Post #2

My experiences with internet have included using Google and Yahoo search engines for both personal and educational information. When searching for information for personal use, I never bothered really checking to see if the website was reliable. I typed in what I was looking for and started with the first site that came up. When using the web for educational purposes I always relied on .edu or .gov sites and believed them to be legitimate. I had been warned not to rely on the information from Wikipedia and other iffy sites and made it a practice to compare several website's information before believing it and using it for research purposes. I used what I thought was”good pratice” when searching for creditable information on the web. Now I realize I was uneducated in my web experiences and probably didn't always receive the best and most accurate information and I can improve the practice in which I use the internet.

Before completing the MAPping activity, I never knew that I could see the author of the websites and check their history. The activity allowed me to realized that I needed to further checkout the credibility of the websites that I use for both my personal and especially my educational uses. I will now check further into the sites that I use to ensure their legitimately. Even sites that appear to be legitimate may be a hoax, such as Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus, shown in the MAPping activity. This site is professionally set up and seems to have verified information and resources. Without further investigation, this information from this site would be believed as accurate. A child may not know how to recognize credible websites and could receive and believe false information. That that I am informed, I can also teach my own children how to properly search for information of the web.

The knowledge that I gained from the MAPping activity will be applied to my personal and educational when using searching the web. I will be more aware when I research information and I now have a better understanding of how to utilize the search engines, so that I can find pertinent information and weed out other information. Now I will feel confident when I search for web information and cite it in educational papers. As a teacher, it will be important to give my students reliable information and teach them how to find reliable information when using the web. It is important to show students to ensure their safety and knowledge. I will feel comfortable teaching students how to do a web search for information using credible search engines and valid websites. The skills that I have gained about using the web for information will be passed on to my students.

Resources

http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

Post 1

Hello All-

I am creating this blog for the ETEC 424- Integrating Technology course that I am taking through Texas A&M Commerce. I am working towards completely a teaching certification EC-6 in Special Education.

I have been working in the school district for 4 years and I have witnessed the changes of technology in the classrooms. Classrooms today rely heavily on technology in both the teaching of materials, as well as the presentation of knowledge learned from the students. Even the very young students use technology daily for instruction and testing, as well as participating in interactive lessons by using classroom smart boards.

Gone are the days of a teacher standing in front of the room and teaching a lesson with just a chalkboard. Teachers today look for new ways to maintain the student's interest and attention level. In a world where technology is easily accessible and often hand held, teachers are using bringing more technology into the classrooms to appeal to students and engage them in the lesson.

In this course, I hope to learn new ways to present materials to students in a technological way, that they will find appealing and interesting. In turn, I want to learn to teach students how to use technology as a resource, for presenting the knowledge that they have learned.