Blog #5

The Secrets to Increasing Females in Technology.

Betty.shanahan@swe.org.

Technology Teacher; Oct2006, Vol. 66 Issue 2, p22-24, 3p

http://web.ebscohost.com.cwplib.proxy.liu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=18&sid=64b3c765-31f8-4534-97ce-558e0ba6d56e%40sessionmgr2

REVIEW

In our society, man is known for their technologically challenging jobs. Women are not. Are women at fault for the fact that they are “technologically” challenged in this society or is society to blame for this lack of gender in the field? In The Secrets to Increasing Females in Technology, it is believed that women are treated in a biased manner right from the start. Females are not to blame for this problem, rather societal influences that are currently taking place.

President Bush's announcement of the American Competitiveness Initiative brought forth the idea that the future holds many more technological positions. Schools have now begun engineering and technology classes. That is right where the gender bias begins.

According to Betty Shanahan, parents are one group of people to blame. Many parents will tell their young boys that talent and hard work are equivalent. Young girls are told that hard work is more important than any math skills they might need.

Later on in life, this is one factor that is believed to be the cause of women dropping out of engineering and technology undergraduate programs. Professors make jokes about one woman in a class full of men. This treatment can lead women to believe that they do not belong in a men’s environment. In addition, if girls and boys work in a group together, girls usually receive the tasks of typing up the report or taking notes. Girls seem to “hang back” a bit whereas boys jump up to do the job that will impress the teacher. Teachers can combat this gender role assignment by giving the assumed jobs to the opposite gender. These societal rules do not serve our future well but maybe they will change

COMMENTARY/OPINION

I definitely agree that our society is not helping the “digital divide” in terms of gender. I have had many experiences where jobs have been assigned to me that am somewhat administrative or secretarial. The challenging jobs seem to always go to guys. In addition, I was always told it was okay to fail math or receive low grades. One professor in college changed that for me. I had to take quantitative statistics for my undergraduate degree. My professor made the environment safe and secure. There was no such thing as a dumb question. I ended up with a B+ in a math class. It was then that I realized I had been faulted by society. My parents and my teachers always told me it was okay to fail. Would my life have been different if they hadn’t told me that? However, I still enjoy typing the reports and taking the notes. Neatness counts and I would never present a project that wasn’t aesthetically pleasing. I hate to say that content comes second for me, but it does.

Blog #4

A Splash of Color, a Dash of Learning

By David Baird

http://www.thejournal.com/articles/17708

REVIEW

Is color really better? According to David Baird from Lexmark Printing, color really seems to brighten things up in the world of education. Studies proved that students remember more of what they see when it is in color. Students also seem to pay attention longer when they are looking at something in color. This article goes on to discuss the pros of having color laser printers as opposed to conventional inkjet printers. Supposedly, laser printers will print more pages per minute than our usual inkjets. They require less maintenance in terms of how often their cartridges need to be replaced. The paper trays are larger and can generally hold 3 times as much paper. Laser printers have now become more cost efficient since technology prices have dropped so dramatically. Though laser printers still cost more than inkjet printers, the amount of maintenance required on a conventional inkjet will meet and surpass the cost of a laser printer.

COMMENTARY/OPINION
I definitely agree that schools should add some color to their curriculums. I remember always receiving black and white hand outs in school. I couldn’t possibly be more bored from looking at them. I always wanted to see what color the images on the paper were really supposed to be. In addition, I also memorize information better when I am looking at a color. If I ever used flash cards, I always remembered the answers from the bright yellow index cards. If humans have the ability to see color, than why not use the ability to its highest advantage? Costs really have dropped dramatically for many different types of technology. I have seen teachers ready to attack the one piece of machinery in the school that is causing problems. I, myself have wanted to kick my copy machine many times. Kicking it never helped the problem. If not for cost effectiveness, maintenance reduction, cheaper paper use and color printing, than schools should buy laser printers to keep the sanity of the teachers!

