Buy it, Use it, Break it, Fix it . . . Technologic

I think that technology in the classroom is inevitable.  It will always be there so we should try to work with it.  However there is a time and place for everything.  I will not be one of those teachers who tries to make every lesson a smart lesson just so the kids will think I'm fun.  If the technology lends itself to the lesson then awesome, if not maybe we can use the technology in another subject that day.  I do believe that I will be creating special projects that work through technology, but at the same time I will not be limiting the class to technology use.  It will need to be fair to everyone, and sometimes families just do not have the resources to keep up with today’s changing times.

I think that being raised on technology has made me more apt to try and implement it into my classroom.  It is a fun thing that I wish I had in class growing up.  I remember going to computer class once a week and being so bored because I had the same math game at home and had beaten it twice.  Now though, there are so many different (inexpensive) things that the students can use to improve their skills. 

I think it is also important to remember that technology in the classroom does not just need to be in the hands of the student.  The teacher can also use technology as a way of planning, record keeping, and creating.  The quizzes and test can be less intimidating with clip art, and lesson plans can follow the same format because you have created a template.  Also there are websites such as Powerschool that allow the teacher to keep and online grade book and attendance record- it’s sort of like blackboard for the elementary level.

I plan on keeping my Diigo up to date because it is an amazing tool for anyone to use, not just teachers.   I have also fallen in love with stumble upon it which is a randomizer that links to Diigo and facebook so it is constantly giving me new and interesting sites I would have never found.

1 portfolio, 2 portfolio, red portfolio, blue portfolio

10. Locate 1 good and 1 bad example of electronic portfolios on the Internet. Post these as links in a blog entry. Tell me your justification for choosing each.

http://depts.washington.edu/ctltstaf/example_portfolios/munchak/index.html
This is an amazing online portfolio. It goes in depth into everything, yet all of the main point are highlighted and focused so that someone could still skim it for the key points. This is an all inclusive portfolio. It includes lesson plans, copies of student work, and even transcripts of conversations he had with students.

I skimmed most of the documents on this site and everything is well written, to the point, and clean. He doesn't go off on tangents or just add fluff to make it seem like more it is all very good.

http://depts.washington.edu/ctltstaf/example_portfolios/poch/index.html
This one is alright but compared to the other it is just lacking and very jumbled.  I couldn't find a truly horrible education example, but this one just feels off to me. And it's not just because it is a secondary portfolio. The lessons seem to be a bit choppy and it seems very unprofessional. The pictures are out of focus and things are photocopied with shadows. To me it seems that this one was put together last minute without any help.

Where the other one linked out in many places so as to keep everything separate, each time i bring up a new page it is just blocks of texts. There is very little formatting and even less links. It makes the whole site seem unprofessional and unattractive.