How Smartphones Are Changing The Classroom

April 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The invention of the smartphone has really changed the way classrooms and educational institutes operate. There are thousands of apps designed specifically with the intent and purpose to help students and teachers communicate more efficiently.

Image Courtesy of Flickr

The following is a general look at some specific ways smartphones, like LG cell phones, have changed and improved the classroom experience for both students and teachers.

Tracking Grades?  There’s an App for That

Students track their grades in an effort to see their progress in the classroom. Some app manufacturers create an app that allows students to track and check their grades in specific classes. The ability to monitor grades directly on a smartphone allows students to see how they are progressing in a class, and determine if adjustments need to be made to improve their grades.

Research Just Got Easier

Teachers tell you not to use Wikipedia as a source for educational papers, but the truth is many students use it as a guide for how they research. The Wikipedia app makes it easier for students to conduct research for their classes anywhere, at any time. The app even has a built-in memory system to remember previous search results, which can come in handy for long, research-intensive papers.

Teachers Control the Classroom with a Touch of a Button

Students aren’t the only ones to benefit from smartphones in the classroom. There are hundreds of apps designed to improve the teacher’s job in the classroom. There are several apps available that allow teachers and professors to track and monitor everything about their class from the comfort of their smartphone. Grades, attendance, and classroom participation can all be noted and jotted down with the help of a small, downloadable teacher’s app.

Control All Classroom Equipment with an App

The biggest obstacle most teachers and professors face is having to set up and run audio-visual equipment in the classroom. Now, teachers have the ability to set up and control all AV equipment from the comfort of their smartphones or tablets. Teachers can download a corresponding app and gain control over everything from starting and stopping DVDs and movies, to adjusting the lights and volume in the classroom.

Smartphones are slowly changing the way the entire world communicates and operates, including in the classroom. These are just some examples of how smartphones are making their mark in the classroom, and improving the lives of both teachers and students.

Filed Under: Technology

Using Technology Wisely – 4 Tips for Young Learners

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The children of today are the first generation that will be growing up with the Internet, Web 4.0 and Smartphone technologies at their fingertips. These form an essential part of their everyday lives.

It is imperative that children learn how to use these technologies to their full benefit from a young age. Children are more flexible than adults, and are often quicker at picking up new tasks due to their natural inquisitiveness. There are a number of ways you can help young people get to grips with technology early on.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Encourage the use of Online Resources

The days of news and information coming solely from TV, newspapers and the radio are long gone – there are literally thousands of resources on the Internet that are dedicated to providing quality information and great content. Children should be encouraged to use these resources from an early age. Whether they want to use sites like Wikipedia to find information on a general topic or research Asian financial information on adstalker.com, introducing young people to a range of websites will help breed familiarity with new technology.

Keep in Contact With Relatives

Modern technology has also changed the way people interact with each other. When it comes to speaking to grandma and Papa, get your children to send an email or an instant message rather than make a phone call. Most children are quite visual and you can really get the creative juices flowing with a mobile app like Pinterest, where they can make posts on some of their favorite topics and share them with family members.

Ensuring They are Safe Online

An important part of life on the Internet, particularly when children are involved, is keeping safe. It is important to teach children about various forms of online scams such as phishing. You should also give your children some basic lessons in social media safety, for example, teaching them to be careful when interacting with strangers and not giving any personal information away. Thankfully, there are a number of social networks that are only open to children, ensuring they have a safe online playground where they can interact with each other.

Getting Comfortable With Smartphones

The number of Smartphones in use globally is expected to hit the two billionth mark by 2015, so it is important that children learn how to use them. Even if you are not comfortable with your children having their own phone at a young age, you should at least get one yourself so you can teach them how to use an application and how to download data.

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Using Smartphones to Help With School

February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Smartphones are a crazy thing. However, they can be a great tool for students as well. While everybody uses them to talk and text with their friends—often at the same time, tap-tap-tap—they actually have uses besides playing games and keeping in contact with other people. Sometimes your smartphone can actually do very beneficial things for your academic progress. No matter where you are in school, the limits of how much your smartphone can help you are essentially the limits your instructor places on you.

Image from Flickr

Remember the Old Days?

If you are in school, you probably do not remember the days when teachers did not allow their students to use calculators on a lot of tests. While those days are long gone, there is a lot of power inside your smartphone that can give you an immense advantage on almost any kind of test imaginable. Consider being able to use the Internet to look up every important information for your research paper, or analyze sentence structure and punctuation on Grammarly during an english exam. A wise teacher will probably learn quickly that smartphones and tests do not mix, unless they think everyone should get an A without really trying.

Homework Anywhere

Academia has changed a lot three times. A really long time ago, doing homework depended on having a private library, which meant that if your parents were not rich, you stayed helpless. Once public libraries became commonplace, it meant that doing your homework often required spending a few hours in your town’s public library hefting dusty old tomes to glean out information. As the PC became a popular method of accessing other computers through the Internet, you just had to go home to do your homework. At least that made sense.

