#1: I looked at the Charters of Freedom and as a primary source it is very valuable. This website allows you to view the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and it provides information about the documents and their writers. The website offers high resolution images, which can bring the experience of being at the National Archives to you. For students to just learn about things like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence from a book is boring and does not bring the importance of the documents to life. To study and look at them themselves, students can get a better historical perspective and will feel that they are experiencing what they are studying. I would use the National Archives online in my classroom as a history teacher as it would take advantage of a free website which utilizes technology and provides an interactive experience. There were several "exhibits" and it brings a museum field-trip to the classroom without leaving.
# 2: Student Groups Experiencing Achievement Gaps : Racial and ethnic minorities, English language learners, Students with disabilities, boys/girls, students from low-income families. From the "Becoming a Culturally Competent Educator" section I found three areas that fit my personalty that I could possibly implement. I am really interested in other cultures and learning and teaching about them, so the idea of "gather[ing] and organiz[ing] resource materials related to culturally diverse groups for us by school staff" is something that I would find interesting and fun. I think that many times schools only use superficial resources to discuss and teach about different cultures. I think that what this website is suggesting is that educators find meaningful things that can serve as visual and interactive components of multicultural eduction that really help students to understand other cultures. Another idea I liked was about "build[ing] and us[ing] a network of 'natural helpers' at school and in the community." This sounds like an awesome idea because it can take underrepresented students and make them teachers for their peers about something they know best. Instead of having a teacher lecture or even show things from a culture, students from different cultures can share and help others to be open about differences and to embrace them. The third area I liked was the one which said to "Network with other schools that are developing and implementing culturally competent systems. Adapt the processes and information that are consistent with your school's needs and interests." I like collaboration as it takes the pressure off of having to create all sorts of great ideas. Looking to other schools at times can be beneficial and create community among educators. Finding great ideas and adapting them to meet your needs is a great example of being a life-long learner.
#3: I took the quiz for the 14-17 age range, and my result was "cyber saint." I do not write mean things on people's walls and I only use the internet for fun or educational purposes. I found the section about "The Power-hungry and Revenge of the Nerds" interesting, as I have knwon people who are quiet or have a hard time making friends use the internet to communicate more than they would with people in person. I know for myself, I find it easier sometiemes to communicate with people online then in person, but I don't turn to the internet to create a new person, as it seems that some people do. As the section says, "It is their intention to frighten or embarrass their victims. And they are empowered by the anonymity of the Internet and digital communications and the fact that they never have to confront their victim. They may act tough online, but are not tough in real life." Thus, the internet becomes a real problem for people who want to create a better version of themselves and get revenge for injustices done to them. In my classroom, I could use this information to help tackle bullying in "real life." I could show how students who are picked on can turn around and use the internet to pick on their bullies. It is a bad cycle for which there are examples of people being seriously hurt by cyberbullying. Those who feel empowered by bullying can see the effect they can have and how they can get hurt themselves.
#4: I went to a site under the History/Social studies subject area which is from the University of Indiana. I went to the Content Area: Geography and Culture and it had a few useful websites that had educational information. However, many of the links did not work as the websites had moved or were no longer available. One interesting website I found when I went back to the main History page was the dMarie Time Capsule website, where you could type a date and find information about that year. This would be good for a research project where students can look up dates we are studying. Since I want to be a history teacher, it will be very helpful to use the website to bring history alive and to provide an interactive element to my teaching. Another website was Archiving Early America, which appeared to have some good resources for teaching different periods of the Colonial era of American history.
#5: My top 3 learning styles from taking the test are: 1)Verbal-Linguistic (100%), 2) Intrapersonal (94%), and 3) Musical (941%). I watched the video called "Multiple Intelligences Thrive in Smartville." This features an Elementary school in Georgia which bases its curriculum on the idea that there are different ways of learning, which is what the test I took determines which one I am. I did not know that there are these many different ways to learn, and that there is a school which uses unique methods based on tests the students take to have individualized plans of education. I think this is an awesome idea and allows students a great opportunity to learn the best way for them personally, instead of just going through the standard "one-size-fits-all" method that is in every school.
#6: I chose grades 6th-8th Social Studies and the article was titled "A Historical Primer On Economic (In)Equality". This offers "Discussion and Writing Prompts" which would be very helpful as I want to have my students write and discuss challenging topics, and this will give me ideas to have them write informal in-class paragraphs, or even small papers on. This lesson discusses poverty in America, and will be a good tool to deal with issues of social justice and multiculturalism in America. Some of the topics that were brought up as "Research Topics" dealt with economic inequality and were related to Native Americans, immigrants, the disabled, and labor unions. All of these topics fit well with Social Studies, as the subject is not just the study of history, but applying history to understand and make a difference in the present and future.
#7: I found the question about the amount of powder cocaine and crack cocaine it takes to get convicted of possession interesting because the wealthy tend to use powder cocaine and it takes alot more of it to be convicted. This shows an injustice in the legal system which has a disadvantage for the poor. Another question that I found interesting was the one which gave statistics about African Americans arrested for drug use compared with the actual percentage of African Americans who are drug users. There was a discrepancy which again points to injustices in the legal system pitted against African Americans that is based on the stereotype that a large number of African Americans are drug users.
#8: I took the Netiquette Quiz and I missed 1 out of 10 as I missed the question about what a "flame" is. Netiquette is important to teach because now that this next generation is growing up with the computer already being a daily part of life, they need to know that it and the internet are not just toys that can be used however they want. There are rules that should be followed to keep the internet clean and used for wholesome and responsible purposes. B:-)
