A young student using a VR (Virtual Reality) headset.
Virtual Reality is quickly evolving and becoming a second world through our eyes. To be able to see different worlds and experience things through a headset can mean students can be exposed to more educational resources. Students can learn about other countries, anatomy, the ocean, and much more with one simple tool.
Students can take a quick trip to France in 40 minutes within their class period with a VR headset. VR allows the users to see different things easily, and very realistically. Virtual Reality can bring more engagement into the classroom as well because not only is it informational, but it is a fun experience for students. It can give the students something to look forward to in school. Virtual Reality allows students to see things in different dimensions, different countries, space… mostly anything you can think of. VR headsets can be very beneficial in the classroom.
In terms of Global Collaboration, students will easily be able to see into a different country and interactively see it themselves. Using Virtual Reality to teach students about other countries can be more impactful because the students will be able to see the world in their own eyes without actually being there, and it is very different than just looking at a photo. It gives the students more interest in wanting to see more of the world and learn about what is going on in different places.
Virtual Reality can be a great resource in the classroom for many different reasons. Schools should look more into these devices because the benefits and convenience of using them are unbeatable for what these simple devices can do!
After visiting the WE Virtual Learning Center, I researched resources and different topics for the classroom. I found this great campaign that will benefit many students as well as people around the world. Many topics are brought to the spotlight in this lesson, and I thought that was a good approach to teaching students about the problems other countries and people face in this world that aren’t talked about enough.
WE Virtual Learning Center has created a campaign called the WE Are Innovators Campaign which will teach students about real-world issues and other countries that are struggling. Not only will the students learn about those issues, but they will learn how to help and make a positive difference in the world.
Screenshot from the lesson plan.
This screenshot above is the opening page but also does a great way of explaining what the campaign is and what it’s made for. This campaign is made for grades 4-12 and within every age group, there is a lesson plan adapted to their grade and learning levels. There are different activities that are made for every age group.
Screenshot from the lesson plan.
This lesson plan has different topics to teach students how to be innovative, some of those topics are:
Inclusive and Sustainable Innovation
Energy and Housing
Food Waste
Transportation Solutions
Circular Economy and Nature
These are very prominent topics for students to learn about so they will have the opportunity to make a difference and educate others so they can make a difference too.
WE Virtual Learning Center provides many different resources for educators to teach their students about everyday issues. Many different topics can be found on their website, and all of them will be beneficial for students to learn about. Some day I would like to teach my students about these global issues just like WE learning has presented because I think it is very important for students to learn about what is going on in the world.
In this article, I will be introducing you to 7 different accessibility tools that can be very beneficial for students. Accessibility tools are utilized by students who may have a disability or learning disability, and they are tools to make their learning experiences easier. Not only are they designed to help those individuals with a disability, but they are also available for anyone to use. Because they are accessible to anyone, they are very helpful and can be beneficial in so many ways.
Jaws Screen Reader
Jaws logo.
Jaws screen reader is a great tool that was created for computer users with vision loss. Not only does this software provide screen reading, but it also provides braille for those who cannot read the screen at all. Jaws allows users who cannot see to use the internet and use technology just like anyone else. It provides different features to help them navigate the web, send emails, write documents, and create presentations.
ZoomText
ZoomText logo.
ZoomText is another great software for those who have vision problems. Reading screens all day can take a toll on your eyes and some people have bad vision already. ZoomText allows computer users to magnify the words on the screen. This tool can be very helpful for people who cannot see closely or cannot see small items on the screen.
Select and Speak – Text to Speech (now known as iSpeech)
iSpeech logo.
iSpeech is another great tool for students, and this one can be for people who may speak a different language. This program provides many different languages to choose from for translating. It also has the option to playback slow, regular, or fast for the user’s preference speed. This tool can also be used for translating certain words for assignments but mostly helps individuals who speak different languages.
Google Docs: Type With Your Voice
Google Docs logo.
Google Docs provides a speech-to-text tool that can be very helpful for impaired users. Speech-to-text can be beneficial for users who cannot get their thoughts from their heads onto paper when typing or writing. The user will be able to speak into their device’s microphone and tweak any mistakes it comes up with. Usually, grammar and punctuation might need tweaking, but you can also speak the punctuation as well.
Read&Write
Read&Write logo.
