Digital storytelling

         Story telling in general has many benefits in intercultural understanding, in the classroom, commonalities of cultures around the world, and performance techniques.

- Read more; (Storytelling- benefits and tips)

        Digital story telling is a tool is a useful tool in teaching in which teachers can make use of it to "make abstract concepts real to their children" according to what has been reported in Jennifer New (2014). (http://www.edutopia.org/use-digital-storytelling-classroom)

        From my experience in this technology course I have been informed the importance of using storytelling in the classroom and how we can create digital storytelling for lecturing. I have an experience of the role storytelling provides in classroom such as engagement, entertainment, comprehensive understanding in fiction and reading courses. However, after taking this topic in the course, I realize the power of it.

       - Digital storytelling in the classroom;

       I have faced a challenge in knowing the programs I can use to create digital storytelling, and a challenge in knowing different types of it. I have searched to learn more, then I found what I need to know.

·         Programs for creating digital storytelling;

a.       PhotoStory3

b.      Story Bird

c.       Digital Vaults

-          Read more; http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/teaching-technology/presentation-multimedia/digital-storytelling

·         Types of digital storytelling;

a. Personal/Narrative Stories

b. Stories that Inform or Instruct

c. Stories that Examine Historical Events

-           Read more; http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/digitalstory/digstorytypes.html

       I hope the usage of digital storytelling spreads among teachers widely in future. This can be achieved by providing workshops to emphasize its importance and benefits in teaching and education in general. Clearly, Lectures with the help of this tool can give good impression on the course to make more interaction and more concentration, and it becomes a subordinator for teachers while having lectures.

• This is my product; digital storytelling (Preparing for winter; the grasshopper and the ant)

- I used PowToon to create the storytelling because I could not download PhotoStory3 to my laptop. I found it very easy and interesting program. 

The importance of cyber safety

         Cyber safety is a way of protecting our self, own documents, private information while using internet-online. An article written by Youth Central, points out the importance of cyber safety and ways and procedures for protecting your self from being risky online. Some ways for keeping your self save are protecting private information (mobile number, email address, information in online profile) by not giving them to untrusted people, keeping own password by not giving it anybody, being careful while sharing photos, being conscious when chatting strangers, not interrupting your self in dangerous online arguments. Moreover, the article mentions procedures you can do if you feel you are trapped in risk which are; lets someone know, then change your password, block or report if you have been bullied by someone, finally save the evidence (conversations,images,etc).

(http://www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au/Web+%26+Social+Safety/Cyber+Safety/)

         Actually the importance of cyber safety was not one of my interest to know about, and I did not pay attention to its importance. In technology course I have known that there are some messages may occur for a person who is online which may have viruses or the respond for them can make your information and documents in risk. I think I need to know more about and the information I have been given are not enough, therefore I have searched for more information and this is what I found.

• Read more;

a. Internet safety
b.The importance of havingCyber safety at homes - a teacher experience

•  Watch; 

- The importance of cyber safety

        Nowadays, because of the wide use of internet our (children and students) are also in risk since them use mobile devises, laptops, and iPods for different purposes. Thereby, we as teachers and parents should awaken them by instructing, noticing, raising awareness; and if it requires, putting a limitations in their accessing the internet. I think teachers should be more aware of cyber safety to be able to teach their student how they can keep themselves save online. Also, we need to see some movements about this issue in media.                        

          


             

Mobile learning in the classroom

Mobile learning is one example of integrating technology in education.

- Mobile learning has been defined as; "Any activity that allows individuals to be more productive when consuming, interacting with, or creating information, mediated through a compact digital portable device that the individual carries on a regular basis, has reliable connectivity, and fits in a pocket or purse". Also is defined as; " the exploitation of ubiquitous handheld technologies, together with wireless and mobile phone networks, to facilitate, support, enhance and extend the reach of teaching and learning".
(http://www.m-learning.org/knowledge centre/whatismlearning)

       From those definitions of mobile learning we can infer the advantages of mobile learning, its enhancement in learning, and its features which gives it the quality to be integrated with learning whether in the classroom or in students' personal use outside the classroom. 

-          Read more;

a.   How can mobile devices enhance learning in classrooms

b.   Lifelong learners-the advantages of using mobile devices in the classroom

      My experience of using mobile for learning is great. I used to use my mobile to search and do homework, but I have not experienced using mobile learning in classroom until I used it in this course – educational technology- in SQU. Before, I was thinking of its disadvantages more than its advantages. For example, I thought that using it in bad mannered in the classroom can lead to make confusions and destructions in learning. Actually, I was not convinced to use mobile learning in classroom before I know its advantages in facilitating learning and reducing studying difficulties by its entertainment feature. It was very beneficial and I learned a lot from this topic in technology course. I have realized also its importance for all kinds of students (normal, disabled) students. Normal students can use it as a way of enhancing their learning, whereas disabled students can use it as facilitator and supportive in their learning. 

