Multimedia History

This article details how multimedia software such as PowerPoint presentations and VR Worx which is a program that allows an individual using a camera and a tripod to take photos and turn those photos into a 360 degree virtual image. In the article a teacher used these programs to make presentations about trips she took to other countries such as the PowerPoint presentation she did in a one day trip to Granada Spain and the VR Worx virtual presentation for her trip to Vienna Austria. The article entails directions on how to use these programs effectively and explains further the advantages and disadvantage of each piece of software. One of the first questions many people ask however is the cost and time it takes to make such presentations justified by student performance and the author believes it is because of the enthusiasm of the students and the ability to reuse these presentations for years to come at no extra cost makes them very valuable.

I chose this article because I love how the article spelled out how to use the equipment and advantages and disadvantages of each program instead of giving you a flashy overview of all the amazing things they can do. Also I especially like the idea of creating virtual landscapes that can in my opinion really peak student interest because the students will be able to explore the actual real places and not just reading about them. This article directly relates to my search for educational technology that can interest students in a history course because it’s my belief that if a student is truly interested in a subject that they will learn from that subject and do well. this is an A posting.

For full article click here.

Virtual Egypt

A new Software Program called Virtual History-Ancient Egypt is a simulation based game designed to support traditional instruction in a history class. At the start of the game students take up positions of leadership in a simulated ancient Egyptian village. While the students play the game they are given choices for how they want to lead their village, how they want to distribute resources and many other decisions that are vital to their village’s survival. The decisions the students make will determine whether their village will succeed or fail.

I chose this article because it directly relates to using technology as an aid in teaching History and especially in motivating students into not just memorizing dates and facts but really getting students interested. In my opinion the reason why many students are not interested in history is because in most cases a textbook just doesn’t capture the real imagination and emotions of the students. When a student reads a paragraph in a history book that details what an Egyptian villages chief export were and what were the greatest dangers for them in life in the desert. It just does not convey the real life scenario the village lived in everyday of their lives and in my opinion a simple simulation such as this although might not be perfect however does portray a very real possible scenario for the people that they are studying. This is an A posting.

For full article click here.

The Mobiltity of Computers

In this article they entail how computers can be used to take students on a virtual field trip. The article is about using computers as a tool for student exploration and allows them to work together and empowers teachers. The advantages of using computers in this fashion is that it gives children a fun, educational, and collaborative experience of traditional field trips but it allows for flexibility because the computers are available on a daily basis also unlike traditional field trips a teacher would not have to go through the lengthy process of receiving funding arranging bus drop off and pick up and addressing school liability insurance. So by skipping all of these road blocks a teacher can become more spontaneous and flexible in how he or she wants to teach their students.

This article answers partially the question to how technology could improve a history class in terms of student motivation and productivity. I chose this article because students can use computers to take a virtual field trip to things like the battle of Gettysburg or to the Pyramids of Giza or the Great Wall of China any place in History that is not accessible because it’s in the past or on the other side of the world. This would in my opinion make a History class far more interesting for the students and increase classroom productivity. It’s my belief that if they can think of history as something more tangible than a chapter in a text book they will become more interested. This is an A posting.

For full article click here.

E-Books making Reading Fun

The project that sticks out in my mind the most is the E-Book reading assignment. The assignment was to read an E-Book with a child and record what he or she thought about the E-Book. I did this with my cousin Colby he is 5 years old. Its amazing how technology in learning has changed when I was his age all we ever did in class with computers was typing lessons and the occasional game of “Oregon Trail” which was always fun but today they have things like E-Books and hundreds of games that allow them to explore a multitude of places and experience a multitude of environments that is just mind boggling.

I really enjoyed this assignment and the time I spent with my cousin in this project was alot of fun for me. The greatest challenge for this assignment was just to get my cousin to sit still for long enough to get into it but once he did he really became interested. I learned from this assignment that I can be a teacher and work with children even if they start misbehaving I can maintain paitence and not let it get to me. This is a B posting.