Reflection #12

When researching articles for the future of education and technology, I found a very interesting article.  I was familiar with wireless internet, communication alerts (although confused how it works, what are the complexities, etc) and interactive white boards.  All those topics I had previously learned about or knew of.  I did not realize that there are many more brands of interactive boards than I had realized. Smart Board is only one type of interactive white boards.  I had heard about Promethean Boards, but this article discussed eBeam by Luidia, eInstruction and lastly, In Focus.  All of those are brands of interactive white boards.  All of those are possibly software that I may have to learn to use and be advanced in my classroom, and I have never heard of those brands.

The concept that I had never actually heard about was cloud computing. Honestly, I had to Google it to find the definition. I discovered that I had heard of schools using systems similar, but I never knew the term was in deed called cloud computing.  Basically it is a system of internet based computing, where resources, information, files, software and so on can be shared through different computers.  This is very similar to Northwest's Discovery.  Professors can post documents or link, students can submit assignments/projects electronically, students can check grades, professors can post feedback on assignments.  It is definitely a system that is cloud computing technology.  My high school did not have this, we had an online grading system, but if we needed notes or a copy of a handout, are teacher could not simply "upload it to Discovery" he or she had to make a printed copy.  A lot of paper is wasted.