As I was completeing the Homepage evaluation assignment, I was overwhelmed and amazed at the variety of homepages there were online. I found some that were very plain in their layout and the information they included. Some only had a one page summary about the class and a short bio of the teacher and that was all. A couple I thought expressed the teacher's personal agenda. One I read included a very social activist message in it's construction and in the language used by the teacher. Two other pages included more about the teacher's family, including pictures, than links and resources for their students or the community they work in.
I was most impressed by the homepages created by Early Childhood/Elementary Educators. These homepages seemed to include a lot of information. Many of these pages included information for the district, PTO, and resources as well as classroom information and updates. These pages were colorful and full of energy. I think of all of the homepages I viewed, only was hurting my vision because as the mouse moved, the cursor on the screen had the letter a trailing behind it and it was too busy in it's construction.
I learned a lot from evaluating other homepages and I have gotten good ideas on how to improve my homepage.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Comprehension Strategies Chapter 5 WTG
As I was reading chapter 5 of Integrating Literacy and Technology, I was thinking about the strategy of how good readers scan, rather than read, when they are knowlegeable about the the topic of the text. Is this strategy good for readers to use when utilizing the the internet?
As stated by Watts Taffe and Gwinn (2007), with all of the information the internet delivers and the various features it includes; graphics, pull-down menus, hyperlinks, and site-specific search windows, the internet has changed the way the text is structured. I would think that students now need to be more engaged in reading text because there is so much more information to be read. It is no longer about just using print text to do research it is about going into cyberspace and finding the updated, almost daily, information the internet offers.
I am working on a project with my 6th grade Spanish classes on Spanish cities. Each student chose a city in Spain and is researching 5 places of interest to include the use of pictures. They will then take the information and pictures to create a poster for a Treasure Hunt. I modeled the scanning strategy for the students using one of the only websites I searched for that they can access on the school computers. I projected the website onto the Smartboard in the front of the room and navigated the various ways students could find the information by scanning the different tabs and drop down menus on the site. My students seemed overwhelmed by the process. They didn't want me to scan. They were interested in everything the site had to offer and wanted to read everything.
The internet and technology change all the time. How can we keep up with it all? In chapter 4 of Integrating Literacy and technology, Watts Taffe and Gwinn (2007) state that given how rapidly technology changes, we as teachers need to use our class time not to keep up with all of the changes, but more in the habit of asking for assistance and working with others who have expert knowledge of the changes.
Just this year, our Media specialist, formally librarian, has been working with teachers and students on various class projects and research. Our school has also engaged the aid of one of our former Science teachers to teach a basic technology class to our 8th grade students. Many of the teachers, myself included, have sought him out to help with the ever changing software programs our school has, as well as, helping us to find appropriate websites for our students. Both have been great assets to our faculty.
As stated by Watts Taffe and Gwinn (2007), with all of the information the internet delivers and the various features it includes; graphics, pull-down menus, hyperlinks, and site-specific search windows, the internet has changed the way the text is structured. I would think that students now need to be more engaged in reading text because there is so much more information to be read. It is no longer about just using print text to do research it is about going into cyberspace and finding the updated, almost daily, information the internet offers.
I am working on a project with my 6th grade Spanish classes on Spanish cities. Each student chose a city in Spain and is researching 5 places of interest to include the use of pictures. They will then take the information and pictures to create a poster for a Treasure Hunt. I modeled the scanning strategy for the students using one of the only websites I searched for that they can access on the school computers. I projected the website onto the Smartboard in the front of the room and navigated the various ways students could find the information by scanning the different tabs and drop down menus on the site. My students seemed overwhelmed by the process. They didn't want me to scan. They were interested in everything the site had to offer and wanted to read everything.
The internet and technology change all the time. How can we keep up with it all? In chapter 4 of Integrating Literacy and technology, Watts Taffe and Gwinn (2007) state that given how rapidly technology changes, we as teachers need to use our class time not to keep up with all of the changes, but more in the habit of asking for assistance and working with others who have expert knowledge of the changes.
Just this year, our Media specialist, formally librarian, has been working with teachers and students on various class projects and research. Our school has also engaged the aid of one of our former Science teachers to teach a basic technology class to our 8th grade students. Many of the teachers, myself included, have sought him out to help with the ever changing software programs our school has, as well as, helping us to find appropriate websites for our students. Both have been great assets to our faculty.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Snowy day fun!
Okay so most of us had a snow day we really didn't want, but what are you going to do on such an unexpected holiday? I caught up with some grading, homework and reading for class, and some article searching for the review paper (Dr.Weiss, you didn't just read that!) .