   - This video can show mobile learning advantages;

     
  Future education should emphasis the importance of mobile learning use in classrooms. Educational institutions should prepare qualifying classrooms for such kind of learning because they are now not suitable and not prepared. Moreover, parents and students must be given all helpful information about mobile learning use to help and accept it in schools (spread awareness by workshops, educational camps, and media). Also, teachers have to be aware of how they can make use of it wise and beneficial way. We also have to put in mind to put limitations in accusing and using programs in mobile devices to keeping the focus on learning.  

Supporting teaching by creating presentations

      Cranford Teague (2013) has pointed out that the aim of classroom presentations is to be a tool of helping student to acquainting and remembering information in an easy and facilitative way. However, some teachers fail to create successful presentations, so "they begin to rely on the slides to tell their story, rather than to help them tell the story".  Therefore he provides eight- Tips to Power-Up Your Classroom Presentations. First tip is using as many slides as you need. The number of slides does not determine the success of the provided presentation in conveying the aim. The determiners are covering and delivering information, and the time spending in each slide. Second, minimize verbosity by putting one idea in a slide and by not crowding the slide with so much information. Third, Maximize Visuals such as images, figures, and icons which help to make the teacher's point more understandable and clearer. Fourth, reducing noise in slides should be put in mind to avoid confusion such as "adding banners, headers, footers, page numbers" which are unhelpful and unnecessary. Fifth, make images and visuals big to have easier sight and memorization. Sixth, highlight what it is taking about to have students' attentions. Seventh, using transition changes can also help in delivering information for students. Finally, it is fine and useful to repeat a slide more than one. Such presentations in the classroom support teaching. 

(http://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-tips-classroom-presentation-jason-cranford-teague)

          In Technology course I have noticed from my teacher's presentations in lectures how a presentation should be to support the idea the teacher discusses, and how these presentations affect my understanding and comprehending information. In other courses I have seen lots of presentations as they are the main instructors' tool in lecturing, some of them are not clear for the reasons provided above. Therefore, I have sometimes hard time understanding what the teacher wants to emphasize and what is the point.

        Actually, I like the presentations provided in the technology courses and the take about how to use them. In addition, they were very helpful for me to understand how a teacher can make critical use of simple presentations as supporting teaching tool in his/her lecture.

       I think teachers need more workshops in how they can use this tool in teaching supportively. On the other hand, we as students need to have a facilitator tool in teaching as presentations to reduce the amount difficulty of some topics in courses. Moreover, I think knowing how to make supportive presentations in teaching does not help to only make power points but also it can help in creating other teaching tools by programs in a supportive way like ActiveInspire program, and videos' creating programs (PowToon), and Prezi .   

Technology in Education

          Riedel (2014) reported that there is several "Major Technology Trends in Education", which show the interaction between the usage of technology in education. One of these trends is using personal access to mobile devices that enable student to access internet whenever they need it. There is high percentage of students who access internet in their smart phones and laptops. Second, internet connectivity widely used whether at homes or schools as it has pointed out in many researches. Third, using mobile devices for schoolwork in which it allows students to search and find information, solving tasks, finding solutions. Fourth, students choose specific technology tools for different needs in their education; for instance, videos to learn, social media to communicate, e-readers to read articles, and taking notes and doing research in laptops. Therefore, nowadays student do not need tablet as much as they need them in the past since technology facilitates their learning to be faster and easier, and it has all features to replace the traditional tools and ways in learning.
(http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/03/10-major-technology-trends-in-education.aspx)

• Watch; (Technology in Education), What do we want from technology! 
•  Read more; Technology in Education

           from my experience in using technology in education, I have had wide interaction with technology in my school and in my university. In my school we have used laptops and transparencies in lectures. Also we had computers and interactive board, and we used videos widely in learning especially in science subjects. In addition, we have created a digital storytelling before we finished the secondary school which were very interesting and helpful for sharing message. It was about fears of exams. On the other hand, I used technology at home by the internet connection Wi-Fi, which had helped my doing homework fast and easily. In the university, I have seen wide range of using technology in education starting with SQU website, email, and Moodle which are very helpful in sending lectures, knowing news, and communicating instructors.

      I have experienced a lot in the Technology course in  university. I have known how we can use technology in wise, collaborative, meaningful way in our education. We have used videos smart board, and we have known other helpful programs in learning and searching such as Google docs, wikis, bloggers, concept mapping, videos creators, and effective presentations. Those programs have been very helpful in our course and other courses since we are requested to do presentations and projects in all courses in SQU.

       Such usage of technology in education can be positive more than negative unless using them in ill-mannered way. I think technology have been played a serious and vital roles in our life, therefore, it's integrating in education should be used more than what is used now to gain all benefits of its usage. Perhaps students and even kids are using technology in all times for other reasons as communication; they are now able to do more than what we expected to do. Thereby, we should shed the light on developing the use of technology in future and starting from now to replace all traditional tools in education as lecturing, learning, and evaluating to be technical ones wider than it is now.