Read&Write is an extension of Google Chrome that can assist students with their reading and writing. This program can be great for students with disabilities as well as students who need extra help with an essay. Read&Write provides many features some of them being, text-to-speech, easy read-along, text and picture dictionaries, and many more features. This program can be beneficial for many students who need help with reading and understanding certain content.
QuickVoice Recorder
QuickVoice Recorder logo.
QuickVoice Recorder is a great tool for students who have trouble taking notes in class. This application allows the user to record memos of class lectures, notes, meetings, and much more so they are able to come back to it later. This is a great tool for students who also have trouble paying attention, and having access to the recording of a lecture can be beneficial for them.
Mindly
Mindly logo.
Mindly is an application which is for mind mapping, created to keep the user organized. This program lets the user create diagrams based off of how they’re thinking to keep themselves organized. Mindly is a great application for students who have trouble keeping their thoughts and work organized, and this app gives them a place to organize things how it works for them.
All of these tools are very helpful and beneficial for students and technology users with disabilities, or who need extra help. Each tool has different features that can help the user adapt to using technology more easily.
There are many ways Hyperdocs can be incorporated into a teacher’s lesson, but when you see an underlined blue text, you are most likely supposed to click on it. Hyperdocs are interactive applications, links, or sharing resources for students to use to navigate the internet easier. A link or Hyperdoc is an easier way for students to learn and surf the internet safely. They are specific links that lead the students to exactly what they need to be looking at, and clicking and reading makes learning easier.
Below is a video about what Hyperdocs are and how they can be utilized in education. In this video, there are also details about what a Hyperdoc can be, and they mention that it can be many things.
Hyperdocs are very popular for teachers to use in a lesson or PowerPoint and it is a very convenient way for students to be on the right track with their individual learning. It is an effective way of making sure the students are engaged in the lesson and students are also able to work on their own. It is important that teachers provide students with a lot of resources and Hyperdocs can be a great way to share resources with the students.
The introduction photo for the 9/11 tribute. The image displays the Twin Towers.
September 11, 2001, was a day that impacted millions of individuals in America. This was the day that thousands of innocent lives were lost and injured. Many families suffered from this terrorist attack and lost their loved ones. Although I was born after this event occurred, I was taught about the importance of it every year in school. Learning about this heart-wrenching attack on thousands of innocent people is something so difficult to learn about, but it is necessary.
This Virtual Museum provides all of the information about 9/11 for educational purposes. This virtual museum also includes lesson plans for educators to use to incorporate this topic into their lessons. There are many creative projects that are dedicated to this event. Some of them are a Survivor Tree, Poetry, and Newspaper Headline Poetry. The Virtual Museum also provides video links to learn more. There are links leading to “Understanding Personal Stories,” “Placing 9/11 In A Global Context,” and “Exploring 9/11 in Creative Arts.”
A very important part of this Virtual Museum was the acknowledgment of the innocent lives lost and families affected. There are many stories linked on this website. Another important point was about Jennifer Suri, an Assistant Principal who is a Muslim emphasizing the fact that the terrorist attacks do not relate to Islam.
Learning about September 11, 2001, can be very tough and upsetting but they teach the importance of the event and the awareness of it. Millions of people have been impacted by this event and it is something everyone should learn about and empathize with.
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Microsoft 365 is one of the most popular programs to use for so many different reasons. Microsoft offers an abundance of different applications to use for school or regular daily tasks. I’ve been using Microsoft 365 for as long as I’ve been in school and using computers. They offer so many great programs for everyone, but students and teachers are what we’re here to discuss today! I’m here to tell you why Microsoft Forms is a great resource.
Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms is an appreciable resource for receiving feedback, giving tests or quizzes, and new ideas from those answering the form. Microsoft Forms is super simple to use, allowing anyone to answer open-ended or multiple-choice questions.
Collect data
Learn
Use polls
Add videos to the questions
Quick feedback
Grade tests/quizzes quickly
Above, I listed some features that come with using Microsoft Forms. It is super easy to navigate and with some quick learning, you can also use all of these features. Not only does Microsoft Forms collect data, but it can be easily synced to other Microsoft programs. For example, after collecting data from a form, you can sync those results into Microsoft Excel. It is appealing to see online programs be able to work together to make the user’s life a little bit easier.
Classroom Usage
For a teacher to see all of these features, it seems like it would be very considerable when trying to find a program to use for class. As stated previously, Microsoft Forms offers many different features that can help teachers all over the world benefit from. From making grading easier to being able to see quick and immediate results, it is a no-brainer to use! As a student who has used it before, and still uses it, I can confirm that is it a very easy resource to use.