My daughters on the other hand, went outside, watched t.v., and went on a search for some old toys in the basement. As I listened to the t.v. while I worked, I heard a commercial for the new Jimmy Fallon show and it mentioned that he was trying to make his show interactive by having a Facebook page and twitting? What is twitting? I tried watching this video explanation, http://dotsub.com/view/665bd0d5-a9f4-4a07-9d9e-b31ba926ca78 , but it stopped midway through. The jist, I'm guessing, is that it's a really quick way to converse with people that is faster than an e-mail or blogging. I'll keep looking for more information, but didn't know if anyone could explain it to me?
I then heard my youngest daughter calling me to ask me for a battery because daddy gave her a small object. When I asked her what it was, she said it was a tape recorder. I remember my husband using this little recorder for his college classes to record his notes and it was the latest thing in technology. Now my 7 year old was excited by being able to record her voice on this tiny outdated recorder. In this age of computers, iPods and cell phones that do everything but cook meals, I find it funny that old technology is new technology to my daughter.
Enjoy the snow!
My daughters on the other hand, went outside, watched t.v., and went on a search for some old toys in the basement. As I listened to the t.v. while I worked, I heard a commercial for the new Jimmy Fallon show and it mentioned that he was trying to make his show interactive by having a Facebook page and twitting? What is twitting? I tried watching this video explanation, http://dotsub.com/view/665bd0d5-a9f4-4a07-9d9e-b31ba926ca78 , but it stopped midway through. The jist, I'm guessing, is that it's a really quick way to converse with people that is faster than an e-mail or blogging. I'll keep looking for more information, but didn't know if anyone could explain it to me?
I then heard my youngest daughter calling me to ask me for a battery because daddy gave her a small object. When I asked her what it was, she said it was a tape recorder. I remember my husband using this little recorder for his college classes to record his notes and it was the latest thing in technology. Now my 7 year old was excited by being able to record her voice on this tiny outdated recorder. In this age of computers, iPods and cell phones that do everything but cook meals, I find it funny that old technology is new technology to my daughter.
Enjoy the snow!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Computers in kids bedrooms
On my way home from class on Tuesday evening I was listening to the John Tesh radio show on 93.1. He was talking about how there are more computers in kids rooms today than 5 years ago. One reason for the change is that with so many parents using computers now, they don't want to share the time and eventually buy their children computers for their rooms.
John Tesh shared a lot of interesting information and scientific studies but he stressed that computers should always be kept in a shared room so parents can monitor where kids go and who kids are talking to. Funny, I used to talk on the phone when I was a kid. His concern was of course how predators are now in our homes and no longer the stranger on the street or park.
This made me think of our class and the websites we visited. Many of the sites appeared legitimate but it took a little investigating to be sure. Children are so vulnerable to the information they search for that they can easily be persuaded to think that the town of Fredricton was really founded by Amish fisherman.
Perhaps we should take our students to the PBS site and have them take the license quiz. Many of the middle school students I work with really don't understand the impact of want can happen if they give too much information about themselves online. It really is up to us to teach them how to be safe, especially if they have a computer in their rooms and isolate themselves there. It's so easy to click the minimize button so parents don't see where they are or who they are talking to. At this point, kids are about one or more steps ahead of those of us who are not technologically equal. That's a scarey thought!
John Tesh shared a lot of interesting information and scientific studies but he stressed that computers should always be kept in a shared room so parents can monitor where kids go and who kids are talking to. Funny, I used to talk on the phone when I was a kid. His concern was of course how predators are now in our homes and no longer the stranger on the street or park.
This made me think of our class and the websites we visited. Many of the sites appeared legitimate but it took a little investigating to be sure. Children are so vulnerable to the information they search for that they can easily be persuaded to think that the town of Fredricton was really founded by Amish fisherman.
Perhaps we should take our students to the PBS site and have them take the license quiz. Many of the middle school students I work with really don't understand the impact of want can happen if they give too much information about themselves online. It really is up to us to teach them how to be safe, especially if they have a computer in their rooms and isolate themselves there. It's so easy to click the minimize button so parents don't see where they are or who they are talking to. At this point, kids are about one or more steps ahead of those of us who are not technologically equal. That's a scarey thought!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Amazing Hero Art
There was an assembly at my school last Friday called Amazing Hero Art. The artist, Rob Surette was flashy and exciting and had a very positive message in his program. Other than how fast he painted the portraits of Abrham Lincoln and the others, he kept the students and staff amazed and interested by using Power Points to teach the history of the people he was painting. With each new portrait, a new slideshow began. The slidehows included music and video that added to what he was painting. Each picture or song in the show was a clue to whose portrait he was painting.
