my first webpage

Creating a classroom webpage has been an interesting experience for me. Initially, I had not realized all of the many skills, knowledge and practical concerns that come into play. Consideration needed to be given to many aspects of the project including, permission for student work to appear online; the sorting of priorities = what to include, and in what hierarchy; the tone and voice of the page = the use of humor appropriate for an elementary school and/or a professional voice echoing best practices and pedagogy; the determining of the purpose of the site = is it for the kids, families, colleagues and/or will it be informative and/or entertaining.
This is my first site, and I realize when I work on new sites the weight of the above considerations will inevitably change. It is the embracing of this evolution, I believe, which has been the crux of this course. As teachers, we are continually evaluating and changing teaching practices and this is never more evident then when working with technology. Much of technology, including websites and the many other projects we have created in this class, are built for editing, thus promoting reflection and revision, in order to best meet ever changing learning/teaching needs.

The article, Technology in Early Childhood Education: Finding the Balance, validated much of what I am seeing and encouraging in my classroom. Technology, even during indoor recess, can serve as a catalyst for interaction among students who at other times have little interpersonal contact. I have witnessed a shared technological interest ignite passion in researching a topic as part of a team, laughter during the sharing of game and drawing programs and story swapping of at-home computer experiences. I have also enjoyed seeing students who, at times, can be off task and/or play the role of class clown, don the hat of computer expert. These students take seriously the responsibility of computer trouble shooting, (helping out others having difficulty), and maintaining system procedures, (such start-up and shut-down, the opening of appropriate language arts or math program for the session, etc.).
Have you used the classroom computer in varied ways to support not only student academic growth, but also to support social/interpersonal skills? Please share.

Comments: Regina's Early Childhood Article

I recognized my family in disguise in Regina’s article, Technology in early childhood literacy development: Family literacy and technology. Like her observations of her own family, my technological native children work with confidence and patience, (as Regina’s nephew suggests!) We limit ‘screens’ in our house during the school week to one half hour at the end of the day, if all chores and homework are done, (an exception being use for homework/research). Increasingly, my children are choosing the computer for their 7:30-8:00 screen time over watching a television program. The sites they visit, we monitor, and are often games of logic or language arts skills. This week my nine year old was visiting a site that had her participating in a type of mad-lib. This is when I found out she doesn’t know the definition of a noun, verb or past tense- scandalous!!! Needless to say, this became a teachable moment, and the next day she picked out some mad-libs from Barnes and Noble and returned to the site with renewed confidence!
My children view both my husband and I using the computer daily. They often ask questions about our use, which we readily answer, (to the best of our ability!) We have found in our house, as in life, moderation in all things serves well. The computer may play an important, useful, and meaningful role in the classroom and the home setting, when coupled with human interaction and an environment that values learning.
How is the computer used in your home? Daily? Weekly? Hourly? Do you use it to get news or entertainment, or mostly as a work tool? If you have children, what is your policy for computer use?

Musings on the Online WebQuest article:
The article asserts the purpose of a WebQuest is to bring alive the content for the student, facilitate the reading experience, help children meet standards and address essential questions. I agree through problem solving, information processing and collaboration, the students should grow in knowledge, and more importantly, develop metacognitively by engaging in activities which promote skills ‘good readers do’, (for example, identify unknown vocabulary). Students should also be provided with opportunities to transfer newly acquired knowledge to new applications. The webquest links I browsed today offered such learning. I noticed the Winn Dixie Quest used materials and ideas for lessons I employ in my classroom now, but as hard copies and not necessarily as sequenced, linked tasks. I believe using the delivery system of the Quest enhances the lessons for the children in a number of ways. For example, the students are aware from the beginning there are a series of tasks to complete in a certain order, allowing them to see the big picture, including a rubric outlining expectations. These tasks invite the students to read and respond by accessing the Quest via a computer, (computer use being an incentive for most children in and of itself!) Visiting the Quest, the students find directions for the tasks, the tasks themselves in a template-like format, space for response writing, and invitations through hyperlinks to engage in extension activities, (in this Quest identified as Just for Kicks.) The Quest successfully promotes the exploration of the book, author and genre, through both collaboration on tasks and practice of independent learning skills. I was also impressed with the quality of text support materials included, (such as a Story Frame, Story Pyramid, author website link, etc.) While I believe the tasks included were meaningful and supported reader comprehension, the connection to the literature in some of the Just for Kicks links were a little bit of a stretch. However, having said that, I believe the author intended these links for extension and not as essential tasks. One example is a visit to the Weather Channel site to look up your local weather. The author included this link by referencing a thunderstorm in the book . . . a little loose, huh? Also included is a link to the Kennel Club site to browse information on dogs, and as most of you know, Winn Dixie is a dog. While I found these sites had little direct connection to the text, I recognize their inclusion as a means of igniting interest in the project, as an incentive to work through the tasks, and of internet use learning for the students, which they make apply in various applications in the future. Thus, the included links promote independent exploration and give students a taste of what the internet offers for researching, by providing the students with safe links, only a keystroke away.
Have you used webquests in your classroom? I have used a Native American quest, which was created by a teammate of mine. When I tried it, we had limited computers for our use, which made it challenging. I now have better access to computers, (more in my classroom and a new computer lab in the library), and am eager to try it again in the fall with my students. Please share any experiences you have had with webquests, especially, pitfalls, challenges and successes!

