Post #6

Focus question #3

 

Teachers organize their preferred electronic resources by utilizing a standards connector. A standards connector is a collection of web resources organized in an easy to use, readily available format in order to assist teaching difficult to understand topics. It is a well-known fact that it is easier to perform well in a class or improve academic achievement if one is organized and consistently prepared. Well the same goes for us as a teacher if we are: sloppy, slow to return student's tests, constantly late and wasting precious teaching time fumbling for our lesson materials, then there is obviously going to be a problem with our students. Whether our bad organizational skills start to reflect in our students, or they lose confidence in us as their instructors in the end the result is the same a decrease in student’s performance. So this idea of organizing web resources in a way to easily bring up the appropriate source for the right lesson is somewhat crucial for a teacher, vital for a teacher who wishes to be a technological teacher. A good way to get your Standards connectors started is to figure out which state standard you wish to have fulfilled with the web resource you are currently looking for. Next while you’re searching match up these standards with one or two web resources and then bookmark them with a bookmarking tool. Once finished you must tag the resources with a creative tag so you will never forget what each source is to accomplish thus leading to a fulfilled and complete Standards connector.

Tech tool:

I like the idea of interactive online field trips. Especially with recent events the way they are families may not be able to afford to take their kids to these interesting cool places outside of the country. Websites like culture.gouv offer everyone a chance to experience these interesting historical sites.

 

For example this is the entrance into the cave today and it shows the rock styling and the trees indigenous to the area.  

 

 

 Also these are some statues that were found inside the cave. Dating back to 30-35 thousand years, obviously too fragile for each student to take a close examination, but pictures last a lifetime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are just some examples of the numerous benefits that can come out of taking virtual tours. I hope in the future more will arise. I can also see it becoming a valuable asset to get kids interested more in reading, because for those who have difficulty reading and creating images in their minds these websites will show visually exactly what they are talking about.

Summary: In this chapter the main focus here is to promote web resources in education and providing us with the tools and strategies we will need in order to use these sources efficiently. It describes how the internet has provided us a cornucopia of information, but with that information if we do not organize and condense the necessary information so it is easier for us to use. The book advises us to use bookmarking tools so we can organize the web resources effectively. Social Bookmarking brings communities together so that way it is not just Mrs. Suzy has a great web resource, but the entire math department now have access to it as well. Then the book goes on to talk about the different types of activities students can enjoy using the web resources we as teachers find.