- Computers still frustrate me sometimes, but they have come a long way since the days when I was in school. I vividly remember spending all of my computer classes giving a "turtle" commands to move in different directions on a black and green screen.
- Rather than teaching students the programs and applications as curricular goals, the technology should be used as a very powerful tool to teach classroom content.
- By using the Internet to teach content, the teacher provides students with a plethora of resources that are easily searchable and free.
- Do not avoid using the Internet with the students in order to protect them from inappropriate material. Give students links to sites that are safe for children to explore. I was very happy to find a number of sites that review Internet locations to find safer and more reliable information for children. In my classroom, I plan to do this by creating Hotlists to guide the children to appropriate sites.
- In addition to being a powerful tool for research, the Internet provides opportunities for students to connect with people around the world. These people may be experts in their fields or children in other countries. Project sites such as http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com encourage students to interact with people around the world to foster cultural awareness and respect. With future classes, I would like to use ePals (http://www.epals.com/) to help my students practice their communication and interview skills. Using this purpose-driven, email format would probably motivate some of my more reluctant writers to communicate in writing without feeling overwhelmed.
- If students have access to the Internet at school and at home, there are many Web 2.0 applications that replace the days of expensive software programs that exclude students from lower income families from having access to the most advanced programs. The Google document programs have many of the same capabilities as the expensive software applications. I plan to use Web 2.0 applications with students and to discuss their benefits with the class. For example, students can make presentations using the free Google presentation program.
- After listening to several podcasts, I realize that podcasts can be a wonderful source of free education for adults and children. I was surprised by the number of educational podcasts that have regularly published episodes. I can introduce the students to such podcasts and require that they listen to podcasts that support our curriculum. The novelty of this format may make students feel excited about learning new information.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
My Reflection on the Class
"Integrating Computer Technologies in the Classroom" has been a challenging, fast-paced class full of technology to which I had never been exposed before. Through the class, I have learned the following:
Friday, May 9, 2008
Chapter 3 Summary and Comments
In chapter 3 of A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink presents a world in transition. The chapter entitled "High Concept, High Touch" emphasizes the need for Americans to evolve to compete and to continue to lead in a global economy.
First, Pink presents a humorous cartoon that shows an American walking increasingly taller and with a more lively step as he evolves through economic ages (p. 50). Pink outlines the progression through the following ages:
Pink claims that this change is taking place as a result of what he calls "ATG" in North America, Western Europe, Australia and Japan.
A= Affluence
T= Technological progress
G= Globalization
In this Conceptual Age, we are moving from an era of left brain-right brain dichotomy to an era of a unified mind that adds to rather than replaces "L-Directed Thinking." In addition to analytic, logical thinking, Pink claims that we need to develop "high-concept" and "high-touch" capabilities.
To illustrate the transition that is taking place specifically in the United States, Pink gives four examples:
"We must perform work that overseas knowledge workers can't do cheaper, that computers can't do faster, and that satisfies the aesthetic, emotional, and spiritual demands of a prosperous time" (p. 61).
Finally, Pink introduces six skills that are high-concept and high-touch:
I frequently hear my students debate aloud whether or not they will be doctors, lawyers, engineers, or some sort of "business person." In their minds, these careers are more desirable because they have traditionally provided stability and prestige. Often, parents have encouraged their children to consider only these career paths. From talking to my friends I know that people of my generation seem to think of themselves as "math and science people" or as "humanities people" (never as both) because of the artificial line we have drawn through our abilities to be simultaneously logical and creative.
What can teachers do to change this? Teachers can and should develop the sensibilities simultaneously in all students. In my classroom, I can use multiple models of instruction to invite analytical think and invention. For example, I could present students with assignments that require products that are inventive, beautiful, and helpful to the world beyond the classroom. Through WebQuests, I can present students with problems that will require them to seek solutions through understanding the values and needs of people in other countries. Open-ended projects guide students to develop flexible and holistic thinking that will prepare them for work in the Conceptual Age.
Works Cited:
Pink, Daniel H.. A Whole New Mind. New York: Riverhead Books, 2005.
First, Pink presents a humorous cartoon that shows an American walking increasingly taller and with a more lively step as he evolves through economic ages (p. 50). Pink outlines the progression through the following ages:
| Agricultural Age: |
| Industrial Age: |
| Information Age: |
| Conceptual Age: |
Pink claims that this change is taking place as a result of what he calls "ATG" in North America, Western Europe, Australia and Japan.
