e-Portfolio Presentation

CAVEman 3-D Virtual Patient Is a Holodeck For the Human Body from Popular Science

I recently saw this article on a new classroom technology in Popular Science. I think that this technology is really exciting and is the stuff from science fiction movies. I don't think I will be getting one of these in my classroom anytime soon.

Internet Safety

The best way that I have found so far to keep students safe online is to make sure that all computer screens face the teacher and to utilize classroom management software such as Netsupport. This software has a free trial and is extremely useful at allowing the teacher to instruct, monitor and interact with students while limiting application usage (such as IMs), white listing or black listing websites, and even controlling the computers (deny printer access, turn of screens or computers). I have found that once you flex your "Monitoring Muscles" a few times that the students are no longer tempted to stray far from the task at hand while online.

Resources that I use

As a new school year is upon us I am beginning to think about the technologies that have been successful in my classroom and which ones I will implement this year. The biggest problem that I have run into while attempting to utilize technology in the classroom is the lack of hardware. My classroom was setup with three desktop computers which is clearly not enough for all of my students.


To alleviate this problem I have procured an LCD projector and a Smartboard so that I can share one desktop with the entire class at once. I was able to borrow the Smartboard from a vendor in the hopes that my school would purchase one. I found that the Smartboard was basically an over sized mouse and that its real value was just the LCD projector. I really didn't need the board itself. While using the Smartboard the presenter casts a huge shadow on the board. Overall Smartboard does not meet the needs of my classroom.


What I had at my previous school is an Interwrite pad. This pad is bluetooth enabled and can be stored out of harms way in a locked drawer. Also, because I don't have to stand in the front of the room casting shadows while being blinded by the projector, I can actually walk around the room. I love the ability for students to use this device without having to leave their desks. This is a better choice for my classroom.




Now that I have discussed my solutions to sharing a computer with the entire class I will address how I got more computers. I simply asked our schools IT person to let me have older or broken computers for my classroom. Typically once the computers are out of warranty the school buys or leases new ones and the old ones are put into storage. I simply reformatted the hard drive of each computer and installed a smoother running operating system than Windows. My OS of choice is Ubuntu. Ubuntu even has a version made specifically for schools called edubuntu. The operating system is 100% Free and works very efficiently. I installed this on several machines and ended up with more (free) computers than free counterspace to set them up on.

Why do we need technology in the classroom?

An older version of this video was shared with me by a friend a few years ago and I have shown it to my students ever since. This video really highlights why we need to stay current with technology and continue to allow ourselves to grow daily. This information makes me feel insignificant and makes me see the need to continue learning. If you are not knowledgeable about new technologies then you become obsolete in the workplace and possibly even socially. I believe that this is fuel for the fire to teach students how to use the latest technology efficiently and responsibly.