To sum it up...

When I first started this class, I have to admit that I as skeptical. I don't know why, because I liked you right off the bat, but I suppose I didn't think that the information that I would learn would be relevant. I was wrong! Not only is it relevant to my teaching career, but to my life outside of school and work as well. The other day my Mom was trying to figure out how to use Adobe Photoshop. I know that is not something we have looked at in this class, but I used some of the techniques that I learned on other programs to navigate it. I was able to solve her problem for her! I credit this class with giving me the skills to figure that type of thing out. I also really enjoyed the in class labs. It was very helpful to be able to work on assignments with you right there to answer questions. I also appreciated the level of commitment you showed us by always returning emails quickly...even on the weekend! It is obvious to me that you really care about our success. Thank you for that.
Ok, so you are making us say what we didn't like, otherwise I would not bring this up :) While I really enjoyed the Power Point that I did with Marolyn, I didn't like the other group work. I am not big on group work. I typically prefer to work on my own. I think that's just a personal preference, and I think I am in the minority in that respect. Nonetheless, it's the one thing I really didn't like.
All in all, I really liked this class and I learned a lot. Thank you for a great semester! Good luck with grad school and your new marriage : )

WebQuest

Ahh. The WebQuest : ) I have to say this was probably the most time consuming thing we have done yet this semester. At least for me it was. And I don't even feel that great about it. I think it's good, but I think I could have done better. It was more difficult than I thought it would be to keep everything coherent and organized. I think part of my problem was that I wanted to include so much information, that it was hard to decide what to include. I could have kept adding websites for the kids to look at, but I didn't really have any good follow up assignment for some of them. But, I still kind of liked it. As far as an assignment goes, I liked the freedom to do it on a topic of my choice. From a teacher's perspective, I like the level of thought it encourages in the students. I really don't know if I will be doing more of these as a teacher. I am going to be a special education resource teacher, so it's likely that I will be modifying whatever the regular ed. teacher is doing, so I just might! I am glad that I will at least have some experience to bring to the table if I am ever asked to work with one!

Now Presenting....

During the recent assignment where we had to work with a partner to present on a topic, I found myself learning more than I anticipated. First of all, I dread working in groups.I have had some really bad experiences with group members not doing their share, so I was skeptical. What I learned about working in groups, is that it can be really rewarding and fulfilling with the right partner!  I really enjoyed the sense of teamwork I got working with my partner, and it was so nice to have someone to check over my stuff and tell me when one of my ideas is not so great!  It was an awesome experience for me.

Also, I was surprised how much I learned from my actual research.  I thought I knew what I needed to know about blogs...I write one (besides this one) and I read them.  What else is there?  A whole lot apparently!! I never even realized how many ways both blogs and wikis can be used in the classroom.  What a nice option to have for things like posting materials, and getting the students involved in writing.  I'm glad I learned this, because otherwise I would have been missing out when I started teaching! 

I was disappointed when I found out that I would have to miss the other class presentations. (Really I was!) But I am grateful for the job aids.  They really helped me to get an idea of what I missed that night.  One thing that I found quite helpful was the idea of students teaching themselves through experience, which was presented in the job aid about Video Games in Education.  Before reading this, I would have said that there was no use for video games in the classroom, but the writers make some really great points!  Another idea that stuck with me was the idea that video game software can help students receive educational tools both in the classroom and at home!  I never thought of the crossover before.  Finally, as a future special needs teacher, I enjoyed reading about the Assistive Technology in Teaching.  I knew these things existed, but I didn't realize how many types of disability could be reached through Assistive Technology.

To copy or not to copy....

As a future educator, copyright and fair use are terms that I am going to need to be familiar with.  My understanding of these concepts are that any information that I did not write myself could be subject to copyright laws, meaning I cannot reproduce it, or alter it, without the permission of the author.  This includes information found in books, newspapers, magazines, and Internet sites, just to name a few.  As a teacher, I probably at some point will want to use information that I find from some of these sources to help supplement my lesson plans.  So, do I need to contact the author of each piece of work that I want to use?  Not necessaraly. There is a provision to the copyright law that is called the fair use doctorine.  This clause states that if I am reproducing the material for educational purposes then I may not need permission.  If I want to use a small part of a larger piece, temporaraly, then that is typically ok.  That is, provided that I am using it for education, or research as opposed to something where I might profit from the use of the materials.  If I were planning on using a large portion of some piece of work, for an extended period of time (such as year to year) then I would most likely need to obtain permission.  Copyright laws are serious.  As an educator, I will need to be aware of the ins and outs of the fair use doctrine, and if I am in doubt, then I will need to check before I use something.

Classy Constructivism

 Constructivism is an awesome concept with regards to teaching children.  I think that the shift from teacher centered, lecture based classes that do little more than teach kids how to memorize facts, is long overdue.  I think that it’s convenient that as this theory is becoming more widely accepted, technology is also becoming more readily available to students.  Technology allows for a vast amount of opportunities for learning to take place in a constructivist manner.  An example that I found is a lesson where students were asked to create a commemorative, interpretative, interactive, and educational museum dedicated to the Underground Railroad.  This museum would document the Underground Railroad used by slaves to escape from the South and seek freedom in the North.  The students were allowed to use a variety of sources to obtain their information, but a big resource for them was the Internet, which can provide students with websites, journal articles and old newspaper articles. This project is constructivist in nature because it promotes both group collaboration and individual creativity. The task is authentic in that the students are learning about something significant in our history that really happened.  This project took place over a four-week time span.  First the teacher introduced the students to the idea of a museum, and gave some history about the Underground Railroad.  Then the students and teacher brainstormed ideas together of what types of exhibits and information would be included.  This aspect of the lesson involved the kids working together to come up with a plan.  Next, the kids were asked to come up with their own ideas of what they wanted to study and research.  After having a one-on-one conference with the teacher to review what each individual student would research, the students were let loose to gather information.  Finally, the class collaborated to combine information and complete the museum.  This was done at a 6^th grade level.  I think that in my case, some special education kids would have been able to participate in this project, with some additional help and guidance. 

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Website Evaluation

While I was doing my website evaluations, I used the opportunity to search some topics that I am currently looking for information on.  For my first search, I typed in the words "special education".  The page that I clicked on was www.ed.gov.  This site was a great site for me to evaluate in that it fit almost all of the criteria of a good site.  It looks nice, it has a .gov domain, and it has a lot of great information.  I do, however, know that this type of result will not always occur.  I think that there are more good sites than bad, but how you search makes a big difference in what results you come up with.  For instance, if you spell a word wrong in your search, I think you are more likely to come up with bad sites.  When I was doing my second search, I searched financial resources for edaucators.  I spelled educators wrong on purpose to see what my results were.  The link I clicked on was www.mymoneyblog.com.  While there is nothing wrong with this blog, per se, it is not an example of a "good" site to find valid information.  It is written by someone who is sharing personal opinion.
I think that the website evaluation form helped me to see that the second site I looked at was not a good source of information.  I have spent a lot of time in the past searching the web for good information to help me care for my son, who has a rare seizure disorder.  The website evaluation gave me some good information that I can use for that purpose!  For instance, I never realized that the design of the site is an indicator as to how good the website is.  From now on, if I run across a site that is hard to use, I am going to use some of the other criteria that we learned about to further investigate.
I think it is essential to evaluate websites.  When I am teaching, I certainly do not want to teach my students the wrong information.  Also, for the personal reasons I mentioned above, accurate information is critical!
The web is a very useful tool, if it is used correctly!