Technology is only going to grow more and more as my teaching career takes off so I want to and I need to figure out some ways to keep on top of the ballooning amount of information out there. After thinking about this challenge a bit, I’ve decided to definately do the following things.
First, I will join ISTE (The International Society for Technology in Education) because this organization seems to have a lot of clout, and I’d like to stay on top of their teachings. I’m also interested in the on-line journals, Journal of Interactive Online Learning and the International Jounal of Educational Technology.
Second, I’d like to try to get trained in at least one new technological thing each year preferably by attending a conference put on by my district or possibly an organization like ISTE. I'’d especially like to take a training in using the interactive boards and/or the instant answer remotes. I also think a good Webquest conference would be fascinating. There’s really so much out there to learn.
Third, I will make an effort to network with other teachers. There are usually a few teachers in every building who are very technologically proficient and on my way to becoming one, I will pick these techies brains as much as possible.
These are my goals for remaining in the technological know. I hope it works! It’s certainly very important.

3rd on the list when a google search is done for Martin Luther King Jr., is a website with the URL www.martinlutherking.org. Unfortunately, this website is really crappy and something that students should absolutely not be exposed to. First of all, evaluating the website for reliability reveals the following findings. No author of the website could be found. Neither could I find a publisher or the last time the website was updated. I did discover that the discussion board on this website was hosted by stormfront.org, which’s slogan is “white pride, world wide.” Likewise, the content is not public service organized unless you consider spreading hate, racism, and division a public service. These are not content standards that I’m going to use in a my classroom, that’s for sure. Furthermore, this site uses explicatives and invokes brutal images with words. The design is not awful. It’s easy to navigate, but some of the links do not work. I see this site as having no relevance in my classroom because of the vulgarity of some of the content and the utter ridiculousness of other aspects of it. However, with websites out there like this, which come up 3rd on google searches, students do need to be able to discrimante between reliable and unreliable sources. I would use a less inflammatory site to teach this though by teaching students tools of discrimination such as looking for author authority, affiliations with reliable organizations, looking at the purpose of the content, and the design of the website.
I’m really pretty horrified that this awful site came up 3rd on the google search, but I’m guessing it happened because all three of the search words are in its title and URL. Additionally, the description reads, “includes historical trivia, articles, and pictures. A valuable source for teachers and students alike.” This is a very deceitful description, and I don’t think most unreliable sources come up quite as high on the google search list, but regardless, this assignment has brought home the importance of teaching students to be critical thinkers, especially on the internet.

I definately think that the learning theory of constructivism has a place in my future high school history classroom. Just so everyone is on the same page, constructivism in a learning theory which theorizes that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world through personal experience and the subsequent reflection on those experiences. This differs from a more traditional approach to learning where the teacher bequeaths information on to the students. Constructivism calls for more self-directed learning, experimentation, group work, problem solving, and the evaluation of learning through projects instead of tests.
I see this as a must in running my classroom because we live in a world overflowing with information. Constructivism teaches students to people to sift through that information independantly and not to always rely on some authority figure to interpret it for them. This is a vital skill for today’s world. The call for self directed learning and experimentation as part of the constructivist theory is equally important because when students have to think for themselves and direct themselves, they become more emotionally connected to the material and therefore, the nueral pathways that relate to the learning will be strenghthened and the information will be more likely transferred to long term memory. Working in groups is very important as well because in the real world, we must be able to interact with other human beings. Often in high school, it would be several months into the year before I even began to know all of the names of the kids in my classes because there were no opportunities for interaction. I also like the deemphasis on testing which constructivism calls for. Most test just evaluate students verbal and mathematical reasoning, and as Gardner and others have demonstrated, people have strenths in various areas and just because their not verbal/mathematical, does not mean that they aren’t smart. The way that are schools are set up today allow many students to feel like they are failures which translates into a lessened work ethic, a poor self-perception, and can lead to risky, self-depricating behavior.
Adopting constructivism in the classroom, though, is going to be a lot of work. It’s not all that challenging to write out a lecture outline and then talk at your students all hour, or have your students outline the chapters of their textbook. Teaching in a constructivist manner, I will have to develop my ability to ask really, good questions that spark thought, question, and discussion in my classroom. I will also have to learn to facilitate group-work that involves all students, doesn’t make one student do all the work, and is useful. I’ll have to think up creative ways for students to come to new conclusions about information. I’ll have to develop projects, and I’ll have to think up ways to evaluate students outside of the typical scan-tron world.
Teaching in a constructivist manner also might spark some dissaproval from other teachers, parents, or local politicians. Some people think that the learning theory of constructivism allows students too much freedom of thought, and by allowing students to come to conclusions on their own, you run the risk that the students will come to the wrong conclusions. As a future history teacher, my students might come to the conclusion that America didn’t need to drop the atomic bomb which could instigate “unpatriotic” thoughts.
I think I’m willing to take the risk, though. I recognize many constructivist methods in the teaching style of my Renaissance and Reformation Europe class that I am in right now, and it is my favorite class of the semester. I believe that children are born with a natural love for learning that we tend to greatly diminish by force feeding students information. I believe that constructivism is what learning should be: free, independant, and challenging.