Mi Kids

ANNOTATED WEB REVIEWS

By: Stacy Schreiber

http://www.mikids.com/

1. What is the overall (or general) purpose of the website?
1. Kindergarten – Fifth Grade
1. The general purpose of this website is to help grade school teachers enhance their teaching through technology
2. Another purpose is to help grade school teachers provide their students with semi-concrete information. Showing young students pictures or playing sounds for them will really help them solidify their learning.
3. This site provides many links to other helpful sites.
2. What are the major strengths of the website?
1. Visual images

1. Visual images are very helpful to students who still need semi-concrete information as well as teachers who are looking to navigate through any site quickly.
1. Organization
1. This website only has a small amount of information on each page. This makes site navigation easy.
2. Each page can be easily reached by using the channels located at the top of the page. Each is labeled with a number indicating appropriate grade level.
2. Layout
1. All of the information on this website is laid out in a table form. This makes finding information very easy.
2. Most of the information is centered on the page. The white space is used appropriately.

3. How can teachers use the website for teaching/learning?
1. Teaching
1. Teachers can help their visual learners by using many of the pictures provided on this website
2. Teachers can also use information from many of the links provided on this page to enhance their teaching.
1. The links on this site are excellent resources for any grade school teacher.
4. How can students use the website for independent or group learning, if at all?
1. Students
1. There are a few pages on this website that students could be directed to use. Navigation should be done by the teacher or the students should go directly to the pages that are suitable for them.

5. What are some pitfalls, if any, of the site?
1. The site itself appears to be made very quickly. The home page is not very aesthetically pleasing, but for teachers who are looking to enhance their lessons “at the end of the day”, they shouldn’t care that much.
2. General neatness is a pitfall. Parts of this website are sloppy.
3. The navigation bar at the top could be designed better. It took me a while to find the numbers and realize that they are an indication of grade level. I only knew that after I clicked on them.
4. The background image is distracting.

Enchanted Learning

ANNOTATED WEB REVIEWS

By: Stacy Schreiber

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html

1. What is the overall (or general) purpose of the website?
1. The overall purpose of this website is to provide all different kinds of activities for grade school students.
2. What are the major strengths of the website?
1. Organization

1. The organization on this website is very concrete. Specifically, every piece of information is in a “box”. This helps teachers or students navigate easily.
2. How can teachers use the website for teaching/learning?
1. Teachers

1. This website is loaded with information on every possible grade school subject that an elementary school teacher might cover over the course of the year.
2. Worksheets, fill-ins, mazes, quizzes, questions, and any other kind of printable material are available on this website. Teachers will find student friendly printouts in any subject on this website.
3. Teachers may also bring up any student-friendly page on this website in class (using a projector) to enhance any lesson.
4. The graphics make navigation an easy task.

4. How can students use the website for independent or group learning, if at all?
1. Students
1. This website also has many pages for student viewing purposes.
1. The pictures make the website more visually appealing to students.
2. The text is written in a reader-friendly font that is very suitable for children.
2. Independent learning
1. Students can visit this website from a home computer and complete any of the sheets as a homework assignment
2. Group work can also be done during class (assuming students have access to computers).

5. What are some pitfalls, if any, of the site?
1. This website does not have any white space. The site is packed with information that is way too close together.
2. I found it difficult to use the navigation bar on the right side of the screen. Traditionally the navigation bar is on the left side or at the top of the screen.
3. The site was not very aesthetically pleasing.
4. Another navigation table is located all the way at the bottom of the screen. It should be at the top.

ANNOTATED WEB REVIEWS

By: Stacy Schreiber

http://www.biologycorner.com/

1. What is the overall (or general) purpose of the website?
1. The purpose of this website is to help Biology teachers enhance their lesson plans and classroom activities.
2. Biology web quest suggestions are available through links on the web quest page. Some examples are blood donations, biomes and disease outbreaks
3. Many images are available to make any Biology lesson more interesting to the students.
4. Teachers also have access to pre-made quizzes as well as a quiz-maker. This would allow the teacher to customize a quiz based on his or her exact teachings.
2. What are the major strengths of the website?
1. Strengths of this website include graphics, organization, text layout, and overall user-friendly look.

i. Specifically, the graphics on this page made me want to look further. The images are clear and sized perfectly for the particular place they are in.

ii. The general organization is appealing to the user. There is just the right amount of text on each page. Too much text would make any user (like me) turn to a different page quickly!

iii. The text layout is perfect. The size of the text is appropriate for the specific places it’s in. I don’t feel senile when I am reading through these pages.

iv. The smaller details such as the combination of colors, buttons and again graphics make this website user-friendly.

