Learning a Language Made Easy

When you first hear of  Rosetta Stone, many people think of a giant stone with the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics on it. When asking newer generations, their  answer maybe that Rosetta Stone is a computer software program made to help people learn new languages.

This software program is used to teach people a language through engaging them verbally. It comes in around 30 different languages from  common American English and British English, to unique Urdu and Pashto. It can be purchased for use by individuals, for classrooms, and even businesses.

For individuals the software is best suited to be used on your computer, tablet, or even your smartphone for on-the-go learning. Many people who like to travel or are interested becoming multilingual, this is the program for you. It teaches the grammar and sentence structure of languages, vocabulary, pronunciation, and even has a feature that allows  you to talk back to hear if your pronunciation is correct. Having this program is much easier and convenient than having to attend a class. Even with classes, you are limited in the languages you may chose to learn. Rosetta Stone allows for a wide variety of languages.

If used in a classroom setting, this program can be useful for students who  prefer learning  more exotic languages. I know my high school offered the basic German, Spanish, and French language to be taught by traditional teachers. If a student had completed four or more years of one of these languages the student could then pursue taking courses in Mandarin Chinese. Mandarin was taught on computers with the Rosetta Stone program. A few of my friends had taken the course and said they truly did enjoy it and found it very interesting. It helped them learn a third language in a whole new way.

Many businesses now have workers  traveling all over the world. When traveling from place to place it is helpful to know the main language of the country you are in. Businesses can use this program to help educate their employees by making their travels easier and more successful in knowledge of the language spoken.

Rosetta Stone can be used by people of any age and at any point in their life. By being able to use it on tablets and smartphones it can be used just about anywhere as well. Languages are something that are always helpful and are never outdated. They are a valuable skill to have.

The Science Techbook

Many people know the Discovery Channel for its educational documentaries. Now, they are trying to use their technology to help students learn in a more inactive and life like experience. They have released a digital textbook called a "Science Techbook" that allows students to engage more in learning. It  helps students with different learning styles. Here is a link to see more about the Techbook.

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/what-we-offer/techbook-digital-textbooks/science/index.cfm

Technology Allowing Education for Little to No Cost

When people think of a normal education they think of going to a classroom, listening to a teacher and taking tests. However, with more and more information being available on the Internet, online classes have become popular. Online classes are becoming more available and at a much more reasonable cost.

I go to college out in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, which is about 6 hours from my home. I must live out in Pittsburgh year round, pay to travel back and forth to and from home for holidays, as well the cost of tuition. Being a full time student makes it hard to manage your time because of activities and jobs. The costs of a good education adds up very quickly and can become very expensive. It can be challenging to have a job to help compensate the cost.

Over the summer, I took a few online classes. This allows me to have a job during the day and then work on my studies at night. Online classes were also more reasonably priced and I did not have to worry about travel costs or living costs.

I learned just as much from online classes, if not more, because I have to sit down and teach myself the information. There is a teacher to help guide the course and ask questions. However, having the self-discipline to take a course independently forces you to focus and memorize the information. Every assignment has its own due date and I have to make my schedule work to get the assignment in on time. This allows me to have flexible hours to get the work done especially if I worked ahead. It is nice to be able to work on assignments during my own time instead of having to be at an  8am class  every day where I am half asleep trying to take notes. I learn a lot during physically attending the class room, but most of the learning comes from  studying the material at a later time.

More and more universities are offering online classes each semester and a larger variety of subjects are also being offered. This can allow students to study whatever they wish and get a quality education. Some colleges and Universities, such as the notable, Penn State University, allow students to earn their degree through online classes. They call it Penn State World Campus. Other colleges and universities even have their online courses available at no cost to the student. This allows anyone who wants an education to capitalize on this opportunity.

With all that is available on the Internet, the ease and accessibility of online classes can be very beneficial to those seeking a solid education with a  busy schedule. By having courses available for little to no cost there is almost no excuse for people no tto take advantage of this great opportunity and receive a great education.

Hillsborough Schools Incorporate Technology into Learning

By Meghan Scarpiello

There was a story in the news,recently about  a school in Hillsborough ,New Jersey having incorporated technology into their classrooms for students of all ages. There was a panel discussion with attendees from more than 25 districts, middle school students, and high school students to discuss the benefits of integrating Nexus tablets and Chromebooks into the classrooms. Hillsborough had distributed 2,800 Nexus tablets to all of their kindergarten through fourth grade students in their district. There are also Chromebooks available for the students and teachers to use. Majority of the Chromebooks, 4,600 of them, were distributed to students in fifth  through twelfth grade for their use at home and at school.

Hillsborough started  trying to incorporate these devices during the 2011-2012 school year in algebra 1 courses and since have grown. The following school year the devices  accommodated at least 10 percent of the fifth-twelfth grade population. The third year the Chromebook accounted for  20 percent of the fifth-twelfth grade population. Finally this year, every student was able to have access to their own Chromebook. The school district hopes that having a 1:1 ratio of student to technology means that having technology will become more of a normalcy  of learning in the classroom.

This is an example of how technology is beginning to truly make an impact at school and at home. The school district is trying to expose students to these new styles of learning and use them to benefit higher learning. There is also no discrimination for students who may or may not be able to afford this type of technology on their own because the schools are providing it and using it as a special tool. Over time I believe this will be seen more  in many school districts. After more districts become comfortable with the new technology integration, there will be  more and more data coming out about how well technology really is working as a tool in the classroom as well as at home to complete schoolwork.

