Blog Post 3: Tool Intensive Education

Educators as natural communicators are always looking for new ways to bring information to their students. Keeping education fresh is the best way to keep students engaged and encourage dialogue in an up to date world. As technology becomes more ingrained in the classroom, students are expecting the newest tools to be used in their education.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/edtechresearcher/2012/08/teaching_teachers_to_tweet_part_ii.html

Educators must become tool intensive to effectively communicate to other teachers and students alike. By understanding and utilizing multiple technological tools educators can communicate in new ways. For example, bringing a tablet to school to demonstrate some interactive lessons could only be possible with networking online and using multiple online tools and physical technology tools to bring ideas to life on a tablet. Digital tools are becoming the norm for students and educators.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrci1EMH2Q0

Blog Post 2: Blackboard

Blackboard is a tool used by universities to execute their online education programs. Before the emergence of E-learning, educators used hand on methods of education. Using paper, pencils, chalkboards. Blackboard was the first successful tool for online education with a high adoption rate. Communicators within education had to adapt in order to learn this new tool that has many functions. Blackboard, and technology in the classroom is the new future of education.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vala-afshar/our-educational-leaders-m_b_4292484.html

After a few years with Blackboard, and Blackboard's 9th edition release, educators are becoming more used to the program and its functions. This is a must for educators today, be it online or offline education, it is extremely important to understand Blackboard and its options for students. This is because online education is growing and technology in the classroom is becoming a required element of education. Luckily, there are instructional videos that claim that Blackboard is the best thing to happen to educators, suggesting that the ease of organization makes grading and managing classroom work easier!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxdJ3ar12bE

Blog Post 1: E-Learning

E-learning is the use of the internet to communicate information and receive information in return. It is a type of community interaction centered around education. E-learning can only be what educators make it. Learning to communicate with a unique tool and system of tools can be difficult. Using those tools and reaching students enough to impart knowledge is even harder. Teachers are communicators everyday in their classrooms, but what happens when that classroom is more and more intangible and controllable? This is something that educators must adapt to, because E-learning is not going anywhere.

http://blog.prodigyfinance.com/2013/04/19/the-online-learning-revolution/

 New education websites turn every educator into not only a communicator when they are speaking, but a communicator every-time they type. Freedoms for students make educators more creative with due dates and projects that can be accomplished in short periods of times with frequent check-ins. The limits of education websites and technology means that educators need to be more creative in order to achieve the in-person feel with education. Students appreciate when educators can learn to navigate the tools at their disposal in a way that encourages learning. The following Ted talk explains how an educator/communicator is doing just that.

http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_norvig_the_100_000_student_classroom.html