Emerging Technology

In the past decade, technology has made overwhelming advances that are allowing educators to expand their creativity in the classroom. Using a variety of emerging technology resources, teachers can further engage their students in their learning. Although there are many emerging technology resources out there, I researched three of them that I found interesting and beneficial to my future as a classroom teacher. iPods, Smart Boards, and ebooks are all great resources that teachers should implement and utilize in their classroom if they have the technology and the finances.

I found a lot of fascinating information about the very popular iPod on http://www.apple.com/itunes/. iPods have been out on the market for several years now, and has monopolized the mp3 player industry. Although most Americans find themselves owning some sort of iPod, it may have never occurred to them how useful iPods could be for classroom teachers. Take the “iPod classic” for example. This iPod has access to music, video, and slide show. This could be very handy for teachers. For example, if a teacher had a video or a slide show at home that they wanted to bring into their class to show to their students to help enhance their lesson, all the teacher would have to do is download this to their iPod and it would be super simple to plug it in and play it on the big screen for their class (assuming that they have the appropriate technology to plug it in and play it on the screen). It is just one more way for teachers to use technology and store a bunch of great resources that is portable and small.

A Smart Board is another great tool to utilize in the classroom, but unfortunately teachers can only get it for a high price. Various types of interactive whiteboards are available in the market today that range from $800 to $10,000 depending on the technology used and the quality of projection surface. I found a lot of great information about the “interactive whiteboard” specifically on http://www.electronicwhiteboardswarehouse.com/interactive_whiteboards.htm. The website described the interactive whiteboard as a resource that allows you to simply touch the board to control the mouse. It explains that this is such a great advantage as you can control all of the computer actions from the front of your classroom. Anything that is on your computer can be controlled from the screen, and can be viewed in a large scale by the entire class. This is great for using technology in a way that everyone can see and be interactive with.

Lastly, ebooks are a great resource for teachers to use in their class. Ebooks are basically books that can be read and accessed online. Wikipedia.com describes ebooks as the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book. Ebooks can be a great resource for those students who enjoy reading off the web. If students are interested in the internet, maybe using ebooks will make reading more interesting and fun for them. It is something different than just reading out of a boring textbook.Writers or publishers have the option to provide an ebook version to their book, which I think is valuable and a good idea since more and more, people turn to the web to read, instead of going to the library to pick up a book. Ebooks are beneficial resources because additional information and resources can be hyperlinked to further readings and information. This is a great tool to have, instead of having to do your own research on a further topic; the ebook provides you with the link right from the page. If a school does not have a ton of money for books, it would be smart for a teacher to spend the money to access a book online, and allow the class to view this book online. This is a smart way to be resourceful and a great way to utilize the wonders of technology.

It is valuable to learn about all of these great emerging technology resources for my future classroom. Technology has become such a big part of our world, and it is slowly being incorporated into the classroom. With more young teachers being educated on these emerging technology, like myself, the use of technology in the classroom will only increase, and hopefully students will feel better engaged and excited about their learning.