Searching the Web for Educational Material...Activity #1

While hunting on the web for educationally relevant materials, I have had my fair of successes but also my fair share of disappointments. Searching on the web is more than just typing in a few key words on a search engine. Yes, I use search engines on a daily basis such as Google.com or yahoo.com, but I have found that it is not always the easiest way to find educational material. In my text book Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom by Shelly, Gunter, and Gunter, there is an extensive list of educational sites and search engines that I was actually really excited to discover. The first site I went to was www.askkids.com, which turned out to be a fantastic search engine for kids. I wish I had known about this sooner so that I could have incorporated it into my lessons. I really liked that it gives you a quick fact about your search topic at the top of the page and also provides links on the left for related topics/searches. I also visited Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators at school.discovery.com/schrockguide. What I liked about this site is that it a much faster way to find educational material to use in the classroom. Everything on this site is broken down into categories that make it easy to find what you are looking for. I really dislike when I can’t find what I am looking for and keep searching so I really think this site is something I could use as an educator. Finally, my last stop was EduHound at www.eduhound.com. What a great find for any teacher wanting to use technology in the classroom! It provides links to twitter feeds, links to just about any topic you can imagine, and links to their other sites for clip art or templates. Overall, my experience with these sites was enjoyable and I know I can use them in the classroom or as an educator. As I said before, using Google and Yahoo for some things is great, but when you need specific topics for your classroom, it can be difficult to dig through Google or Yahoo to find what you need.

Finally, what about state and school district websites? I for one would think these would be loaded with helpful topics or links. Since I live in Seminole County, I first went to their district site. I have done this many times, but never really paid much attention to the details. The site is pretty basic—it provides links for parents, educators, and the community. There are links to each schools website and information about lunches, buses, and finances for the school district. There is not much in the way of useful links for anything outside of the district. On the FLDOE (Florida Department of Education) site there are similar links as the Seminole county site. There are also links for the community and families where one can find information about literacy programs, graduation, or other needs.

Are we doing what is best for our students or are we doing what is most convenient for us?

Question:

Are we doing what is best for our students or are we doing what is most convenient for us?

My first initial reaction to this question is that most teachers are doing what is more convenient for them.  I have seen so many scenarios where the teacher or administrator is doing what is more convenient for them rather than doing what is going to help the student the most. After I read the comments from those who comment on this question I began to think about this question for several aspects. One comment suggested that you may want to always achieve a great outcome and what is best for the student, but in reality that does not always happen. I think that a lot of times things are done out of convenience simply because sometimes there is no other option. Teachers are pushed to make their students grow, learn, and make passing grades on FCAT. There is so much emphasis on this that it seems to take away from what is best for the students. How am I supposed to make my students gain two grade levels in one year when I not even given the right tools to do so? Or what about the days where there is not enough time to spend on particular things that I think would benefit my students? I have been in schools where the day is scheduled down to the last second, students are not allowed to have recess, and data is all that matters. It is hard as an educator to work in this type of environment and truly do what is best for the students without risking your job. In the text is explains how students used to learn versus how students learn today. It seems like no one understands that this is happening and keeps trying to force students to learn in a way that does not work for them. If it were up to me, all my students would be completely computer literate and be able to use play as a means of leaning. Overall I would love to say that every single educator and administrator does what is best for the students…but this is just not true. It is something that I try to do as an educator. I think that once the schools catch up with the technology it will help teachers have the right tools for doing what is good for their students. Education is so political and money driven now that the students are the ones who are suffering. So, overall I think that there are some people who are doing what is best for their students and some who are not. I think that at times you may try to do your best but that isn’t the outcome…but if you are at least attempting to do your best them you are doing what is right for your students.