WebQuest

I have enjoyed learning more about WebQuests. I found it very interesting (and challenging!) to put the whole WebQuest together. I am adding my final touches now - not sure how many graphics are too many graphics. I try to make a nice mix of pictures with text.

A GREAT WEBQUEST!

This seems like it is a worthwhile webquest. I think the topic of plate tectonics can be challenging, especially for concrete learners. This webquest gives the student a defined "task" and has excellent visuals.

TeenAngels

My wife teaches at GW Middle School in Ridgewood, NJ. The computer teacher at her school runs a chapter of TeenAngles, which is a group of students who have been specially trained in all aspects of online safety, privacy and security. The goal of TeenAngels is to "make the Internet safer." This is obviously a tough job, in this world of online chat rooms and social networking sites. The students were featured on CBS a few months ago, and are going to Washington D.C. in a few weeks. They will present their research to policymakers and law enforcement.

Here is the link to the TeenAngles chapter at GWMS:

http://gw.school.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/index.cfm?sid=5&nav_id=4407

Any thoughts?

Technology in the Classroom blog

I came across this web site that describes in detail different ideas to try and promote different forms of technological learning within the classroom, primarily younger ages.

http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/

Back to the Blog

After the holiday hiatus in between semesters, I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things with another online blog. I found last semester's Reading Curriculum class I took online to be very useful and engaging even in the non-tradional classroom format.

Guided Reading Case Study

Janet Seymour seems like she makes a concerted effort to break the guided reading into different segments so different students with different learning abilities can excel in specific type of modules. Now I will say that with the flow of following the progression from Session 1 to Session 2 and so on, a student may not flourish in the later session because of lack of understanding the storyline in the earlier sessions. Because the activities are so tied in to the theme and gist of the story, one could argue that it might be difficult to follow through with the activities later on.

I also like the aspect of allowing the kids to be somewhat imaginative by asking them to possibly predict the outcome of the story prior to actually finishing the book, and why the author chose to have characters do certain things. This creates a sense of imagination among the students rather than just testing and quizzing on their factual knowledge of the story which I think ends up being very short-sighted.

Interestingly enough in the the introduction The Giver, I believe that it's Carmel French who thinks because of the level of difficulty with the novel that everyone should read along together so there can be a general understanding level amongst the group. I will say that I cannot necessarily agree with that interpretation or assessment. I think you can guide along for a time, but at some point you have to allow for learning by trial and error or the student is going to fall into too much of a comfort zone, especially when it comes to reading.

Plot lines are a very helpful tool in my opinion especially if you are reading a story that may be slightly above the level of the current grade. Any aid that can assist the general understanding of a slightly more sophisticated novel is definitely something that helped me when I was in the 5th or 6th grade.

The greatest part about this guided reading lesson breakdown is The Billy Goats Gruff. That story was one of the first I can remember actually really getting into as a child. It was not presented to me in a classroom setting but rather at home. Now with the advantages the Internet possesses at home, I would think parents to a much larger extent than mine, can get extremely creative in teh ways that they can convey stories to their children, but more importantly, convey the meanings of stories in different fashions.

Should teachers be held to a higher standard

I was wondering what people thought in regards to whether or not a teacher should be held to a higher set of standards. It was sort of a general question thrown out to us in one of my other classes where we had to a write a reaction paper to the question.


In my opinion, teachers should not be held to a higher standard. People in society possess freewill, so in my opinion, teachers shouldn’t be treated any differently. As we know, all members of society are expected to abide by the rules and laws set by judiciary and legislative powers of government. Why should a person, simply because of his or her profession, be expected to live differently than the rest of us? It is unfair and impractical to tell hard working teachers that they can be publicly scrutinized and expected to live differently than everybody else. In addition, my beliefs are not just centered on educators: I truly believe that people should be free to do what they want to, without being under constant public scrutiny. As long as a teacher is not involved in illegal activity, I think they should be able to live their own life.
While I am a firm believer in having freedom to make your own choices, obviously there are many people (teachers included) that make less than stellar decisions in regards to their own personal conduct. I am not condoning behavior that lends itself to being unlawful or on the fringe of criminal behavior. Teachers should always be cognitive of the situations they put themselves in on a daily basis, whether it be in the classroom or in the outside world in general. In a world of instant gratification, bad news is spread faster and faster with the advent of cell phone cameras and the Internet. Celebrities have always been under a constant microscope, but unfortunately, sometimes their slip-ups do not even come close to the negative consequences teachers would face if caught doing something deemed inappropriate in relation to their field of work. Because educators are teaching children, common public perception states that teachers should live like saints without any sin. However, everyone knows everyone else has human elements and they are all inclined to make mistakes at some level throughout their lives, including their professional careers.
The only requirement that I think should be mandatory is passing a drug test. If you have an educator preaching about how it’s destructive to get involved in drugs, and then he or she is going out against their teaching, that’s obviously wasted time in the classroom. More importantly, it’s just poor form as an educator to be doing one thing and practicing another. Teaching can be incredibly consuming and tiring, and a teacher needs to be able to perform day in and day out. This wouldn’t be possible if a teacher is using drugs. I understand that drug testing raises issues that pertain to both the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure, and the Fourteenth Amendment, which requires that citizens be treated as innocent until proven guilty and be accorded due process of law when accused. There is a legal battle going on right now about this topic in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
Kanawha County school board members decided to enter a long legal battle over employee drug testing because of several high-profile drug incidents and their own political calculations, according to interviews with board members who support the policy. The board decided last week to go ahead with its plan to randomly drug test teachers and other school employees despite warnings of a nasty, costly series of legal actions that started today. One teachers union, The American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, this morning filed a lawsuit in Kanawha Circuit Court calling on the courts to end the board's plan to begin random employee testing in January. The suit seeks a declaratory judgment and injunction to prevent the implementation of the testing plan. (http://www.mapinc.org/newscfdp/v08/n1067/a12.html)

For obvious reasons, teachers feel that this would be an expensive violation of their rights. The money used to perform the drug tests could be better used in the classrooms. In conclusion, I believe that teacher’s should be allowed to live their lives how they choose. This includes social lives, sexual orientation, opinions, beliefs, and decisions. Conduct inside the classroom should always be top-notch, and all teachers should be mature enough to know how to live their lives so this is possible