New Technologies in Education

E-Portfolios

I>Clicker

Interactive WhiteboardsClick on the picture of the Emerging

Technology you want to learn more about.

E- Portfolios are becoming increasingly popular for use in schools instead of paper-based portfolios. An E-Portfolio is exactly what it sounds like. An online portfolio that includes everything a regular portfolio would have, and possibly more.

Three Types of E-Portfolios:Developmental- an E-Portfolio that provides a records of what an individual has done over time and can be tied to learner outcomes. Reflective- includes personal reflections on content of the portfolio and what it can mean for the development of the individual.

Representational- shows an individual’s achievement in relation to a particular work or certain developmental goals. Interested? Read More.

Quick Facts about E-Portfolios◦ They can be accessed anywhere in the world,

make for easier access to student materials and free up classroom storage space.

◦ Ease of use should an important requirement when purchasing E-Portfolio software.

◦E-Portfolios have been shown to keep students engaged in their work.

◦They can be used to archive work in all different types of media. Ex. audio, video, graphic and text.

Quick Facts about E-Portfolios◦ They can be accessed anywhere in the world,

make for easier access to student materials and free up classroom storage space.

◦ Ease of use should an important requirement when purchasing E-Portfolio software.

◦E-Portfolios have been shown to keep students engaged in their work.

◦They can be used to archive work in all different types of media. Ex. audio, video, graphic and text.

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To me E-Portfolios sound extremely convenient and are definitely something I look forward to possibly using in my career as a teacher. I know several people whose portfolios were lost by teachers during their time in school, it seems like E-Portfolios could help to prevent the loss of student materials. From personal experience I also know it is easy to lose track of what material is in a portfolio, especially if it is only viewed a couple times a year. If students were able to access their work and keep track of their portfolio it would increase the feeling of involvement in their education. With all of the eco-friendly movements that have been started the concept of an E-Portfolio fits right it. I also like the concept of being able to store all different types of media in these portfolios, because students often do amazing work on projects that are not done in a text form. As students are encouraged to use electronic resources for their work it seems good to have a place to store those kind of projects along with others.

Want to learn about other Emerging Technologies? Click ‘Back to Menu’

I>Clicker is a product that has mostly been used at the collegiate level in classrooms, but now it has begun a move into K-12 institutions.

I>Clicker is a multiple choice student response system that operates electronically.

It is the same type of system that is used to “Ask the Audience” on the Game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”.

To Learn More about I>Clicker, CLICK HERE.

How to use I>Clicker technology: Every student in a class should have a ‘clicker’. The instructor has a receiver that can be connected to a USB port on any computer, this receiver collects the answers sent by the ‘clickers’ the students have. Instructors pose a multiple-choice question to their students and allow for polling. Students answer that question by pushing the button that corresponds correctly with their choice. After a button is clicked the response is instantly sent to the receiver.

After all responses are received the data of each student is logged and stored. Results can be displayed in the form of a graph to the audience. Those results are also available for analysis, grading and can be exported to gradebook software.

How I feel about I>Clickers. How I feel about I>Clickers.

There are things I like about the idea of I>Clickers, and things I do not like. I like the idea of using them to keep students involved and to get immediate feedback about how students are doing with a topic. Yet I do not know how I feel about using them in smaller classrooms. It seems to me that calling on students, while not always completely effective, creates a better bond between teacher and student. I also do not like the idea of students learning too early on to rely too heavily on technology. To me I> Clickers or other student response systems are a good thing, but only if used in moderation. I do not believe they should be the only way to see how well students are understanding. At this point I do not know if I would use a student response system in my High School Classroom.

Interactive whiteboards are quickly becoming a replacement for regular blackboards. They are touch-screen systems that connect to a computer and digital projector. This allows the teacher to control computer programs and write notes with a digital pen.

This can be especially helpful when giving notes or examples. It allows the teacher to add notes or annotations where necessary, put in diagrams or graphs, add links to websites and then save everything that has been added for future reference.

To Learn More, CLICK HERE

How I feel about Interactive Whiteboards- Click Here Back to Menu

Interactive Whiteboards allow for a heightened amount of student involvement. It also increases student engagement because there is an active involvement and it gives many opportunities for hands- on experiences.

The idea of an Interactive Whiteboard fascinates me. It sounds extremely useful and like it would save a lot of effort. I like the idea of using it to get students involved in lecture instead of just talking at them. Technology such as this seems like it would be great to use in pretty much any size of classroom at any level. It would be nice to get to play around with it sometime, just to know how exactly it worked and how easy it is to use. I really hope to be able to have access to it someday.

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Many times technology can prove difficult and cumbersome when it comes to use in the classroom. But it seems to me that these three Emerging Technologies I have overviewed would be helpful and convenient to have in a classroom most of them time. A lot of times it comes down to whether or not an educator is willing to try to use a new technology, and in today’s technology driven world I think we all have to be willing to at least try.

Bibliography: Waters, J.K. (2007). E-

portfolios::making things e-asy. THE Journal, Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2007/04/01/eportfolios--making-things-easy.aspx?sc_lang=en

Aronowitz, S. (2009). I>clicker moving into k-12 schools. THE Journal, Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/12/10/i-clicker-moving-into-k12-schools.aspx?sc_lang=en

Averill, D. (2006). Making the leap to interactive whiteboards. THE Journal, Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2006/09/21/making-the-leap-to-interactive-whiteboards.aspx?sc_lang=en