LEARN BIOLOGY FROM FREE DIGITAL TEXTBOOK

Biology is one subject that is interesting because it is a study of living organisms and that includes us. But, the school and college curriculum demands a set table of contents in a textbook format that not all students take to these days. With the advent of education technology, students are more likely to learn subjects the digital way, rather than the so called boring textbooks. The use of colorful diagrams to explain concepts and processes no longer stimulates interest in today's student. But, bearing in mind, the needs of the student, using a digital textbook adds a spark of interest in the subject,especially if it is a multimedia version complete with audios and videos showing processes being explained in 3 D. Now, would that not have made us learn faster when we were studying Sciences and Maths. Several video websites including youtube have a collection of some excellent tutorials for explaining various concepts, and some of them can be found here.
A non profit organisation, E O Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, named after the renowned naturalist and founder, is releasing a 59-part series on Biology - Life On Earth is a 59-Chapter Digital Textbook, to suit the school curriculum. As each chapter gets completed, it is available for anyone to download for free.
The first chapter, "Cell Division", will be available for download in a couple of weeks. Here is a preview of the video with interactive animations that will be an integral part of the text. K12 editions will remain free whereas the University-level edition will be up for sale at 10 % of the cost of an average print textbook, to fund the continuous updating.

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Bangalore College Adopts Cell phone For Evaluating Students In Exam

You have heard of the virtual classroom and exams being conducted online, and now you can answer an exam with your cellphone. Technology in the classroom is being adopted by several schools and colleges. Some give their teachers a free hand in the innovative use to keep their students engaged in the chosen subject. And some educational institution managements take the step forward themselves and pave the way for technological innovation in the classroom. The Seshadripuram First Grade College in Yelahanka, Bangalore, has adopted cell phones in a big way.
Starting this academic year on an innovative note, mobile handsets were distributed among students and teachers, with instructions for use. Games and messaging options were disabled and a totally new concept was put into practice from Day 1. These handsets are to be handed in after tasks are completed. And each student is solely responsible for her/his work and attendance.
The handsets are enabled with "Interactive Platform On Mobile (IPOMO)", and hooked to a server. Multiple choice questions are given via the mobiles and students can pick one out of four options. At the end of the test /exam, the student has the option to revise and then hit SUBMIT. Once the answers are recorded on the college server, marks will be consolidated.  A three hour test will have 120 questions with 4 options each. Students have the choice of using the mobile calculator to answer the Math questions.
In addition to this the students are allowed to mark their attendance via the cell phone.Attendance is usually taken within the first 15 minutes of the start of any class. Each teacher is given a password. Once he/she enters the password,the category -courses-section-subject appears with the list of students enrolled for the class.the teacher quickly takes attendance and all data is automatically stored in the server. A student that consecutively absents himself / herself for three days or more is highlighted on the server rolls, and an SMS alert is sent to the parents.
The students and teachers of this college have welcomed this move for use of cell phones in the classroom. Teachers find it useful and less time-consuming than the age-old methods of marking answer papers as well as marking attendance. They have more time to teach, and the students love text messaging, so this is an extension of that and they are comfortable with it. One plus point is that there is no scope for malpractice, since questions are jumbled up and not all students get the same Q1.For example, Q1 of Student A will be Q28 of Student B and so on, making it laborious for students to find similar Q s for copying.

PALMTOPS FOR STUDENT PROJECTS

Classrooms are taking to going digital more than ever,with teachers finding newer ways to being innovative to keep the students engaged. Students respond as "duck taking to water" with anything digital and so use of FREEWRITE a basic word processor to be used with a palmtop and a keyboard makes any collaborative project interesting for students. Reading and writing skills improve as they write more and read more and correct spellings and grammatical errors.

TEACHERS WHO USE TWITTER IN THE CLASSROOM

Twitter is fast becoming the most favoured tool for many. Microblogging with just 140 characters or less,educators and businessmen worldwide are taking note of its ability to market your ideas,services and products like never before. And many have already begun taking advantage to increase revenue even during recession. Doctors are also connecting with their followers on twitter to educate them and keeping updates with their patient's progress.Twitter in the classroom explored the idea of teachers and professors using twitter in the classroom. Educators are increasingly able to communicate with their students effectively as they log onto the updates of their peers and teachers. Introverted students are also opening up and giving their feedback via tweets. Perceptions of their friends change for the better and they are more confident in using tools such as these.
Dr.Monica Rankin,a Professor of History shares her story of how she is successfully using twitter in the classroom in the following video.

Another teacher David Parry, from the same University shares his story of using twitter with his students.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use twitter in the classroom as given by academhack.
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CREATE MULTIMEDIA LESSON PLANS

When teachers are asked to use technology in the classroom,they have to go beyond just using plain,boring PowerPoint presentations. Some teachers even lift these from PPT libraries and do not bother to use the edit option to make it more interesting for their class.There are several ways that a teacher can retain the interest of her/his class using the internet tools. Even PowerPoint presentations can be made more creative using the options of narrating with your own voice,embedding a related youtube video,using transitions. Making your own little video with Windows Movie Maker can add sufficient interest if you use some class pictures as well. Depending on the subject taught,the teacher can choose her students from the class as subjects for the story being read,or create simple presentations to explain math concepts. Story Maps can be created with PowerPoint. Multiple choice quizzes can be created with PowerPoint. If the teacher allows the students time to create all of the above on their own,they will not only make the learning experience fun,but will also retain what they are learning for a long time.
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