Skype In Classrooms

When heading to college I decided to download Skype as a way of being able to stay connected with my family and friends while we were many miles apart. Skype is a free video conferencing program that allows users to make voice calls over the internet. For the past two years, I have used skype at least twice a week to talk with members of my family or friends from other schools. Not only has Skype been used to keep in contact with loved ones, but also for educational purposes. The article Using Skype in the Languages Classroom tells the story of how Silvia Tolisano used Skype in her classroom as a part of her project, Around the World in 80 Schools. Using Skype allowed Silvia's class to video conference with students from different areas of the world! I definitely think that using a program like Skype in the classroom is an enjoyable way to learn about different cultures and languages. 

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Dr. Seuss Becomes Tech Savvy

As a young child, Dr. Seuss' books were on the top of my list of favorites. Today, Dr. Seuss' books continue to be a favorite for young children, but now children can experience Dr. Seuss in a new way. There is now a Dr. Seuss app for Apple's iPod and iPads. The article "Celebrate Earth Day, Dr. Seuss Style" shows us how with the use of an iPod or iPad children can have a fun learning experience. Just in time for Earth Day, The Lorax by Dr. Seuss was released for the iPod and iPad. The Lorax teaches children the value of caring about the earth. This interactive application reads the story to the children and also asks them to help replant the Truffula Forest with seeds. The children are asked to plant seeds, water the plants, and grow flowers. This is a great way to keep children entertained while teaching them an important message about caring for the earth. 

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BLIO

All the talk about Apple's iPad tablet made me believe that maybe this will be the next new source of learning in classrooms. The iPad allows users to browse the web, use email, upload photos, and watch videos. But researchers are saying that there might be an even more useful piece of technology for the classroom setting: Blio. The article "Future of eReading might not be iPad, but Blio" by Meris Stansbury explains all of the benefits of Blio. Blio is a free eReading resource. Blio allows users to read more than one million electronic books on almost any computer or portable electronic device. Blio also gives users the option of highlighting, having text read to them, and much more! Not only can users access text books on Blio, but also some bestselling titles. Maybe all my days of backaches from lugging around huge texts books and my pack of highlighters are over; because with one simple computer or even my iPod touch, I will be able to do all my studying!

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The Changing Ways of Learning

Around the age of eight or nine, my parents finally broke down and joined the growing world of technology and got internet for our computer. By the age of sixteen, I got my first cell phone. At that time smartphones and handheld computers were just becoming affordable and were fairly new to the market. Through out grade school, books were my main source for learning. Today, smartphones and handheld computer are becoming the norm and technology in the classroom is becoming more prominent. The article A is for App: How Smartphones, Handheld Computers Sparked an Educational Revolutional gives us a good example of how technology is becoming a part of children's lives at early ages. In the article, three year old twins use their mom's cell phone for entertainment and learning purposes. By the age of 18 months the twin girls were using their mom's iPhone to practice their alphabet and sing along to Old McDonald. These twins aren't the only children using using technology for learning. Handheld computers are becoming a popular learning tool in preschool and kindergarten classrooms. As time continues, there is no doubt that technology will continue to become a greater part of the classroom and learning tools in the students lives. 

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