ITEC 7430 Thing 1 Web 2.0

1. Quote from the Textbook: (Richardson, 2010)
"There is no debate any longer that 'educators' who aren't taking advantage of the connective tissue of the Read/Write Web are putting themselves and the current 'educational system' at risk of irrelevance." (Richardson, Modified quote from p. 4)

1. Do you agree with the statement above? Why or Why not? Include specific examples from Chapter 1 or other resources to support your answer.

I do not completely agree with this statement. I think that It mostly depends of how the children are raised but then again we are living in a world where children are coming straight out the womb talking and using computer based cell phones and playing video games. I feel that because of this, children are using their brains differently and as a result…. Their way of learning is different. The way their brains are stimulate are much different from the way children thought 20 years ago.

I do not think that the current way of teaching is a risk of irrelevance. Read/Write Web can be used a resource to help assist in the learning process of these children. Because many children are already using computers and other social networks, I think that using Read/Write Web in an educational teaching setting will help to enhance the learning process and keep the students interest.

Quote from the Textbook: (Richardson, 2010)
"In order for us to prepare our students for what is without a question a future filled with networked learning spaces, we must first experience those environments for ourselves. We must become connected and engaged in learning in these new ways if we are to fully understand the pedagogies of using these tools with students. We cannot honestly discuss twenty-first century learning skills for our students until we can make sense of them for ourselves. (Richardson, p.x)

2. Do you agree with the statements above? Why or why not? Which Internet tool(s) are you looking forward to learning the most this semester and why? (See pp. 10-11 of your textbook or explore the Moodle course to see what tools you will be learning!)

I do agree with the statement. In order teaching effectively using these Read/Write Web networks, we need to become familiar with them ourselves. While some individuals do not wish to learn about this stuff, others are and we are learning as we go and teach our students. We just have to be willing to take some tie to learn about new learning skills so that we can teach the students. Sometimes we may even find the students teaching us. We just have to be willing to learn in all aspects and from everyone. I am interested in learning more about wikis and audio/video castings.

ITEC 7430 Thing 4

Blogging for the first time with elementary students, I think would begin with many trials and errors. I originally said that I would start my students blogging in a group assignment but I think that I might start with a survey question for my students and I would have them give their input on it. Then I would allow them to get with a partner after reading a story and have them give the main idea of the story as well as their input on if they liked or disliked the story. I think that I would even ask them to say if they would recommend the story to others or not.

The following sites are sites that I looked at to get information in regards to how to evaluate blogs but int he end I decided to use Rubistar where I located and edited a rubric for student blogs.

Teachers Assessment and Rubric Information

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html

TeacherStream K12 Online Teacher Network

http://teacherstream.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/evaluating-blogs-for-teachers-and-students/

Blog Rubric

Criteria	4 - Excellent	3- Good	2- Fair	1- Needs Improvement
Focus on Topic	There is one clear, well-focused topic. Main idea stands out and is supported by detailed information.	Main idea is clear but the supporting information is general.	Main idea is somewhat clear but there is a need for more supporting information.	The main idea is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of information.
Capitalization & Punctuation	Writer makes no errors in capitalization or punctuation, so the paper is exceptionally easy to read.	Writer makes 1 or 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation, but the paper is still easy to read.	Writer makes a few errors in capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader's attention and interrupt the flow.	Writer makes several errors in capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader's attention and greatly interrupt the flow.

ITEC 7430 Thing 3

Blogging forces individuals to get involved. You (the reader) becomes and plays an active role int he involvement. The blogs were written on all different levels. There was almost no wrong or right way to do them from teachers to students. Everyone was allowed to express their thoughts freely and they became involved by agreeing/disagreeing and even creating stories like the one with the one about the missing duck. With all the blogs, reading and writing are required but the level and accuracy of that reading and writing may be different. While we want our students to write correctly; with the younger grade levels, blogging should not be about how they write but more so what they are writing about. Others being able to contribute with comments to the blogs creates interaction and involvement.

ITEC7445: Web 2.0 and Design

I know that technology plays a major role in today's society. As I looked the videos about the Web 2.0, I found it interesting that there was no one speaking but the video was designed in such a way to grasp my attention. I loved reading the interesting facts about how the use of technology has changed since it was just recently introduced to the world less than 20 years ago and over this time technological use in increase dramatically. Twenty years about people were nervous about using the internet but now people use technology twice as much as hardware such as books, encyclopedia, Cds, tape players, house phones, TV.. People do not mail letters any more. We downloads TV shows and listen to them on iPods, we email and text. The most interesting fact I saw was they by the time this generation turns 21, they will have sent roughly 250,000 text messages. The internet and other technology had changed the way people research, think and learn.

As teachers, we need to continue to engage ourselves in technology so that we can keep in touch with our students. I am very interested in learning about WebQuests, Blogs, and Wikis. I am interested in learning how to effectively incorporate them into my classroom. I am interested in learning about the process in creating designs that will be eye appealing and keep the interest of my users and viewers. I am looking forward learning what this semester has to offer.