Nowadays, homework is bound only by cell signals. Since you can get good reception almost everywhere these days, you can do online research with your smartphone everywhere. If sports practice ends early while you wait for a ride, you can do your homework. You basically have no limits other than the ones you set in your mind. Almost everything you need to help you with your studies is Inside Your Smartphone. Technology has pretty much eliminated every excuse you used to be able to make.

Getting Your Assignments on a Bad Day

Ask your parents what it used to be like when they got sick and could not go to school for awhile. Someone else would have to collect all of their homework assignments and then bring those assignments to them. If no kind soul did that, the sick student would come back to find a nice backlog of work. Those days are over with.

Using your smartphone, you can speak with classmates and instructors in every class, and get everything ready while you recuperate. The day smartphones took over, excuses for doing well in school died.

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Technology Leads to Distance Learning Classes in Public Schools

June 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Distance education

Image by mcwetboy via Flickr

Distance learning is a common part of earning a college degree. Some public universities offer online classes as part of their overall curriculum, while some schools are strictly online only. These types of classes are starting to trickle down to public schools, particularly high schools. In an effort to control class sizes, some students have the option of taking one or even all of their classes from home online. This is a great solution to overpopulated schools, but there are a few things you should consider before enrolling your child in distance learning classes affiliated with the public school system.

The types of online classes through public schools vary. Generally, they are general education classes, such as math and english. A school counselor will not likely recommend a student to take a distance learning class in a subject that the child struggles in. The online class is designed to be taken to accommodate a student’s schedule. Some students leave school early to complete the class at the end of the day at home.

In order for your student to succeed at distance learning classes, you need to monitor his learning so that he doesn’t procrastinate. It is easy to relax and do something else and leave your classwork for later. If your child falls too far behind, he can risk failing the class. Time management is key to succeeding in an online class, particularly if there is not a teacher in-person to hold him accountable for work.

Another downside to distance learning is the lack of interpersonal communication. Some classes in school require group projects and student feedback, a feature online classes lack.

Filed Under: Education, Technology Tagged With: , ,

How to Protect Your Children During Internet Use

June 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
au SmartPhone IS01

Image via Wikipedia

In a world where the internet is ever-more prevalent, children are going on at an increasingly younger age. It is not uncommon to see a child under the age of 10 that has his own computer or smart phone. Technology is entertaining, but is also pertinent to keep in touch with the world and what is going on. There is a question, however, as to what age it is really appropriate for children to browse the internet on their own. Dangers lurk online for children, including inappropriate information and bullys. Still, there are ways you can help protect your children without sheltering them from the world wide web.

  • Get involved with your child’s internet use. Before you become stalker-ish and encourage your child to go online behind your back, it is important that you constantly communicate with her about the internet. Instead of being the seemingly over-protective parent, trying browsing sites together.
  • Let your child know that there are dangers on the internet. Blocking internet usage without fully disclosing the potential risks may actually backfire by piquing your child’s curiosity and wanting to browse forbidden sites.
  • Limit the use of smart phones at a young age. Does it really matter that all of the other six-year-olds browse the internet on their phones? Absolutely not. Children at this age are not likely to fully realize the perks of having constant online access, let alone any dangers.
  • Consider having a family office space. Gone are the days where a family had only one computer. Still, your child may get into trouble by having her own computer in her room.

 

Filed Under: Internet, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Browsing the Internet: Differentiating Between Credible and Unreliable Health Information

June 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There is an increasing amount of information online based on virtually any topic you can think about, including health issues. Many people are not fond of going to the doctor, and some cannot even afford visits, lab work and medications. You can browse any health topic online and can find answers for alternative remedies and prescription drug ratings. However, there are potential risks associated with relying too much on virtual information as opposed to seeing a medical practitioner:

  • Misdiagnosis. There are so many health ailments out there, many of which have similar symptoms. By giving yourself a diagnosis, you could potentially miss out on much needed medical treatment.
  • Self treatments. Alternative remedies are an increasingly popular way to treat different ailments, from an upset stomach to even cancer. However safe they may seem, herbs are just as powerful as conventional medications. Taking herbs can interact with other medications and even cause allergic reactions. Plus, they may not be as effective as promised on the websites.
  • Obtaining information from an uncredible source. There are experts in all fields, including the health care industry. There are a wealth of reliable medical articles written by doctors, nurses and health experts. Avoid those that are not.

 

There are definitely some advantages to looking up health information online, particularly before you visit your doctor. This can help better prepare you to ask questions and to fully understand the information your physician is relaying to you. Still, health information online should not replace a doctor’s visit for a diagnosis. If you have any health concerns, feel free to browse for information, but be sure to make an appointment too.

Filed Under: Internet, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Name Your Gaming Blog!

