking tools like Delicious.  These are examples of cloud computing which refers to the provision of computational resources on demand via a computer network.
  Cloud computing tools such as Google Docs and Delicious relate to my major which is special education because many of the classes I am taking right now I use these tools.  Delicious is used to mark your favorite websites on the internet and that is helpful if you are working on a paper and forgot the website, you can just tag it on your computer.  This website,http://www.google.com/google-d-s/whatsnew.html, tells us what is new in google docs and the new features that get added to it each and every single day!

Week 11- Open Source Software

  This week in class we learned about Open Source Software.  An example of Open Source Software is Open Office.org and is an open source version of Microsoft Office and has comparable programs and is free.  It has comparable programs to PowerPoint, excel, word processor, graphics tool, and database tool.  Another example of Open Source Software is Sourceforge which is a great resource for finding open software that is free.
  Open Source Software relates to my major which is Special Education because software is expensive and since open source software is free it is great for students to use to learn about different softwares there is out  there.  This website, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software , is on wikipedia about what exactly Open Source Software is and how it is changing technology in society today.

Week 9- The Sound of Podcasting

  This week in class we learned about how Podcasts are used for many things such as teaching, communicating, and learning.  Sound files can make a visual presentation more interesting and fun to watch!  We learned how to use tools such as Garage Band to create sound files!  I made a cool mix of songs using Garage Band and I plan on making many more mixes with this tool in the future!

  Sound files can be used in my major, which is Special Education, in order to teach children in a fun way! I believe that when children learn while having fun it is the best way to get the material across.  Children seem to interact more when there learning from music or playing a game!

  Here is a website,http://www.atomiclearning.com/garageband, that shows different features and tools within Garage band that you can use in order to make your songs and sounds more fun and interesting! I look forward to watching the tutorials on this website to learn more about Garage Band.

Week 2- Educational Technology

  This week in class we learned about different components of a Mac Computer.  I learned how to take a screen shot, add different shortcuts to the desktop of my computer, and also learn about the different icons and keys that are on the Mac Computer.  I found these lessons very helpful because i just purchased a Mac Computer last year and am still getting familiar with how it works.
  This lesson relates to my major which is Special Education because technology is always changing especially in the field of education.  I feel that it is really important for teachers to learn how to use new technology to be on top of the changes.
  Here is a website from wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh , explaining the history of the company Macintosh.  I thought that it was very interesting reading about how much computers changed from when they were first invented.  They were huge desktops at first and now they are as small as something that we can fit into our pockets!

Extra Blog Post #3

My Song!

Above is a song I created using the application Garage Band! By using the website GameFront.com I was able to upload my song so that anyone who wants to listen to it can download it for free. I hope you like it!