Week 2 - "Full of Sound and Fury"

Out of the 76 District Factor Groups in category GH I chose Paramus. I made this selection because it is not only geographically closest to where I live but I also work in the town so I wanted to find out more about it. The district page is very organized and straightforward. There are tabs for each of the schools in the district as well as event calendars, contact info for the administration, and information on technology. Also provided is a staff page and a parent’s page where they can sign in and access important information, policies, and email. All in all for a district page clear, concise, and easy to find what you are looking for.

When searching for a good teacher webpage I chose to start with the high school having an inkling that I may find something interesting. From the roster list of teachers I clicked on about three or four names from various subject bases before I found a teacher that actually had their own webpage in addition to the required basic one. (Just to give some background Mr. Allocco is a Social Studies teacher at Paramus High School. He covers World Studies as well as US History I and US History II.) As soon as I clicked on the link, Mr. Allocco’s webpage grabbed my attention right away.

I am a very visual person so as soon as his webpage came up I was intrigued by the design. On his virtual corkboard not only does he have various links for each of his classes and contact information he also took the time to add sports logos for his favorite major league teams as well as Paramus High School. The layout provides all links in a clear appealing manner for easy access to the information.

Each subject base that he teaches has its own page. When brought to the subject page you get to see the homework list and a weekly breakdown of what is going on in class each day. I think this is a great tool. I remember back when I was in high school everyone had their daily agendas where we would physically write down our homework assignments each day only to end up leaving our agendas in our lockers or misplacing them about school or at home. Also, for the students there is a links page provided listing external links to various web pages where they can find up to date information to aid in their assignments and even sporadic links on the homepage pertaining to the current historical remembrance days. On the homepage the U.S. History II students are lucky enough to get a sample test, which for a high school student can be an invaluable resource. This page definitely delivers; as Dr. Jamie McKenzie would call it, “the goods” to Mr. Allocco’s students.

For parents especially there is a mailing list they can sign up for where they will be sent important information about the classes and there is also a contact info page with weekly office hours listed. For students and parents having this accessibility to their teacher can provide a great resource for questions and extra help while also keeping the parents in the loop so there are no surprises when report card time comes. Also, since the parents can see all of the assignments as well they have the ability to follow up thoroughly on their child’s homework completion.

Mr. Allocco’s web page also includes an expectations page which acts kind of like a syllabus letting the students and parents know what decorum is expected in the classroom, rules on turning in assignments and absences, and how inappropriate behavior will be dealt with. I think it is great to give this information ahead of time so the rules are clear to all and the students can be held accountable for themselves.

Dr. McKenzie considers factors of good school Web site to include, “outlining the [class] mission and the kinds of learning available while sharing more mundane but valuable items such as calendars, schedules and lunch menus. The more skillful have introduced forms and e-mail features which allow them to gather information and feedback from their parents.” From my observation, and from Dr. McKenzie’s standards, I think Mr. Allocco’s web page is extremely effective for both students and parents alike. If I was taking U.S. history at Paramus High School right now I would feel very fortunate to have an outlet of information such as this accessible to me.

Week 1 - Hopes and Expectations

I feel my background it technology is at an adequate working level. I understand how to work most programs, and if I am not sure about something I know where I can find the information I need. I think my real education of technology started to take off when I went to college. This introduction spanned from learning how to use more advanced office programs and building simple web-sites throughout the mandatory 101 computer class; to more informal learning through the start of Web-sites like Napster and My Space. The social expectation at the time that every student have their own computer created lots of time for tinkering around the Web. My level of being technologically savvy has stayed pretty consistent since then.

Throughout middle school and high school I remember just listening to the teacher and/or other students go around the room and read aloud out of the text book while the rest of us took note after note after note, simultaneously counting down the minutes until the class was over. Technology and the creative ideas that can be spawned from it seem to have the ability to get us out of this rut. In the video, Learning to Change - Changing to learn, as well as in all of the articles there were current themes that were stressed. Critical thinking, problem solving, and information literacy through technology are valuable lessons I agree students need to be exposed to.

I am happy to see the movement towards information literacy and critical thinking through technology is already in progress. For example, Susan M. Allen and Karen M. Dutt-Doner advocate for the use of digitized historical documents so students can come up with their own ideas of what the documents stand for instead of just solely taking the text book authors interpretation. Also, Rona Frederick discovered that even teachers in under funded areas started using technology to not only engage the students but try to reshape the curriculum standards in her area. Rona Frederick stated, “Jones used the Internet and graphic technology as a way of finding liberating stories, disseminating those stories, and encouraging her students to develop their individual voices.” Altogether the video and these articles show that technology and education can provide a very exciting combination and endless possibilities bringing the fascination of learning back to educators and students alike.

This is my first experience with an online classroom. My expectations for this class are to learn how to use and become comfortable with an online class in general so I will be able to sign up for other online and hybrid classes throughout my tenure at MSU. I also look forward to making some contacts with my classmates so we can become available to each other as a support network during our studies here.