Webquests

I really did not understand the webquest assignment at first, but looking at more webquests online helped me understand what I was supposed to be doing. I saw many different webquests differing in topic, age, grade level and so much more. I was really surprised to see some that were accessible to younger students as I figured that this would be something that would only be interactive for middle school to college aged students. I found this to be completely wrong as it simply depends on how you create it and how you manage it to fit the profile of the targeted age group.

The Digital Divide

The Digital Divide speaks of the gab between individuals who have access to technology to learn and use as other resources versus those who have little to no access to technology. People are trying to close the digital divide by introducing technology into those countries that have no access or interest in it. It is sometimes thought that having technology is having knowledge at your fingertips. This is just one of the many reasons why individuals feel that technology should be brought to those places that have not experienced it yet, bringing them to speed with the rest of the world.

The Digital Divide may also be found in the classroom. This could be because the student's parents do not wish for their children to be exposed to what the internet exposes. There is so much wrong on the internet that children should not be exposed to until it is no longer avoidable. This may also, and more likely be due to the fact that some people simply don't have the money to access technology the way many Americans do now. The last, and least likely is that there is no interest in technology and therefore, those students do not wish to be bothered with it. Teachers have been attempting to close the digital divide in classrooms for years by incorporating technology into the lessons that they teach. I very much plan on doing this also as I can see that there is a lot you can learn by uusing technology. It may be a way to make learning more interesting and to get the students involved. I also realize that in the United States, there is little chance that a person can thrive in a world that is drowning in technology without knowing in some aspect how to use the materials. This is where teachers come in.

#BlackEd Twitter 1-hour discussion

During my one hour discussion on Twitter, I discussed many different topics with different individuals. I think what I enjoyed the most was the fact that I was able to talk to these people from across the U.S. about situations that we all agree are worsening such as the fact that African American females are more than four times more likely to be suspended from school than a Caucasian female. We discussed why this is, which I believe has something to do with African Americans being more outspoken. It does not bother us to speak out and say what is on our mind. Therefore, if we feel as if something is going unfairly, the majority of us will speak out on it and have the tendency to get in trouble with administration for doing so. We also discussed how exciting it is to have a child finally catch on to what it is that you have been attempting to teach them, as this woman finally got her five year old son to read a book by himself and she was expressing her joy for the accomplishment they both felt that they made. I definately can identify with the happiness that comes with finally breaking through. Besides these two conversations, I was not really able to get anyone to reply to anything I posted or to reply back to things I said to them or retweeted. Overall, I do feel as though I am walking away from this assignment with a little more knowledge about black education than I had before.  :)

Twitter! [[ My New Obsession ]]

Twitter is something that I never thought I would be involved in. My friends had previously tlaked me into getting a Twitter account, however, I was not interested enough to sit and play around with it to figure out how it worked. For this reason, Twitter was extremely boring, and sadly enough, I became a Twitter-hater. Thanks to this class, I have a newfound love for Twitter! ( this is not a joke haha) It is definately my new obsession as I need to check it every morning along with my Facebook, Email, and such. The fact that it can be something fun to do while also an educational tool. It can be used inside and outside of the classroom, and there are many ways to learn from it simply by following and interacting with the proper individuals. I truly have connected with many teachers that I know will be able to answer questions that I may have, or give me ideas that I may want to use in my future classoom. I cannot wait to see what else is in store for me. Twitter is a simple, fun and easy tool that can help me excell as a teacher in the future. Who would have thunk it! :)

I consider myself to be semi-good when it comes to using technology. My expectation is that Education 109 will help me to better my technology skills and learn to use it to teach my students in the future.

What to talk about? hmmm :)

I am an Elementary Education major! :) I love the children! They are our future. I have known that I wanted to be a pre-school/ Kindergarten teacher since I was about seven. Because I am the oldest child, grandchild, and cousin on my mother's side of the family, I was able to force the younger children to play "school" with me. They were my students and I was always the teacher. We had lunch, recess, and even homework!! I was really into making it as real as possible even though we were all in public school anyway. This would be the one thing that I always looked forward to doing in my Grandma's basement for every holiday that wwe went to visit. I will never forget those days. They made me realize that this is truly what I want to do. I want to make a differene in what will be our future. Those cute little faces will one day run this world. It is our job as teachers to ensure that they learn to run it correctly. :)


How's THAT for not knowing what I was going to write? haha