3. How can teachers use the website for teaching/learning?
1. Teachers can use this website in many of the previously mentioned ways. They can create quizzes (or make them particular), use the images in class and use the web quest ideas for student development.
4. How can students use the website for independent or group learning, if at all?
1. I would say that this website is for teachers only. It is designed for use by a teacher and not a student.
5. What are some pitfalls, if any, of the site?
1. I honestly do not have any complaints or improvements that I feel could be made about this website.

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/index.htm

6. What is the overall (or general) purpose of the website?
1. The overall purpose of the website is to education students about all of the different aspects of weather.
7. What are the major strengths of the website?
1. The graphics, organization and centering of the text + graphics are some strengths.
2. The content is written in comic sans. This font is appealing to young people (and maybe some older people too!) Its easy to read and a little more exciting than times new roman.
3. The content itself is appropriate for student readers. Though its not age specific, I would have to say that most students (4^th grade and above) would enjoy reading the information on this website. **My collaboration group and I actually chose this website for one of the links on our page.

i. Specifically, the graphics make the page exciting for students, but are not so numerous and overwhelming that they demand all of the attention.

ii. The organization of the pages is very geometric. This makes the interface user-friendly for students. They can expect a certain consistency when they change pages.

8. How can teachers use the website for teaching/learning?
1. Teachers could definitely use this website for class activities. This website is fantastic for individual student use, but even better for group projects.
2. This website could be used to find information for a web quest.
3. The most important factor of this website is that the students might actually “take something away” with them when they are done with it. The definitions and content are written in a student friendly way.
9. How can students use the website for independent or group learning, if at all?
1. (See previous)
10. What are some pitfalls, if any, of the site?
1. The only pitfall of this website is that it can’t be used in the upper grades. I think that high school students would become bored very quickly with a website like this. Its meant to be used from 4^th grade to 8^th grade

http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/

11. What is the overall (or general) purpose of the website?
1. This website is a K-6 website for teachers only. The purpose of this website is to help elementary school teachers with all the aspects of running an elementary school classroom.
2. This site has subject specific information as well as classroom management skills and discipline plans.
12. What are the major strengths of the website?
1. The strengths of this website are the content and the layout.

i. Specifically, the content of this website includes information that I have not yet found on any other teacher websites. I find it very difficult to find information (that I can actually understand) about classroom management and discipline. This site has all of that information without the “fluff”.

ii. The layout of this website is organized and concise. The information is all focused around a central point and the home page basically fits on one screen. That is definitely strength.

iii. **This website is like the Wal-Mart or Target of websites for teachers. You can get everything you’re looking for in one place!

13. How can teachers use the website for teaching/learning?
1. Teachers can use this website for their planning, student development, classroom management and discipline tactics. There is a lot of “to the point” information.
14. How can students use the website for independent or group learning, if at all?
1. This website is not intended for student use.
15. What are some pitfalls, if any, of the site?
1. The font used in this website was a little too creative. That type of font would be better suited to an artistic website. As a teacher, I found it hard to read at certain times.

Blog #3

http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193200370

Integrating Visual Literacy

By: Susan McLester

REVIEW

Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco keeps their students “on top” in a technological fashion. All of the incoming freshman receive up-to-date palm pilots. Beaming zones allow the students to send and receive information to each other. Teachers can organize students via homework and testing schedules right from the start. No excuses for these students! McClester calls it a 21^st century organizational tool (since all of the students can download just about anything).

All aspects of the school involve technology in one way or another (unlike the imaginary scene depicted by the author in my previous blog). Film and photo have “jazzed” up the once boring school newspaper. The girls enjoy the chance to be creative. Spanish classes have also used camera technology. English becomes more fun for the students when they can download pictures they may have talked about in a once boring novel.

