Hypermedia Tools for the 21st Century Teacher

Speech with Milo: Interactive Storybook
Hypermedia has become a fast growing part of technology in the 21st century. One of the many different types of commercial hypermedia out there is interactive storybooks. These storybooks allow children to be fully engaged with the story rather than just listening. Children can interact with the characters, make choices about what will happen next in the story, and even explore the setting of the story. Most recently interactive storybooks have appeared in app stores. Speech with Milo: Interactive Storybook is a great app that allows children and teachers to become fully engaged in the story (if you click on the app name, it will take you to the app store to preview the app!). I would love to have this app for my classroom. It is a great resource to have for times students are in between work and activities, or event as a supplement for reading centers.


The Virtual Environment
Virtual environment hypermedia is slowly starting to gain popularity in educational settings. It was originally used primarily for gaming, but it is evolving into something that educators are introducing in their classrooms. Teachers have not fully unlocked the capabilities of  advantages that virtual environments will offer their students. Students could open up a world of learning that has not been accessed yet. I would use virtual environment in my classroom as an aid on homework and lessons in the classroom. I found a great video on youtube of a teacher who created virtual environment homework that was used with an iPad (or an iPhone/iPod) that allowed his students to have homework help and instructions from him.


This is a great example of the future technology that will be appearing in classrooms. All in all, virtual environment will lead to great things for students and teachers alike.

Classroom Technology: The New Basics

Another great video on Classroom Technology! 

Technology in the Classroom: Digital Media

This is a great video on classrooms and digital media! 

"Basic Three"

Word Processing Software

Word Processing (or WP) is used in a variety of ways in education. It seems to be one of the most common of the "basic three" software that teachers use. WP can be used to create welcome letters to students and parents, create a schedule for your classroom, and even handouts or assignments for class. While it can be a great help to minimize effort spent to create documents, it can be a hassle to learn all the tricks to help minimize your time. 

Spreadsheet Software

Spreadsheet software is a great resource to enhance your students mathematical lessons. You can also use it to categorize student data ranging from address to grades. Spreadsheets offer a variety of ways to enhance your classroom and give visual aids for your students to understand hard to grasp math concepts. One of the only cons with using spreadsheet software is understanding all the different tools to create a great spreadsheet. 

Presentation Software

Presentation software is a pretty common software used in classrooms. PowerPoint is the most commonly used version of presentation software. This type of software allows you to create visual aids and visual assignments to help with a lesson. Presentation software can hinder your classroom teaching though. A teacher can become so dependent on presentation software that it becomes the only thing they use to teach with. Students do complain that teachers will "teach to the PowerPoint" rather than limiting what is on the slides and lecturing to add the additional information needed to understand the concept. With the proper use of presentations, you can enhance your students learning and help many different types of learners with one software. 

Classroom Use

For me personally, I consistently use a WP software, specifically Microsoft Word. This software to me allows for many different creations. When I am in my practicum and begin lesson plans, I immediately think of ways that I can create meaningful assignments, handouts, and assessments with Word. I also use it to create visual aids, including the use of an ASL font, for my students. Being  a DHH teacher, I see how well visual aids and stimulation helps my students grasp the concepts better. Recently for a pumpkin thematic unit, I created a letter introducing the unit and the plans for the week to parents. Word helped me create a very colorful and productive letter that not only the parents enjoyed, but also the students. 

A Quick Look

Hey Everyone! 

I'm a 22 year old senior majoring in the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at the University of Montevallo. It is a crazy and fun world that certainly has its bumps (or pot holes depending on the day) in the road. I enjoy what I do and have a passion for helping the future generations. I am ready to get out into the real world and begin using what I have learned throughout my time at Montevallo. I am sure these posts will be rather entertaining and engaging, so get ready for it! 

-Peyton