The First 20 Hours -- How to Learn Anything | Josh Kaufman

The Pros and Cons of Studying with Technology

By Meghan Scarpiello

It’s that time of year again! With finals around the corner it is time for all the college kids to start studying and cramming a whole semesters worth of information into their brain in only a few days. Guaranteed, technology will play a role in both hurting and helping these students survive.

The tables in the library will be full of scattered notes, both written by hand and typed. The typed notes are obviously due to technology. Many students may even study their notes straight from their laptops. The computer, in my opinion, is one of the best  technology advances  to assist students with schoolwork. Not  just for reviewing clear notes, but also for accessing the Internet and typing the many papers that will be due.

The Internet is a great source for watching videos and answering any of the questions you may have. Can’t visualize how DNA is transcribed? Search for it on YouTube and watch a video of it being explained. Can’t remember what DNA stands for? Open a tab from Google and search for it; guaranteed the answer  will pop right up. The Internet is a quick way to help students answer questions they may have instead of wasting time searching through notes, textbooks, or even trying to get a hold of their professor. Using technology  could have students getting answers quickly and conveniently  rather than having to hunt professors down or waiting until office hours. Granted, old fashioned office hours are very beneficial, but the Internet is an excellent resource, as well. Students can also access their textbooks online rather than carrying so many heavy books. The fewer the books students, the more they preserve their backs. The Internet will save many students time when it comes to studying.

Not only will it save them time studying, but time writing papers as well. My mother always told me how lucky I was to be able to use Microsoft Word to write my papers instead of using a typewriter. Being able to make mistakes, correct them, do an automatic spell check  all on the computer is enormously easier than having to retype a paper because of a few mistakes. It is amazing to think about how much technology has advanced through the decades. I do not view my mother as being that old and knowing she had to use a typewriter in college is mind blowing. The computer has advanced so much in my lifetime that I cannot picture schoolwork without it. Even research papers nowadays have become much easier than in the past. My mother told me she had to go through books and newspapers and magazine in the library to find the information she needed. Now a days, just type it into Google Scholar and you have a handle of articles at your fingertips. If you have access to databases, then searching for articles is just as easy. This will save a lot of time and get you the best research possible from updated studies. Writing papers of all kinds has improved due to the use of computers.

These are the positive ways the computer has helped students, but there are also some negative ways. Students already have a lot of work around finals time, but trying to finish up other assignments and submit them, can pile up during this time due to procrastination. It is always a good idea for students to take breaks during studying so they do not exhaust their brain. However, a five or ten minute study break can turn into an hour  if students get overly distracted by social media websites.  Media sites such as: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram,  can be accessed through ones laptop and this can easily waste precious study time. This will only add to the students stress and the need to cram more information. It will reflect in their grades and the student may not achieve the grade desired.  Even smartphones are pretty much handheld computers that have notifications, texting, games, and many other applications that can be a distraction and affect how students study. It will divert their focus and increase stress levels and poor grades will arise from it.

All this technology can benefit us and hurt us at the same time. We just need the self-control to be able to use it wisely.

The Benefits of YouTube in Education

By Meghan Scarpiello

In many schools across the nation the website that always seems to be blocked is YouTube. YouTube is a site for videos of all  kinds, but primarily videos for entertainment. These videos can be a distraction while students are doing schoolwork or these videos can also be used as a tool for helping students with their schoolwork.

There are various times that just simply explaining the material in class is not enough. Majority of students are visual learners and therefore a video of a process or series of events can help them better understand the material. They can review the video in their head to make it easier to remember the information. Also, the way the information is explained by someone besides the instruction or even just hearing it a second time can help grasp the material. YouTube is filled with informational videos that teachers can share with their students during class, or even allow the students to watch on their own. Watching videos enhances the visual aspect of knowing important facts.

Not only can students watch videos, but the teacher can always assign projects for the students to create their own video on a certain topic. For example, if the teacher is teaching a lesson on history , the assignment maybe to have different groups of people reenact different events in history on video. The groups of students would work together and become experts on their event to be able to make a successful video. It also gives hands on experiences of what has actually happened in history and let's the students put themselves in the historical event. This gets students thinking in many ways. Once all the videos are completed, students can upload them to YouTube and this allows the  teacher  to view the videos. Having the students watch each others video is good laugh as well as relaying the information to the students. It puts a visual aspect to the events instead of always trying to put the pieces together in their heads. This  also, can be helpful for  reviewing the information  by  relating the information  back to what their classmates video was about  and be an easy way to remember the information. If a student is absent the day of the presentations, the videos are online  and can be watched by the student at any time.
YouTube makes it  easy to watch videos. Going onto YouTube  to watch videos can be a very useful studying technique. I know I go on YouTube all the time to help me get a visual of scientific processes. This helps me understand what is actually going on in a cell. It can be difficult to understand the microscopic world and these videos make it easier to grasp the subject. Teachers should emphasize and encourage students to go online and watch these types of videos if they are struggling in class. YouTube is so large it has multiple videos of just about every topic you can think of. You can get help with any subject at any level. There are college professors who even post their lectures on YouTube for their students to go back and watch. Anyone can view these lectures (if made public by the professor) and can help students succeed. There is one series of topics called “Crash Course” that is very informational and made by students to specifically  help other students. There is more to YouTube than entertainment and procrastination.

YouTube is already a large website full of untapped potential. If more teachers and professors would encourage it and/ or add to it, then there would be even more beneficial videos  to aid students. It would be a good way to tap into what popular Internet sources we have, and make education stronger using technology.