A few comments on the E-Learning article, I have a friend who recently left teaching on an extended maternity leave. She is a special education teacher, (a gifted educator). She has been taking online classes while being at home with her baby. She plans to return to work in a couple of years, but wanted to get her masters first. The online classes are doubly useful to her, as it will get her back into the classroom sooner, complimenting need for special education teachers and will specifically enhance her knowledge, as her masters will be in educational technology! While I agree with the article’s recognition of the shortcomings of this form of pedagogy, (need for knowledge base-driven), for her and the content she is studying, it seems a perfect fit.
Being a person who enjoys going to class, and face-to-face interaction with classmates and instructors, I enjoyed pondering the idea brought out in the article of e-learning as one-on-one instruction. My feelings regarding long-distance internet learning has been that it is too impersonal for a learner like me. This one point, of the relationship, which may be built with an instructor sprouting from the convenience of the internet, is pushing me past my prejudice, and helping be see benefits for many different learners and content.
Have you taken an online class? (I have not). If so, please share your experience with me- I’m eager to know more from someone who has walked the walk. LB

Regarding the Electronic Portfolio article, I find it is a natural progression from the portfolios commonly found in elementary school classrooms. Similar is the criteria, for example, the inclusion of student-selected works, the reason for its selection, student-reflection, and a form of rubric for evaluation. In addition, the two share a similar purpose, that being, the promotion of learning and/or assessment.
Many of the benefits of other forms of technology may also be employed when creating an electric portfolio. For example, students may have greater ease of access to their target audience, and to tools such as online encyclopedias, typing software and clip art. Many of these tools can enhance a presentation and expand content resources, (which can then be hyperlinked and used by the audience as a link for extended study).
I read the article through the lens of a student creating work, and gave no thought to the electronic portfolio’s value as a tool for explaining why a work might be included or as an assessment. As I read on, the article suggested the use of a hyperlink to standards as a proof of merit. This, I believe, is a much less cumbersome way of illustrating the students’ addressing of standards, (rather than an entire document of standards accompanying a body of work, which must then be cross-referenced by the assessor.)
As for use in third grade, typing is always an issue, especially in the beginning of the year. I believe the portfolio may be modified for my younger audience, as they gain proficiency with keyboarding. For example, the teacher may make the tools easily accessible, such as line-item standards, which may be copied and pasted, a list of hyperlinks focusing on the content, make use of web templates, and online opportunities such as web quests and hyperstudio projects, which may be readily included in an electronic portfolio. Exciting learning!
How do you see yourself using this in your classroom? Are there other supports that may be used to support our younger learners?

Regarding our text reading this week, (Online writing centers, OWLs), I agree with the writer, we need both online and the physical ‘go to’ centers as options. We are all unique learners, and even as the new technologies are becoming essential, preferences should still be recognized as important in the experience of being a student. We want to do our best work and some communicators work best on a typewriter, some use pens, pencils, crayons, paints, music, etc. For myself, I often work best sitting alone in my classroom, as my home is too distracting for me. I get much more accomplished in this environment even though it is a 20-minute drive each way. It is my preference. Having shared that, I do make use of the phone and online resource services my school district and St. Joseph offer, (blackboard, etc.). These help-lines/communication are convenient and allow me to work when I wish. However, I often prefer a face-to-face experience. When working with others, I prefer to meet in person at times, not exclusively by phone or email. The text suggests the online users of the writing centers began to make use of the on campus center. Perhaps that is the most important purpose of the online center is to promote itself as offering a choice of a resource both online and as on campus . The online site exposed the center to a population that would not have found the on campus site otherwise. As the text states, “…role to facilitate student participation in increasingly broad literate networks.”
As the text goes on, it describes the site as moving from the ‘deconstructing of a text’ to a ‘latch on- to connect to a text’ function. The article was originally published in 2000, and seems to be describing what we are now doing in our class with blogging and the current popularity of ‘rooms’ to communicate with others.