Web Site Reflection - Week 10

Here I sit thinking back on the emotions I felt when this assignment had to be started. I was scared stiff! I completed it and I do not think it warranted all the fear, anxiety, and confusion that I gave it. I have always heard that “hind-sight is 20/20”; now, I know what it means. Of course, Dr. Wang has heard me whining all the way from Sumrall, MS. I must thank her for her patience and the fact that she never gave in to all my complaining.

When starting the Web site, I was overwhelmed with what to do first. Once I got started, it kinda all fell into place. Google has truly made it a simple task. The first template I tried, I kept for several days. I went back to look at it numerous times. It just did not work for me. It almost appeared too elementary in appearance. I was trying to use a template that was definitely “education” in presentation. I have decided it is fine not to overdo the education motif.

As for the utility of this Web site, I think it would be great. My only concern is whether or not the school district will allow the use of it. I know the school where I teach now will not allow me to have a Web site; the school has one and they keep it updated with PR type of information. I have a friend who teaches, and her school provides Web sites for all the teachers. My friend’s students and parents can access testing information, assignments, and everything I used on this Web site. My friend believes the Web site is an asset to her class. She believes it is an excellent resource for the parents.

I will stand by my comments I have made from the beginning. All of this is great, but if I am not proficient, or if I do not keep the information up-to-date, it is all for naught. There must be a purpose for everything placed on the site. The site will also require a lot of time to maintain properly. I also believe this site could wind up being detrimental to communication with parents and students. Just like e-mail, people begin to rely too heavily on the written communication. It will be important to put only information that will be general in nature. It is imperative that regular meetings and phone calls remain as the number one method of communication for the teacher.

Please visit my Web site: GED Fore Golf

Week 8 - Experience

This activity was loads of fun! I enjoyed the learning activities more than I did the evaluation activities. I discovered that Web sites I find useful, may not be up-to-date. I say that because I could not readily find the information regarding “last updated”. I know I have seen the notation last updated on professional group Web sites; e.g. physician associations, educator associations. I just do not recollect seeing it on sites such as the ones I have been using. Now, I will know to look for that date. With math, unlike many subjects, I am not certain how much “new information” is readily available.

Since my teaching experience is in the area of GED preparation, I guess the only new information I would expect to find would be that of GED testing requirements. Math, pretty much remains the same, so I am not certain I am bothered when I do not find a new revision date listed. Now, I do find the newest copyright information. This info includes the origination date of the site, and two of the three sites listed 2010 as the second range date. I am guessing that is the revision date, huh?

I also noticed that the Web sites were more specific with the math appropriate age range than I thought. I just have never looked at the age recommendation information. I just know the site included information I needed, and with the varied skill levels I teach, it was a benefit that some of the information was more remedial than most may want to use in class.

Let me back up for a minute to the puzzle and test. These were superb tools for a new teacher, or anyone. I find I can use the test maker for daily isolation skill building tests, or for the more involved tests. This site will also be beneficial to developing individualized tests – not the struggle it has been in the past! I mean, I can make the test as soon as class is over!

The puzzle center was not my favorite. I find Discovery Education has a better site for creating useful puzzles. I found I could only get 10 of the 20 definitions included in the puzzle center creation, and I was able to get all 20 in with the Discovery Education puzzle maker site. I do not mind if the puzzle is spread out, I just need all the vocabulary to be available. Otherwise, it is not as useful.

Great time with this assignment!

TrackStar
Rubric
Quiz
Puzzle
Progress Report
Flyer

Week 7 - The Web for Teaching and Learning

How can a classroom web site improve communications with students, parents, and community? What is an acceptable use policy? What impact does it have on the use of the Web in the classroom?


I do not believe my thoughts on a classroom Web site is the popular thought. I do find merit in making use of the internet as a great tool for learning, but I do not find it necessary to have a personal Web site for each class. With that being stated, I do find advantages to the use of the Web site as an educational tool. As stated in the chapter, it is limited only by imagination.

The Web site will offer a communication route to the student, parents, and teacher. Many parents have access to the Web throughout the day and in the evening, and this could be a much faster communication system. It will also allow more up-to-date communication, because it is the most recent activity posted on the classroom Web site. A parent can be informed on what is being studied at all times; pretty close to being considered involved. There would be no “phone tag”, or future meetings on a problem that is taking place today.

There is also the possibility the results of a test, or classroom assignment, can be returned as soon as the “submit” button is pushed. It is often that a teacher does not return the graded papers as quickly as would be best for the student. This same idea of feedback is also important for the parent, and the teacher. Parents can more easily follow-up on a child’s progress, or lack thereof, if they can track this via the classroom Web site. The teacher will have a faster means to check for need to re-teach, if the assignment is graded immediately.


It will allow you to tailor the lesson(s) and mode of teaching to the various skill-levels of your students. The tools available are limitless. There is video, photographs, and written information available from government sites, other school districts sites, news media sites, and corporation sites. There is no need to spend countless hours developing tools. Now, it often takes hours to choose which information is best, but that is an entire chapter topic. These resources provide educational tools to the most financially deprived school districts and to every school with internet access.


With all of this information, it is imperative to develop a policy and guidelines for this Web site. While the policy may be the only “limit to imagination”, it is important that overuse or inappropriate use of information does not take place. I find that when you think you do not have to state a reasonable point, it is often then that you should. People do dumb things every day, and a classroom Web site is a very public arena that opens up a can of worms when misused. For the classroom, with so many people being able to access the site, it will be impossible to police to prevent problems.