Online
File Storage
There are many benefits of using an online file storage
website rather than saving to your computer or USB drive. First of all, when you have an online file
storage account, you can access your files from anywhere as long as you have
internet access. There have been many
days as a teacher that I either forgot my USB drive at home or did not save a
file to my USB drive. Secondly, online
storage of files protects you if your USB drive or computer stops working or if
you lose them. This use to be a
nightmare situation for teachers, but won’t be the case anymore if you have an
online account. Lastly, online storage
sites make it easier to share files with others. Rather than having to attach files to an
email to share with others, most online storage websites make it very simple to
share with others.
In October, I attended a district inservice explaining
how we are transitioning from using district servers to save files to an
internet based storage system (live@edu).
At the start of next year, the “cloud” will be the place teachers or
students will have to save files rather than their “home” drive. When we first learned about Google Docs, I
wished that I created all of my worksheets using Google Docs rather than
Microsoft Word because it would be very simple to share worksheets with
students. Then I remembered that we will
have this capability with the live@edu.
Also, through your live@edu account, everyone will have access to the
Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Web
Cameras
As a math teacher, I do not see a ton of uses for web
cams in a math classroom but I did research some general ways they can be used
in the classroom. Students can take online
field trips to places that stream online video.
This link gives a list of online web feeds that could be used as online
field trips (http://www.atlanticava.org/WebandCamSites/WebcamTeachers.htm). Also, students can have a guest speaker
or presenter by having a video conference, especially if that person does not
live close. I could also see students
having a video conference with a teacher if they have questions on what is
going on with class.
Ryan I agree with the use of online storage making our lives easier, I hope the direction the District is going in is the right one. I have two concerns that maybe you share, If we rely too much on technology what happens if the network is down? We will not be able to access the information we or the students need. My other concern is that technology brings the job too far into our personal life. Will we need to be on call 24/7? There needs to be a balance between work and home. This is not only an issue with teaching but many jobs as well. Technology can be a double edge sword.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea about using web cams for guest speakers. A big push in math right now is problem solving and cooperative learning in groups. Have you thought about using webcams to set up cooperative groups for problem solving? It could be with a class across the district perhaps. One extra benefit would be the natural focus on math vocabulary needed to communicate through distance.
ReplyDeleteRyan, I love the link you have in your blog that has a list of webcams across the world! I was watching live feed from a webcam in Japan, and it made me think of literature that I teach that is set in Japan or has characters longing for their home in Japan; how cool would it be to actually show the kids Japan?! Love it! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAlso, regarding using webcams in the math classroom, you may someday be teaching online and would use it to demonstrate a problem or show a new formula to kids.
I agree that moving to the Cloud is exciting, and I wonder if having Google Docs rather than Microsoft Word documents would ease the transition. Is there any advantage anymore to using Word as opposed to using Google Docs?