A vision for the future

I was just thinking about how I would use technology in my classroom if I had the funding to do what I want. These ideas would decrease paper use and save money in the long run. This is what I came up with:

1. A main server and thin clients (10) to use in the room. This would save money, energy, and time needed to maintain multiple stand-alone PC's. The thin clients also don't need the same processing power or memory of a stand-alone PC.
2. Making sure that the light sensors were set right to decrease energy usage.
3. Some kind of e-paper system - similar to an e-book reader, so that students could read the papers that I currently have to print or hand out. I would want one is that much cheaper than the Kindle or Sony's e-reader. For the price of those two e-readers, I could get every student a netbook. I'm thinking of a very basic device that could read pdf files.
4. Classroom response system, such as Turning Point, to decrease written answers and paper.
5. More use of cellphones and smartphones - as classroom response systems, e-readers, etc. I see a great benefit to these devices. They are small computers and could be used as a 1-to-1 initiative.
6. Web based or secured and locked pdf's for report cards for parents with computers and email.
7. Online grade book (like engrade) that all parents have access too that show every grade, attendance, and comments on each student.
8. More use of email and text messaging to communicate with students and parents. Most paper memo's get left behind or dropped on the floor.
9. eTextbooks instead of printed ones. These would save money and paper, and are more easily updated and replaced at a lower cost than printed texts.
10. More web-based applications for students and teachers.

I feel that we can decrease paper usage, which is a cost and environment saving initiative and extend learning out beyond the classroom by using the internet, email, etexts, and cell phones to our advantage. I see great potential in the new cellphones and smartphones that are out and coming out as educational tools. Students can use them as classroom response systems, research, e-readers, and to collaborate with other students. Just like any other tool, smartphone use would have to be monitored. Every student I have has a cell phone of some sort, so this is not a far-fetched idea.

Enough rambling and dreaming about this. Time to see what parts of it I can put into effect now.

Educational Technology saves the day (and money)

I teach AP Physics and needed to set up some labs for heat and thermodynamics. Unfortunately, we have no money left for supplies or equipment, and there is a problem with the gas to my room. Thank goodness for technology. I am lucky enough to have 8 computers in my classroom. I used them today for a heat and thermo lab. The students were sent to software we use here (Cyber-Ed Multimedia Science School) and a website (http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/index.php?cat=Physics). The web site has some great simulations that include teacher notes and student activities. I feel that these simulations are more interactive than a traditional lab and really show the student the physics behind the topic. The students also seem to like these better than some of the "real" labs they do. Don't get me wrong, I still do traditional labs, but free online labs and simulations are very useful, especially in these tough economic times.

Vernier

Yesterday, I spent the day using Vernier's Logger Pro software and digital probes and sensors. I was very impressed. Vernier not only has a great product line, but the support for teachers is tremendous. I was really impressed with the labs that they include with the equipment and the fact that they are more inquiry based than most labs.

I really liked the way the software and probes work seemlessly together and how it really makes the science come to life. I could use the Vernier devices for every unit in my Physics classes and I think the students would be more engaged, more excited and interested, and would learn much better than with traditional labs.

The equipment is obviously not cheap, but Vernier has some grants of their own and also has links to other grants and grant writing tips. There are also plenty of free resources for teachers, including more labs and ideas on how to use the devices in class. All-in-all, it is a great bargain.

My next step is to find funding to purchase the Physics sets for my classes and start letting the students have some fun.