The end of the Road......New Directions & Emerging Technologies for IDT

1. Section VIII addresses new directions and emerging technologies for IDT. Select three of the following and reflect on how you might apply them in your current or future position in the IDT field:
 

• distributed or e-learning environments
• reusable design or learning objects
• networks or Web 2.0 technologies
• rich media
• digital games or simulations
• virtual worlds

Web 2.0 technologies have been around for years.  Each year I attend the TCEA conference, I make sure to attend the session titled Web 2.0 technologies.  This session keeps me up to date on the new sites that are out there for education use and personal use.  I talk about this session before I get to the conference each year with my students so they are anxious when I return to see what new things we are going to try or what new things I can share with them to keep them up to date with social media.  Incorporating Web 2.0 technologies in my classroom is the best things I could have ever done.  My students look at me as being the cool teacher on campus.  They even share ideas with their core teachers.  I know this because the teachers come to me and ask about them or get information on how they can incorporate them into their classroom.  Even though this will be my last year in the classroom as a teachers.  I am thankful that I will still have this outlet to assist teachers with utilizing 2.0 web technologies. 

Virtual worlds/Simulations are something that I believe give people a feel of actually being at a place.  When I visited Disney World two weeks ago, I was reminded why I hate roller coasters.  I had the chance to partake in a roller coaster simulation.  I experienced what it would feel like in real life.  The ride was full of turns, jerks, darkness, and other things which are the very reason I hate roller coasters.  I teach a college and career class for 8th grade students.  When talking about colleges, I love when we research campuses who offer virtual tours.  My students get to see up close and personal what college life at the school is all about.  This is a very nice tool and I see more and more colleges and universities using this since I first started teaching this class about 7 years ago. 

What learning goals or objectives could the technologies you selected help learners foster? Could the technology facilitate attainment of that learning goal better than traditional instruction? Why or why not?

When I look back at how my classroom structure was before we used technology to now, I would not go back to traditional instruction.  Why not utilize the tools our students are using on a daily basis to teach and reinforce instruction.  When I first started using Edmodo about 5 years ago, my students were thrilled.  Why you ask, its because the interface looks just like Facebook.  Facebook was new and trending and people want to be up with what's popular at the time.  This was a way to incorporate technology in the classroom using something that they were happy to work with.  Along with the new trends I saw Edmodo change to keep with the trending technologies and keep students wanting to utilize the tool.  With any of these new technologies you have to ensure you stay up to date and make sure your platforms works in different settings. 

2. Section IX focuses on issues related to instructional design, rather than new technologies: professional ethics, diversity and accessibility, the nature of design, and providing instructional guidance. For each of the technologies you selected above, discuss what ethical issues using the technology might present. Does the technology enhance accessibility and accommodate diverse learning needs? How and/or can you design instruction using that technology? How much guidance would instruction with that technology require? What kinds of guidance would be necessary?

When using the sites above either as personal or educational use when it comes to ethics I have one rule and that is to never friend students on my personal social media sites.  I always create a teacher account to use when it comes to communicating.  I also ensure that I take my students through Digital Safety and Procedures, not just for education tools we will be using in the classroom, but when they are outside the classroom as well.  I run into challenges with having ESL students in my classroom, sometimes we find sites that transition English to Spanish, but many of them we go on do not have that function.  In that case, I have students sign up at the beginning of the semester to be translators in case we have ESL students in or come in our class during the year.  This step helps with incorporating this amount of technology that I love to use.  Many of the sites we use are user friendly, but some require training.  I never assume my students know how to work a sight I give a training whenever we use something new to answer all those unanswered questions they have and wont ask.