Refletive synopsis

Reflection
As technology continues to grow and expand, ICT has become an important part of education today; however, as the digital teaching factors are being introduced, teachers must not lose sight of the fact that analogue learning is still every bit as important as the digital learning. Students need to have non digital hands on learning to become well versed and rounded in their studies. Many of the technologies allow for spelling to be automatically corrected, this does not teach a child to spell, nor do computers necessarily teach a child to read, it is important for a teacher to give a student analogue learning experiences where the student does not use a computer until the exercise has been completed, meaning, a teacher could ask students to prepare a short story on a subject relevant to the class work, this work could later be up loaded to a computer, this exercise if carried out regularly might enhance the students spelling, writing and reading skills better than just doing it digitally.
Google is a really good interactive interface, where children and adults can engage and explore the many sections, such as Google earth, Google images and many more. There are sections of Google to suit most lessons a student might be required to complete especially if they maybe engaging in geography or any of the sciences. Many of these sites are free to use, meaning anyone may freely use pictures and information, however a teacher should always check copyright before actually allowing students to download. I would defiantly use Google in teaching students, I find Google to be an excellent source of information.
www.google.com
Wikipedia is an online encyclopaedia. The information Wikipedia contains is somewhat dubious; in that it cannot always be confirmed as factual, and may not always be from reliable sources. However Wikipedia does have references at the end of each page and these references often are links to reliable sites and online journals, these are far more acceptable. Students should be advised of the discrepancies that are Wikipedia, and shown how to use this extensive site correctly. This site if correctly used as a stepping stone can be beneficial. I would warn all students and explain to them the content and format of Wikipedia, I would show them that although Wikipedia is not always the correct source it can be used to find links to correct sites.
www.wikipedia.com
Voki is a trade name for an avatar development site, there are a number of these sites online and they are all as interesting as each other. An avatar would be an interesting and totally engaging activity for students of all ages. There are many different types of these avatars to choose from and audio can be added in several ways, one of which is to simply type what is to be recorded, then a choice of voice accent is available. Teachers could make short lessons or stories for the children to interact with, especially if they were unable to be at school, they could then connect and stay in touch with their peers and teacher, much like i-pod and its interconnectivity. I would use avatars to help students learn, I find them engaging, I would ask the students to make their own interesting avatar as a presentation, they could then share with the class.
www.voki.com
A voice thread is an interactive e- tool. This interactive interface can be used for group discussions through a number of media e-tools such as, video, presentations, images or a combination of any or all of these. This is a user friendly interactive site that is uncomplicated to interact with, the treads can be uploaded by phone, file upload, webcam and microphone, and texts either written or graphs, these texts can be added as the user is engaging the audios. Editing is readily available within this site, this makes updating the site easy and effective. This tool could also be utilised as a learning tool for children who are members of a team or group and do not always have access to the class room or are away from the classroom due to illness or other commitments.
Web 2.0 has many and varied tools used throughout the World Wide Web. These tools change regular, as technology grows these tools and artefacts also evolve and expand. As technology continues to advance it becomes more intrinsic to education, and the need of all teachers to keep abreast of these changes is paramount to the education of children. One of the most important components on web 2.0 that is constantly being improved on is net alerts; these alerts are sometimes called “nannies”, they help and indeed shield computers from undesirable sites. With a nanny in place children cannot access adult sites, chat rooms or certain other sites deemed by the parent to be unsuitable. YouTube along with Flickr, Facebook, Myspace are phenomena of web 2.0, these sites have gained phenomenal popularity world wide since they were introduced. These sites and others like them provide users with previously unknown avenues of interactive engagement, young children and adults alike can interact easily with these interfaces. Teachers can and should interact with the students and utilise these sites as they could be used within the class curriculum very easily and become good learning tools and good learning experiences. Each of these sites can either be open to anyone or closed to only invited people the user knows, this means that if an under aged child has a site of their own it can be locked allowing only recognised people to access, this affords security for the child.
As technology continues to expand, teachers will need to be diligent in their commitment to these changes, I find the technology and its changes exciting and absorbing. I will most definitely be using these technologies within the class room and I would also encourage students to explore, engage and then come to the classroom and share their findings with their peers.