Emerging Technology

The field of technology has always been very rapidly advancing. New ideas, new gadgets, and new programs that allow innovative ways in which to solve old problems can catch on in the public like wildfire. Especially in the last few centuries, with the development of electricity and the creation of the computer, technology has grown exceptionally fast. Educators need to be aware of the significant technological advances of their times, and should be prepared to teach their students the most current and most beneficial ways in which they can use technology. One type of emerging technology that I feel may become very significant for science education in the next few years is the virtual lab.

Virtual labs are computer programs that replicate much of what occurs in a real life lab. They can cover nearly any science topic and can provide safe and easy ways for students to learn scientific concepts. One of the main benefits of virtual labs is that they replace the need for physical resources (such as dissection specimens, chemicals, or building materials), which can really help to save money. Also, they can help simplify and clarify the complications that are inherently involved in using real life materials and can save time by making labs easier to complete. Any lab that could potentially be hindered by weather or time of day (such as an astronomy lab) could be replicated at any time on a computer. A virtual frog dissection could be more effective for education than a real dissection  in that it could serve to eliminate odors, decrease excessive costs, and abolish the need for live specimens. The possible benefits of virtual labs to scientific education are endless.

There are a few drawbacks to virtual labs, however. The main issue is that they are not guaranteed to prepare students for the real world. A medical student studying to become a surgeon cannot be expected to work with an actual patient without first obtaining a large amount of authentic, real life practice. While virtual labs have many benefits, they can not replace true experience. They may be able to take the place of most labs a majority of the time, but they cannot completely eliminate genuine experience. Regardless, I believe that their benefits will make them a fine candidate for "a technology of tomorrow" since they really can help to improve education in innumerable ways.

Here are a few examples of helpful, virtual labs produced by New Mexico State University:

Bacteria Sampling
Gram Staining
Using a Microscope

And here is a video example of a virtual lab from the Instructional Technology Resource Center at Western University:

Assistive Technology

One inherent quality of widespread education is diversity among students. Students can be diverse in vastly numerous ways: in their learning styles, in their skill-sets, in their personalities, in their cultures, and in their capabilities. Some students have a harder time learning than other students do because of their disabilities. Whether students struggle from mental, physical, or emotional disabilities, special education is designed to meet the needs of students who require additional help when compared to the average student. One way in which students needs can be met is through assistive technology. Assistive technology is any kind of technology that helps meet the needs of a disabled student. Hearing aids are an example of assistive technology since they assist deaf/hard of hearing students to be able to hear instructions from teachers who don't know sign language. The assistive technology I would like to focus on in this blog post is a braille display.

A braille display is a device that allows blind or visually impaired students to read and write on electronic sources. Braille has been a great help to blind students over the last couple centuries, but until recently, it has been limited to paper. Braille books are very large in size and are often difficult to access since they are so rare and since few people can read braille. Also, hand-writing braille is fairly tedious and time consuming. A braille display helps make braille much more useful to visually impaired students in the modern age. Most braille displays are composed of a braille typewriter (usually with 6-8 keys for each of the dots composing all braille symbols) and a braille reader. This braille reader (the actual "braille display") is a strip of dots that can be electronically manipulated to change shape, allowing any configuration of braille dots to be pushed up out of the display for reading.

Through the use of a braille display, students can type on a computer, read electronic print, edit their own writing, and keep notes in an easily portable format. Internet access is huge to education, as are reading and writing, since they help each student develop individually. Braille displays can benefit students far beyond the benefits of traditional braille. Braille displays don't waste paper, are more efficient for writing, and connect visually impaired students to the ever-growing electronic world. If I were to have a blind student in my classroom, and if I had a braille display, I would certainly use it as often as possible. I would try to find electronic copies of textbooks so that my student could use the same material as his/her classmates. I would have my student use the braille display for reading, writing, homework, note-taking, and maybe even projects. I think a braille display would be a great help to my student.

Thank you for your interest in assistive technology! Feel free to check out this video to get a better idea of how a braille display works to produce refreshable, tactile information:

Professional Development Web Resources

While teaching is obviously very important for any kind of educator, few people often realize that learning can be just as important for teachers. Professional development is key for anyone who hopes to be a good teacher. I have created a list of professional development webpages that I believe can be particularly helpful for education. In my list are a few types of websites including blogs, newsletters, and discussion boards. Some of these websites offer information about technology education while others are focused on biology education. All of them are well made and include new posts of some variety (approximately every week) in order to keep their content and advice adaptable to changes in technology and education. Feel free to check them out; I hope they serve to be very helpful for you!

Professional Development Web Resources

Digital Citizenship Presentation

Prezi is a rather unique, online presentation program that allows a user to create an interactive presentation from scratch or from a variety of templates. In recent years, PowerPoint has been used by many people to present information, but Prezi offers an equally professional alternative to this common presentation software. Prezi is very visually appealing and allows its viewer to see all of the presentation in one large view. As the viewer looks through the presentation, their screen shows different segments of the overall presentation that can include graphics, videos, text, and more. Multiple layers of size can be used in Prezi to organize information in a format unique to its presentation style. If I were to use Prezi in my classroom, I would use it for many lectures, for instructions on assignments, and I might even assign students to form their own presentations using Prezi.

This Prezi is a presentation on "How to be a Good Digital Citizen". "Digital citizenship" describes one's identity as an individual engaged in technology and its advancements. A digital citizen uses technology often and uses it effectively, for the benefit of society. This presentation discusses qualities of a good digital citizen and gives advice on how one can work to become a better digital citizen. Please feel free to view and enjoy my presentation!

