Mac or PC

When I was in school, Macs were the trend. Everyone had a Mac. They were in schools and in homes. But then the trend changed and PCs became the trend. Everyone had one, and now all schools have one too. But which one is really the best? Why is one better than the other? Well, after doing some research, I found some interesting results from Popular Mechanics. Prices, speeds, operating systems, they were all tested. I think you will see who came up on top, but I don't aggree. I may be that I am just used to my old ways, and am not really willing to change. But, you decide for yourself... but I'll stay with my PC. http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/tests/4258725 Derene, G. (2009) Mac vs PC. [Web based] http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/tests/4258725

Technology is Growing

Where were we 10 years ago with technology? Very far behind where we are today! Technology has taken over our lives and made them more complex but easier as well. The children of this time period are very comfortable with technology and use it every day. Everywhere we turn, technology is right there. But the question is, “How far have we really come?” Well, the statistics are astonishing! The following is what I found. • There were 100,000,000 new Twitter accounts opened in 2010 • 294 billion emails are sent daily • 20 million Facebook apps are downloaded each day • 2 billion videos are watched daily on YouTube • Only 4% of Americans do not have television service in their home • More than 70% of 4 year olds in the United States have used a computer • 21 year olds have played about 10,000 hours of video games • The number of text messages sent and received exceeds the population of the planet • 2.7 billion Google searches are performed each month • 10 million emails have been sent in the past 5 seconds These statistics make me feel much smaller and make me feel part of a world that is much larger than anything I can imagine. We are not going to escape technology so we must learn to embrace it. It may not always be easy, but we have no choice. Rosales, L. (2011). Internet, technology statistics and infographics. AGBeat. Retrieved from http://agbeat.com/real-estate-coaching-tutorials/tech/internet-technology-statistics-and-infographics/ Iannorris1954. (2010). Technology and the latest statistics. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvZoDRGHnxk.

Smart Technologies

I've been teaching in a district that is a big supporter of Smart Technologies. This company makes educational products that use technology as teaching aides. I have tried all the educational products and have fallen in love with each of them. If you have a chance to use one, or if you can write a grant for one of these, I highly suggest it. You will NOT be disappointed! Some teachers are scared to use them and scared to let their students use them. I find that this is mainly because the teacher doesn't know how to use them. Once they have seen how they can be used, and make up their mind to actually use the materials, then the rest is easy. There is so much that you can do with these products! I don't know how I have ever taught without them! It helps make learning more interesting. Here is a few of my favorites:

SMART Board® interactive whiteboards These whiteboards can be used as a virtual whiteboard. You can write, draw, erase and touch the screen to interact with it.

SMART Response™ interactive response systems Students can use the clickers to respond to questions. Data can be gathered immediately. Students have the choice to answer true and false or multiple choice questions. Students can also text the answer as well.

SMART Table™ interactive learning center This is similar to a horizontal interactive whiteboard.

SMART Document Camera™ This product can display an live video feed on to a whiteboard.

SMART Slate wireless slate This slate can be used to click and write on the interactive whiteboard without having to be next to the board. You can stand across the room and still be able to write on the whiteboard.