Digital Divide

I think teachers have very limited power in the issue of digital division. The local, state, and federal governments have great power (and great responsibility) to make sure that all students have access to the same resources. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Rich school districts have the best equipment, and enough for everyone. Poor school districts are short on equipment and may have lousy or old devices.

As a teacher, the best thing I can do is work with what I have. Like in my lesson plan, I adapted it to three different scenarios. All three scenarios are certainly plausible in my teaching future. I consider myself to be above average in the technological knowledge department. I believe that I would be able to teach my class effectively weather we have access to one computer or 25. I would prefer one for all my students, but you can't always get what you want.

Blog #9 --> Popplet

My popplet: http://popplet.com/app/#/228795

I first learned about Bloom's Taxonomy in my Family, School, and Community class. We had to make maps of how different institutions acted upon a students life. (Community, teachers, parents, media, etc) Bloom's pyramid includes 6 intellectual skills important for learning. A mind map can cover those 6 skills in an organized and good-looking fashion. Popplet made it easy for that to happen.

I can use these two tools to make sure I'm learning what I think I'm learning. I could be a more effective student by using Bloom's taxonomy and mind mapping.

TEAC 259 Glog + Discussion

I chose to focus on what I did because it pretty much covers all the bases of digital citizenship. It is a good resource for parents and children alike. As a teacher, I will definitely teach these themes of digital citizenship to my students. In an increasingly online world, education is the best way to protect children online. Not only should children be educated on online etiquette and safety, but parents should be educated on how to keep their children safe. Parents need to know how to protect their children's online privacy and recognize signs of cyber bullying. Knowing that I taught their children these tips and now the parents know these tips should put them at ease.

Cyber bullying is on the rise. By educating children and parents on the signs and signals of cyber bullying, many incidences could be avoided. Parents need to be involved with their children's online activity so that cyber bullying can be cut off at the source.

UDL Book

(Link to my book: http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=view&book=57240&page=1)

The entire book hinges off my guides, so don't be confused when there's very little on the page.

I liked the idea of guides, considering I am neither a very good author or illustrator. The Book Builder seemed dated in that after ANY change to your book it had to reload the entire page. Not to mention the pop-up windows to edit anything. That being said, the guides brought a human element to my book in allowing my readers (presumably children) to see an animated character talking to them. Some of these kids won't even know how to read, so having the pictures and spoken word in there qualifies me for UDL. Maybe I failed miserably, but I never claimed to be good at making books.