Before entering Ed 205, I had not given much thought to on-line learning. If you’d have asked me about it, I might have sounded a little skeptical about the possiblity for quality education without face-to-face interaction. However, having experienced it for eight or so weeks, my attitude has dramatically changed.
Not only am I signed up for “Computers in Ed” this semester, but I’m also in “Intro to Computer Science” which meets for three hours a week “face to face.” I’ve learned so much more from my on-line experience than I have sitting through three hours in the classroom because I can attack the work at my own pace, and I can study what I don’t already know. The on-line experience really allows me to sculpt the curriculum to meet my needs.
I’d certainly take another on-line class, although I’m sure that some can be set up poorly. If I were setting up an on-line class, I would first, make sure to have a mandatory discussion portion which follows the material I’ve asked my students to cover. I might also add a 10 or so question quiz each week just to make sure my students have covered the reading and to let my students know what I thought was important in the readings they were supposed to do.
I wish that I could have taken my Intro to CS class on-line because I definately think it could be an on-line class. I think that certain geography, economics, English, and some history classes could be on-line although ideally, they would meet face to facel occaisonally because some things just can’t be done without body language. Good science classes might be a little tricky because lab is integral although I’m sure there are on-line experiments that are quality. Art classes might be alright on-line. Certainly graphic design could be made into an on-line class. I never thought PE could be on-line, but looking at the example of Minneapolis Public Schools, I see that it can be. From the syllabus, it looks that students would learn much more in the on-line PE class that I did in my year long Freshman PE class.
To conclude, I’m very happy with my on-line learning experience so far, and I’m looking forward to integrating some on-line components into my own classroom.

Here are five computer applications that I believe are important for children to learn in school in order to be ready for the real world.

First, and foremost, every school child should gain a firm understanding and ability to use word processing. I believe as soon as students can read, they can begin learning to word process so possibly in second grade. Word allows students to more effectively communicate and I don’t think that there is a more important skill in this world.

Second, I believe students should learn to use spreadsheets. I did not use excel in school and really wish I would have learned to use it earlier because there are so many cool things that you can use it for. I believe that students could begin to organize data and use some excel applications as early as second or third grade.

Third, I think children should learn to create web pages because the internet is the best place to display information. I think web page design could begin in fourth or fifth grade.

Fourth, I think kids should learn to use presentation software becasue it is very helpful to have an organized, visual presentation. It’s professional and people like them. Powerpoint presentation also could begin to be learned in fourth or fifth grade.

Fifth, I don’t know much about multi-media authoring software, but it sounds like students should learn it. The different ways of presenting information through this software sound like it would really give them an edge in life. I wish I had learned to use it in school. Fourth or fifth grade would be a good time to introduce it, I believe.

How should teachers deal with tragedy like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina in their classrooms? Should you talk to your students about these issues? Where do you locate resources? How do people learn from a tragedy such as this one? Do you turn this into a teachable moment? Or do you ignore the issue? What precautions should you take to ensure that the information you provide is age appropriate or unbiased?

I believe that teachers must first and foremost remain calm in the face of tragedy. Modeling resiliance and optimism for the future is imperative in order to show students that life will be okay again. Certainly, we must not minimize the tragedy or pretend it didn’t happen, but we must show faith in the ability of the universe to recover. People all face challenges and the difference between a person who succeeds in the world and one that doesn’t accomplish what they could have is the way that they react to difficult situations.
Second, I believe that teachers must allow ample time for discussing the tragedy in class despite whatever curriculum was supposed to be covered. Many people must verbalize what they are thinking and feeling in order to process that information. Discussing it in class will also allow the teacher to dispell any misconceptions that have sprung up because as a teachers, we will have reliable information by checking several different sources such as major national and international newspapers or the websites of nonprofits working in the afflicted area. During tragedies, websites like the National Psychologists Organization as linked on the Ed 205 website as well as major educational sites would also be good places to look for leading discussions in the face of tragedy.
Third, as teachers, I believe we must provide an opportunity for the students to help organize some sort of relief effort for the afflicted people. This will not only give the students a great lesson in helping their fellow human beings in need, but many of us need to do something in order to dispell the guilt we feel at being fine while others are struggling so hard.
A tragedy can definately be a teachable moment as we learn incredibly important life lessons about human resiliance and the importance of helping other human beings and coming together as a group in support of other human beings. In times like these, we can also teach our students about the national and international organizations like the Red Cross and International Aid that exist in order to help in tragic situations. We can also discuss different nations governmental policies in dealing with tragedy.
Tragedies are terrible, awful times, but as teachers, we will face them along with our students and it is our duty to help them learn to deal with that part of our existance.