Creating a Website

Creating your own website is an incredible journey. There are so many options and so many resources at your disposal, the most difficult part for me was choosing how to display my content. Since this was a project for my graduate class, Using the Internet in Education, the deadline was the only thing looming over my head forcing me to make design choices. Truth be told it was fun, the most rewarding project I have had to date and one that is practical and helpful in my daily life as a technology teacher. I was so excited about the possibilities I decided halfway through the project to scrap my site and try to teach myself html. Although I made some headway and taught myself quite a bit, it wasn't the most logical idea I've ever had.

www.techteachingtools.com

Check it out & let me know what you think. I appreciate all feedback!

Sarfall.com

This is an excellent site for beginning and emergent readers. It features many short stories and activities to help students learn to read. Students have the option of having every letter, picture, and/or word read to them. One of the great features is that the site uses a child's voice to show them how to practice sounding out each letter, word, and phrase. It is an amazing resource for young students!

PEW - Internet & American Life Project

According to the Pew Internet Project survey "87% of all youth between the ages of 12 and 17 use the internet." and "78% (of those teens) say they use the internet at school." That means that 22% of teens do not use the internet on a regular basis at school. This is an injustice to those students as they are missing out on a wealth of opportunities to learn. As digital natives the students in today's classrooms are quite different from those of past generations and they need to be treated as such. They live in a media rich world where they are constantly connected and have the ability to access information on any topic at their fingertips. As educators we need to embrace this reality and use the internet more in our classrooms to bring learning to life and teach them they skills they need to survive in our technology-driven society.

Teacher Tube - Pay Attention

This video highlights the technology defecet facing the digital learner in traditional classrooms and challenges educators to reflect and create a more stimulating and positive learning experience for all students. It is filled with thought provoking statistics as well as ways to use technology to maximize productivity in the classroom.