Emerging Technology

As an educator, it is important to keep up with and utilize all the things that we can in order to provide the best education possible. One of the newest pieces of technology that can be utilized in the classroom is the Apple iPad.

The iPad is a device that is relatively unique and new. It is an interesting mix between a PDA and a laptop computer. With it's full touch screen and user friendly interface, it is a relatively easy device to use and get used to. The iPad is a wonderful tool for presentations and using the internet. It is not necessarily the best for drafting papers or doing any extensive writing, but once written on a computer, the document can be easily edited on the iPad.

The popularity of the iPad may not be very high, but I believe that in years to come the iPad will be a useful tool in streamlining the education process and helping teachers and students alike stay in more constant connection.

Assistive Technology

As technology advances in todays culture, we are able to include more and more people in education. A section of the population that is in need of accessibility to education are those with handicaps and learning disabilities.
 
With the advances in technology, students with disabilities are able to participate in education at a level never before attained. An example of a piece of technology is the Braille PDA. This device allows the blind to input and store information for future reference using braille. This device allows for audio playback of information. Hopefully in the future as technology advances, those that are handicapped will be able to better and better participate in learning and advancement.

Photo Story Example

This is an example of an interactive activity that kids in the class can do to present an idea or subject. I have made an example with the story of Romeo and Juliet.

Educational Podcast

The educational podcast I listened to was about QR codes. Qr codes are squares with different, unique patterns in scripted on the inside. With the right software, smart phones are able to take pictures of the code and go to a URL. This could be a useful tool for an advanced classroom. Getting to an online assignment that is linked to a handout could be expedited with a simple QR code put on the handout. Certain websites can track access to it by certain mobile devices which can also improve accountability on the teacher's end. The podcast I listened to with this information can be found here

Introductory Video

This is a playlist on YouTube that should help you, if you're interested in learning some basics on guitar. It is not exhaustive, but will get you pointed in the right direction.

File Conversion

In today's society technology is a useful tool used for many things. Unfortunately the variety and amount of different types of technology has almost become a nuisance. Different programs and systems use different types of documents and programs that are often incompatible with other systems. Thankfully there are methods of converting different file formats and types. One method for doing so is using an online file conversion website. 

One such site is http://www.cometdocs.com/. This site can be used to do 50 different conversions. The types of conversions range from music files to PDF and simple word processing documents.