A= Affluence
T= Technological progress
G= Globalization
In this Conceptual Age, we are moving from an era of left brain-right brain dichotomy to an era of a unified mind that adds to rather than replaces "L-Directed Thinking." In addition to analytic, logical thinking, Pink claims that we need to develop "high-concept" and "high-touch" capabilities.
| High Concept | High Touch |
| Involves the ability to:
| Involves the ability to:
|
(This information can be found on pages 51 and 52 of
To illustrate the transition that is taking place specifically in the United States, Pink gives four examples:
- Medical School: According to Pink, medical schools are changing their curricula to diagnostic procedures that emphasize empathy and the patient's story.
- Japan: He highlights the growing pop culture and the new emphasis on creativity in schools.
- General Motors: Pink presents a view of General Motors, whom most Americans accept as a product of the Industrial Age, as an evolving company that has leaders who view the company's role as that of creator and artist.
- MFA: The author focuses on the explosive popularity of Master of Fine Arts programs.
"We must perform work that overseas knowledge workers can't do cheaper, that computers can't do faster, and that satisfies the aesthetic, emotional, and spiritual demands of a prosperous time" (p. 61).
Finally, Pink introduces six skills that are high-concept and high-touch:
- design
- story
- symphony
- empathy
- play
- meaning
I frequently hear my students debate aloud whether or not they will be doctors, lawyers, engineers, or some sort of "business person." In their minds, these careers are more desirable because they have traditionally provided stability and prestige. Often, parents have encouraged their children to consider only these career paths. From talking to my friends I know that people of my generation seem to think of themselves as "math and science people" or as "humanities people" (never as both) because of the artificial line we have drawn through our abilities to be simultaneously logical and creative.
What can teachers do to change this? Teachers can and should develop the sensibilities simultaneously in all students. In my classroom, I can use multiple models of instruction to invite analytical think and invention. For example, I could present students with assignments that require products that are inventive, beautiful, and helpful to the world beyond the classroom. Through WebQuests, I can present students with problems that will require them to seek solutions through understanding the values and needs of people in other countries. Open-ended projects guide students to develop flexible and holistic thinking that will prepare them for work in the Conceptual Age.
Works Cited:
Pink, Daniel H.. A Whole New Mind. New York: Riverhead Books, 2005.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Copyright and Fair Use
Copyright laws are hot topics right now in schools. "What is Fair Use?" has been a question that has arisen at each school I have attended as well as during my graduate school classes. Although the idea of protecting the intellectual property of another person is important, I find the gray areas very frustrating.
I don't think that anyone who is being honest with himself actually believes that stealing someone else's work is okay. However, the number of pirated copies of DVDs and illegally downloaded music suggests that there are some people that feel entitled to profit from work they did not do. In the past, I have had students who have told me that their parents burned CDs or DVDs. Although their parents did not sell the copies, they are also not buying them. This violates the "effect on marketability"standard of the copyright laws as presented on A Teacher's Guide to Fair Use and Copyright by Cathy Newsome. Although I do tell students that it is against the law to do this, it is a very delicate thing to tell a student that something his or her parent has done is probably illegal. According to the same article, ignorance of the laws is not an acceptable defense for violating them. Therefore, it is important for students to understand this information and for them to (hopefully) share it with their parents respectfully.
Fair Use in schools seems to be a less cut and dried part of copyright laws. Our schools operate on limited budgets, so many teachers are often tempted to save money by copying portions of books and other materials for the students to use. The percentage of the book copied and the purpose for which it is being used help to determine whether or not this is Fair Use. A Visit to Copyright Bay by the University of St. Francis presents information regarding fair use guidelines for making multiple copies. The guidelines state that copying less than 10% of a book for educational purposes may be acceptable if only one copy is made for each student and sufficient time does not remain to gain the author's permission to use the copyrighted material. However, I have heard people make comments such as "who will know?" and "I am just using it for the kids." As Jamie McKenzie points out in Keeping it Legal: Questions Arising out of Web Site Management, people argue "that almost any taking and use of printed materials, software, videos or graphics is permitted because education is a good cause." We owe it to our students to be examples of morality.
