Chapter 12

I find it irritating that social studies classes are often viewed to be not as important as other classes, and therefor students are not tested on it.  I think that having a firm grasp on world culture and world relations is important.  I also think that the growing concern for inaccurate sites about history should be dually noted in any classroom and that the student should be notified up front of these inappropriate sites. Students need to be able to analyze images and text in order to tell fact from fiction.  I was interested in the information about geocaching.  This hands on approach to exploration is a great way for students to learn about the world.

I really like the idea of using virtual trips to take students to places they might not normally be able to go to. This will give them a better understanding of the places and the people they are learning about. Clearly Internet research is also a helpful tool in a social studies classroom because students and teachers can quickly get information about current events and new and continuing research.

I would be interested to learn why educators don't value social studies as much as they value math and english.

Chapter 11

I found it very surprising that elementary education candidates have lower math and verbal scores then other college graduates who took the Praxis 2 because of a lack of preparation in math ans science.  I feel that this is something that should be addressed quickly.  I was interested to hear about the Internet sites that provide daily math activities to help develop and incorporate math communication skills for students.  I think that Problems of the Week found at the Math Forum @ Drexel could be an effective tool.  There are so many good resources in educational technology, especially for science teachers.  I find it suprising that more teachers don't take the time to learn about the programs and how to use them in their classrooms.

I think that using a virtual manipulative in a math classroom could be very effective. By using these manipulative's the teacher can put students in "real life" situations where they may need to use the information that they are learning in class.  I also like the idea of using interactive/dynamic geometry software.  Especially at a young age, these programs can help students explore a new concept by relating them to things they are already familiar with.

I would like hear more about anthentic science experiences and how to teac them.

Chapter 10

I like the idea they gave about Trackstar.com for web based learning. I think that it is important for students to understand the culture of the language they're learning and think that this could be an effective way of helping students with this task.I also found that the information for International Children's Digital Library, could be helpful in an ESL classroom.  I think that storytelling is a great way of teaching and learning. It give the student something to relate to. The book gave a website sponsored by the Telus Learning Connection, that helps teachers and students to present effective visuals.  I think that when learning any new language a visual is an important aspect of absorbing the information.

The suggestion about using oral and written language programs for differentiation in the classroom could be very effective when needing to spend time with a particular student in a classroom setting.  This is something that I would consider using in my own classroom. Moodle is also something that I would use in my classroom.  I think that it is a great toll that is helpful for teaching and useful in implementing collaborative projects.

I would like to learn more and explore the Telus Learning Connection website.

Chapter 9

The amount that the definition of literacy has changed over the years was kinda amazing.  I was also interesting to learn what pressures technology has put on this definition, and how it has effected they way that educators must teach. I found it interesting that even though the Department of Education recommends that 30% of schools technology budget should be spent on professional development, only 6% actually is.  I find this to be a little ridiculous.  How do they expect for the technology to used effectively if no one knows how to use it properly.  I also liked the idea they gave about Electronic Ouliners.  I have never heard of these programs before, however, I think that these programs could be helpful for students at almost any level.

I think that using programs such as the Accelerate Reader Program would be useful in almost any classroom. There is a certain amour of reading in any class a student will take, and if this program is implemented early in their education, it can help the student be more successful for when they are in high school or college where they will have a ton of reading for many different classes.  I also like the idea about practicing writing by creating a script for an iMovie or Movie Maker project.  I think this is something that many students would really enjoy. 

I would like to learn more about the opportunities for professional development for technology.  I would also like to know why schools don't think it is important for teacher to take these classes.

Chapter 8

This chapter gave a lot of great ideas for successfully integrating web use into a lesson.  This includes electronic mentoring, electronic publishing and social action projects.  I think that all of these ideas could be good learning experiences for students and would also teach them to use the internet in productive ways.  I also found the list of the different image formats very helpful.  Although I knew of these previously, I did not know exactly how they worked nor their individual qualities.  Even though I have never created a website before, this chapter gave different ways to create one in various different levels and made me think that make an original web site could be within my grasp.  The step by step instructions they gave made this seem possible.

I think that using an electronic field trip in an art classroom would be a good experience for the students.  There are many great museums throughout the world and many of the students may not have an opportunity to visit them.  This would give the student the opportunity to at least see what they have.  I also think that creating a collaborative project would be a helpful experience.  This could include creating a website for the class they are taking.

I would like to learn of more websites that help a person create their own website.

Chapter 7

I found the information about basic Internet troubleshooting helpful. Because there are any number of problems which could occur with a computer it is nice to at least be able to troubleshoot the basics without having to bring in the tech department. The information the chapter gave on distance learning was also interesting to me.  Although I think that virtual classrooms have their place, I do not think that they should take the place of traditional classrooms and teaching styles.  I do think that traditional teaching paired with an online course could be quite successful.  The book points out that there have been studies done that show that students profit from the support of teachers and students, and I agree that this is an important element of learning.

I think that using an online organizer could be helpful in a classroom. It would allow me to review websites for content and reliability, and then my students would be able to find this website list at home and use them easily.  The websites they suggested to check and prevent plagiarism would also be helpful in a classroom setting.  When students know that these websites are being used, it might discourage them to plagiarize in the first place.

I would like to learn more about computer troubleshooting.

Chapter 5

In this chapter, I thought the book gave some good recommendations on useful tools just for teachers.  This would include software programs for test making and grading analysis programs.  The grading programs would be especially helpful in being able to quickly track student progress.  Although I already knew about many of the adobe art programs, I was happy to see that they are being used more in schools and that some students are gaining experience with these programs at a younger age.  There now seems to be a program for almost anything you would want.

In my classroom I would definitely use the adobe art programs in a planned unit.  I think it is important to be familiar with these programs because so many art related careers use these programs on  a daily basis.  I also think that the lesson planning software could be helpful to keep me organized and I would be able to clearly see daily lessons and the unit as a hole.

I would be interested to learn how a cell phone could be a useful tool in a classroom.