Special Assignment

Implications and Teaching Opportunities for Camera Use in Teaching and Learning
After studying the data Dr. Strange provided, it’s safe to say our generation is addicted to smartphones. It’s not just us though. Smartphones are widely popular for many ages and cultures. Smartphones are now a way of life. People use their phones to wake them up, set reminders, make their schedules, and also get directions. These are great things our phones provide for us. We need these tools. Now don’t get me wrong. There are tons of things on phone we don’t need, but I do support the idea of phones helping us survive throughout our daily functions.
The cameras on phones today are great for learners, teachers, and administrators to have. Maybe you can’t carry a laptop around all day or have one in your setting. You can certainly carry a cell phone at ease. My personal cell phone is the Galaxy S5 Active. I use this every day, all day for multiple purposes. I would say eight times out of ten, it’s for educational purposes. The same pictures I use in my blogs save straight to my phone since my email is linked to my phone. I can’t even explain how convenient that is. I would encourage smartphones for EDUCATIONAL purposes in any school environment.

Technology tools go on and on in today’s learning environment. I have learned many that would be great to use in the classroom. Here is a list:
1. Poplet is a free app students can download on an iPad to create a web like graph for a story they have read. In the center would go their topic and around it will be pictures of information supporting the story.
2. Discovery Education is a great tool for students with a tablet. When they start, they will be able to choose a background and type their title. From there, they will go to an empty text box to include facts about their project, which in this video is the moon. In a different box, they will insert a picture or video about the moon. The pictures or video can be found on Discovery Board.
3. QR codes are great for students to hear a story or lesson repeatedly. A teacher will make a recording for the students and make it available to them for their iPad or other tablet.
4. Mindimo is a great tool for students to make webs for a topic. It is like Poplet, in a way. I’ve used this specific tool myself to make a 21st Century Classroom and it was awesome. I had fun doing the project and might have taken my 20 minutes to do so.