With the instant access to information today via the Internet, it is important that we are vigilant in schools about interpreting Fair Use policies as conservatively as possible. The amount of information protected by copyright laws seems overwhelming. The Stanford Libraries' Copyright and Fair Use policy states: "It doesn't matter if an author's creation is similar to existing works, or even if it is arguably lacking in quality, ingenuity or aesthetic merit. So long as the author toils without copying from someone else, the results are protected by copyright." Because of this, we have to respect the intellectual property of individuals no matter what our schools' budgets are.
One of the main challenges we face is that we are assigning students projects that require them to publish their work on websites. Without publishing information of the Internet, the danger of violating Fair Use practices is not as great. One solution is that students could present electronic information to their classmates using presentation programs such as PowerPoint rather than publishing it on the Internet.
There are two things that I was surprised by as a I educated myself about copyright and Fair Use guidelines. I admit that I did not know that it was a violation to show an entire video for entertainment purposes without permission. A Visit to Copyright Bay by the University of St. Francis points out that "This means that you cannot perform a popular video to your students outside of a systematic instructional activity." Luckily, I do not show my students videos that are unrelated to our curriculum, but I have visited many schools that do. I had also not previously considered the copyright implications of Clip Art as mentioned in Jamie McKenzie's Keeping it Legal: Questions Arising out of Web Site Management.
There is so much to learn and I am sure that copyright and fair use questions will continue to be central issues in all school settings.
Works Cited: Keeping it Legal: Questions Arising out of Web Site Management
Jamie McKenzie
http://www.fno.org/jun96/legal.html
Stanford University Libraries' Copyright and Fair Use Overview
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/
A Teacher's Guide to Fair Use and Copyright
Cathy Newsome
http://home.earthlink.net/%7Ecnew/research.htm#Copyright%20and%20Fair%20Use%20Defined
A Visit to Copyright Bay
University of St. Francis, Joliet, IL
http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/copyrightbay/index.htm
I don't think that anyone who is being honest with himself actually believes that stealing someone else's work is okay. However, the number of pirated copies of DVDs and illegally downloaded music suggests that there are some people that feel entitled to profit from work they did not do. In the past, I have had students who have told me that their parents burned CDs or DVDs. Although their parents did not sell the copies, they are also not buying them. This violates the "effect on marketability"standard of the copyright laws as presented on A Teacher's Guide to Fair Use and Copyright by Cathy Newsome. Although I do tell students that it is against the law to do this, it is a very delicate thing to tell a student that something his or her parent has done is probably illegal. According to the same article, ignorance of the laws is not an acceptable defense for violating them. Therefore, it is important for students to understand this information and for them to (hopefully) share it with their parents respectfully.
Fair Use in schools seems to be a less cut and dried part of copyright laws. Our schools operate on limited budgets, so many teachers are often tempted to save money by copying portions of books and other materials for the students to use. The percentage of the book copied and the purpose for which it is being used help to determine whether or not this is Fair Use. A Visit to Copyright Bay by the University of St. Francis presents information regarding fair use guidelines for making multiple copies. The guidelines state that copying less than 10% of a book for educational purposes may be acceptable if only one copy is made for each student and sufficient time does not remain to gain the author's permission to use the copyrighted material. However, I have heard people make comments such as "who will know?" and "I am just using it for the kids." As Jamie McKenzie points out in Keeping it Legal: Questions Arising out of Web Site Management, people argue "that almost any taking and use of printed materials, software, videos or graphics is permitted because education is a good cause." We owe it to our students to be examples of morality.
With the instant access to information today via the Internet, it is important that we are vigilant in schools about interpreting Fair Use policies as conservatively as possible. The amount of information protected by copyright laws seems overwhelming. The Stanford Libraries' Copyright and Fair Use policy states: "It doesn't matter if an author's creation is similar to existing works, or even if it is arguably lacking in quality, ingenuity or aesthetic merit. So long as the author toils without copying from someone else, the results are protected by copyright." Because of this, we have to respect the intellectual property of individuals no matter what our schools' budgets are.
One of the main challenges we face is that we are assigning students projects that require them to publish their work on websites. Without publishing information of the Internet, the danger of violating Fair Use practices is not as great. One solution is that students could present electronic information to their classmates using presentation programs such as PowerPoint rather than publishing it on the Internet.
