Digital Blog #F

                 Maloy et al. (2013, pp. 146) also discussed the usefulness internet bookmarking. They point out how we tend to be distracted and easily sidetracked by visuals and other things that we find interesting, leading us away from what we were trying to find in the first place. As we all know, sometimes searching for what we want can be quite difficult, even though everything you want to know is on the internet now, but that is partly the problem now. Bookmarking saves time, keeps you from being distracted once you have found the pages you want, and saves time later when you want to return to that page. Any teacher knows that management, time, and organization are important to your saneness.

                Standards connector! What a great idea. Maloy et al. (2013, pp. 151) say that making a standards connector is a great way to get yourself prepared for the task of teaching. I completely agree with this idea. A standards connector is basically a special name for bookmarking according to the standards that you teach. When you find a useful site, you record that site next to the standard, so when you are ready to teach it, or need some quick review, you already have the websites available. They also state that you can have your class participate in connecting websites to the standard as well. Having the students would save you some time, especially if you set out guidelines for what they are looking for, and have seen many great examples. Another valuable resource/idea for a teacher that will make life simpler, especially in the long-run.

                Maloy et al. (2013, pp. 162) pointed out three things he believes makes a great educational website. The first is interactivity of the website, stating that interactions, whether demonstrations, searches, answerable questions, or analyzing data, etc., improves the learning of the participator. The second is exploration, and whether or not the user can take different pathways to learning, including different material. The last is engagement, and not only through the initial presentation, but also through storyline, mystery, characters that draw you in, or issues that are debatable. Knowing what to look for in a good website is helpful when trying to find sites for your class to use. You can save yourself from giving your class a website to use and then find out it’s not that great, because it’s missing one of these key elements, if you know what to look for from the start. I found this information useful. It’s also helpful to be reminded of these things, because even we can get side-tracked from the presentation, and not realize a lack somewhere else.

Click here for a chart for the above information made by Adam Short (2016).

Resources:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly

Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Short, Adam (2016). Performed at www.gliffy.com