Submitted by J.P. Tuttle (not verified) on February 10, 2008 - 20:01.
I'm not a teacher (I'm a college freshman), but I've definitely had some cool teachers in the past in regards to technology.
Ms. Wigfall, at Boston Latin Academy, was my 7th grade math teacher. She wrote her own computer programs (in Visual Basic) to generate problems to do in class (complete with solutions) or to quiz students. She also used PowerPoint, and developed the odd ability to write quite legibly with a normal computer mouse (using the PowerPoint pen tool). Definitely cool.
Other cool technology would of course include SketchUp (I have used it; not in school, however). If you need something fancier than SketchUp, Blender is a great open-source, cross-platform (Windows/OS X/Linux) 3D suite. It takes quite a bit of getting used to, but it's extremely powerful. Other cool open-source apps include Inkscape (similar to Adobe Illustrator), The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP -- yes, I know, it needs a new name) -- similar to Photoshop, and FreeMind -- a free mind-mapping program.
If you look around on Google, there are tons of lists of open-source software. Check some of it out -- it's quite awesome.
Student's Perspective
Submitted by J.P. Tuttle (not verified) on February 10, 2008 - 20:01.
I'm not a teacher (I'm a college freshman), but I've definitely had some cool teachers in the past in regards to technology.
Ms. Wigfall, at Boston Latin Academy, was my 7th grade math teacher. She wrote her own computer programs (in Visual Basic) to generate problems to do in class (complete with solutions) or to quiz students. She also used PowerPoint, and developed the odd ability to write quite legibly with a normal computer mouse (using the PowerPoint pen tool). Definitely cool.
Other cool technology would of course include SketchUp (I have used it; not in school, however). If you need something fancier than SketchUp, Blender is a great open-source, cross-platform (Windows/OS X/Linux) 3D suite. It takes quite a bit of getting used to, but it's extremely powerful. Other cool open-source apps include Inkscape (similar to Adobe Illustrator), The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP -- yes, I know, it needs a new name) -- similar to Photoshop, and FreeMind -- a free mind-mapping program.
If you look around on Google, there are tons of lists of open-source software. Check some of it out -- it's quite awesome.
-- J.P. Tuttle