Post #6

For this assignment, I went to my high school website (James Caldwell High School) and looked up the webpages of some teachers. Overall, many teachers have a small amount of information about their course on their website, along with homework assignments, and maybe a picture. I compared two different teacher webpages: a Spanish teacher who taught multiple grades, and a health teacher. The webpage for the Spanish teacher is organized and displays the courses she teaches, her email, and pictures. Everything is organized. The webpage for the health teacher contained a picture, her email and phone number, and links to important forms for students. Overall, the main page for the high school website is organized and can be viewed by both parents and students.

I plan on using technology for simple tasks, such as communicating with coworkers, by using email and social networks such as Twitter. I plan on teaching students how to be responsible digital citizens by reminding them to cite their work and to follow copyright laws. I definitely plan on using tools that will help me plan lessons, such as Evernote, to help me create lesson plans and to save them for future students. I also plan on using Google Calendar (or some other calendar tool) to plan out the semester. I’m also considering using Wix to make my own website, since I found that it was the easiest web design too. Using Wix, I can create a blog as well, so all homework assignments, schedules, and tasks can all be found in one place.

From the Web Resource Evaluation assignment, I learned how to better determine if a website was suitable to use for research purposes and for the classroom. Through constructing my own website, I learned what to include and how to make my own evaluation. For me, this assignment was difficult because I wasn’t sure what to specifically include on my website and evaluation, but once I looked at other examples, I was able to create my own. I can use this assignment for my future career by evaluating websites that I think may be of good use for my students and by having students evaluate websites they want to use for research purposes. Overall, this assignment was useful for teaching me other ways in which to evaluate a website.

The Wiki

The Web Evaluation Form

Post #5

Web 2.0 technologies are crucial to teacher development. Some of the most important ones include office software (such as Open Office), blogs, social networks, and online storage (such as DropBox). These technologies enable teachers to save their work and to connect with staff and students more efficiently. Web 2.0 technologies are handy, but technologies that that need to be paid for probably aren’t the best choice unless they are mandatory for instruction. Almost any tool can be found Web 2.0 technology online for free. In order to use these tools, the best computer to use is probably a computer with Microsoft, since Microsoft is the most compatible operating system. A network that enables shared features is probably the best option so all students can print and do work in one classroom. The equipment necessary includes a printer (so students can print out assignments), an electronic whiteboard (so lessons and powerpoints can be projected on the screen), speakers (to listen to audio from the computer), and tablets for students.

A Web 2.0 tool that I want to use is Survey Monkey. Survey Monkey is an online polling site that can be used for free to create polls and surveys. There are also options to pay a certain amount per month if you want to buy added features. Using the free version of Survey Monkey allows you to ask a maximum of 10 questions and up to 100 responses per question. This tool is helpful for educators who want to ask students a question or ask for their opinion on a topic or lesson without having to waste class time.

I like this too because this too is easy to use. The website is functional and up-to-date. It will be easy for students to use as well. With this tool, I can ask students the night before a new lesson to ask for their opinion on said lesson. I can ask them, for example, how much they know about said lesson, so I will know how much time to spend on the lesson with them. Survey Monkey is a convenient tool that teachers should definitely know about.

Here is the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/

Thanks to the Concept Mapping assignment, I now know how to use Kidspiration to make a map. I have had no prior experience with Kidspiration, and now I know the shortcuts and the things to keep in mind when making a map. I think I did well on my first concept map. I tried to keep only one thought/fact in one bubble each, but to me, the map seems to have a lot going on. I color coded each section to make them map more organized. Next time, I think I have to employ the Notes feature on Kidspiration so the concept map will be less crowded. Now, I know how to make a concept map and I know how to integrate it into Word and make an outline for my students.

Post #4

For high school students, one of the standards for English Language Arts proficiency according to CPalms is to “Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing and speaking.” (LAFS.1112.L.1.1). One of the online tools I would use with my students is Grammarly. Grammarly edits papers and essays and points out errors in a student’s paper. Grammarly is a free reference software that can be found online. When using it with my students, I would have them use it to check their papers for grammatical and spelling errors, and then have them study why their grammatical errors were corrected so that they can see their mistakes instead of relying on Grammarly to do all of the work for them. Here is the link to Grammarly: https://www.grammarly.com/

I believe that the Internet is useful for student research for many reasons. Through the Internet, students can access a variety of information. They can find information much more quickly and will have access to books, magazines, and journals through databases. The Internet may not be helpful when a student finds sources that may not be reliable or up-to-date, but with databases on the Internet, a researcher can find new and accurate information quickly. Many books today contain outdated information, and some students do not have the money to spend on books that they are only using a few times for research, so using the internet is a cheap and quicker alternative.

I have searched for and evaluated Internet resources by critiquing the format of a website, its intended audience, and the resource’s last update. If the format of a website was confusing and/or had nonfunctioning links, I did not use the resource. If the resource’s intended audience was for students younger than me, I did not use it either. The resource’s date was important for me to find because my projects and papers I have done in the past required that a resource was published or written within the past five years. So, if a resource was older than five years, I did not use it. These methods are very similar to the podcast, as the podcast emphasized looking at links thoroughly and making sure that the resource was appropriate for the students.

From the Web Hunt assignment, I learned how to shorten and narrow my searches. I learned that I could find trivia questions or facts by using an asterisk. I also never knew that I could exclude items in a search by using the dash symbol. Overall, the web hunt assignment was very helpful. I can now find search results faster and easier by especially using the asterisk and dash symbols when needed.

Here are some of my own web hunt questions:

1)      Find a website that has information regarding the Spanish-American War.

2)      Find a picture of John Dewey, an American who reformed education during the 19^th and 20^th century.

3)      Find a map that labels all of the oceans on Earth.

Post #3

For this critique, I found an infographic regarding pollution. The infographic works well because all of the words are relatively the same color, font, and size. The statistics used in the infographic are a larger font to emphasize their importance, which works as it catches the reader’s attention. The title of the page U.S. Environmental Impacts is colored green and blue and the font is slightly larger than the rest of the text, but since the title is one of the most important parts in an infographic, this style works. However, I would prefer that the title was in the top center of the page rather than in the top left corner. There are no color clashes, and the images work well with the design. However, all of the images and statistics seem to be slightly crammed together. The author probably could have aligned his images and texts better, but overall, the infographic is looks well done.

With my students, I would like to incorporate the use of blogs as another way for students to do homework. I would also like students to use wikis in order for them to find information quickly and easily, but they should be familiar with databases when writing research papers. Since I plan to teach high school students, mainly 11^th and 12^th graders, when I talk to them about digital citizenship, I will need to emphasize avoiding plagiarism and to refrain from making bullying others over the Internet. I also want to teach them how to use the Internet and other types of software, such as Word or Excel, professionally so that they will be prepared to use technology in college. They will also need to know how to use these tools for their careers as well.

Thanks to this assignment, one of the skills I learned from this assignment was how to use the Format Painter tool. I was already familiar with most of the tools in Word, but I wasn’t aware of the Format Painter tool. In my newsletter, I like the blue color scheme that I used. I also like the owl that I put in as a graphic. Overall, everything in my newsletter is organized. I probably could have kept out the Hamlet cover image, since it seems to make the right and the left sides of the newsletter seem unbalanced in terms of content. In the future, I can improve my newsletter by adding more information and by adding more variety, such as using different shapes and adding more color. Through this assignment, I know how to design flyers and posters that I can hang in my classroom. Since I am becoming a teacher, making a newsletter was important for me to learn, and now I know what to add to my newsletter before sending it to my students’ parents.