In a couple of my University classes my professors had their classes on Facebook. I think that this is a good idea. My first class that had it was my Intro to Geology. This class was really interactive. By this I mean we went on a lot of field trips and did a lot of out-of-class events. By being on Facebook, the events and assignments came across our Newsfeed to remind us. Also if anyone ever had any questions they could always just go to the Facebook Group page for the class and have our questions answered there. I liked having this class accessible through Facebook. For myself and several others that have a Facebook account, it was very easy to access and beneficial to our learning.
Here is how, You, as a teacher, can get set up to have your class on Facebook.
Today, laptop computers in the classroom are very controversial. Are they beneficial or do they just cause harm? There are several pros and cons, but in my opinion, the pros outweigh the cons. In today’s society and school systems, most everything is going online such as resources, teacher notes, and class information. I think that it is beneficial to be able to use laptops in the classroom. The reason for this is because it is much easier to write your notes and thoughts down when typing rather than shuffling through papers. Also by typing your notes on a computer you are saving the environment and also the costs of printing. Although I believe that laptops are good in the classroom I don’t think that they should be allowed until your junior year of high school. The reason for this is because by your junior year you are an upperclassman and also most likely taking college prep classes. Before your junior year in high school you are working on your required classes for graduation, and still in the emergence of adolescent. I think that freshman and sophomores are too young yet to be privileged with a laptop. The reason for this is because they are more likely to get distracted by using this piece of technology in the classroom. I don’t think that any classroom in a college should deny you the access of using a personal laptop. By this age, I think that you are capable of realizing what you need to be focused on and if you are off task than that will be your problem to deal with the consequences later on. Also in some of my college classes now I have lectures that consist over 30 pages of slides. It would be much easier to download the slides rather than printing them all out. After downloading them from the class webpage online, I would be able to type my notes directly on the slides and save it to my computer so I would not have to worry about misplacing it.
What are your views on having laptops in the classroom? If you were a teacher would you allow it? Followed,is a Pro Article that a student wrote of why he likes using his laptop in the classroom. Also, a Con Article from a Professor of why he banned the use of laptops in his classroom.
Another addition in technology in the classroom is something called a Promethean Board. A Promethean Board is an interactive whiteboard or IWB. It has a large, interactive display that combines the simplicity of a whiteboard, power of a computer, and the look of a projection. These boards engage students with vivid images, video and audio.
There are also several accessories that can be purchased separately that go along with the Promethean Board to promote student involvement. One of these accessories is an egg shaped clicker that students can use to send answers in the form of A, B, C,D to the board. This is called ACTIVOTE. Once the answers are sent to the board it puts in a graph so you can compare and contrast. Each clicker has a number, and if you keep track when distributing them , you will be able to know who has what clicker and what answer they are submitting, but to the students, everything is anonymous. Along with the clickers, you can also text an answer. This tool may be controversial because many schools don’t allow cell phones, or it may be that the student doesn’t have a cell phone.
The first time that I have ever even heard of or seen one of these boards was in my third semester here at UNI. I was in a Math and Technology class and we visited a local school that that had a selected number of boards that they put in their classrooms. After the introduction of the board was completed I knew instantly that I wanted one for my classroom.
Here is video of an introduction of the board.
Promethean Whiteboard Demo - Verbots English Part 1
For more information on how you can use a Promethean Board in your classroom click here.
In a couple of my University classes my professors had their classes on Facebook. I think that this is a good idea. My first class that had it was my Intro to Geology. This class was really interactive. By this I mean we went on a lot of field trips and did a lot of out-of-class events. By being on Facebook, the events and assignments came across our Newsfeed to remind us. Also if anyone ever had any questions they could always just go to the Facebook Group page for the class and have our questions answered there. I liked having this class accessible through Facebook. For myself and several others that have a Facebook account, it was very easy to access and beneficial to our learning. 
