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!
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