We were asked to explore the realm of social bookmarking through the website Delicious.com. This website allows you to save your bookmarks through the website so that you can access them from anywhere with an internet connection. Each time you save a bookmark you can “tag” it with all relevant subjects it relates to. Your tags show up like files in a list. This bookmarking becomes social because you can view anyone’s tagged sites to see what else they have in their bookmark library and add them to your network to share websites in the future. This is a great way to get reviewed information and share websites you feel are good resources or are interesting. A teacher could use this website to help direct students to good resources and by networking with each other students can share resources they have found.
The following sites have been bookmarked in my Delicious.com account toudamanda under the ed422 tag:
- National Archives –Exhibit Eye Witness:
A compilation of first hand accounts from people who observed history in the making. Artifacts from Thomas Jefferson’s letter back home about witnessing the French Revolution to the surprising first view of the earth from space with the vertical horizon(is that a verizon?) of the moon in the foreground are available for viewing. In a photograph by Lewis Hines a child stares out through blank eyes, his skin covered in soot, with a wick in a metal can strapped to his head to light the way in the mines. The quote written by Hines states simply, that the child is a laborer in the mines, and has been driver for one year.
Using primary sources like these in the classroom is overwhelmingly important. In history . so often we get our information from people who have already analyzed the meaning of the photos or the words written and we are given the information in easy to digest bites. Seeing this information first hand is like letting the light in. It is bringing the reader and viewer closer to the real experience of the people who were there. It gives the student an opportunity to react to the information in an authentic way.
2. National Education Association – Achievement Gap
Student groups who are at risk of entering the achievement gap include; Racial and ethnic minorities, English language learners, students with disabilities, boys and girls at different ages, and students from low income families.
In the article “Becoming a Culturally Competent Educator” I found three suggestions that I would integrate into my future career as a teacher to help myself and my school become culturally competent. Part of teaching effectively is being interested in where your students are coming from. Building a network of people with in the community and school who can help with cultural understanding of the backgrounds of the students builds community. As a teacher I would find this kind of work essential to support my efforts in reaching all of my students. Secondly, networking with other schools who are implementing culturally competent systems is a logical step. There are many great ideas out there that have been successful in helping schools become culturally competent. Working together with other schools to find out what has worked and what has not and adapting initiatives to your school can help schools move faster to support the learning of high risk groups. Finally, I feel that it is paramount to have authentic participation from the families and community of the diverse student groups to help design and implement initiatives. By including families and even the students themselves in initiatives designed to help them it creates an atmosphere of collaboration and understanding between the families, students, teachers and administrators.
3. Stop Cyber Bullying
I received a total score of 1 on the Cyber Bully quiz. This qualifies me as a cyber saintJ.
In the teacher resource section I found an article describing the four different types of cyberbullies. The article details the various motives of the cyberbullies. First there is the Vengeful Angel cyber bully who steps in to protect a friend who is being cyberbullied thinking they are doing the right thing. Directing these kinds of cyberbullies to official ways of stopping cyberbullying is important so that they do not feel they must take justice into their own hands. Then there is the Power Hungry or Revenge of the Nerd cyberbully, which is described to be the most sinister of bullies because of their technical prowess. Mean Girls cyberbullying perpetuates itself because it is perceived as entertaining. Generally Mean Girls will gang up on another girl and flaunt their power to cyberbully. Finally there is the Inadvertent Cyberbully is most unaware of the affect of his/her actions. They are usually reacting to another comment or simply sending out messages because they can. Another article discusses the ways to prevent cyberbullying. The role of the school is limited in disciplinary actions it can take but has great power to educate students on ways to react to cyberbullying and can give them channels to anonymously report cyber bullying so the sites can be shut down.
4. Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators
In the Subject Access Area I chose Science and Technology. Following that link led me to a page with tabs for different concentrations of science and helpful websites. I tabbed over to Biology and Animal Sites and found several websites that directed me to articles and other more specific websites. In my meandering I came across an interesting article that discussed how science is connected to culture and how teaching science by linking it to cultural teachings can make it more effective. Back to the home page there is a section titled Teacher Helpers. There I found a set of critical evaluation sheets that can be used as an assignment to lead students through critically evaluating a website. She has also included critical evaluation sheets for blogs, virtual tours and podcasts. These are helpful tools to teach students how to think critically about the sources they use.
5. Multiple Intelligences
After taking the Multiple Intelligences quiz I learned that I am 92% a Naturalistic learner. This made me laugh because it is right on, down to the part where naturalistic learners tend to have career paths as farmers. I dream of farming after a splendid career of teaching! My next two intelligences coming in at 75% and 75% are Intrapersonal and Verbal-Linguistic.
I watched the video Multiple Intelligences Leave No Child Behind. I learned that by acknowledging the 8 very distinct areas of intelligences in children it can help them excel in learning. People can be strong in one or two areas of intelligence and very weak in others. I also watched Multiple Intelligences Thrive in Smartville where a multiple intelligence school allowed students to learn not whether they are smart or not but how they are smart. Grading multiple intelligences involves more work like using personalized rubrics for each student and designing curriculum that compliments each student’s intelligences. However by putting in the extra work it has been shown to greatly increase student learning.
6. Teaching Tolerance Lesson Idea
I chose an activity for 10th grade, Biology, called Harvesting activities. This activity involves using the idea of ethnobotany as a hook to explore and describe various cultural relationships with food. In my class I would have students go home and talk with their guardians and generate a list of plants that are/were important to their families for food, medicine, and ceremonies. Creating a garden with students of various backgrounds and including these important plants would be a great follow up activity. Having the students share stories about the plants uses and have each student take home some of the harvested plant products and try different recipes from fellow students families through out the year.
7. EdChange Multicultural Awareness Quiz
Q: Compared with White women, how likely are African American women in the U.S. to die during childbirth due to a lack of access to prenatal care, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality?
A: Four times more likely
AND
Q: Powder cocaine (largely used by wealthy people) and crack cocaine (largely used by economically disadvantaged people) contain roughly the same amount of the drug per gram. Under federal law, how much of these substances must an individual be convicted of possessing to be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of five years in prison?
A: 500 grams of powder cocaine or 5 grams of crack cocaine.
These two questions and their answers were the most shocking to learn. From any perspective one takes, these statistics, show the blatant and systematic inequalities that still permeate our society.
8. Netiquette
I scored a 90% on the Netiquette quiz. I didn’t know what scrolling in a chat room was. Honest mistake!
More and more students are participating in the cyber world. They need to understand that they are building there reputation in cyberspace as well. Students need to understand that what happens on the web is a reflection of themselves real life and not to forget that they are communicating with real humans. =^D
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