TWAS...This Week At School (In Internet for Educators)

Howard Griffith and Donald Girouard:

Web-based courses

-I like how the online classes can be asynchronous. This is a really great asset to students who might work and sometimes are unable to come to school during school hours. I know I had many students who wanted to leave early from class because of work hours. This could be used for those types of students and they can work on their own time.

-I also liked how the pedagogy was built into the courses. These people are the experts and they have done all the work for us! I think it would take some personalization on the part of the teachers, but since it is so well set up, it would be fairly easy to use. The lessons are modular and should follow in a simple sequence. There are lessons, assessments, activities and worksheets available in the packages from the Manitoba Education website.

-I love how in this program you can create announcements as popups, that way no one can say that they did not know about something! This is such a neat way of teaching and a great resource, even if the course is not web-based!

Shawn Kleebaum:

Google Applications

-Google apps education account: allows schools or divisions to use custom domain names with several google products: gmail, google, calendar, docs, sites. It is free!

-Division does not have to worry about email, maintenance, nothing to install, data is safe and secure, etc. Surely the divisions would be ok with this, no money on their part, no time on their part, etc. I think this would be a good thing for the school divisions!

-No advertising in the google education accounts. That is really nice, because sometimes there are really inappropriate ads on internet sites, that students should not see!

-Schools can not control all the email, etc. If the division likes to control, you might not be able to use it in blocked schools. All the divisions I have been in have EVERYTHING blocked. I had to think of some really creative ways to get around the blocks to use technology in my classroom!

-Downfall: applications are not as full featured as desktop applications, but that is not a big deal for me, for my purposes, it seems like the google apps will be fine for me!

-American server...data is stored in the US, so if you say something on here, the US has right to look at the data and it could cause a problem for them crossing the border, etc. I really think that this should not be an issue in classrooms because the content should be monitored by the teacher. Especially since it is a collaborative kind of thing.

-If the internet is down or google goes down, you can not access some of your documents, etc. This would probably not be as much of a problem for me, because I plan very far in advance, and I seem to be able to think fast on my feet.

-This is a neat program to be able to share things with the students! Documents can be edited by students, students can subscribe to the calendar, so they always know what is due and where the class is going!

-Students can hand things in electronically, and teachers can do marking wherever they are! This would be very convenient, and it also teaches the students to use the internet when they make their own google site!

This was a very interesting presentation, and it was much easier to see the influence it can have on the classroom, he really brought the technology back to the classroom. Great presentation!