One of the topics in the show was about the inventions. He focused on Thomas Edison and how the invention of the lightbulb changed the world and helped to create movies. It was incredible to see how technology has changed in such a short time. We've gone from the invention of the telephone to communicate with people to computers that can send an e-mail to friends, family, or business clients at anytime of the day or night to cell phones that we can use for e-mail and storing music on.
Rob Surette listed his top 10 inventions as part of his show. The one that struck me the most was the computer that types what a person is thinking. What a great thing to have for those students who have special needs and have no other means of communication. For the people who cannot speak or write, but can think. This would give them a means to communicate without boundaries. If only Helen Keller could have had such technology? Think of all the kids with autism, cerebral palsy, readers and writers that struggle with getting the words out and how technology like this computer could change how we as teachers can help them.
I'm sure that the thought computer has its downfalls too, but it just goes to show that there is still so much out there that we don't know about and someday have to use in our schools.
If interested, Rob Surette's website is amazingheroart.com. He was inspirational and truly amazing!
One of the topics in the show was about the inventions. He focused on Thomas Edison and how the invention of the lightbulb changed the world and helped to create movies. It was incredible to see how technology has changed in such a short time. We've gone from the invention of the telephone to communicate with people to computers that can send an e-mail to friends, family, or business clients at anytime of the day or night to cell phones that we can use for e-mail and storing music on.
Rob Surette listed his top 10 inventions as part of his show. The one that struck me the most was the computer that types what a person is thinking. What a great thing to have for those students who have special needs and have no other means of communication. For the people who cannot speak or write, but can think. This would give them a means to communicate without boundaries. If only Helen Keller could have had such technology? Think of all the kids with autism, cerebral palsy, readers and writers that struggle with getting the words out and how technology like this computer could change how we as teachers can help them.
I'm sure that the thought computer has its downfalls too, but it just goes to show that there is still so much out there that we don't know about and someday have to use in our schools.
If interested, Rob Surette's website is amazingheroart.com. He was inspirational and truly amazing!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Click and Jane article
I just read the Click and Jane article from the New York Times magazine and thought...What is reading? Is it black type against white pages or can it be a colorful animated game on a computer monitor? I always thought it was printed text on paper between a colorful illustrated cover with a summary on the back. But I'm a 20th century teacher in a 21st century world. I'm sure my middle school students would have a different point of view. My 8 year old daughter does.
After reading the article, I was navigating the Starfall site and she commented.."Mommy are you playing on that site? I used to play there in kindergarten and first grade during computer (class). It was the only site we were allowed to play on." When I asked her if she liked playing there and reading the stories, she said she did but "I'm too old for that now. I read Magic Tree House chapter books."
I wasn't impressed by the story I read in Starfall. I clicked on the flower story and thought the story itself was boring and difficult to navigate. There was no prompt to tell me to pick a packet of seeds to complete the sentence. I did however, enjoy the One More Story site. Even though it didn't have the fancy animation with the cute bug and monster, the story book I read in the tour was cute. I thought this site had helped readers by highlighting the words as they were being read so the reader could understand when to turn the page, click the arrow, and continue with the story. I also liked that the option to mute the voice was offered.
Maybe Roland Barthes would consider me lazy because I like reader geared books rather than the thought provoking writer geared.
All in all, I enjoyed the article. The sites were fun because I can use them at home with my younger daughter. Although, I'm sure if given the opportunity, my middle school students would have fun too!
After reading the article, I was navigating the Starfall site and she commented.."Mommy are you playing on that site? I used to play there in kindergarten and first grade during computer (class). It was the only site we were allowed to play on." When I asked her if she liked playing there and reading the stories, she said she did but "I'm too old for that now. I read Magic Tree House chapter books."
I wasn't impressed by the story I read in Starfall. I clicked on the flower story and thought the story itself was boring and difficult to navigate. There was no prompt to tell me to pick a packet of seeds to complete the sentence. I did however, enjoy the One More Story site. Even though it didn't have the fancy animation with the cute bug and monster, the story book I read in the tour was cute. I thought this site had helped readers by highlighting the words as they were being read so the reader could understand when to turn the page, click the arrow, and continue with the story. I also liked that the option to mute the voice was offered.
Maybe Roland Barthes would consider me lazy because I like reader geared books rather than the thought provoking writer geared.
All in all, I enjoyed the article. The sites were fun because I can use them at home with my younger daughter. Although, I'm sure if given the opportunity, my middle school students would have fun too!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Hola! Bienvenidos!
Hola everyone,
I'm really excited about this class. I'm hoping to learn a lot. Here we go!
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