Classroom Technology - New Terms For the 21st Century Classroom

As a teacher, you know the importance of aclassroom technology) are those of the Second
good vocabulary and using the right technicalLife type, where users create an "avatar" who
terms for the right things. So it's important thatlives a virtual life in the Second Life world:
you keep your own vocabulary up to date whenshopping, making friends, and the like.
it comes all the different new pieces of classroomWiki: "Wiki" is derived from the Hawaiian for
technology. You need to know your Java from"quick" and tends to refer to a website that
your jpegs and your blogs from your browsers.anybody can edit. Wikipedia is the best known
So what terms do you need to be familiar withone, and while it may not the be best place for
for the classroom technology of today? Knowingyour students to do research in, it does have
what they are (and that they exist) is ansome strong requirements and standards relating
important first step - understanding what theyto distinguishing opinion from fact, unbiased writing
are can also help you work out how you can useand supporting references.
each type of technology in your classroom toRSS "Rich Site Summary". An "RSS Feed" is a
best effect.quick summary of new material that has been
Classroom Technology Glossary:added to a site of interest to your subscribers. In
Web 2.0: No, this is not a new version of thethe world of classroom technology, an RSS feed
internet or Windows Explorer/Firefox/Google thatcan be sent to your "subscribers" (i.e. students)
you will have to download. Instead, this refers towho can see the headlines of any newsletters
the way the internet tends to work these days.posted online, some of the quick links that have
Before, the internet was a place that you wentbeen posted, a brief summary of any new blog
to look up and read information - kind of like aposts, and so forth.
library or an encyclopedia. Now, the web is a placePodcasting: Audio and video clips that can be
where you can read and write bits and pieces.posted for viewing or listening on iPods (which are
One classic example that has its place aslike the walkman of the 1980s but much more
classroom technology is the use of forums,sophisticated). Clips can be distributed to
where members can write and post their opinions"subscribers" via RSS feeds. Familiar pieces of
on a given topic.classroom technology such as digital cameras are
Blog The word sounds horrible, but it is short forused to create these.
"web log". This is a sort of publicly available onlineFilter: A must for any school computer that has
diary where somebody can post short articlesinternet access. A filter blocks undesirable sites so
(opinion pieces, information, events, etc.) on ayour students can't access them. No filter is
regular basis (daily, weekly, fortnightly). One way100% perfect. Some over-block and some can be
that this can be turned into classroom technologydodged, so teachers need to stay vigilant.
is for a teacher to have his/her own blog thatDon't be put off by the new world of classroom
students can read, and the teacher can posttechnology. Getting used to the new tools is
advice, study tips, homework reminders, etc.easier than you think. And don't feel you have to
Social networking: Social networking sites areabandon what you've already learned about using
where users can connect and converse -privatelyvideos - these are still some of the most
or publicly - to others. People can chat via theeffective forms of multimedia that you can use in
keyboard, post links to sites they recommend,your class. Watch this Free Video and download
find people with common interests and so forth.the Expert Guide "The 7 Biggest Mistakes
Delicious, Twitter, Facebook and Bebo are someTeachers Make Using Video in the Classroom" for
example of the most "basic" social networkingimproving your classroom lessons by using videos
sites. Chat rooms are other examples. Moremore-and more effectively.
sophisticated ones (which tend not to be used as