Digital Poster

Glogster is an online multimedia poster-maker that allows its users to create interactive, electronic posters that include video, audio, internet hyperlinks, and all kinds of creative graphics. These types of posters, called digital posters, can be used for presentations or can be accessed by individual viewers in order to allow them to explore information on each poster's topics. Glogster posters have a professional look to them, are easy to create (especially with the templates Glogster provides), and can be shared or used by teachers, speakers, scientists, presenters, or students all over the globe. Glogster is great for education since it is easy for teachers to use, can be utilized by students, enables exploration of topics, and provides a fun, presentation medium for students to showcase their knowledge and research. Digital posters can easily be used in a classroom as a lecture aid, homework assignment, or group project.

The digital poster I have created, using Glogster, is on the topic of insects. It includes pictures, graphics, a YouTube video, and links to websites that teach about different aspects of insect's lives. I listed this poster as usable for a middle school classroom since it discusses some more complex topics about insects than what would be seen in an elementary school classroom, yet does not have enough information to be very helpful for a high school lecture. As a teacher, I could use this digital poster to teach my students or I could have them read it as a homework assignment. I could even use it as an example for a group project that involves creating a glog. Please feel free to check out and enjoy my digital poster about insects!

Click here to view my digital poster

YouTube Video Playlist

In the video below, you will see a YouTube playlist I have created that contains four videos about the life cycle of a frog. While many people are familiar with YouTube, not everyone is familiar with YouTube playlists. A YouTube playlist is a collection of videos that allows its user to watch a variety of videos on related topics in the same YouTube link. The videos in a playlist will automatically play, one after the other, until all of them have been watched, or they can be selected by the viewer in the viewer's order of preference. I created my YouTube playlist by searching for educational YouTube videos that teach about the life cycle of a frog and then combining them into one playlist using the available tools in my YouTube account. YouTube playlists can be very helpful for education in that they can contain instructional videos, can supplement learning with additional internet information, and can be used by students to demonstrate their creativity and technological skills.

My playlist includes videos about the life cycle of a frog. Each video is unique in its presentation of information on the topic. The first video is a fun song that presents some general frog life cycle vocabulary, the second is a narrated example of frog development in a backyard pond, the third is a video containing an animation that follows a frog's life cycle, and the fourth is a narrated description of the frog life cycle with higher level concepts. Please feel free to watch my YouTube playlist, and I hope it serves to educate you about the benefits of playlists and to educate you about the details behind the life of a frog.

Internet Search Tools

This blog post is meant to serve as a resource for teachers who need safe and reliable search engines for their students. These search engines can be used for all kinds of classroom inquiries, from searching for games, to general information, to research-specific articles. These websites are useful for all ages of students, though the five I have listed tend to lean more toward usefulness in secondary education. Below are links and descriptions for these five internet search tools that I believe to be very useful and safe for classroom use: KidzSearch, Infotrek, Google Scholar, Wolfram Alpha, and Instagrok. I hope you find these links beneficial for your classroom!

KidzSearch

KidzSearch is a safe search engine created for young students to explore topics, play games, and look at websites that are popular among other students. It has many helpful links on its homepage that utilize pictures to make navigation easy and appealing. Unique characteristics of KidzSearch are that it has a list of fun and educational games for kids, includes links to news and to popular photos, and even has a page dedicated to helping students with their homework. The search option appears similar to Google (though is, of course, filtered) and does include advertisements. The site is a little unclear with too many unlabeled photo-links and lacks aspects that would help it appeal to older students. I would use this website in my middle school classes for days that students want to explore the internet in their free time and for some minor research-type assignments.

Infotrek

Infotrek is a search engine that allows high school students to search the internet for educational websites by both searching for key words and by clicking through icons that represent different topics. Infotrek is very well organized and well presented, with graphics that aid users in navigating the website by subject area. The search option for this website takes users to a list of related web pages that are safe and educational. The search list is presented clearly and is easy to navigate. Infotrek even contains links to other student friendly search engines. It has a slightly unappealing color scheme (grey) and does include advertisements. I would use this website in my classes for students to browse topics, especially if they want to search by narrowing down results by subject area.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a refined version of the Google search engine that provides search results of very high quality. Google scholar can be extremely helpful to students in finding trustworthy, credible sources for research papers and projects. This search engine offers pdf links of articles for many of its search results. Google scholar eliminates the ads often seen on Google and has a tool bar of options that help to narrow and enhance search results. Its format is a little advanced, however; more like a college research search engine than one that is usable for early secondary education classrooms. I would have my students (seniors and juniors) use this to find scholarly sources for important research projects.

Wolfram Alpha

Wolfram Alpha is a great resource for high school students, especially for those taking courses in science and math. Wolfram Alpha is an excellent source of high level information and distinguishes itself as a "computational knowledge engine" instead of a search engine. Wolfram Alpha often offers step-by-step solutions and explanations of complex problems, though some information on the site can only be accessed through paid membership. A particularly unique characteristic of Wolfram Alpha is that its search results display lists of in-depth information about certain topics rather than lists of website links for such topics. Wolfram Alpha is sometimes difficult to navigate and does not have a list of sources like most search engines. Also, payment is often required to view certain answers. I would have my students use this website if they needed help working through particularly difficult problems that are not explained in their textbooks.

Instagrok

Instagrok is a very unique and innovative educational website. Its key feature is that it presents information in search results as an interactive concept map. Topics are covered in depth due to the concept map format and information and links of all kinds are available on each page. Instagrok provides challenging quizzes to test what students have learned from each concept map and has instructions for teachers on how to best use the website for education. Instagrok has no advertising and ensures safe content. A main drawback for the site is that it costs money for teachers to use. The site is rather complex, especially for younger, elementary or junior high, students. I would use this site in my high school classes to allow students to explore certain topics in depth. The quizzes it provides would also be helpful for having students quiz one another on newly acquired knowledge.