Kaamil Ali ETEC 524 Blog

During this semester I have learned about technologies that I had not previously been exposed to and was able to become more familiar with a few that I had. The various ways people can communicate online is fascinating to me especially because emails are not always the best form of delivering a message or asking the question. I was really intrigued when I received tips on the lesson plan assignment through a YouTube video message. Even creating a YouTube tutorial on Jing, it never once crossed my mind about using it to pass a video note.  The message was a lesson within itself. Browsing through people’s blogs can be beneficial due to exploring different ideas, reflections and suggestions as applied to improving instructional methods and technologies. I actually read an article about Wordle a few weeks ago, and the article gave several examples of how Wordle can be used in instruction. The most prevalent example was using Wordle to facilitate group brainstorming for assignments in t...

I created a lesson plan to introduce American Presidents. I incorporated Google Earth to explore monuments and landmarks. The videos truly support the necessity of incorporating technology into the classroom. The first video was the most intriguing to me. However, I see that technology can be just as distracting, if not more distracting, than helpful. All-in-all technology can assist students with time management, provide a form of interactive learning, and capture their attention more than a chalkboard ever will.