The Wiki (or Weekly) Mess Up...

So...I went online to work on the wiki-space to find that all the work that then English students did was somehow over-written by the Spanish student works. Now that was weird...

So that is my frustration of the week when it comes to the wikipspace...not to mention the idea of every one having access to it...I just don't see how it is beneficial for a collaborative group of young adults to do one web-page works. I just feel that we could have learned how to change the web page but really wrote our analysis of other websites on our blog. I am just tired of my work being erased...oh well.

However, I did like navigating through those websites that were given to us. I can tell a lot better what is a more developed and scholarly website than a fun/mediocre one. That is all for now...

Research

After looking at all of these websites, I think that they are all great resources and tools for teachers to use. It is good for us to have these websites as part of our "toolbox" for when we become teachers. My only problem is that I don't know how to go about finding websites like these. When someone else tells me a website to go to, I can find it with no trouble and recognize how great of a site it is. However, when I have to go out on my own and find a useful and reliable website, I find myself having a lot of difficulties. I am wondering shares in my deficiency to conduct internet research or if anyone who finds such a task fairly easy would be willing and able to share some of their wisdom.

Websites

It is amazing to me how many websites there are for teachers, specifically math teachers. All of the sites from Professor Nillas's list that I visited seemed relevant and helpful and I know there are hundreds more out there. I came across several creative lesson ideas that incorporate technology into the classroom while efficiently presenting the material. There are so many things that I would have never thought of myself. That is why it is really great to have a means of sharing ideas across the world. I am also glad that teachers are willing to share their lessons, templates and activities, because I think it is a huge benefit for the students. The web is such a great resource for teachers and especially after looking at so many useful websites, I really look forward to using them mixed with my own ideas to optimize my future classroom.

advertisment in tv shows

So I was watching Mythbusters on tv earlier today and noticed something interesting. As I was watching, I realized that the computers used on the show were Dell computers. At first I looked at them and just happened to recognize the laptop because it is the same on I own, which happens to be a Dell. After that I was looking a little more closely. They later showed a monitor that is also a Dell and finally they showed another shot of the Dell monitor but this time they actually showed the label on camera and it clearly read Dell. I just wonder if people really choice their product by the advertising on tv. I mean, if people were to continuously see a specific type of product on tv, would more people be inclined to purchase that product? I guess it is a new way of advertising instead of doing commercials.

is anyone else having problems writing on the wikispace...when i went to add to the page, it told me that whatever i wrote would overwrite what was already written...help?

I can't make up my mind about Wikispaces. Part of me really likes the accessibility of it and I feel that it is incredibly easy to navigate. The links are easy to create and manage and the format of the site overall is simple enough so any student, teacher, or family member can maneuver throughout the site with ease. However, it seems incredibly impersonal. The whole idea of communicating from teacher to student, student to student, or teacher to parent through electronic medium is a little hard for me to fully grasp or enjoy simply becuase it takes all of the conversation and personal exchange that is unattainable without face to face interaction. I have found that people are able to connect on a deeper level, establishing a base of trust between students, teachers, and parents. This relationship is very important to establish and maintain and I become more and more concerned with being able to create those links and relationships as, and again I see the benefits, we as teachers move toward electronic communication.

WikiSpaces

Coming into this class, the only time I had ever used a wikispace was to go to it and blog for one of my previous education classes. I had never used it as a home page for a class or done nearly as much work on it as we have so far this semester. I was also excited about getting to create my own and have things on it that relate to my subject area of interest, which some times doesnt happen in all education classes because I am almost always the only student who is not becoming a teacher and I often have to make the adjustments instead of having things changed to better suit me. Going to all of the website and playing games has been really fun and a nice change of pace from the work I have been doing in a lot of my other classes. However, I do feel very overwhelmed at times since I am the only person who is reviewing all of the sites of interest for my field, where every other group has at least two people. I am glad that I am able to do it on my own though because I havent had the problem of competing with other people to put my information onto the site. I think this project will allow me to see many sites that will help me in the future and they will be ones that I may even have kids go to and do some games on to help calm them down if they are getting very anxious about the operation and are in need of something fun. I am looking forward to this project and am hoping that there will be a lot that I learn from doing this since I am spending a good amount of time doing it and putting a lot of effort into looking at the sites and seeing what all they offer for kids to be doing.