Conclusion
Microsoft Forms is a convenient and accessible program for people all over the world. It can be used for so many different reasons, but in this case, it can be a great resource for teachers and students to learn.
Thanks for reading!
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Collaboration is a huge factor in young student’s social and academic growth. Learning from a young age how to collaborate gives students a chance to learn from others, and share their own ideas with others. Students gain a lot of confidence in their social skills from working with groups in school. I chose this tool to research because I believe it is a huge part in student growth!
Global Collaboration
Empatico offers a program for students to collaborate with other students from all around the world. Young students who are introduced to this program can learn so much about other countries and how they learn and what they’re going through. It can teach students about empathy through these digital exchanges. More than 23,000 educators in 131 countries have used this platform for over 2,000,000 students all over the world. It is a great program to get introduced to different schooling and different cultures.
It is a very easy way to communicate with students and educators from different countries which I find so interesting. It is not common to be able to do these things in school so it’s very exciting to learn more about this program. I would love to utilize this program in my own class, and teach students the importance of being able to empathize and to learn about other countries and cultures. I would allow my students to do it once or twice a week so they can keep in touch with their penpal, and hopefully build a friendship with them. I would listen to my students opinions on the program, whether or not they liked it. If it is something they really enjoy, I would pass the word on to more teachers so they can give their students a fun learning experience as well.
Empathy
This program was made to teach students how to show that they care for others, and learn about self-awareness. Being able to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, or understand someone else’s feelings can be a huge factor in socially and emotionally growing up. Behavior also plays a huge role in this program because what students do for others makes a huge impact. This program can help those students learn these skills.
Screenshot from the website.
What Does Empatico Offer?
Empatico offers many different tools. Here is a list of what they offer:
Empathy centered activities
Being able to explore the world and make connections
Messaging and scheduling
Live exchanges
All of these tools can help students not only gain emotional and social skills, but they also will learn about many different countries and cultures, as well as learning how to message others and schedule live meetings.
Working together in class has always been a huge component in learning how to collaborate. Collaborating is something everyone will need to do for the rest of their careers. By having an early and easy start to learning how to collaborate can get students on the right track. Microsoft Teams is a significant software to use to get students on that right track.
Hybrid Learning
Microsoft Teams is an easy to use software that has taken over classrooms everywhere. Personally, I used it in highschool and it was a great way for teachers and students to communicate and work together. During the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of my teacher depended on Microsoft Teams to teach their classes. Using online meetings for hybrid learning was a resourceful adaption when we most needed it.
Features
Microsoft Teams also provides many great features. One that sticks out to me the most is the Accessibility Features which makes it easy for everyone to use.
Microsoft Teams offers an abundance of features within their program. Notebooks, interactive demos, meetings, private messaging, and emailing can all be done from this one program.
Conclusion
I really enjoy learning more about this software and how effective it can be. As a student who has used it for years, I can confirm that it truthfully benefits a lot of students and teachers. Communities can come together and build a stronger bond and improve collaborative skills. Microsoft Teams is truly the future of educational collaboration.
Virtual Reality has become very popular in the 2010s, and it is rapidly evolving. From playing a video game to receiving a learning experience, Virtual Reality can be very impactful and an enjoyable experience for students!
This image displays young students using Virtual Reality in class.
The Benefits of VR in Education
I found this article which provides a lot of information on how VR can benefit in education.
Enhancing Student Engagement
Boosting Knowledge Retention
Improving Student Learning Outcomes
Developing Collaboration and Social Skills
Building Empathy
Supporting SEND Learning
Within this article, each topic goes more in depth on how each of these points help students learn.
Final Thoughts
I think Virtual Reality is a great resource for education. Students gain many great skills, not only for the classroom, but skills they will use for the rest of their lives. A point that stuck out to me the most was “Developing Collaboration and Social Skills.” By introducing these skills early on in education, it gives the students more confidence within the school environment and being comfortable starting conversations. Finding out that VR can help students learn those specific and important skills made me more interested because it is very crucial to learn at a young age.
Unfortunately, Virtual Reality headsets tend to be very expensive. It is uncommon to see these in a classroom due to some of the school district’s budgets. Although this is an unlucky occurrence, I hope in the future some districts make this a priority and see how much these devices can help their students learn!
