Blog Post 5

Driving Questions Answered

Technology should be integrated into the classroom to help communicate with students, parents, and peers at a higher level. First of all, technology can improve communication between the teacher and students. Not only will technology improve communication, but there are many projects and assignments that can be done on the computer. These assignments can not only help students learn basic skills in subjects such as math, reading, and science, but also help them gain more advanced skills in technology. Second of all, technology can help improve the communication between teachers and parents. Technology can aid teachers in producing newsletters or flyers to send home to parents. When teachers are able to communicate with parents, they often become more involved in their student's education. Lastly, technology can aid teachers in communication with other peers and colleagues. Technology can be used as a great tool in sharing lesson plans with colleagues. It also can aid in communication between colleagues when dealing with behavioral problems with specific students.

The best technological tool I believe to have the greatest potential to improve communication between teachers and students, parents, and peers is the Microsoft Office Suite. Microsoft Office provides teachers opportunities to create many different types of documents to present to others. The Suite comes with programs to make documents, PowerPoint's, spreadsheets, worksheets, flyers, and much more. Slideshows in PowerPoint can be used to present information to students, community members and/or parents, and colleagues. In Microsoft Excel, spreadsheets can be made to perform many different uses. They can be used as a gradebook to keep track of grades, or Excel can be taught to students so they can create or fill out spreadsheets on their own. Within the program, teachers or students can create graphs to present the data displayed. Microsoft Publisher can be used to create newsletters, worksheets, and flyers to help communicate between teachers and others. Lastly, Microsoft Word can be used to send letters home to parents or for students to type up various writing assignments. Overall, i think the Microsoft Office Suite is the best program to improve communication between teachers and students, parents, and peers.

Blog Post 4

• Poll - I decided to ask my readers a question about the digital divide, "Has the digital divide affected students in the United States?". Before taking EDST 220 at the University of Oregon, I was not aware of the digital divide that separates schools, states, and countries throughout the world. This gadget allows readers to interact with my blog and vote on what they think to be true. This gadget will help me get a feel for the current knowledge of the digital divide.
• Clustr Maps - This map shows a picture of the world and has red dots that show where the people are from who have looked at my blog. Depending on how many people end up looking at my blog, it could eventually show the digital divide, who has access to technology and who doesn't based on where the red dots are on the map.
• Links List - I provided several links that provide more information about the topic of accessibility. Some of the sources are used throughout my blog, but having the list in the side bar provides quick easy access to the information from any page.
• Picture - Pictures are always a nice element to add to websites. Since the topic of accessibility can be depressing at times, I thought a "cartoon" would lighten up the mood. The picture shows the Digital Divide of technology.
• List of Blogs- I provided links to other blogs regarding technology in education. This will allow readers to look at more information about the topic of accessibility and other issues brought up about educational technology.
• Video - I decided to add three videos at the bottom of my blog. The YouTube videos talks about the problems of the digital divide and gives great information regarding the topic of accessibility. 

Sustainability

In class today we talked about the issues of sustainability of technology in education. Not only does technology have trouble with funding, but there are other problems such as environmental impacts and maintaining the technology. We used a VoiceThread that presented pictures of the educational problems regarding the topic of sustainability that we discussed in class.

Accountability

Accountability: Does technology in education HELP, HURT, or BOTH?

Blog Post 3

Mrs. Mooney's Class Blog

Mrs. Mooney, a first grade teacher in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin manages a blog for highlighting students work. The template of the blog is very simple but attractive. There is not a lot of color, but in a case like this, the less color, the better. Mrs. Mooney posts on the blog about every week, sometimes more. Each post is dedicated to show parents the type of work that has been done in class and to give some additional information about what they are learning. The blog is also easily accessible. There are two categories highlighting supplies needed and upcoming special events. Each category is neatly set up and easy to access. There is also a page dedicated to access her past newsletters. In my opinion, I believe Mrs. Mooney's Class Blog is a great example of how to utilize information for parents.

Room 110 Blog

Brian McLaughlin uses a blog to have his students post entries on. Although the idea is great, he doesn't do a great job on making the blog attractive or easily accessible. When entering his blog, the only colors you see are different shades of gray, which I personally think is very boring. When looking over his posts, there are often misspellings, or punctuation errors. He does a lot of posts in all caps which makes the post look very unattractive. On the front page of his blog, there is a lot of posts that are directly related to him, and nothing about his students or classroom. When trying to look around the blog, it was very confusing to navigate. Usually teachers have problems with adding too many gadgets, but McLaughlin doesn't have enough. I tried finding a search bar to search through his blog but I wasn't able to find one. In addition, when you click on the posts by the students, it takes you to a different page where it doesn't look like it belongs to the blog. Mr. McLaughlin needs to take some time to make his blog more accessible, attractive, and cohesive.

The Digital Divide

Set Two

Consider the assigned reading "Digital Divide Defined" as you craft your answers

1.) Is it important for all people to have access to the internet? Why or why not?

2.) Will eliminating the digital divide create new global, national, and/or local social problems?

3.) What might these new problems be?

Blog Post 2

1.                      In the majority of situations, I do not think it is fair to scrutinize teachers' private lives. Although, I do believe that there are some situations that cross the line. For example, I think that a teacher should be able to go out to the bar with friends and not have to worry about the possibility of losing their job. Being fired over a picture of a teacher holding a wine glass doesn't cut it for me. If you are over the legal drinking age, having a night out shouldn't be a problem for teachers. If a teacher begins to come to work hungover and is rarely prepared for class, then I think the teacher has crossed the line. When alcohol is starting to affect their teaching, then an action should be taken. When looking at a teachers’ private life, I believe the only reason a teacher should lose their job or be punished is if it affecting their teaching in the classroom. Otherwise, what a teacher does on their personal time should stay private.

2.                   I do not think teachers should have to worry about whether or not they should delete their Facebook. Teachers deserve to have a Facebook just like everyone else. They shouldn’t be restricted just because of their profession. If teachers belong to Facebook or other social networking sites, there are precautions that need to be taken. Teachers shouldn’t add their students and/or parents on Facebook unless they have a Facebook dedicated strictly to students and/or parents. They should ensure that all of their information is blocked and only friends can see their personal information. No matter what, teachers shouldn’t post any suggestive pictures that could get them in trouble. Just because they have privacy settings doesn’t mean that pictures will not end up in the wrong hands. Precautions always need to be taken with social networking sites especially because the laws and regulations are so broad, and everyone has a different opinion. Something a teacher might see as appropriate may not be to one of your student’s parents.