There are two things that I was surprised by as a I educated myself about copyright and Fair Use guidelines. I admit that I did not know that it was a violation to show an entire video for entertainment purposes without permission. A Visit to Copyright Bay by the University of St. Francis points out that "This means that you cannot perform a popular video to your students outside of a systematic instructional activity." Luckily, I do not show my students videos that are unrelated to our curriculum, but I have visited many schools that do. I had also not previously considered the copyright implications of Clip Art as mentioned in Jamie McKenzie's Keeping it Legal: Questions Arising out of Web Site Management.
There is so much to learn and I am sure that copyright and fair use questions will continue to be central issues in all school settings.
Works Cited: Keeping it Legal: Questions Arising out of Web Site Management
Jamie McKenzie
http://www.fno.org/jun96/legal.html
Stanford University Libraries' Copyright and Fair Use Overview
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/
A Teacher's Guide to Fair Use and Copyright
Cathy Newsome
http://home.earthlink.net/%7Ecnew/research.htm#Copyright%20and%20Fair%20Use%20Defined
A Visit to Copyright Bay
University of St. Francis, Joliet, IL
http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/copyrightbay/index.htm
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Podcast Review
I really enjoyed some of my first podcasts. After downloading iTunes (I know... I am such a looser for not having an iPod), I explored the podcast options. Although there are several different categories, I found myself wanting to figure out what the "education" category had to offer. Although the range of possibilities were not as great as they were in other categories, I was very impressed by the amount of free information that was being offered in these podcasts. I found most of the information to be about useful topics. The podcasts that I explored were related to language and law.
The first podcast that I listened to was "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty tips for Better Writing." The particular podcast that I listened to was related to hyphens. The episode was full of useful knowledge on a topic about which I find myself debating with colleagues when I write formal documents. The episode gave clear directions about when to use hyphens. The directions were then followed by several clear examples. I think that this free grammar help would really help many people who struggle to write in a grammatically correct manner in their daily and work lives.
Continuing in the language vein, I also listened to a "English as a Second Language" podcast produced by the Center for Educational Development. I listened to episose #364 about filing taxes. I was very impressed by the number of episodes by the Center for Educational Development. What an amazing free resource! The episode began with a dialog between two people regarding the filing of taxes. Following the dialog, the speaker explained the reasons for and the process of filing taxes. The speaker also explained the vocabulary and idiomatic expressions presented in the dialog. The simple and practical presentation of language and information was a wonderful resource for families working in the United States but less confident about the English language. After the explanatory section of the episode, the speakers presented the dialogue at a rapid but realistic rate.
After listening to the ESL episode, I listened to "Just Vocabulary: The Useful Vocabulary Show!" I chose to tune in to episode #18 about the words "abstemious" and "rancor." The episode began with a definition of "abstemious." Following the definition, the episode repeated the pronounciation several times. The speaker gave examples of settings in which usage of this word would be appropriate. He also gave synonyms and antonyms for the word and used the word in several sentences. I think that this podcast was a wonderful resource for anyone who would like to expand his or her vocabulary. My only complaint is that I found the voice that repeats the pronunciation annoying.
My last language-related podcast (please note the proper usage of the hyphens thanks to Grammar Girl) was called "One Minute Irish" by the Radio Lingua. I listened to lesson #10 entitled "Learn Some Useful Phrases in Irish." I couldn't help but listen to this due to my semester abroad. I enjoyed the lesson and found the phrases useful. However, I thought the lesson was too brief given the difficulty of the Irish language.
The final podcast that I reviewed by "The Legal Lad's Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful Life." I listened to an episode called "The Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution." Of course the episode began with the requisite disclaimer. Following this, the presenter explained the term "ex post facto" and explained how treating a witness as hostile can affect a trial by "limiting the scope" of the trial, allowing the impeachment of a witness, and allowing attorneys to "focus the testimony" of the "hostile" witness. This was interesting information that, while not useful for most of us in daily life, makes us more intelligent people.
Overall, all of the podcasts presented useful information in a user-friendly format format. What a fantastic opportunity to access information for free!
The first podcast that I listened to was "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty tips for Better Writing." The particular podcast that I listened to was related to hyphens. The episode was full of useful knowledge on a topic about which I find myself debating with colleagues when I write formal documents. The episode gave clear directions about when to use hyphens. The directions were then followed by several clear examples. I think that this free grammar help would really help many people who struggle to write in a grammatically correct manner in their daily and work lives.
