Technology in Classrooms Essay Example for Free

Technology in Classrooms Essay Tablets. Smartphones. Smartboards. The biggest issue society will have to face in the near future is effectively incorporating technology into public schools. There is a mass of new equipment being thrown haphazardly into classrooms. But do teachers know how best to use it, or are they left drowning, trying to determine how to avoid the increased number of student distractions that inevitably accompany it? This is the newest challenge. How much is too much? Technology has the potential to revolutionize the classroom if used correctly, but it could also be severely detrimental to the education of our students. Initially, the most difficult part is discovering all of the possible uses for the new equipment. A tablet, for instance, is usually used for playing games, checking email, and using social media. For some subjects, it is easier to relate these uses productively to the curriculum than it is for others. A common example is English versus math. In an English class, a tablet can be used for projects, researching information, working collaboratively with other students via email, social media, or both. In a math class, this same tablet appears to be more of a hindrance than a help. Typing math symbols is more effort than it’s worth, games always seem more interesting than learning the lesson, and there aren’t usually research projects about algebra. Despite these obvious barriers however, tablets can actually become a useful tool in all classrooms. There are many apps that can aide in learning, and more are being created every day. â€Å"Factor Factory†, â€Å"Picturing Fractions†, and â€Å"Khan Academy† can all be helpful in a math classroom, especially on a review day. Khan Academy is especially useful for students, as it has coherent lessons for several different subjects, and many levels within each. There are apps for teachers as well, including some for monitoring students’ progress and aides for planning lessons. All in all, having tablets in the classroom for student use can be exceedingly beneficial. What about smartphones? Many students carry an iphone, an Android, or some similar device with them daily. How can they be used in the classroom? Several teachers choose not to deal with them at all because they can be such a distraction. Texting, checking social media websites, and playing games can interfere with learning, so these teachers practice â€Å"phone surrender†, requiring students to place their phone in a designated container at the beginning of class each day and only retrieve them at the very end. While this does seem to help students focus, there must be a way to use the phones productively instead. The same apps convenient for tablets are also available for smartphones, so students can make use of online flashcards for studying, or watch video tutorials. Some students can text faster than they can write, so taking notes on a smartphone could be potentially easier. If a student misses class and needs to copy that day’s notes, the camera feature can come in very handy. These phones can even record a lecture, eliminating the need for the old fashioned tape recorder still used by some college students. This recording can then be easily shared with the class for those who are auditory learners. Instead of fleeing from these handy little devices, perhaps it would be better to embrace them in classrooms. Finally, there are new tools for the teachers. Just as document cameras eliminated the necessity for the overhead projector, smartboards are becoming more and more common replacements for the document camera. Not so long ago, a whiteboard that doubled as a touch-screen computer was completely out of the question. They seemed like some technology to be acquired in the far distant future, akin to flying cars and teleportation machines. Now, they’re quickly working their way into classrooms, and it’s time to consider how to practically apply them. Not all teachers have a class set of tablets or laptops at their disposal, but a smartboard is a good alternative. These interactive whiteboards can be used in many ways. First, they eliminate the need to scan notes onto the computer; with a smartboard, notes can be immediately saved to a folder on the desktop. This means no more scanners required in classrooms, as well as less hassle for teachers. Next, they can be used for lectures. The ability to switch between webpages and program windows with just a tap is priceless. Teachers are now able to switch over to an interactive visual on a website, then back to the notes, and then over to a short video, all without ever leaving the front of the classroom, and students can do the same while giving presentations. Allowing students to work examples on the board has always enhanced learning, and now these tactile learners can interact with problems even easier. In a physics class, projectile motion can be easily demonstrated on the whiteboard by switching to an internet window with a simulator and adjusting variables such as height, weight, and velocity to see the effects on distance and time. No more confusing diagrams drawn by non-artistic physics majors! A geometry class could also discover 3D shapes more easily this way. The possibilities are endless. It just takes a little exploring to discover everything these interactive whiteboards can do for us, and that is a task the teachers are going to have to tackle soon. Technology is everywhere, and upcoming generations will be more immersed in it than ever. In the next decade or two, it is time to embrace it in schools. So many students could be benefitting from it if teachers would keep an open mind instead of becoming overwhelmed by the onslaught of new programs and equipment they find themselves trying to adapt to. Education is such an important topic because these students will one day grow up to lead the country. The teacher’s job is to provide them with the best education possible to prepare them for the challenges they will face as adults in their lives and careers.

