Blog Reflection #2

After completing the quiz, I realize that although I feel that I've come a long way in the technology race, I have so much to learn. After checking my results for several of the questions, though, I realized, "Oh, I knew that!" I'm determined to learn as much as I can even though I feel illiterate and in need of a lot of help. This new technology just doesn't come naturally for me! :-(

After reading Alan November's article and completing the MAPPING activities, I am much more leery about websites that look legitimate but are not. If I have trouble discerning appropriate websites and information found in them, I can only imagine how confusing this might be for young internet users. The information presented in this week's articles and videos has taught me to check these sites out in various ways. I have bookmarked some of the resources available to help validate websites and publishers. One of my favorites is www. easywhois.com.
This information has caused me to question some of the sites I have used in the past. After being presented with this week's information, I feel better equipped to make judgements about website information from looking at the URL.

I plan to create a library wiki for my elementary kids to have a forum to discuss books they are reading, make recommendations to classmates, discuss their favorite authors, or add to a library "wish list". Since I never seem to have the time to talk to each one of them about what they are reading, this will give me a chance to catch up and give feedback. It will also give me a chance to update them on new books and upcoming events. I'm still in the planning stages, and have not begun to implement my wiki yet.

I believe this wiki will give voice to all of my students. Hopefully, I will be able to engage my reluctant readers who sometimes get lost in the crowd. They will be presented with an opportunity to express themselves in a non-threatening but personal way. It will be a way for me to keep up with them on an individual basis and get to know them better. I see this as a way to encourage them and hopefully instill my excitement for reading a good book!

I am one of the few people on the planet that has not yet joined a social network. I will do that as soon as I can find a chance to breathe! I have a new grandaughter and I understand there are really cute pictures of her on facebook. I also want to learn to use flickr to share photos.

It is alarming to think about how easy it is to be misled by information so easily accessible on the web. We must teach our students to critically analyze information rather than choosing the first sites they come across and accepting it as factual. To think that a student could be misled into believing that the holocaust never happened is terrifying. Or, for that matter, that velcro is an engineered crop made up of hooks and loops that is grown California! We must teach ourselves and our young students to be internet savvy if we're going to turn them loose on the world wide web.

I am so excited about my new Delicious account! I must admit that I have never been much of a bookmarker, and I always have to go back and try to locate sites that I have visited. Delicious provides me with a way to keep these sites organized and easily accessible from any computer that I am using. How convenient to have all of those sites at my fingertips!