May 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When you have a website, there are a few things that you will inevitably need. One of the most important is your domain name. The domain name of your website or blog is how you will be known. Because of this, it is crucial that you put time and effort into finding the perfect domain name for your site.

When considering a domain for your gaming blog or site, you will want to consider all of your options. For example, think of games like poker, roulette, and more. Incorporate some of these into your domain name if possible. You want to be able to tell your readers or customers exactly what your website or blog is about when they read your domain name. Leaving them guessing is the worst thing you can do.

You want your domain name to be short and to the point. You also want to make sure that it is easy to read and easy to spell. Using things like dashes and numbers can be detrimental, as people will easily forget these items. Think about the websites that you go to and remember. They generally have a domain name that sticks out. Because of this, you want to have something that sticks out as well.

Keep in mind that it can be difficult to get your first choice of domain names. You may have to play around with wording, and it may take some time to find the perfect domain name for your blog or website. Don’t give up though. It will come, and you’ll be ready to start discussing gaming in no time!

Filed Under: Web Hosting

Using Your Name as Your Domain Name

May 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Deciding on what domain name to use for your website can be a tough choice. Many factors go into the decision, such as business name, product name and whether or not it is already taken, but did you know that if you can use your own name as a domain name?

To Name or Not to Name – That is the Question!

Using your name as the domain name for your website can be a good idea. It is the logical choice to use it if your business name incorporates your name. Or, if you are a freelancer, such as a writer or a photographer, you can use you name as a domain name. This way you can design a website incorporating many features such as a blog and an online portfolio. A domain name based on your name may also be found easier by current and prospective customers. It will certainly show up higher in search engine rankings for a search where someone has only typed in your name.

The downfalls of having a domain name based on your name is that you cannot distance yourself from anything on the website if need be. For example, if your business takes off and another business wants to buy you out or join up in a partnership, a name based domain name is not what they would want.

The best thing to do is to purchase two or three different domain name that can all be pointed to the one site. This will allow you greater flexibility in the future if you require it.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Domain Names Tagged With: , ,

Choosing the Right Domain Name For Your Website

May 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A person navigating through a Chilean bank web... 

Image via Wikipedia

With so many options available, there are many choices people have to make when it comes to choosing the perfect name for their website. Here are some things to keep in mind when making that all important decision.

  • If you are choosing a domain name for a business website, make sure that it is relevant to either the services or kind of products you are offering. Make it as similar to one of these things as possible. That way it will be easier for people to remember. If you have several main products or services, register a domain name to coincide with each of these things, as this will allow greater flexibility for what people have to remember.
  • If your website has a specific name, for example John Smith’s Culinary Capers, try to register a domain name that is as close to it as possible. This seems to be more relevant to websites which are based around blogs, events, or other things in media. You may not be able to get a domain name which is the exact name of the website, if so then get one as close as possible.
  • If your website is purely about yourself; you may be an artist, or a writer, then register your name as the domain name.
  • Try not to have a domain name that is overly long. Think about which one you would be able to remember, a long domain name or a short and snappy domain name. To accommodate a shorter domain name try experimenting with abbreviating or shortening words. Acronyms are also very useful for this.

 

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Evolving Technology Helps Evolving Opinions

May 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
DSC_2044
Image by csimple via Flickr

The only permanent thing in life is change. Our parents thought television was a luxury! The world around us is characterized by choices, which we most often take for granted. The generation that we are a part of has been blessed to have witnessed such fantastically evolving technology. Today, our lives would be impossible without the convenience of using the computer or the laptop. The world is at our fingertips.

From Babbage in 1822 to Cerf in 1973, evolution of technology has been a long and painstaking process. When Babbage conceived his version of the computer, little did he think that his invention might eventually be the mainstay in the lives of millions of people. The Internet had its humble beginnings with Cerf’s ARPAnet and now connects people across hundreds of nations in real time.

The Internet encourages participation of people in all walks of life and from all age groups. The transfer of information and ideas has never been this easy. It has also never been this free.  With the evolution of the Internet, we are now able to play games like poker and connect with people across the world.  As human beings, we are thinking animals that are blessed with opinions. These opinions have found their worthy outlet in the Internet. It has given every lay person the opportunity to function away from the restraints of traditional press and politics. Opinions and daily news from around the world is now accessible to every person using the Internet, irrespective of where said person is based or what language he/she speaks.

Not only does this allow for a better developed picture to evolve for the rest of the world but review shows that Internet news trends to be less biased than traditional news. This news is also delivered on a relatively open forum where opinions, chats, discussions and debates are all welcome and indeed, expected.

It has been said that, -History is the story of the winning counterpart’. Internet news and discussion forums give the world an opportunity to change the ramifications of this statement. History need no longer sing biased songs. Internet news and forums are being used to tell both sides of the story to the rest of the world.

Filed Under: Internet, Technology Tagged With: , , ,
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