Victoria Climbie Case Essay examples -- Legal Issues, Abuse

Throughout this essay, the health, safety and welfare policy and practise that came about after the Victoria Climbie case will be reviewed and evaluated. After arriving in England in November 1991 from the Ivory Coast, eight-year old Victoria Climbie suffered abuse from her great-aunt, Marie-Therese Kouao, and her great-aunts partner. The anguish and eventual murder of Victoria in 2000 from hypothermia, caused by malnourishment and damp conditions, provoked ‘the most extensive investigation into the child protection system in British history’ as described by Batty (Macleod-Brudenell, 2004). The high media profiled incident exposed a clear lack of precision and communication between all professionals and agencies involved. This is shown by the fact that the mistreatment Victoria was suffering had gone unnoticed by the social services, police and NHS staff, who failed to make each other aware of the clear danger signs. Within the Lord Laming Inquiry into Victoria Climbieâ €™s death (2003), it can be seen that some features recur time after time in child abuse cases; inadequate resources to meet demands, inexperience and lack of skill of individual social workers. In addition, it can also be seen that crucial procedures were evidently not being followed. The procedure that was established after this case included the recommendations made by Lord Laming such as the Green Paper of Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) and the Children Act (DfES, 2004). These ensure that all children have the fundamental right to be protected from harm and abuse. In addition to this, it also certifies all adults who come into contact with children and families have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Subsequent to this horrific case, an of... ...is shown in the Ian Wathey and Craig Faunch case of 2006 where social workers believed that it was wrong to probe the couple about their family histories and Judge Sarah Cahill (2006) explained how she was appalled that the police were not involved at an earlier date. In addition to this, the case of baby Peter Connelly illustrates how some practitioners can get too emotionally involved and compassionate towards clients. The NSPCC’s Ten Pit Downfalls (2010) suggests that this specific case illustrates how unfamiliar society is culturally with the idea that mothers can be perpetrators of physical abuse. Therefore, it can be seen that compassion was shown towards Peter’s mother during in depth questioning when practitioners decided she merely needed support, as explained by the Independent (2010) where Tracey Connelly seemed fairly caring but inadequate as a mother.

The Chrysalids: Uncle Axle Character Sketch

In the novel The Chrysalids, Axel Strorm—David Strorm's Uncle—is described as â€Å"a cripple. † (24). They live in Waknuk, Labrador; a community with very unique and bizarre laws and religions. As you read through chapters 1-8 you see his traits prevail. You also learn that David sees his Uncle as a friend and a role model rather then just a relative. â€Å"†¦because he was Uncle Axel and my best friend among the grown-ups. † (30) You also get the sense that David almost feels as if his Uncle is the only supportive, understanding, logical, and open- minded member in his family.Axel shows that he is very trustworthy when David first realizes that he might be a deviation and goes to speak to him. â€Å"I want you to promise me that you will never, never tell any one else what you have just told me – never† (30) David chose to tell his Uncle about his telepathy over anyone else because he knows that anyone else but his Uncle would charge h im for blasphemy and turn him in, even his own father—who is the towns priest. In this community, you can be charged just for knowing about a deviation and reporting it, which gives Axel nother reason to keep it a secret. The reader could see Axel as logical and adventurous when he spoke to David about the Blacklands and his adventures travelling the sea. He voyages to places people would describe as â€Å"a weird, evil land† (59) He knew everything from â€Å"how to reach the rest of the world† (58) to what people from different places looked like. Axel also saw â€Å"corn growing higher than small trees†¦fungus colonies that you'd take at first sight for big white boulders† (59) and communities where â€Å"they all have white hair and pink eyes. (62) He explains to David that there are places that â€Å"you'll find Deviations who think they're normal. † (62) and â€Å"where they do have a sense of sin, they've got it mixed up. † (62) Axel has seen the world and decides to share his knowledge with David because he's thinking about running away. Axel is very supportive and open-minded about Davids gift when David tells him about it. Charging him for blasphemy or telling anyone else doesn't even come to his mind;he didn't even seem shocked. Despite that his Nephew is a Deviation, Axel is very supportive nd he's the only one —other then the others who are telepathic—that knows of David's gift. Axel makes sure that no one else will ever find out. Axel is a hard-working and â€Å"useful all-around man† (22) He sailed the seas until â€Å"he was on a voyage that left him a cripple. † (22) Despite his life-long injury, he still works on his brother-in-law's farm. Open-minded, logical, adventurous, and trustworthy, Axel Strorm has all of the appropriate traits to get David and his group of gifted friends out of Waknuk alive. He is willing to go against the strict religion enforced in the Wakn uk community to aid a young boy and his

Evolution Of A Common Single Celled Origin - 1278 Words

In the course of AP Biology, there are four â€Å"Big Ideas†. The first one is â€Å"The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life†. The second is â€Å"Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce and to maintain dynamic homeostasis†. The third is described as, â€Å"Living systems store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life processes.† And finally the four is â€Å"biological systems interact, and these systems and their interaction possess complex properties†. (College Board). Every organisms are descendents of each another, and are connected by the same family history. This causes the principle of Big Idea number one. All millions of diverse life forms have arrived†¦show more content†¦It was judged that the polar bears evolved from the brown bears to become comfortable with the growing artic weather. One of the main causes of evolution within a s pecies is the evolving to survive a new environment. And this is just what the polar bears did. So even though they are now completely different, they are linked together by the same family history (Harmon, Katherine). Another example of evolution would involve natural selection. Natural selection is a chief mechanism hidden (under) evolution, and it acts as a phenotypic honor/difference in populations; it kills off those species unfit to survive and if a gene is viewed as a hider, it is either changed or eventually evolved away. But there are those genes that are indifferent to the organism, it neither helps it nor hurts it. This is just like men s nipples. In a male s body, the nipples are of no importance, unlike in females who need them for sexual reproduction. But women and men are both the same species: humans. But we can see a major (many different kinds of people or things) within them: sexual organs, muscle tones, height, hormones, etc. So through the process of evolution t hat humans came to be, there is a grand of life between males and females. But yet, we are so alike in our brains, body functions, organs, limbs, etc. (Scientific American). All living systems need energy; organisms confine this energy for the in biological