End of the Semester

Hi ladies.

Well, the semester is winding down and I have to say I enjoyed having class with you. Both of you have helped me tremendously, and you both made class fun and exciting.

Kelly, I must admit that your cyber lesson is great. I like how you included great custom annimation. It made your project interesting and appealing.

Kathy, I'm glad you also tried making a cyber lesson. After talking with you, I bet your kids will do awesome completing the unit project. Let me know how it turns out!

I've learned many valuable lessons in this class. I am going to try to incorporate more opportunities for Internet Inquiry and Internet Workshop within my monthly curriulum. I'm not sure about the Internet Projects - that might get dicey. Kathy, if you teach Jamestown, let me know because I know a terrific webquest that you might like to try with your cheribs.

Have a great night.

~Melissa

Happy Easter

Hi ladies. Well, I figured that I would jot you a quick note since I haven't done this in a few weeks. I got to tell you, it's very hard for me to sit down and write in this blog when it's such a beautiful evening, but I just finished by homepages evaluation, so I thought while I was on the subject, I'd check in. The homepages evaluation was very interesting. I did see many things that I would love to put on my homepage, except I don't know how much space I'm allotted. I really love the layout of several pages. The big icons with words underneath, I find those sites very neat, organized, and appealling. Not to mention, kids with poor fine motor skills can still click on the appropriate link because the icons are larger. I also like the links to email the teacher and links to the district webpage. That's important. I don't know if I would like to have a link to the professional development I've presented and organized though just to demonstrate my ability as a professional. I think teacher webpages should be used as a tool for students and parents. If parents want to know my accomplishments and meetings I've lead/organized/presented, then I think they should ask. I believe teacher homepages are important, but I still think they should be avenues for students to showcase their work and learning, places wehre they can link to educational sites, and a place for parents to locate important info. After doing this assignment, I really want to have my project focus on my homepage. I want to modify it, and make it more appealling and user friendly. I now also know that I want to incorporate a link for parent info (newsletters, upcoming events, impt dates, etc.). I just need to check out how much space I have in my account. Maybe I need to create a different webpage. Well, I'm done babbling. I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing, and Happy Easter. I'll see you in 2 weeks. ~Melissa

Midterm

Hey girls! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. So, can I tell you how overwhelmed I am right now. I've been trying to prepare for 2 midterms and they are both sooooo long. Luckily, I can make outlines for both, but it's hard finding the time to balance schools - CCSU and Linden. I have report cards due this week, conferences on the 28th and 30th....i don't know how you both do it with kids nonetheless! WOW. Have you started looking over the midterm for this class? I just finished up my children's lit outline (I have to add to them but at least I began), and I looked at these questions. They are really in-depth!! I'm not sure as to how detailed a response to give. Any input? The questions for in class are okay...actually, i think they are quite similar to one another...just talk about new literacies and the impact technology has on our teaching. How to teach and why to use the different models, but the 5 questions at the bottom - they're a bit intense!!!!!!!!!! I prepared 1/2 of question 1 and I already wrote 1 page...and it's not too detailed. Oh my - please let me know how you're doing...if you even looked at the questions. Talk to you both soon. ~Melissa

Chapter 3

Hi. Sorry this is late, but I have already tried to post 1 blog and it didn't post. I was having phone troubles. OH WELL. A quick recap of my longer post.....I really liked how this chapter explained the 4 types of lessons that can be done using the Internet. The Internet Project seems like it could be done at any grade level, providing they know how to click, scroll, read the webpages, and type. The Internet Inquiry is another great lesson that I want to try to use with my students because they love researching topics...it promotes independence, keeps the kids invested, and they would be able to share their findings with the class during an Internet Workshop. Finally, the WebQuest is another great teaching tool. I have implemented WebQuests when I taught 4th grade and the kids loved it! Especially if the websites they research are fun and interactive. The biggest thing I appreciate about all these different lessons is the fact that every student can complete the tasks (they can be modified) independently. How great is it that their self-confidence and internal motivation can be increased by embedding just a few interesting and exciting lessons! Oh-Kelly-I wanted to let you know, last week you missed it - Kathy and I were able to CONTROL + CLICK!!!! I know you regret not being in class for it! LOL. See you tomorrow! ~Melissa

