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.