Internet Critique

If only the class on critiquing the Internet had been a few weeks earlier.  In Incl 502 we had to do an internet critique.  The assignment was to find three sites and judge them on their timliness, accuracy, and bias.  I had no clue as to how to really do this.  I did my best and recieved a decent grade.  I would have loved to have known what we learned in class on the 14th.  The most interesting piece was the way we could check the history of the web-site.  I was blown away to learn that Nazareth developed it’s first web-site in 1996-97.  The year I graduated from Nazareth.  Now it seems everything we do at school revolves around the internet.  The web-site that my partner and I had to investigate was pretty obviously a fake out.  However there are most likely web-sites that would be much tougher to bust.  If a child was doing research the chances of them being good critics is slim to none.  Especially in this immediate gratification world we live in.  Children are not going to take time to check their sources as long as the work is done.  This class showed me that as a future teacher I will have to really monitor the web activity of the children in my class and possibly give them a similiar assignment to teach them to be more critical 

18 Months

I decided to introduce the computer to my son this weekend.  He has watched me hen pecking for weeks now on this keyboard with an inquisitive look on his face.  I downloaded the 30 day trial of Kidsperation and had some fun with him.  He was choosing animals and I would make them appear on the screen.  Then we dressed the people on the camping trip.  He was loving it.  I then showed him some Elmo on PBSkids.  His short attention span finally won out and on to chase the dog.  After he ran out of the room I started thinking about the amazing world he entered, 18 months ago, compared to when I was a child.  However with all of this new technology does he have an advantage or disadvantage?  The obvious disadvantage to children these days is their lack of activity.  Chilhood obesity is a result of technology making kids believe that games are played on their couches not in their backyards.  I also believe it is further hurting the family.  I was out to dinner the other night and saw a father sit down with his two sons each one playing a different video game.  No interaction at all.  Technology can be good but we need to remember the simple things in life as well.  This goes for the classroom too.  We can teach with the best and newest technology but we need to balance that with good classical teaching.  Just because we put together the flashiest power point to teach doesn’t mean the students are learning better.  They are learning differently.  This is a debate for the ages and I am only one opinion.  Now, I am going to take my son outside to play with real snow

Third class Excell-ent

Well another week and another program that is more useful than I ever thought.  The Excel program has historically been for use by accountants and the business community.  The ways that it can be utilized in the classroom were until now a mystery.  From seating charts to calendars to graphs the uses are widespread.  I am really enjoying learning these new uses and especially like the hands on work of class.  As I visit the schools that I am currently placed at I will be paying special attention to the work being done on the computers.  Plus I will look at the student work hanging on the walls to see what program if any they utilized.  The differences in the schools and the assignments or resources available will also be interesting.  I am currently at a city school and a suburban school.  Already the difference in funding is evident.  However the computers all have word and excel so it is up to the teachers to use what they have to their maximum advantage.  I wonder if the teachers I am observing even know what they have available at their fingertips.  Word and Excel who would have ever thought I would be excited about these programs?

Microsoft Word-More than a paper maker

Well who would have known?  Microsoft Word is more than a document processing program.  I worked for three years as a Program Manager where one of my duties was to make monthly calenders and follow up announcement fliers.  With the knowledge learned from Thursdays class this would have been a whole lot easier, and more creative.  After class I started to reflect on the dittos passed out by teachers back when I was in school and the headaches they must have had trying to process these sheets.  This knowledge will not only make our job easier, but will make our handouts that much more appealing to the eye for our students.