Continuing in the language vein, I also listened to a "English as a Second Language" podcast produced by the Center for Educational Development. I listened to episose #364 about filing taxes. I was very impressed by the number of episodes by the Center for Educational Development. What an amazing free resource! The episode began with a dialog between two people regarding the filing of taxes. Following the dialog, the speaker explained the reasons for and the process of filing taxes. The speaker also explained the vocabulary and idiomatic expressions presented in the dialog. The simple and practical presentation of language and information was a wonderful resource for families working in the United States but less confident about the English language. After the explanatory section of the episode, the speakers presented the dialogue at a rapid but realistic rate.
After listening to the ESL episode, I listened to "Just Vocabulary: The Useful Vocabulary Show!" I chose to tune in to episode #18 about the words "abstemious" and "rancor." The episode began with a definition of "abstemious." Following the definition, the episode repeated the pronounciation several times. The speaker gave examples of settings in which usage of this word would be appropriate. He also gave synonyms and antonyms for the word and used the word in several sentences. I think that this podcast was a wonderful resource for anyone who would like to expand his or her vocabulary. My only complaint is that I found the voice that repeats the pronunciation annoying.
My last language-related podcast (please note the proper usage of the hyphens thanks to Grammar Girl) was called "One Minute Irish" by the Radio Lingua. I listened to lesson #10 entitled "Learn Some Useful Phrases in Irish." I couldn't help but listen to this due to my semester abroad. I enjoyed the lesson and found the phrases useful. However, I thought the lesson was too brief given the difficulty of the Irish language.
The final podcast that I reviewed by "The Legal Lad's Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful Life." I listened to an episode called "The Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution." Of course the episode began with the requisite disclaimer. Following this, the presenter explained the term "ex post facto" and explained how treating a witness as hostile can affect a trial by "limiting the scope" of the trial, allowing the impeachment of a witness, and allowing attorneys to "focus the testimony" of the "hostile" witness. This was interesting information that, while not useful for most of us in daily life, makes us more intelligent people.
Overall, all of the podcasts presented useful information in a user-friendly format format. What a fantastic opportunity to access information for free!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Podcasting
I had never listened to or created a podcast prior to this class. After reading several articles about podcasting and how it works, I see tremendous potential for podcasts changing education.
As an article entitled "Podcasting in Education: A New Way to Inspire Learning" on the Apple Web site suggests, podcasting could present teachers with a powerful tool for engaging the students in their learning. The article states that podcasting could be used by teachers and students alike. Students could use podcasting to present information from group presentations, while teachers could communicate content or messages to their students via podcasts.
Another article posted by the Apple site called "FAQ: For Podcast fans" presents many advantages offered by podcasting that traditional methods of communication do not offer. Accessing podcasts is free, they can be accessed in many languages, and the information can reach a wider audience than a traditional publication. One environmental advantage is that podcasts do not require the use of paper.
In his article, "Making an RSS Feed" by Danny Sullivan, the author highlights the fact that RSS feeds disseminate information quickly and broadly. Because Web services such as I-Tunes automatically scan for the newest versions of RSS feed, you are more certain of encountering the most recent information and theories.
One large challenge that I would face in trying to create podcasts with my students is that my school does not currently own the camera equipment. However, I hope that in the near future we will.
With my own fifth grade class, I could imagine assigning podcasts as the method by which students could deliver presentations. However, I believe that public speaking in front of a live audience is still a relevant and important skill. Therefore, I would create opportunities for podcasts and traditional oral presentations. Podcasts provide a fresh and engaging method of presenting ideas and listening to information that would appeal to the social networking generation.
Creating and listening to podcasts opens a world of opportunities for interacting with students from other countries. I can imagine asking my students to create podcasts about a particular topic in Science and Social Studies and asking students from various other countries to view and create similar podcasts. This would allow students to gain views into other cultures in a manner that is unfiltered by the mainstream media.
I believe that it is very important to provide students from a lower economic status with opportunities to explore the most recent technology. If students explore the technology in the school setting, they gain confidence and skills that will help them enter successful academic, creative, and business careers.
