Journal 1

Shifflet, R (June-July2008). Extreme Makeover: Updating Class Activities for the 21st Century. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved July 15, 2008, from http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/pdf2html.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fjheil65.googlepages.com%2FJournal1.pdf&images=yes

This journal article was good to start off with because it gave us an intensive overview of web-based tools that we can use in our future classrooms and for future assignments in this class. I think the best thing about teaching lessons and introducing assignments via the Internet is that students and teachers can share information with other classmates, classes, schools, etc. I can already see the benefits from websites like U-tube, Blogger and Delicious because my stepmother, a high school Spanish teacher, is currently using them. In order to plan for her A.P. course next year, she has accessed these various websites in order to collaborate with fellow teachers in the district as well as view other teacher’s lesson plans all over the country. After gathering all of this information she has been able to condense all of the class resources into a webpage that her students can access. While reading this article I could picture all of the tools my Step mom has been using and how accessible they all are. I think that I will use tools like Zoho writer in my classroom because it encourages students to be extra creative and thorough. As incentive I think I would choose two or three essays from my class to post publicly on our class blog or class website. I also like that fact that this application stores and saves all of the student’s writing so that I don’t have to keep so many files in my class that take up space.

How will I cater to my students who do not have Internet access at home?
-I think I can include these students by giving them the option to use the computer lab on campus or the in-class computers in class while the rest of the class is working on an in-class assignment.

How will I incorporate the technology mentioned in the article if I am teaching a lower grade like kindergarten or first grade?
-I think I can use technology to benefit my kindergartners and first graders by incorporating online presentations or videos found on websites like Flickr. Although my younger students may not be able to publish their own writing they will at least be familiar with what online resources look like and be able to access thee presentations with their parents at home.