Chapters 8 - 10

Data vs. knowledge?? What is more important. As an educator I feel that knowledge is the more important of the two. One can have all the data in world about a paticualr subject. Yet, if they do not "know" how to apply that data it has all gone to waste. Many ways in which a student uses the computer to "e-learn" may be data heavy and knowledge poor. A lot of this falls on the student and teacher to discern how to apply the data they have learned and to make it useful and practical.

Teachers should be familiar with the learning styles of their students and be able to adapt their teaching styles to their students needs. This also applies to e learning. not all students will get the same knowledge using the same web site or resource. It has to be meaningful to the student.

Keeping the students attention is vitally important with using computers in the classroom. Since most students learn best in multiple intelligences not only does it serve them well to read about something but to support it with audio takes it to another level. most websites these days use some type of media , whether its a audio or visual clip. These clips can go a long way to reinforce what the student has just read.

The use of smartboards, in place of chalkborads is a tool teachers may have. essentially this is a large computer monitor. Unfortunately most school districts do not have the funds available to purchase and place one in every classroom.

Chapters 5-7

Computers are here to stay! The use of computers in the classroom is essential these days. Everything we do outside of school is related to the use of a computer in some fashion. One does not walk into McDonalds and orders their food to then have the cashier use a pencil and pad of paper to calculate the cost of the purchase. One does not use the sun, typically, to tell time, they use a watch. Both these are radical examples but yet in both instances, a computer is used to assist the user.
The most common application that students will learn in school is the word processor. This is a program that has now all but replaced the typewriter. It includes the ability to auo spell check, change font, size and color of the text. It is important that students are familiar with this application so that they are able to function in the real world and communicate with others.
The spreadsheet application is also a great tool for students to become familiar. this application can be used for creating spreadsheets that can be used for calculations and reports. This tesnds to be more related to numbers so the applications for math are countless.
Drawing and Painting applications are especially great for students that want to possibly go into the art and design fields. They can edit pictures that have been uploaded or they can creat their own workds of art. They are many different tools that can be used in this application so lots of patience and trial and error may be required to become proficient.
There are many bundled application programs, Microsoft Office, Apple Iworks. It is a personal preference as to which bundle is used. Some have said that the Apple product is best because of its simplicity. Some prefer Microsoft becuse of the readily availablity of PC computers.
Presentation software is great for those that want to conduct meetings with a slide show. The user can create individual slides eith with text or graphics.
Software for learning is critical. How teachers use and implement these programs can very. The availablilty of computers in the classroom is critical. A great program is only defeated when there is one computer in the classroom and students time with it is so limited. The programs that are best in situations like this would be those that are maybe most simple. Ones that dont require much time to set up or explain.l

Chapter 1

Schools Need more Money and More resources. Teachers are not prepared to meet the needs of students when it comes to teaching students about how to use technology in the classroom. There are two reasons for this. Most teachers are not educated enough on technology themselves. Just as important there are not enough resources within the schools to adequetly provide current up to date technology for the students to use. If we expect students to go out into the world after they have completed school we are doing them a diservice. We need to find ways, creative ways, to find financing or partnerships to get the equipment into the hands of educators.
Many schools are having to work with outdated and inferior computers so that they can say they have a "computer lab" available. The schools are often not able to get up to date computers simply because the budget they work with is not enough. Even if a school was able to purchase enough "new" computers within a year those to are then out of date.
Not only do schools struggle to have state of the art computers, having qualified instructors is also an issue. Many times schools have to decide between new equipmnt or having a quailified teacher for the lab. In addition to the teacher needed, there is the need for a technician to repair the computers.
Schools and those that produce the technology, computers, software, and peripherals should work together so that we can ensure that the education students receive is top notch. I understand companies do not work for free, and I dont expect them to give their product away for free. I think there needs to be a better partnership. Now some might say that this create a biast if a school chooses one company over another. Well that may be true, but in the end if the students needs are being met best by one company over another, so be it then. School admionistrators have the final say in what books are chosen over one another, computers and whats needed for them are no different. Some text books chosen arent always the best, but when chosen its up to the teachers and staff to make the best of it.