As an article entitled "Podcasting in Education: A New Way to Inspire Learning" on the Apple Web site suggests, podcasting could present teachers with a powerful tool for engaging the students in their learning. The article states that podcasting could be used by teachers and students alike. Students could use podcasting to present information from group presentations, while teachers could communicate content or messages to their students via podcasts.
Another article posted by the Apple site called "FAQ: For Podcast fans" presents many advantages offered by podcasting that traditional methods of communication do not offer. Accessing podcasts is free, they can be accessed in many languages, and the information can reach a wider audience than a traditional publication. One environmental advantage is that podcasts do not require the use of paper.
In his article, "Making an RSS Feed" by Danny Sullivan, the author highlights the fact that RSS feeds disseminate information quickly and broadly. Because Web services such as I-Tunes automatically scan for the newest versions of RSS feed, you are more certain of encountering the most recent information and theories.
One large challenge that I would face in trying to create podcasts with my students is that my school does not currently own the camera equipment. However, I hope that in the near future we will.
With my own fifth grade class, I could imagine assigning podcasts as the method by which students could deliver presentations. However, I believe that public speaking in front of a live audience is still a relevant and important skill. Therefore, I would create opportunities for podcasts and traditional oral presentations. Podcasts provide a fresh and engaging method of presenting ideas and listening to information that would appeal to the social networking generation.
Creating and listening to podcasts opens a world of opportunities for interacting with students from other countries. I can imagine asking my students to create podcasts about a particular topic in Science and Social Studies and asking students from various other countries to view and create similar podcasts. This would allow students to gain views into other cultures in a manner that is unfiltered by the mainstream media.
I believe that it is very important to provide students from a lower economic status with opportunities to explore the most recent technology. If students explore the technology in the school setting, they gain confidence and skills that will help them enter successful academic, creative, and business careers.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
A Review of Web Activities for Young Children
As I reviewed all of the links provided to the class, I realized the broad range in quality of the activities available to young children. Some of the sites were rich in activities related to content learned in school, while others had fun games that did not challenge children to learn as they played.
I first reviewed the "Teach-nology" Web site. This site contained lesson plans and resources for teachers that I might possibly use in the future to spark an idea about how to teach a particular topic in a new way. I think that the lesson plans and worksheets could also be a helpful resource to parents who would like to work with their children on review and enrichment activities during the summer months. The Web site is geared toward helping adults teach children concepts, rather than toward guiding children to find information or learn independently on the web. The few games listed on the site were very simple and did not teach meaningful content. The best of the games was a Mad Lib game, but the game did not prompt the player to vary verb tenses. Because of this, the stories that I created did not make sense.
I also explored the PBS for Kids Web site called "Between the Lions." This site had a number of activities that would be appropriate for young children. Although the concepts and skills practiced were far too young for my fifth grade students, the activities were ideal for students up to first or second grade. There were a few features about this site that I thought would really benefit young readers or younger English language learners. The first is the section in which a child can choose a story to be read aloud. As the story is read by the computer, the child can read along with the highlighted text to guide him or her. I also thought that a game called Synonym Sam's Lab was a fun way for children to identify synonyms and to compare the meanings of various words. There is also a game called "Word Play" which could be used to help English language learners understand the meaning of verbs.
The third site that I visited was called "Fun Brain." Although this site was not as rich as the PBS site above, "Fun Brain" contained some activities that I did not find on the other sites. Firstly, children could read the online version of the novel Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. This book has been extremely popular with my students. Now they are devouring the sequel. I like the idea that the online version of the text is free, making it accessible to anyone with Internet access (at home, school, or the public library). I will share that information with my students! I also liked the Math Baseball game on this site. The game allowed the player to choose the level and the types of operations which he or she would like to practice. You can even choose to complete the problems in an algebraic format. The higher level problems were challenging and would definitely sharpen my students' basic skills.
To summarize, "Between the Lions" was my favorite site for younger children, but I would not be able to use it with my current class. "Fun Brain" had some exciting features for students my age, but did not have as much content as "Between the Lions". I would rate "Teach-nology" well for its usefulness to teachers and parents but not as a site for children.
