Disadvantages of E-books

I know last time I started talking about the advantages to using E-books to our learning benefits. But this week I figured I would try to find the disadvantages to using them. In my search I found this website ( http://www.sunflowerbookfest.com/disadvantages-of-e-books ) which talked about  a few examples of disadvantages that are out there...

• E-book reading devices are certainly more expensive compared to imprinted books.
• Screen glare and eyestrain
• E-books have unreliable life span
• E-books based on hardware and software and are more easily damaged than a imprinted book
• Internet link or battery power that is needed by a good e-book reader is readily available, then its electronic paperwork are useless

These are just some of the small simple disadvantages to using a E-book over a regular hard copy book. And ill try to find more pros and cons for the rest of my blogs.

The Benefits of eBooks on Online Learning

In our day and age technology is starting to be a key contributor to the way and how we learn or information in classrooms and just everyday life. When I was growing up there was not technology like ipads, kindles, or even high speed internet. But as the years have gone by technology has gotten stronger and better over time which has made life way more easier for or our everyday life. I was doing some research and found this website ( http://online.southuniversity.edu/blog/post/How-Students-Benefit-from-Learning-with-Ebooks.aspx ) that gave examples of how student can benefit from ebook learning. For example:

Ebooks can be delivered instantly.

They're easily portable.

Digital books accommodate more learning styles.

Affordability reigns supreme.

These are just some of the examples that show how eBooks can be beneficial and their are plenty more out there to explore. 

E-books

My new topic for the rest of the semester is E-books. I chose this topic because it is a great assistive learning devices. The online definition of an E-book is: 

1. an electronic version of a printed book that can be read on a computer or handheld device designed specifically for this purpose

Basically instead of having an hard copy of the book you can have it on your computer or mobile device. There are alot of positives and negatives to this assistive technology and that is what I will be digging in deeper to for the rest of my blogs. 

More Surprising Ways to Use Instagram

After realizing that there are some ideas out in the world for the use of Instagram I figured that I would try and find some more in which it could be used in the classroom. I found this website (http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/08/07/10-ways-to-use-instagram-in-the-classroom) which had even more ways in which a person could incorporate Instagram into their curricular activities. Some of the ideas were.

1. Feature a student of the week.
Invite students to alternate "taking over" your classroom Instagram account and sharing photos from their daily lives

2. Capture field trip memories.
Invite a student volunteer "archivist" to take photos on your field trips or during class parties and share them on your Instagram account.

3. Share reading recommendations.
Invite students to snap photos of their favorite books and then browse the photos in your feed for more ideas on what to read.

4. Go on an ABC scavenger hunt.
Challenge kids to find print in the world around them—on signs, packaging and in the mail.

5. Document student progress.
Snap photos of student's writing at the beginning and end of the year.

Ideas like feature a student of the week and go on an ABC scavenger hunt are the types of things that would make a kid want to use an app like Instagram in their everyday life for school. Also with these type of ideas it will be way easier for teachers to get the students attention overall. People think Instagram is just a app where people just go on to waste time when they are bored but it also has alot of upside to it. 

I started looking for ways in which Flickr could be tied into the educational field and found at http://www.colourmylearning.com/2013/03/flickr-for-education-18-ways-to-use-flickr-in-schools/. This site basically is a site that tells what Flickr really is about and the things that people tend to do on it. And then it explores some ideas of how it can be used for educational purposes. 

For example some of the ideas were:

Proof of Work – upload images of artwork, work pieces from product design, science experiment outcomes, etc

Presentation – provide students with suitable images for their presentation or project

Image Portfolios – encourage students to create their own image portfolios

Raise Awareness – using images to raise current issues such as global warming, pollution, extinction

Research Projects – use images from Flickr to include as part of student’s research assignment and projects

Lesson Resource – using the slideshow option on Flickr, present your topic in an interesting and engaging way with suitable images

Explore the world – use Flickr Map to explore images from different parts of the world

ETC..

The website includes 18 different ways Flickr could be used. Some of these ideas can go hand in hand with certain classes that students are taken. I know for me when I was in my undergrad for presentations I had to use pictures and Flickr was very helpful for me because the quality of the photo's were great. Or the idea of just exploring the world in general is a great one or you could even use it in understanding other countries for history. These were just some of the ideas from the site and I feel like there are a lot more ideas out there. Flickr could be a great resource if you put it to the right use.   

Using Instagram in the Classroom

I was looking around for ways that instagram could be used for educational purposes and found this website (http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/instagram-classroom-student-activity-ideas.shtml) that suggested some ways that it could be used educationally. The five ideas were: 

1. Take a picture of students re-creating a famous piece of art. 

2. Explore a moment in history by imitating a vintage photo from the public domain.

3. Ask students to act as photojournalists at a school function.

4. Make a scientific record of a classroom experiment or school science fair.

5. Let students explore their identities.

Some of these idea's like explore a moment in history by imitating a vintage photo from the public domain or take a picture of students re-creating a famous piece of art are good ideas because they can tie into history.  These are the type of ideas that popular technology such as instagram can be used for. By giving kids the ability to use instagram will more likely push them to get their work done. The only thing that I did not like was the idea of letting students explore their identities. I feel like that is just giving the kids an excuse to just use instagram for fun and not use it for learning. 

Instagram

Instagram is a photo sharing website and mobile application. Since school aged children are so technology savvy it makes sense for teachers to use Instagram to their benefit. Instagram is a simple and easy  way to use and the fact that it is free is also a great thing, All the students have to do is make an account, follow the classes Instagram page and there they can see whenever the teacher post assignments. Teachers can post homework for kids on it or even post the notes from the class. By the teachers posting documents through images from class on Instagram kids are more likely to check or use it as a resource. Instagram can also be a great way to alert kids when they are on vacation, have missed class for doctors appointments or music lessons, also when they are just not in school,  about things they have to do or work they missed. Not only can kids use it for things they missed but they also can use it as a everyday resource whenever they are doing work.