This article discusses how the use of web cams in the classroom helps to create a positive learning experience for the students. The web cam allows the students to take a virtual field trip to a place or an event that is relevant to the topic that they are learning about. The use of the web cam provides the students with a visual image to store with the information they already know about the subject area. Web cams also help the students to become more interested and excited about the material. This article discusses two different classrooms and how they used web cams to enhance their learning experience. For example, Chatham (Massachusetts) Middle School teacher Ann Morgan used a web cam for her class to follow the Iditarod. The students were able to track weather and record times during the race. Morgan discussed that the use of the web cam allowed her students to see the Mushers, and to hear the dogs, and she believes that this helped the students become more involved in the activity. The article also discusses a school district in Grand Forks, North Dakota and their use of web cams to help study natural disasters. Webcams allowed students to share their personal experiences with local flooding which occurred in April, 1997. According to this article, Cindy Grabe, the technology facilitator in Grand Forks explained, "In deciding when and how to use Web cams, we first ask What is the benefit? Is the change that is occurring significant and observable? Is this format the most appropriate format? What can be gained from this experience?" The article also provides a list of sites that provide web cam experiences to students.
Our group thinks students as well as teachers get tired of how monotonous reading out of a text can be. Web cams make it possible for teachers to "bring" their students to where the action is. Web cams can also be used to teach students about current events. Instead of reading the news paper or showing students on the television in some cases it will be possible to show them the hurricane, flood, or fire etc. and hopefully get them excited about learning.
Web cameras are a great teaching tool that all teachers should get familiar with and use in their classrooms. Anything that helps them teach the information to their students is a tool that should be used!!
Article: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech100.shtml
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3 comments:
This article summary describes the use of web cams in the classroom. It goes on to compare two classrooms and the ways in which they use web cams to watch different events. A good point that was metioned is that reading out of a text book can be monotonous and web cams are good ways to bring live current events to a classroom. This article summary could have been a little more detailed but it was still enjoyable.
This article gave such a cool situation where webcams were used in the classroom... this is something that none of my teachers ever did when i was in school!
Your article brings up a good point with the use of the web cam student can learn up to date information that is not avaibable anywhere but online. The textbooks may not yet be considered a thing of the past as of yet, but it is now not the only learning tool in the classroom.
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