Chapter 8- Communicating and Networking with Websites. Blog, Wikis and More

Focus Question: How can teachers use communications technologies as teaching and learning tools.

Teachers use communication technologies as teaching and learning tools mainly by five uses of electronic communications. These being teaching strategies, information sharing, community building, publish student work and energizing student writing. Communication technologies are provided in order for teachers to connect with their students, promote meaningful learning extend academics beyond the regular school time.

The communication system helps extend the impact of teaching beyond the information taught in the classroom or in the textbook. Nowadays there is never enough time to teach everything students need to know in a school year. Instead of assigning paper-pencil homework it is much easier to just have our students go online and submit via internet. Teachers can inquire everything needed over the internet now. They can put class notes, questions, homework and missed assignments and even writing ideas on a on the internet, making it much easier to communicate in this society.  Also it helps a teacher provide more information about the assignment, the grading policy and upcoming activities all on an easy updateable format. Also by using all the communication technologies teachers can help build learning strategies to help students learn how to explore the topics of interest.

Tech Tool: Posting and Publishing with Digital Image Scanners

A digital image scanner is a tool provided for teachers and students with the computer storage of handmade works.  It is easy to lose something you have written or drawn by hand on a piece of paper. But by using a digital scanner you can scanner whatever it is that you have done into the computer and store in a file where you know it is impossible to lose. Also by using the scanner it makes things a whole lot easier to publish online. It also helps teachers add visuals to hangouts, class notes and learning resources that they may be creating for their students.

Photo credit to oldschoolgoodtimen on Flickr

Summary & Conclusion:

Chapter 8 is mainly about how teachers and students can use computers and several other technologies to share information in classrooms and online learning environments. The chapter starts with explaining the use of educational websites and several ways that they are used in order to communicate. They talk about the five uses of electronic communications which are; teaching strategies, information sharing, community building, publish student work and energizing student writing. All these strategies in my opinion are all excellent. I find it fascinating that there are other way for teachers to communicate with their students without having to be with them in person. For example if one of their students misses a class they can receive everything online including notes and excreta. Next, the chapter talks about the use of wikis, blogs, instant messaging, emails, and discussion boards. Most teachers communicate with their students, families and professional colleagues through email because they feel that instant messaging has too much informal language. I completely agree with teachers in that cases. IM has a lot of slang and shorten words that are used when trying to communicate and I believe that teachers should be appropriate at all times when communicating with their students, the students’ parents and colleagues.  

Resources:
Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2011). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN:10 0-13-159611-X, ISBN:13 978-0-13-159611-5