Week 6

Dr. Christie’s site:

Dr. Christie speaks and conducts workshops nationally and internationally on how technology can enhance learning and teaching. She taught K-12 for 25 years then received her Ph.D. in Educational Technology and Language and Literacy from Arizona State University in 1995. By viewing her site, one can easily for the opinion that she is a very organized and successful individual.

I really enjoyed "Dr. Alice Christie's Discovering Art in a Web 2.0 World". Not only does she have pictures of art work on the internet for students to view, she also has podcasts done by students that recall their visit. The best part is that she has an interactive map that is very helpful. Her online lessons include the artists name, assistants names (if any), the location, materials used, description of art along with photos, and also explains how the arts displayed were funded.

I think something similar to this would be a great tool in the class room to allow students to engage in technology. For example: after taking students on a field trip have them help in writing up information that would be useful, like the items listed above. Have them blog about their visit, create pod casts (with or without video). Maybe even create a video post cast while conducting the field trip. Make it more educational rather than just a fun day out of class. Students can have fun and still continue learning.

iTunes University

iTunes university was launched less than two years ago and already has became so popular that students are skipping classes and downloading their lectures from iTunes. Some universities allow their lectures to be accessible by the entire public, but some only allow it to enrolled students.
Some professors have resorted to limiting downloads in order to encourage class attendance.

It has been said that new research suggests that university students that download a podcast lecture get higher exam results than students that actually attended the lecture. "Podcasted lectures offer students the chance to replay difficult parts of a lecture and therefore take better notes", says Dani McKinney, a psychologist at the State University of New York in Fredonia.

Using iPods in Instruction

iPods are capable of storing tons of audio and video files. Most kids and teenagers think of only music and music videos when they think of their iPod. Several universities, as well as some high schools, have began using iPods for instructional purposes. College professors are using iTunes university, a nationwide service that makes lectures and other materials available online.

Believe it or not, iPods are actually being used in some high schools where as most high school confiscate electronic devices when seen in the classroom. When are teachers and administrators going to stop confiscating learning tools? Some K-12 teachers and schools have started using the iPod to enhance their curriculum and support learning objectives in content areas such as science, math, reading, history, and foreign language.

My next door neighbor at the Grove actually uses his iPod to study. His room mate uses it to practice his German before tests. I have not had a German class since high school, but when I checked out the tutorials and quizzes on his iPod I was amazed at how well it helped me recall all I had been taught.

Duke University distributed 20GB iPods to over 1,600 first year students.The iPods were used in music and foreign language classes, but it was also applied to other courses. The results from this new teaching tool were very surprising. Dukes first year iPod experience can be found at this link.