end of Chapter 2 blog

Hi. Sorry this is so late, I've just been so busy this vacation. You'd never know that I've been done with the reading for a week now. This part of the chapter had a lot of great info. I really liked how it gave specific examples regarding the to teach kids how to navigate the Internet. I like the idea of Internet Projects and Internet Workshops. The workshops could run very smoothly because they resemble the reading and writing workshops - having the learners share what they've each learned on the Internet with a partner/small group/whole class. What a way to hold students accountable and to keep learning fun and exciting. Plus, how easy would it be to differentiate instruction, particularly pertaining to their interests. Children that don't usually work together could now be paired up due to their interests and hobbies. I see the workshop as a valuable tool. In my school, I pair my class up with a first grade class...and the second graders teach the first graders how to use certain programs and how to search the web. Right now, my students are very comfortable searching the images on google.com with my approval, but I want them to use KidsClick or Yahooligans, more kid friendly engines. In a way, this is a little like the Internet Workshop because at the end of each lesson, the children in both classes share what they did, what they learned, and if they found the day's work enjoyable. The children also provide me and the other teacher with feedback, so we are able to modify our lessons.

Chapter 2 - up to pg. 61

After reading the beginning of this chapter, I began reflecting on my instruction with regards to the computer and Internet. Since I teach 2nd grade, typically I try to make navigating to different websites as easy as possible because it does take a few of my students a while to read/find the assigned information. Usually I just add the url as a bookmark so they can just click on their favorites toolbar and get right to work. I don't know if I'm making this process too easy, but how much time can I take out of my daily schedule to have the students navigate to the websites, when I want them to do a specific task? Maybe the younger grades should provide more bookmarked pages so the children can practice reading/scrolling/clicking/etc., while the upper grades can reinforce navigating from homepages/search engines. Especially if spelling is so critical in locating information. Younger children oftentimes misspell words, which would prevent them from conducting worthwhile searches independently.

I really liked the information on pages 53-61....dealing with the hints of setting up homepages and the favorites toolbar. Although I already knew some of this information, I did find it helpful because I am familiar with PC (Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator) but my district just switched to Safari, and bookmarking the websites is slightly different. So far, I've really like Safari, but it's only been around for 1 month.

Also, joe Montero's classroom, that's mentioned in the book, I completely agree with him regarding the power computers give struggling learners. I experienced that in my classroom this year when I developed a cyber lesson for my students who are reading below grade level expectations. They were the first ones in my class that completed a cyber lesson, and they loved how the other children in the room crowded around them to watch and listen to what they were assigned to do. It was amazing watching these 3 students teach the others in the classroom what to do, and the other kids wanted to read the book (even though it was an easy text) and complete the same activity! It was a great teaching moment.

Chapter 1 - Part 2

Hello!
I just finished reading the end of chapter 1 and the article by Julie Corio, and I found them quite interesting. It provided lots of great information with regards to incorporating technology within daily instruction. While reading the article, I began thinking about the students in my class, and how they LOVE using the Internet to locate information about topics they're interested in. I never thought how overwhelming websites can be for them since they oftentimes have to select the path/information they want to research; yet, many of the students seem satisfied and content with the information they locate on the web. I do believe there is a connection between the traditional reading strategies one uses while reading texts, and the skills and strategies needed for an individual to comprehend the material on the web. The Internet just seems to be more interesting than texts. As a child (through the beginning years of college) I hated reading. It was boring. Had I had access to the Internet in the younger grades (elementary and middle school), I might have enjoyed reading and learning a lot more. It took me nearly 20 years to finally appreciate literature and books. The pictures, graphics, sounds, colors, etc. embedded within websites grab my attention. The key is making sure the information one's acquiring is accurate and purposeful.

Another thing I found interesting in the readings was the search engine KidsClick. I checked it out, and I really like how the information is selected by librarians and it's more appropriate for children. I can't believe more teachers don't know about this great search engine. I already use yahooligans and google, but KidsClick seems like it would be a more focused and purposeful tool to use for research projects in the classroom. I'm going to ask my students to use it this week in class when we visit the computer lab. They can research information about the rocks we're learning about in science.