Here Is my slideshow of Boston Terriers displaying the different ways to upload images.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Glogster
I thought it was really interesting to learn about Glogster and I see it as a very useful website for the teaching career. For children who are knowledgeable about computers, this could be used as a tool at the beginning of the semester for the children disclosing information about themselves. However, it would also be very useful for creating projects with the children so they could display and publish information they have learning through projects. It is fairly easy to use and still features the complexity to create very in-depth studies.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
By the way...
The Rock star project we had to do where we essentially completed, yet another, webquest through the eyes of a student... was definitely busy work and not essential nor did it further my understanding in anyway.
Wordle
So, in class on February 15th, we learned about a tool called wordle. Oh my, I am a fan. Not only is the interface really simply and easy to use, but I just love what it does. By putting in a body of text, it will create what is essentially word art that emphasizes the words that are most used by making them the largest. I think this would be a really fun thing to use in the classroom so children can see if they over use any words in their papers or possibly for stories to help find some of the central ideas by seeing what words are used most. Basically, I am a fan and will definitely add this tool to my teaching repertoire.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Evaluating a Website
The website I choice to evaluate was: Wikipedia.org
I choice to evaluate this website because in high school it was always frustrating and confusing to me as to why the librarians always said Wikipedia was not a reliable source. Yet, we had always learned that websites with ".org" were reliable ones to use. Why is Wikipedia the exception when it's so useful?
After reviewing, I see the potential for harm of the website. Although information is usually accurate and useful, it can never be 100% reliable because anyone and everyone can edit, add, or change information. For example, the article on "racism" had the following flags: "The verifiability of all or part of this article is disputed" and "The neutrality of this article is disputed." Thus, especially under such heated topics that people's opinions often differ, the website could be subject to bias and inaccurate information.
It was really helpful to me to be able to see the things that are necessary to look for in checking the validity such as author being identified, date of last edit to make information current, all pictures having alternative text to assist special learners, and how familiar you are with the organization that publishes this site. I think it's very useful to think critically about the websites both you use and ones the children might be using.
I choice to evaluate this website because in high school it was always frustrating and confusing to me as to why the librarians always said Wikipedia was not a reliable source. Yet, we had always learned that websites with ".org" were reliable ones to use. Why is Wikipedia the exception when it's so useful?
After reviewing, I see the potential for harm of the website. Although information is usually accurate and useful, it can never be 100% reliable because anyone and everyone can edit, add, or change information. For example, the article on "racism" had the following flags: "The verifiability of all or part of this article is disputed" and "The neutrality of this article is disputed." Thus, especially under such heated topics that people's opinions often differ, the website could be subject to bias and inaccurate information.
It was really helpful to me to be able to see the things that are necessary to look for in checking the validity such as author being identified, date of last edit to make information current, all pictures having alternative text to assist special learners, and how familiar you are with the organization that publishes this site. I think it's very useful to think critically about the websites both you use and ones the children might be using.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
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.
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.
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