The new technology sure makes school more interesting for these girls!

COMMENTARY/OPINION
I liked this article much more than the one I read previously (blog #2). This kind of technology could only be possible in a private school for two reasons. The first reason has to do with the parents. They control the finances that go into the system. The second reason is more dependent on the lack of federal involvement.

NCLB is one example of a guideline that has stunted progress in our public school system. On one hand, it’s great that all of the students are getting help that they need. This act is meant to ensure survival of all young people for the future. On the contrary, the students that are on the fast track are losing their drive and excitement from the slower pace. Is that really fair?

In a private school, the administrators and the staff decide what is going to happen and when. I have worked in both types of environments. Honestly, I really appreciated the freedom I had when I worked for the private sector…I didn’t appreciate the salary.

Blog #2

http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193200296

A Day in the Life of Web 2.0

By: David Warlick

REVIEW
This article can best be reviewed by stating the title: A Day in the Life of Web 2.0. Basically, Warlick’s article gives the reader many different perspectives of technology in the classroom. He mentions the teachers and their collaborations through blogs, wiki’s and the Internet. Many opinions from the students were also shared. The students benefited not only from the prepared lessons given by the teacher, but from looking at each other’s work as well.

COMMENTARY/OPINION
This article paints a very picturesque scene within a school. All the students are happy. All of the teachers seem to know how to use differing technologies in their classrooms. Even the “veteran English teacher” down the hall knows what a wiki is. I can’t help but feel like this kind of setting is completely unrealistic for the current time.

To start, veteran teachers often reject the use of new technology because they are usually set in their ways. All students are not necessarily technologically inclined because some still do not have full time access to a computer.

This author may be envisioning a place like Perfect (Often talked about fictitiously on Walgreen’s commercials). I could just hear it now: “Where all of the students are in jubilant moods and all of the teachers have working computers in their classrooms…”

In addition, I noted that the last line of this article states that the author is a blogger, podcaster and programmer. He forgot to add naïve dreamer to the list…

Blog #1

http://www.edutopia.org/php/article.php?id=Art_1672
Paperless Learning
By: Amy Standen

REVIEW
This article is well summarized by its title, Paperless Learning. In some areas such as Seattle, Washington and parts of Utah, many students are finding themselves with a lighter load in their backpacks. Many schools have resorted to a kind of textbook replacement, the e-book. Aside from the lighter load, students seem to respond better to interactive textbook use than textbooks alone.
During a typical e-class, a teacher would lecture for 10 to 20 minutes. The students would then work as a team to complete the daily assignment using their e-books. E-book teachers feel a sense of freedom that allows them to help students on more of an individual level. Homework is submitted electronically which also lightens the teachers load!
However, there is a flipside to this new technology. First, the creation of an e-book is a tremendous amount of work. Second, many teachers whom have learned to "teach from the text" are reluctant to change their ways.
COMMENTARY/OPINION
I used to think that this kind of technology was limited to places that I considered to be "technologically inclined". Seattle and parts of Utah would not have been my first guesses. Technology is more widespread than I had initially thought. When I was teaching middle school Social Studies, I noticed that teachers were lecturing less and group work took up the majority of the class period. I always found this too be difficult because I had to teach without textbooks. So what were my students doing without books? They didn't have computers. They had nothing. Now it seems that the group work includes a computerized text book or something close to it. That of course is the missing piece. I often look back at my teaching and feel like my students were directing their own "sourceless" activities. What a waste...
This article also mentions a statistic that I find to be completely "bogus". Even in a school where 50% of the students are on a free lunch program, everyone has a computer at home. I cannot say that everyone has a computer at home. I worked in an economically challenged district and one, just one of my students did not have a computer. I often assigned computer work and was at a loss as to what to do with her. I gave her extensions on all of the assignments. I would let her come up to the computer lab during recess. She happened to be a wonderful student but the rules were just not fair. The other students became angry at my inconsistency and at this student. This gave her a "poor" stigma. 46% of the students in my school were part of the free-lunch program. Statistics about school lunch say nothing about technological access. This author just threw that information in because it sounded good. That really bothered me.

Test

Just testing!