Website Evaluation Source

Because of how easily the internet is accessed and how easily someone could put incorrect information up, it is important to give the children in your classroom a resource to evaluate the integrity of a website.  Kathy Schrock provides several helpful tools for different age children including the following link to a source for elementary education:

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/evalelem.html

This tool is an easy to use checklist for the children in your classroom.  In simple yes or no questions it helps the children check for validity of the sight as well as usefulness for whatever goal they are trying to achieve.  It's also written in easy-to-understand language for a child in elementary school.  This is not to mention that it's supported by Discovery Education.

Fussing with Wiki's

Thus far, I think working with a wiki is infuriating.  I'm sure it will get easier as my experience grows, but right now I am not a fan.  I don't enjoy doing things I am not good at and right now that's wiki's.  I have yet to figure out how to change the title of my wiki.  I researched it and everyone says that you have to "move the site."  BUT I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE THE SITE!

On a more professional note, I don't think that wiki's will be nearly as useful to my classroom as a blog would.  Being as I am most likely to work with preschoolers, they certainly won't be contributing to the wiki.  Thus, any technology would be mostly for parents.  I think a blog would be a great way to show parents what the children are doing in the classroom in a fun way, but I doubt that them editing a page would be useful.

My Expectations for This Class

Through taking this class, I hope to learn several tools that I can use in both my personal and professional life.  I want to be able to share information easily with both my friends and family as well as the parents of children in my future classroom.  I would love to learn some video editing skills so that we can make classroom videos of the information children have learned.  This course does not intimidate me because I usually enjoy figuring out technology for myself and that seems to be a theme.  Obviously, the materials are provided to support my needs, but Jeff has specified that sometimes it is better to navigate around certain tools without assistance to better understand the setup.  My fingers are crossed!

First Blog Ever

My name is Elizabeth Price, but I prefer to be called Lisa.  I am originally from Memphis, TN and I attended Bartlett High School.  Currently, I am a senior at The University of Tennessee majoring in Early Childhood Education. I think I decided to be a teacher over the first summer that I spent as a camp counselor.  It was then that I realized my passion for working with the younger aged children and really seeing the fruits of my labor on a daily basis.  Personally, I am a huge dog person and have a Boston Terrier.  I work as a server at Bonefish Grill, and am recently engaged to Justin Solomon as of January 2nd, 2011.