These are the results of a research assignment I completed that required the utilization of social bookmarking, which was completed using a website called Delicious.com. I searched the Internet for specific sites given by the instructor, and once there I tagged and bookmarked the site and completed the research requirement. After the assignment was completed, I embedded the tags on this blog.
1. National Archives:
I visited the online exhibit that showed the political cartoons of Clifford Berryman. These were very insightful as a means of depicting how media in this specific way has not changed much in the last 120 years. Mr. Berryman was a phenomenal artist, and had a very unique way of getting his points across. I noticed that he had stylized his drawings in a very distinguishable way; a common theme in his cartoons were bees. Mr. Berryman also had a wonderful sense of using subtleties to indicate whatever campaign issue he may have been addressing. Mr. Berryman, unlike a lot of political cartoonists today, was not mean or underhanded in his drawings; he basically drew the obvious facts in a humorous way without being, at least, overtly partisan. I felt that it rather hard to tell by the drawings whether he was a Republican or a Democrat.
2.National Education Association (NEA); Achievement Gaps:
Most commonly, achievement gaps have been identified among racially and ethnic minorites, English language learners, students with disabilities, females, and students that come from low-income families. For becoming a culturally competent educator, there are three areas that I feel pertain to my teaching style: a.) Gather and organize resource materials related to culturally diverse groups for use by school staff. I feel this is important because I'm a firm believer in cultural relevancy. I feel that the more relevant a student finds a particular assignment, the more effort will be put into it. b.) Network with parent, family, minority community, and faith-based organizations concerned with the needs of diverse students. Solicit their involvement and input in the design and implementation of initiatives for culturally, linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse groups. I feel this is important because I feel that it hints towards community and parental involvement which I believe is integral in student success. I think this is one of the major reasons for an achievement gap with minority students. c.) Network with other schools that are developing and implementing culturally competent systems. Adapt the processes and information that are consistent with your school's needs and interests. Lastly, I believe this is important because I think it is important to borrow systems that work. I think it is a major disservice to all minority students and underachievers to not utilize a program that has been proven to work. It should be the responsibility of educators to find out what works, and then implement it.
3.Cyberbullying:
After taking the cyberbullying quiz I found that I am a cybersaint. It has never occurred to me to do any of the things that that were listed in the quiz. For one thing, I don't know enough about computers to do most of the things listed even if I wanted to. I have no idea how to send someone a virus or a Trojan horse, don't know how to conduct an online poll to bash someone, haven't the faintest idea how to hack into someones computer, I don't even know how to change my profile to be rude. The only thing I'm guilty of as far as being a cyberbully is I have used foul language a time or two in my fantasy baseball emails-but who doesn't do that? I learned two important things while visiting the website, both dealing with the different types of cyberbullies. The first is the "vengeful Angel." This is important to know because it was said that most times the vengeful angel doesn't even know that they are being a bully. They see themselves as a do-gooder making wrongs into rights via the Internet. This is important so I will be able to identify the different types of cyberbullies and put a stop to it. The other type of cyberbullt I identified was the "revenge of the nerd" type bully. I learned that this type of bully is often times the victim of schoolyard bullying. I learned that much of the time they are looking for power or revenge and rely on their technical savvy to accomplish this end.
4.Kathy Schrock:
The first area that I chose to focus on in "Subject Access" was a copyrighting lesson for eighth graders. I felt that this is important because it is often an issue that is not discussed until high school, and it is every bit as relevant in middle school. It is a lesson plan designed by Laura Keamming. Students begin by completing a copyright worksheet to familiarize them with the content and concept. Then they are to listen to several songs such as "Ice, Ice, Baby" by Vanilla Ice and "Under Pressure" by Queen. They are then to compare the songs and see if they believe ant copyright laws had been violated. It is an interactive and hands-on lesson plan in which students get to work in groups. The second area that I chose to focus on in the "Teacher Helper" section was a web project rubric. This is important for me because I want my students to be comfortable with the computer, even though I am not as comfortable with it as I should be. I would like for them at some point to prepare their own web page, but I was not totally sure how to grade them. The Teacher Helper showed a well thought-out web project rubric. It included areas of focus being; a. content, b. writing process, c. development process, d. web skill, e. layout, f. images, g. group work. I found this to be extremely helpful as a way to grade the assignment as well as how to format it relating to what should be focused on.
5. Report On Multiple Intelligences:
After taking the multiple intelligences quiz I found that I was most a verbal/linguistic person, I scored a 92% in this area. I was actually very surprised by this. I found that I also am a naturalistic person, I scored a 72% in this area. Again I found this rather surprising. I also found that I am an interpersonal and logical/mathematical person, in each of these areas I scored a 69%. This was surprising because I would have assumed that I was much higher in logical/mathematical. I watched the interview of Howard Gardner. I found the interview to be extremely interesting. I learned that the theory of Multiple Intelligences is based on the fact that all students do not have the same minds. All humans have different intellectual strengths because of this. Teachers need to be aware of this and stop placing the emphasis of education on being teacher centered and shift this to being more student centered.
6.Teaching Tolerance:
I focused on grades 7-12, social studies, and the specific topic is the legality of prayer in school. The lesson plan is unique and sounds like a lot of fun. The class is supposed to have a mock trial. One student is the plaintiff, a small group of students are the defendants, another two groups of students are the legal teams, and one student is the judge. To prepare, the students are given a handout created by the US Supreme court which is basically a checklist to see if civil rights had been violated. From here, it is pretty much a standard mock trial. One side of the court is arguing that they should be allowed to pray in school while the other side argues that it is a violation of the separation of church and state. I think this a wonderful exercise for the students. It involves group work and hands-on application. Students will not only be confronted with a hotly debated current event issue, but they will become familiar with the workings of the judicial/legal system.
7. The first question that I found to be extremely interesting was the question, "According to the National Center for Education Statistics, what is the percentage of U.S. schools with no teachers of color on staff?" I was amazed that the answer was 40%. In fact I am so surprised by that number, that almost half of the schools in the United States don't have a single staff member of color, that I would like to verify the answer. I honestly find that hard to believe. If it is true, I am amazed. The second question that I found interesting was, "In a 2007 study, UNICEF rated the treatment of children in the 23 wealthiest countries in the world based on 40 indicators of child well-being. Which two countries received the lowest ratings?" Again, I was stunned to learn the answer was the United States and the U.K. I would like to know how they came up with these answers and what their definition of child well-being is. I am unclear to whether the UNICEF is implying that children are treated poorly in the United States and the U.K. or that children in these two countries are socially maladjusted or discontented.
8. Nettiquette:
I really have never been taught proper nettiquette, but I did score an 80% on the quiz. I think a lot of it is common sense. It is however important to teach nettiquette in the classroom, if nothing else, for the golden rule, which is remember the human. Students more so than adults will often forget that the people involved in Internet communication are actual human beings with feelings and emotions. Students should be taught to respect this just as they would respect people in face to face conversations. :-@
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment