Weekly Blog 12

I enjoyed being able to view the Web sites of my peers. In this assignment we made comments on other Web sites. It was interesting to see the topics that my peers picked and how they presented their topic. We also gave helpful hints on how others could improve their Web site. This project has been a great learning experience. I have come away with information that I can use when I become a media specialist and in my classroom.

Weekly Blog 11

For this assignment, I had to create three subtopic sections as Web pages in my Web Site Project. I used the links with descriptions that I had previously researched. I also had to submit a portfolio caption that told how I used the domain of design while creating my Web Page. I described how my project demonstrated my new knowledge in the subfields of message design, instructional strategies and learner characteristics.

Weekly Blog 10

In this lesson, I had to read the scenarios at The Copyright Quiz and decide if the behavior described was permissible or not. I printed the problem and answers out and read through them. This information gave me a better understanding of how confusing copyright laws can be. The clecklist for fair use seemed useful, but left me with some questions. How much is considered a "small quantity"? I think the safe way is just to ask permission and site your information.

I also had to create four scenarios similar to those in The Copyright Quiz. I found this hard to do, but tried to closely follow the examples that were given.

Weekly Blog 9

In this lesson I had to add an activity to my project Web site. The activity had to be on the topic and engage the learner in information problem-solving. I choose the WebQuest model to complete this task.

In doing the lesson, I really struggled with the navigation and moving items within my site map. I finally figured out how to move my pages around and put them in the right order. You open the page you want moved, click on move at the task bar, and click on the page that you want it moved under. This sounds simple now, but took many hours and extra help to figure out!

My activity was fairly simple due to the fact that it is geared to second graders. The last problem in my activity challenges the student to become the teacher and make up their own word problem. They are suppose to share it with a friend to solve and turn it into the teacher.

Weekly Blog 8

In this lesson I viewed a PowerPoint presentation and article about The Big6 Skills. I reviewed two activities and discussed if the students in the identified grade level were capable of doing the activity and if it was a worthwhile learning experience. I focused on the Super3. This is a version of the Big6 for younger students. I believe that the Super3 is better suited for the second graders that my Web page is geared to. The Super3 are Plan, Do, and Review. I especially liked the Super3 Dinos activity and plan to use it in my classroom. This activity could be used to teach students how to problem solve in math. In a problem involving coins, a student could plan by deciding what needs to be done and deciding what answers would make sense. The student could do by omitting unnecessary information and evaluating the information to solve the problem. Finally, the student can review by making sure the answer is a plausible answer.

Weekly Blog 7

In this lesson I learned how to design a homepage using Google Page Creator. I began working on my homepage in the Page Editor. I made up my title and changed my layout to be easily understood and child friendly. I added an introductory page that discussed how students can struggle with the concept of coins and bills due to the fact that most parents use credit cards, debit cards, or checks. I enjoyed adding my biography page. I put information about me and my family. I also added a picture of the four of us on vacation this summer. I added a working link to my e-mail and a last updated date.

Weekly Blog 6

To begin this assignment, my group member and I reviewed the Web Page Evaluation Checklist. We went to "stem cells" abortion and evaluated the site with the checklist. Together we discussed what each question meant and how to evaluate our own Web sites. Next, I picked two sites from my bookmarks that I wanted to evaluate. I choose "Facts About Money" and "Let's Go Shopping". "Facts About Money" is a site from Pearson Education. I went to About.com and the information link from the page to find the awards that the site had won. This site had several advertisements on it. "Let's Go Shopping" had a .gov domain and was published by the U.S. Mint. This site was designed to teach students about coins. I believe that both of these sites are useful for my Web page. In this assignment, I learned how to evaluate the Web pages I choose by looking at the URL, scanning the page, checking out the sources, and looking at what others say about the page. I had never thought about going to blogsearch or a directory to see what others said about the site. I found this very helpful.

Weekly Blog 5

In this assignment, I had to convert my Google bookmarks list into a Web page. I did not see a convert file dialog box when I tried to open the Web page. I think this somehow messed me up in this process. I saved my page as an HTML document, but while I was on Live Classroom Ctrl + click kept coming up when I tried to go into a site. I was able to go into my sites, so I did get my page presented. I'm still not sure what the problem was. I e-mailed Dr. Leader for suggestions.

I learned some valuable information on Live Classroom. Corey, Seth, Ali, Tonya, Mandi, and Pamela were in my group and presented their found sites. I really enjoyed Seth's resources on how to research different topics. This was geared to 5th graders, but could be used as a resource for upper elementary, middle, and high school students. I also enjoyed Pamela's ideas on how to find things in the media center. Mandi's page was also very useful in identifying parts of speech. I copied several of her sites down and plan to see if they can be adapted to fit second graders.

Weekly Blog 4

I explored Gateway to Educational Materials for the first time. I had not seen this site before and was excited to find such a great resource. I found two lesson plans that other teachers had written about money. Both had several different ideas to incorporate into a money unit. They also provided all of the materials that a teacher would need to implement this lesson right away. I then used GALILEO to find two journal articles relating to my topic. The first article was "Learning About Money: Effects of a Cognitively Appropriate Curriculum on Second-Grade Students and Teachers". The second article was "Everyday Problem Solving: Dollar Wise, Penny Foolish". Both articles encouraged the use of real world situations and manipulatives to help students understand the concept of money. Finally, I cited the Web sites that I had found.

Weekly Blog 3

This week I learned about other search tools like subject directories, invisible web, GALILEO, and ERIC Database. I first used the subject directory in Librarians' Internet Index and About.com. I found a few items that related to my topic. I then investigated the Invisible Web. Here I found information and lesson plans that teachers themselves had submitted to the Internet. I bookmarked "The Lunch Money Jingle" from the I Love that Teaching Idea site. I then went to the ERIC database and tried to conduct a search. I had a hard time with this search. The site kept asking me to enable my cookies. I checked my cookies on my computer and it was enabled. When I was finally able to get into the ERIC database, I did not find any information pertaining to my topic. I then used Ask.com and Yahoo! Search. I found the Georgia Department of Education's Place Value, Money and Estimation Unit. This looked like a very helpful unit. I bookmarked it under my teacher's resources.

Weekly Blog 2

In lesson two, I learned how to search the internet the smart way. I searched Google using keywords like "counting back currency", "counting back money" +second grade, and "counting money" +second grade. This search lead me to several Web sites that I bookmarked using Google bookmarks. I had never used bookmarks before, but found it a useful tool that I'll definately use in the future. I had some difficulty figuring out how to put in the notes, but I got it to work after I explored the things bookmarks could do. I also talked to Mandi, my group partner, via Live Classroom. Last semester, I could never get it working quite right. This time I downloaded it to my work computer and did not have any problems.

Weekly Blog 1

In lesson one I discovered the meanings of many instructional technology terms. For instance, the Internet is a network of many computer networks and the World Wide Web is the entire collection of Web pages located on servers. I have often used these words simultaneously, but now know the difference between the two. I also found the information about URLs very useful. I learned what URL stands for (Uniform Resource Locator) and the different parts of the URLs. The URL parts include the protocol, server address, directory, subdirectory, and filename. I especially enjoyed the Great Web Sites for Kids link on the lesson one homepage. I was able to come up with an idea for my Web Site project as well as locate some wonderful Web Sites to use in my classroom.
We were also instructed to select a classmate to form a work and support group with. After looking over the biographies, I decided to ask Mandi to be my partner. She teaches sixth grade and would like to be a media specialist. We discussed our project ideas and exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses.