Blog Post 8

Adaptive technologies allows teachers to teach per the student and helps students to focus on their own strengths and weaknesses. This is incredibly helpful because a general teaching style does not work for everyone. Not everyone can listen to a lecture and get all of the information perfectly and only have to read the textbook to study for a test. Some students need to see it on a PowerPoint or need to see a graph in order to grasp the concept. By focusing on the student rather just trying to get the information across, students will have a more enjoyable learning experience. I have never used any technology like this but I have had a teacher that told me they used this kind of software. He used it as a first day ice breaker in his computer classes. Unfortunately I was his TA so I never did it, but it tested the students to see how they learned best. With this information, he adapted his teaching style to ensure all of the students were getting the best experience possible from the class.

A challenge with adaptive technology is that it can be distracting and can be abused. Although many students will benefit from it, others might use it as an opportunity to have a free day on FunBrain. Also, students may be distracted by something going on on another students computer and not be zoned into what they are suppose to be doing, even if it is specifically geared towards that student. Another general issue with relying on technology is that it is not perfect. If there is an issue with the internet that day or a specific program is not formatted properly, the whole day now needs to be reinvented on the spot, which can be very stressful for the teacher. 

I found the website EdSurge and it was really impressive. It had current information on technology in the Education field and things that are in development. It included numerous different categories of news and ranges from Kindergarten to higher education and accounts for everything in between. This would be a very helpful website for a teacher because it allows them to keep up with the news that directly affects them and their ability to have the most efficient classroom.