ED 527 Module 6 Blog Posting

Advantages of Technology in the Science Classroom:

There are numerous advantages of using technology in science classes.  Authentic online projects such as the GLOBE Program gives students the opportunity to be actively involved in scientific investigations (Robyler & Doering, 2013). The internet provides many authentic science activities which “connects science to students’ lives and life experiences” (Robyler & Doering, 2013, p.319).  Technology can also aide in scientific inquiry by helping students obtain information, collect data, and communicate results (Robyler & Doering, 2013).

Example of an Authentic Science Online Project, GLOBE Program:  http://globe.gov

Disadvantages of Technology in the Science Classroom:

One major disadvantage is the usage of virtual science labs (Robyler & Doering, 2013).  While these labs can expose students to experiments and lab activities, it is difficult to reap all the benefits of an actual hands-on lab such as dissections (Robyler & Doering, 2013).

Example of a Virtual Lab, Virtual Pig Dissection:  http://www.whitman.edu/content/virtualpig

Useful ED 527 Assignments:

The Instructional Management Software activity taught me many useful concepts.  Learning how to use mail merge is going to save me an enormous amount of time when disseminating information to parents/students.  The first day of school documents will also be beneficial in my real classes.  The Wiki was another extremely useful project. Until this class, I had never even heard of a Wiki.  Now that I feel comfortable with creating these, I will definitely incorporate Wikis into my classes.  Social bookmarking websites, widgets, and podcasts were all new to me as well.  I intend to continue to use all of these in my classroom.

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2013).  Integrating educational technology into teaching (6^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.