Running smooth…

The thin walled classroom is one of the greatest technologies educators could use. If all classrooms could adopt this practice many students would have some much needed exposure to other cultures. Knowing that children can blog, chat and conference with students beyond the local community would be great. Education and public schools especially, should be so much more than your basic subjects it should be a learning experience that impacts you significantly. 

Not every culture will adopted the latest technology at the same rate. We will always see variations in the world not matter what we are dealing with. Different age groups and incomes could be the main reasons for variations in technology adoption. Your grandparents are not likely to be using networking sites like your teenager. Of course, those in a more rural area are less likely to have access to the latest technology for various reasons. Technology isn’t for the privileged it should be accessible to everyone who has a desire to learn.

The debate over social network sites and social networking sites is really confusing and shall I say pointless. Our culture has created and had some desire for social networking sites especially with the younger generations. People use these things to search and live in some online environment they truly do not have. Social networking is defined by me as MySpace/Facebook or dating sites not blogs. There is no correct way to define Social Networking Sites and why should we?

http://www.at.mo.gov/access/students.html

This article describes the obstacles that students with disabilities encounter with educational technology.  The most common barriers for all school districts is usually cost for equipment and access in rural areas. Every Kentucky county has these problems which is unfortunate for our students.  This article really stresses how students with disabilities have more problems accessing technology than others.

 “Lack of funding to train personnel to utilize technology” how often do we see this? Most educators never use the technology fully.

“Such features are critical for educational technology product access just as ramps and lever door handles are critical for facility access.” Sometimes we just miss the basics. This article has a lot of good points.

I still haven’t received my textbooks and I’m losing my patience.  I already paid for the books so I shouldn’t have any delays.  My class work in 628 is quickly piling up and I have no way to even begin reading chapter 1!

I just needed to vent somewhere…

HELP! I haven’t received my books yet… Is anyone else faced with this same problem? Dr. Lowell please have patience! LOL

This is my second semester in the Education Technology program & I’m starting to understand the relationship between Education, Technology, and Culture. Technology is everywhere especially my classroom. Technology is a vital part of culture and plays a very important role in our society. Technology usually means convenience and who doesn’t love that! Technologies change the way we teach lessons and communicate with our students. When children are exposed to modern technologies this will carry over to society and our culture.