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After evaluating three different websites (abcteach.com, http://www.dedham.k12.ma.us/webquest/summer2002/lp/plantswebquest.htm, teachers.net), I feel that I have a better understanding of what is a good website to use and what is not a good website to use. Two of the three websites that I evaluated appeared as though they contained accurate and up-to-date information (abcteach.com, teachers.net). These two sites were also easy to navigate through, especially Teachers.net. The sites appeared to be updated frequently and contained a lot of valuable information. There did not appear to be any bias, but there was some room for inaccurate information because teachers do submit some of the information on the sites. Overall I thought that the two sites, abcteach.com and teachers.net were good sites for teachers to use to locate lesson plans and get ideas for in their classrooms.

What is the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 bookmarking? The difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 bookmarking is the way in which you can save and access your favorite internet sites. With Web 1.0 you were able to save your favorite sites to your computer, which was great, as long as you were always at your computer. With Web 2.0 you can save internet sites to one place using sites such as Diigo, del.icio.us, and Ning. When using these sites, you can store all of your bookmarks in one place, you can bookmark things for yourself and friends, and you can check out what other people are bookmarking.

I met with my group Monday and again today to go over the information from the week. Our group met on Monday and discussed many things including Digital Citizenship, Creative Commons, Internet Safety and the precautions that we can take as teachers to make sure that our students remain safe. We also discussed the wiki project and what was expected of each of us. Mary was the facilitator for the meeting on Monday, and she was very well-prepared. She had created an excellent agenda for our group that helped our meeting flow very well. Baecause Mary had sent this agenda to each of us in an email before the meeting, we were all prepared and knew what to expect during the meeting. Due to time constraints on Monday, we set up an additional meeting for tonight at 8:00pm (Wednesday). I offered to be the facilitator for this meeting, and I learned how to invite my group members to the WizIQ session. I also created an agenda and made a page on our group wiki where each of the group members can access the agendas for each of the weeks. I feel that this is an excellent way to help each other to be prepared for each group meeting so that we can get the most out of our time. During our meeting tonight, we discussed who would create the Literacy Teacher Toolkit on the group wiki and how we would add the websites to the toolkit throughout the semester when we find sites that are useful. We also discussed meeting again sometime before Monday to work together on the upcoming powerpoint presentation which we are to present on Monday, March 2, 2009. I am wondering how we are to present on this date when we are to meet in our groups this particular week. I am not sure if we are actually presenting the powerpoint or if we are just submitting it on this date. This is something that I will have to look into sometime this week.

After viewing the powerpoint and the levels of technology implementation in classrooms, I was surprised. I was unaware that there were actual levels of technology use in classrooms. According to these sources, technology should be frequently used in the classroom and should be embedded in instructional strategies. The assignments that the students should be completing should be authentic, performance-based, experiential and in-depth. Many teachers in the past and still today have students create powerpoints, gather facts, and create web pages with links, but this is not a high level of use of technology in the classroom. I am currently working in a preschool where there is one computer which is used only by the teacher. This computer does not even have internet connection. Preschoolers are young, but I believe that they too would benefit from the use of technology. The students may not be able to complete the tasks that older students would be able to, but I think that the students would benefit from early uses of technology with teacher supervision. The school that I am working in would therefore be placed between a level 0 and a level 1. I was also shocked to read that 13% of New York schools are at a level 0, and 20% of New York schools remain at a level 1 when it comes to levels of technology implementation in the classroom.

After watching the short video, “Learning to Change and Changing to Learn,” I have thought about some of the many things which I can do to become more prepared to teach with technology. Teaching and learning are much different today than they were even just a few years ago. Technological advances are being made on a daily basis, and children are being exposed to technology at a much earlier age. Many children can easily access the internet and also have access to cell phones, video games, iPods, etc. According to the video, The United States Department of Commerce ranked 55 industry sectors by their levels of information technology, and education was ranked last at 55%. Technology in schools is becomming increasingly more important in this new “Digital Age.” According to one of the speakers in the video, students should no longer be memorizing facts, but they should be learning how to find information, validate it, communicate it, and collaborate with others about it. It is believed by some that schools should move away from Standardized Testing and incorporate more technology into the classroom, and I strongly agree with this. I believe that the use of technology in the classroom to assist with teaching is incredibly important. I know some ways of incorporating technology into the classroom, but in order to really utilize technology to its fullest, I need to inform myself more about what is out there to be used. I am looking forward to learning more about the different tecnnologies available to me that would enhance my teaching abilities and the learning of my students in the future. Additionally, I would really like to learn more about the use of Smart Boards in the classroom. I do not know much about them, but I have seen them used and they seem to be invaluable, and the students appear to love using them.

I have spent many hours on the computer tonight trying to get work accomplished.  A lot of my time has been allocated to figuring out the many different technolgies that I have been reading about. I have viewed many different websites, and I have now figured out how to write a blog. I am hoping that by the time I am finished for the night the appearance will be somewhat more attractive than when I first started. I am going to go work on that now. ~Lyn