Patty Chiles
Douglas School
Springfield, Illinois
For activity 3b we were asked to investigate three or four emerging technologies. This activity was quite difficult for me. As I read about new products being offered I realize how much I need to learn. If you have the idea that you will sit around and catch up with technology later I would suggest you lose that thought. Just as soon as you think you are catching up there is something new on the market. To a beginner, like me, it is amazing. The new innovations seem endless.
The Kennedy generation had "the race to space". This generation needs to be equipped for "the race through technology"! If you made it to this page then you probably have at least as much technology knowledge as I do if not more. Please don't let your students get left behind. Much of this sounds like a foreign language to me too. Just hang in there. We can do it!
I chose three emerging technologies that I could truly see myself using in my classroom someday. I hope my links to various sites will be helpful to you.
CU-SeeMe
CU-SeeMe is a desktop video conferencing program that is available FREE from Cornell University. It requires a Macintosh with a screen capable of displaying 16 grays and with a connection to the Internet. The minimum Macintosh would be a IICI, with a 28.8k modem, a video digitizer card or Connectix QuickCam. The Connectix QuickCam plugs into your serial port.
You will need the QuickCam to be able to send. It costs about $100. The CU-SeeMe program runs with audio on the Macintosh.
Very basically, CU-SeeMe will allow your class to conference with a single person or an entire class halfway around the world. Teaching possibilities would be greatly enhanced by CU-SeeMe. Groups can interact or just "look in". For those of you my age it brings the pen pal concept right to the nearest computer!
After much searching I found a site for CU-SeeMe that I think is great. It is very basic. It will explain CU-SeeMe in very simple terms. Two men named Danny Boy and Paul humorously guide you through everything you could possibly want to know about CU-SeeMe. Please visit with the link below.
http://www.fortune.org/cuseemebasics.shtml
HyperStudio
HyperStudio is a multimedia product already used by many schools. Students can create presentations using animation, sound, and pictures. Your students can make some super slide shows with this software.
System requirements for Macintosh are a system 7.1 or higher. A 68030 processor or higher and a minimum of 4MB free RAM. A CD-Rom drive is recommended. As of June, 1998 the price for 1 set Single-User Program, Install disks, 1 Program Resource CD, 1 set of Manuals, 1 Registration Card, and 1 Getting Started Guide is $199.95.
Roger Wagner Publishing, Inc. also offers prices for increased numbers. A HyperStudio 5-Pack runs $450.00. A HyperStudio 10-Pack runs $795.00. They also offer pricing for district licensing.
A project by your students can be made up of several stacks. A stack is a file that has one or more cards, with buttons, sounds, graphics, and multimedia elements on the cards. Stacks will need to be planned ahead. If this sounds like too much for you, you are not alone. Teachers should get some training with HyperStudio before attempting to use it with their classroom.
I would like to share a secret with you and anyone else on the Internet. I have had HyperStudio on my computer for over a year and am just now starting to learn to use it. The district I work in has a site license for HyperStudio. I have opened it up, but been lost in the past. This summer I am taking training to put my computers to even better use.
If you would like more information on HyperStudio please use the link provided below. This is a very creative program. Students will love it if you learn to use it yourself. Enjoy.
VRML - Quick Time
VRML stands for virtual reality markup language. It allows you to "move" around the web site. By using your mouse or arrow buttons it lets the user look around. You can even zoom in on objects. It allows a 3-D view. Most of your students are probably familiar with games like Doom and will be excited about creating their own projects using this technology.
To complete a project you would need a digital camera. The camera should be able to capture twenty full screen images before transfer to CPU for processing. If the camera has a wide angle lens capability that would be even better. The camera will also need a standard tripod mount. The camera must be mounted in a vertical mode. It should be able to swivel around. A turntable will be needed if you want to take object images. The turntable needs to be non-glossy black.
Students can create guided tours of their school, showcase revolving models of molecules, display their art work from a 3-D perspective just to mention a few of the many possibilities.
There are numerous sites to visit that pertain to VRML. Before you jump off to visit you will want to get Quick Time for your Macintosh. The majority of the sites have examples for you to visit. Of course you will only be frustrated by this if you can't run them!
Quick Time is the Apple technology that makes video, sound, music, 3-D, and virtual reality come alive for Macintosh. They offer Quick Time 3.0 and Quick Time 3.0 Pro. The system requirements for Quick Time are a Mac OS, Mac OS version 7.1 or higher, 16 MB of RAM for Power PC-based computers, 8MB of RAM for 68k-based Macintosh computers. 68k-based Macintosh computers must also support Color QuickDraw.
The district I work in has the capabilities to create VRML projects. Luckily for me we also have a technical support team that knows how to utilize the equipment. A project using VRML would need some planning and time. I would love to have my students work on creating a tour of our school building.
I think you will be amazed at the number of sites that make use of VRML. As I visited it made me anxious to have QuickTime installed so I could check them out. This could be used across all the subject areas, but I think science teachers will love the possibilities this new technology can provide for their students.
To learn more about QuickTime you can visit the link I have provided below. Once you are set up enjoy your journey!
Summary
There is always something new on the horizon in the field of technology. It is fascinating to think of the possibilities the future will bring. As an educator I would like to stress a personal concern of mine. We can buy every "new toy" that comes out, but we must train our teachers to use these tools. It is such a waste to have the technology, but never have it put to use.
I am fortunate to work in a district that encourages and provides opportunities for teachers to receive training. In my opinion training should be the top priority in the area of technology. If we don't teach the teachers then we should expect to be left behind. I can think of dozens of projects that my class would love using VRML, but if I don't know how to use it then it won't become a reality in my classroom.
Don't wait for someone to force you into training. Take charge and seek it out for yourself. If your district doesn't offer it then find an individual who will help you learn. I don't want to give my age, but they didn't have computers in the schools when I graduated from high school! If I can learn this anyone can.
Technology is here whether some of us want it or not. It IS the future. Today's learner must have technology integrated across the subject areas. As educators if we fail to learn about technology and fail to bring it into our classrooms then we are doing a great injustice to our students.
"There is no place like home. There is no place like home."