Here is a link to a resource that I like:
www.kids.gov
I first reviewed the "Teach-nology" Web site. This site contained lesson plans and resources for teachers that I might possibly use in the future to spark an idea about how to teach a particular topic in a new way. I think that the lesson plans and worksheets could also be a helpful resource to parents who would like to work with their children on review and enrichment activities during the summer months. The Web site is geared toward helping adults teach children concepts, rather than toward guiding children to find information or learn independently on the web. The few games listed on the site were very simple and did not teach meaningful content. The best of the games was a Mad Lib game, but the game did not prompt the player to vary verb tenses. Because of this, the stories that I created did not make sense.
I also explored the PBS for Kids Web site called "Between the Lions." This site had a number of activities that would be appropriate for young children. Although the concepts and skills practiced were far too young for my fifth grade students, the activities were ideal for students up to first or second grade. There were a few features about this site that I thought would really benefit young readers or younger English language learners. The first is the section in which a child can choose a story to be read aloud. As the story is read by the computer, the child can read along with the highlighted text to guide him or her. I also thought that a game called Synonym Sam's Lab was a fun way for children to identify synonyms and to compare the meanings of various words. There is also a game called "Word Play" which could be used to help English language learners understand the meaning of verbs.
The third site that I visited was called "Fun Brain." Although this site was not as rich as the PBS site above, "Fun Brain" contained some activities that I did not find on the other sites. Firstly, children could read the online version of the novel Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. This book has been extremely popular with my students. Now they are devouring the sequel. I like the idea that the online version of the text is free, making it accessible to anyone with Internet access (at home, school, or the public library). I will share that information with my students! I also liked the Math Baseball game on this site. The game allowed the player to choose the level and the types of operations which he or she would like to practice. You can even choose to complete the problems in an algebraic format. The higher level problems were challenging and would definitely sharpen my students' basic skills.
To summarize, "Between the Lions" was my favorite site for younger children, but I would not be able to use it with my current class. "Fun Brain" had some exciting features for students my age, but did not have as much content as "Between the Lions". I would rate "Teach-nology" well for its usefulness to teachers and parents but not as a site for children.
Here is a link to a resource that I like:
www.kids.gov
NETS Profiles for Students
I have admittedly never read the NETS Profiles for Students before. As I read the information, particularly the information regarding my age group, I realized that my students do meet many of these standards through the work they do in their computer class. However, I think there were some important criteria in the list that I, as their multiple-subject teacher, should not leave to the computer teacher alone.
One problem that I face is that we do not have student computers in our classrooms. Students are allowed to use the computer lab computers, but they are almost always in use by the computer classes. However, I should work harder to schedule a day each week when I can take my class to the lab. Yesterday, I also spoke to the computer teacher about the fact that I would like to collaborate with her to create projects linked to our general curriculum. She was very open to this prospect.
One of the activities listed on the NETS Profile for Students that I believe is very important is the idea that students should identify"bias in digital resources." I frequently hear comments from my students that indicate they believe that material on TV or on the Internet must be true. Although I frequently discuss bias with them, a technology project that requires them to identify such bias would help them to become savvy consumers of information.
Another important activity listed was: "Debate the effect of existing and emerging technologies on individuals, society, and the global community." I think activities that accomplish this would really benefit my students. They have had very few experiences outside of our local community because many of their families do not have the financial resources to travel. As a result, I think activities that build awareness of the world around them are key to helping them become more active citizens in the future. It is also important for them to reflect on how technological changes are altering the ways that we share information and build relationships with the people around us.
One problem that I face is that we do not have student computers in our classrooms. Students are allowed to use the computer lab computers, but they are almost always in use by the computer classes. However, I should work harder to schedule a day each week when I can take my class to the lab. Yesterday, I also spoke to the computer teacher about the fact that I would like to collaborate with her to create projects linked to our general curriculum. She was very open to this prospect.
One of the activities listed on the NETS Profile for Students that I believe is very important is the idea that students should identify"bias in digital resources." I frequently hear comments from my students that indicate they believe that material on TV or on the Internet must be true. Although I frequently discuss bias with them, a technology project that requires them to identify such bias would help them to become savvy consumers of information.
Another important activity listed was: "Debate the effect of existing and emerging technologies on individuals, society, and the global community." I think activities that accomplish this would really benefit my students. They have had very few experiences outside of our local community because many of their families do not have the financial resources to travel. As a result, I think activities that build awareness of the world around them are key to helping them become more active citizens in the future. It is also important for them to reflect on how technological changes are altering the ways that we share information and build relationships with the people around us.
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