Final Reflection

After taking this course, I have a new appreciation for the technology that is readily available to all teachers. My favorite discovery that I made while taking this class was the idea of social bookmarking. Prior to taking this class I was that person that got extremely annoyed when I wanted to have access to a website I had bookmarked on my computer at home. Now I have an opportunity to gain access to any bookmarked site I choose. I also like how using social bookmarking gives you the option of tagging. For me, I bookmark A LOT of sites. For that fact, I am going to need a way to organize them so I don’t (as I usually had to) need to scroll through all to choose the one I am looking for. It will help me choose between my teaching sites and my personal. I think this is a great idea. I have already shared this with many of my friends and families who found it as fascinating as I did.

This class has shown me all that is left to learn about technology and its uses in the classroom. I realize that I will have to be constantly updated on new information so that I stay current with my students. My goal for my own learning is to attend professional development sessions to learn more about technology and to work within my own district to ensure all students are getting the updated, available tools for learning.

While taking this class, I did not have any unexpected outcomes really. I learned all that I expected and took out what I felt was useful for my own teaching style. I liked how this class pointed out many sites and online tools that multiple districts are restricting. Perhaps we can show the administrations the uses of these tools so they can be implemented into daily lessons. Then students will have increased engagement and cooperation throughout the school days.

I honestly would not change anything about this class. I feel the content involved in this class is great. Changes that would have to be made would include updating the information as needed to remain current. This class has been extremely useful to me. I only hope to have many more opportunities to gain this type of information. I will not only be growing from new information and ideas, my student’s will. If there was ever to be an additional program like this in the future, I would definitely take part. It has been a great learning experience for me.

The Webliography of Literacy "Stuff"

The Webliography of Literacy “Stuff”

1. Name of Resource: Busy Teacher’s Cafe

URL: http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/index.htm

Summary: This website has SO many activities and useful information in teaching K-6 students literacy. It shows teachers useful techniques in multiple formats. There are printables, lesson plans, shopping sites, teacher resources and so much more.

Commentary: An advantage of this website is amount and quality of the information on this website. A disadvantage of this website is that it has not been updated since January of 2009. This means the information is not as current as it could be. I would give this website a 4 out of 5.

2. Name of Resource: Literacy Centers

URL: http://staffweb.peoriaud.k12.az.us/Teresa_Wilson/literacy_centers.htm

Summary: This website contains many different literacy centers that can be used in the early elementary grades. They are literacy specific centers with many references to other subject areas, such as math. There are many categories of centers to use on this website. It is a good tool for teachers and the person behind this website is consistently updating the information!

Commentary: An advantage of this website is that the author is always updating the information. This will help all teachers that use this website current and effective to the times. A disadvantage to this website is that it covers literacy centers only in the early elementary grades. Teachers from third to sixth grade would not find this website too useful. I give this website a 3 out of 5 rating.

3. Name of Resource: MES English

URL: http://www.mes-english.com/phonics.php

Summary: This is an excellent resource when teaching phonics to elementary level students. They have flash cards that you print and have the students fill in, personalized phonics printables, using manipulatives to use when teaching phonics and so much more. It covers multiple areas within the phonics curriculum and is a great resource!

Commentary: An advantage to this website is the array of different phonics related information there is. A disadvantage to this website would be having the ability to get around the site. Some may find it quite simple but those that are unfamiliar with computers may find it difficult. I would rate this website a 4.5 out of 5.

4. Name of Resource: Online Literacy Activities

URL: http://www.boardman.k12.oh.us/bdms/golubic/onlineliteracy.htm

Summary: This website contains many interactive literacy activities for elementary level students. Teachers can use this to teach whole class, small group, or individual instruction. This website uses multiple categories within the literacy spectrum that can be useful for teachers to enhance topics.

Commentary: The advantage of using this website is how user friendly it is. Many teachers as well as students will be able to surf this site. A disadvantage of this website would be following directions on how to do each activity. Some bring you right to the site to start without much direction. It may need to be highly teacher directed. Therefore I would rate this site a 3 out of 5.

5. Name of Resource: Reading A-Z : Your Reading Resource Center

URL: http://www.readinga-z.com/index.php

Summary: This website is extremely useful when looking for leveled readers to use in your classroom. You can sign up on this website for a 30 book trial or you can sign up and become a member to gain full access. It is a great tool for teachers to use with nice graphics, text, and printables. This website would be a good idea for all teachers to sign up on.

Commentary: An advantage of this website is its’ simplistic nature. Many teachers will find it simple to navigate to find their desired books. A disadvantage of this website is that you must pay a fee to gain full access to the websites content. I would give this website 4.5 out of 5.

6. Name of Resource: Scholastic

URL: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/home.jsp

Summary: This website is great for students, teachers and parents. It has many activities, tools, book choices, and so much more at people's fingertips. This website can be used to shop for your classroom. It is a great website to find multiple literacy enhancing activities and tools to help make difficult topics make sense for students. The information is consistently updated which ensures you are teaching current information.

Commentary: An advantage of this website is that it contains current information with consistently being updated. Another advantage is the wide array of materials that are for sale on this site. A disadvantage of this website is the small amount of kid friendly items. This website has items available for young children, but should be used primarily by adults. I would give this website 4 out of 5.

7. Name of Resource: Teaching Treasures

URL: http://www.teachingtreasures.com.au/

Summary: This website contains a great deal of information that may be useful to teachers, parents, and students. It has many interactive activities, teaching tools, multiple worksheets and projects and much more. It can help students across all areas of the curriculum.

Commentary: An advantage of this website is that it contains many links within the webpage. This tells me that not only is there an array of information on that website, but now you have an increased accessibility with links to other sites. A disadvantage of this website would be having to go through many links until you reach the one you want. Sometimes with links like these you are taken through multiple sites before you possibly find what you originally started to look for. I would give this website 4 out of 5.

8. Name of Resource: The Reading Treehouse

URL: http://www.aability.com/pagames.htm

Summary: This website contains multiple activities that can be used in the classroom setting to teach phonemic awareness. These lessons and manipulatives can be whole in a whole class, group, or individual setting. The activities span from pre phonemic awareness to having phonemic awareness. Many teachers will find this website useful.

Commentary: The advantage to this website is it deals with pre and post phonemic awareness. That means teachers that use this website will find it useful for a long period of time. A disadvantage to this website is picking the type of activity you are looking for. Some, by the name, are unclear what they are teaching. That being said, that may take longer to find the desired activities. I would rate this website a 3.5 out of 5.

9. Name of Resource: Word Way

URL: http://www.wordway.us.com/

Summary: This website has great activities that can be used both in the home and school. Students will be able to work through many word families and learn many skills needed in literacy development. This would be a useful website to post on your classroom website or blog. It will build home-school connections as well as teach necessary skills of literacy development.

Commentary: An advantage of this website is that it connects school content to a student’s home life. A disadvantage would be that this website is down sometimes making it unavailable for families. Therefore I would give this website a 3 out of 5.

10. Name of Resource: Word Wizard

URL: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student interactives/word-wizard-a-30002.html

Summary: This is an extremely interactive game that helps students work on literacy skills, critical thinking and problem solving skills, comprehension skills, and spelling skills. This website allows you to play the game while having age appropriate activities to go along with it on the bottom. It is a great game that would work well in a literacy center or technology center in your elementary classroom.

Commentary: An advantage to this website is that teachers will not have to direct students. The game is extremely kid and user friendly. A disadvantage to this game is the vocabulary words are only out of 4 popular children’s book titles. At some point I would hope that the site be updated and change the stories used. I would give this website 4.5 out of 5.