Week 8 - Thinkfinity!!!

After viewing the Verizon Thinkfinity site the first thing that comes to my mind and ranks exemplary is the organization of the site. Every piece of the site has its own section and defining characteristics. The site in my opinion is very easy to navigate and everything is clearly connected. The information that is presented on the site seems to be accurate and everything is current. The information is great for educators and parents and seems to be very useful. If help is needed they even included contact information for the site.

This is a great site and I believe it shows the efforts on Verizon’s part to create a division for education. Verizon has created a portal that does a great job at presenting information to everyone that comes in contact with this site. Another thing that I like about this site is the endorsements by different educational organizations. This shows the willingness and commitment to education Verizon has. This site was Great, thanks for sharing it!!!

Week 7 - Diversity in everything we do

The discussion this week is one that I have not really done a lot of work with. Coming from an urban area, there are not many times that I have to look at material to make sure it is culturally diverse. The culture at my school is greatly one sided and so there is a lot of majority rules that goes on.

I do however see the importance of obtaining sites with multicultural emphasis to insure that all students are getting the maximum benefit from the material. I appreciated the fact that Gorski gave examples of the criterion he uses to gauge websites and other material. I can begin to use those criteria in order to establish materials and websites that are culturally diverse. This is my first semester teaching children and there is a lot I have to learn about finding appropriate material. The article really helped to give me a foundation that I can build upon. In order to become the most effective teacher possible I have to understand how diverse material will help my students to grow and thrive.

Week 6-Websites and the Whole Lot

There are a lot of different aspects that need to be considered when using web site resources in a classroom setting. First I have to consider the audience for which the information is needed. If I am teaching lower grades I have to find totally different material than that of higher grades. This semester I will be focused on 6th, 7th, and 8th grade so I will not have to change many websites or concepts. In my opinion a website has to be reliable, concise, easy to navigate, informative and minor-friendly. I try to check all of the hyperlinks to make sure they do not lead to something inappropriate.

I usually want to make sure a website can improve on the learning experience of a class. For instance, when I teach about proper researching skill and resume writing, I use websites that give good examples and are easy to follow. I usually try to ask myself the following questions when reviewing a website:
When coming to this website, was it easy to navigate?
Does this website contain information that I need to know?
Does this website provide additional resource?
Does the website have a good search feature?
Is this information coming from a legitimate source?
All of these questions usually help and if more than one of them is an answer of "no" I do not use the website.