Using Technology for Visuals in the Classroom

On May 18th, Jenn posted her expectations for CEP 416 and mentioned that she would like to learn more about technology that could potentially benefit students that are deaf or hard of hearing, and as I was reading this post, I found myself nodding along and saying "Yeah! Me too!" for I am in the same major (Deaf Education, if you haven't guessed already). I remember from a previous class, my teacher mentioned a man named Richard Mayer. He wrote a lot of books about multimedia learning. I also utilized my delicious.com account to look up some new websites about visual learning tools and found one outstanding website!

My Expectations for CEP 416

I have great expectations for this class. I hope to learn about the advances in today's technology such as wikis, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter and how they impact the world. I am really interested in the trends of technology as it gears towards classrooms (i.e., How is the academic world taking to websites such as Twitter, which has such a fanatical and "movie star" reputation?). Most of all, I am interested in how I can benefit from learning about the different technologies used in classrooms, how they are work and how to incorporate technology in the classroom. I am also interested in learning how I can manipulate the technology in the classroom all the while not bogging down and clouding the real purpose of the technology. Lastly, I would like to learn about the different technologies that can enhance the visual performance of presenting material and how to adapt it to support students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

My Technology Background

I have always been surrounded by technology, but the depth of my knowledge is a different story. I am acquainted with different kinds of technologies, know the basics of some technologies, and can confidently say that I'm know a great deal about only a few technologies. I have extensive experience with Microsoft Word, Microsoft Power Point, OneNote, Facebook, digital cameras, texting, and creating wikis. I have recently delved into the video chat world and am beginning to use Skype frequently. Through other experiences of being in school and working in schools, I have observed the use of the internet, Microsoft Excel, overheads/projectors, SmartBoards, Elmos, wikis, blogs, YouTube, and e-books for academic advantages. In the past three semesters of my college career, I have seen my professors demonstrate an increase in interest of using technology in their classrooms and incorporating wikis, blogs, and Skype into their curriculum. I have had the opportunity to create and participate in a blog as well as create a wiki and contribute to wiki on another occasion.