CLNR

Signing up to CLNR was easy and I can see that it will benefit all teachers. This is a wonderful site that brings all types of educational sites to ones fingertips. The links are immediate and it appears from the sites I did research on that they are very up to date. What an interesting site to combine so much in one place. There is so much on this vast site and I can see that teachers will use this tool often. I would recommend this site to all administrators and teachers.

Lesson Plan

Creating a technology enhanced lesson plan was a lot of fun. It did not take to much time. I think the students in any class will enjoy completing the lesson. There are so many sources available for the teacher to add in a technology component to any lesson. I took a lesson from my own classroom and was able to successfully create the lesson plan using information from a site I googled. It appears to me that the ease of doing this was seemingly easier than preparing a plan from the texts that are used in the district I work for.
If every teacher used the Internet or a stream of technologies in there approach, I feel at that point we can engage every student. If school systems had unlimited funds to use updated technology in every classroom than I would understand the NCLB act. Funding every district with enough money for computers in every classroom could only help to meet the desired results of No Child Left Behind.
Since I know can not change the way politicians allocate monies for education, I will just continue on in a limited capacity to try and enhance the learning of my students in the classroom I have. All in all I thought this was a fabulous assignment and I enjoyed creating the lesson!

Techno-Constructivism.

It occurs to me that thanks to Dr. Luongo we would all become Techno Constuctivists if given the choice. I know that this class has taught me so many new ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. If only we all had the modern classroom and resources to accomplish the many things we could do. I feel that using technology in the classroom empowers not only the students but all of us as teachers, since computers seem to be a skill that is mastered by students regardless of their learning ability. I think about what other classmates have written on this subject in their blogs and I agree entirely. This course has made me want to do more with technology for my students. I agree with all the articles that promote the use of not only technology but the teaching ability of the creative techno constuctivist for being able to go further with engaging their students.

Social Networking

Social networking is the new way of communicating with others. Years ago, we just called people, now we have Social Networking and use Facebook and My Space. Unfortunately students do not think they are vulnerable on these sites and they really should be encouraged to use the safeguards available to them. My feeling is that parents need to be educated about these sites and must do all they can to protect their children. Some parents however are too busy, (they should not have had children in the first place, if that is the case), or they do not care to educate themselves. I think the videos re-enforce the importance of students using all sites with extreme caution. At the risk of repeating myself, Videos showing precautions should be shown in schools more than once a year, so children can see the dangers. If these sites are used correctly they are excellent sources of socialization.
Potential employers do view Facebook and My Space pages and it is important for teenagers and college age users to be aware of what they post. I have a facebook page and as an older user don't post my day to day life on there. Believe it or not. NO ONE CARES about every little minutia of someones daily life. However, students are going to use these sites whether, teachers of parents like it or not, so it is imperative that safe guards are in place.