Social Bookmaking, NETS III & IV

Using Delicious, a social bookmarking website, I was able to navigate the internet and create bookmarks for interesting websites. I then embedded my Delicious tags on my blog so anyone looking at my blog would be able to click on my tags and see the many things that I bookmarked.

1. National Archives

The exhibit that I visited on the National Archives was "The Way We Worked", which showed us through photographs the enormous transformation that work places have gone through from the 19th to 20th centuries. Primary sources are extremely important in the classroom. History is based on primary sources, and through these sources we are able to piece together and understand our history.

2. National Education Association

The student groups experiencing achievement gaps are racial and ethnic minorities, English language learners, students with disabilities, genders, and students from low-income families. More specifically ethnic groups such as American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Blacks, Hispanics, and those who are gay, lesbian, and transgendered are at risk for experiencing these gaps.

In "becoming a culturally competent educator" I believe that the following three fit my teaching style:

A. Engage school staff in discussions and activities that offer an opportunity to explore attitudes, beliefs, and values related to cultural diversity and cultural competence.

I believe that it is important to get everyone on the same page. By engaging staff in discussions and activities that address achievement gaps and cultural diversity we are assisting in creating a environment that is understanding and open to diverse cultures. By opening the door to communication it helps to insure that staff feels comfortable discussing any questions or concerns about how to address those who are different than them.

B. Network with other schools that are developing and implementing culturally competent systems. Adapt the processes and information that are consistent with your school's needs and interests.

I am a firm believer that two heads are better than one. It would be a great advantage to see what other schools have done and to modify it to work with our own system. In many situations it is helpful to see the trial and error of others, in which case giving us ideas that we may have not thought of as well as saving us from trying things that others have already proven unsuccessful.

C. Gather and organize resource materials related to culturally diverse groups for use by school staff.

I think that by having resource materials related to culturally diverse groups available it may help teachers understand the cultures of some of the students that they will be teaching over the years. Furthermore, by having the materials available teachers can research other cultures on their own time and may provide answers for questions that teachers may have been to embarrassed to ask others.

3. Stop Cyber Bullying

I took the online cyber bully quiz and got a score of 4 making me a "cyber saint" meaning my online behavior is exemplary. While taking the quiz I was shocked by some of the questions that were being asked, I guess that using the internet in many of those ways had never crossed my mind. While reading in the teacher section I learned that while cyber bullying is growing problem many parents are not aware that it exists. This was alarming to me because if parents are unaware of a danger they cannot take the necessary precautions to try to protect their children from it. I also found it shocking that schools are essentially powerless when it comes to disciplining cyber bullies if the bullying happens off school grounds even if it is effecting students at the school. This information is extremely helpful, it provides teachers and students with ideas for dealing with cyber bullying and lets teachers know legally what their role in discipline can be.

4. Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators

Under "subject access" I selected performing arts and music. There was so much stuff that would be useful for teachers. There were links to many art, costume, and music sites as well as link to music related lessons plans. I think that this is a great resource for teachers. In many schools music and art programs are being cut because of lack of funding. Using this site teachers would be able to find the resources they need to bring art and music back into the classroom. Under "teachers helpers" I selected assessment and rubrics. I found here a collection of assessment rubrics and graphic organizers as well as rubric tutorials, rubric ideas, and instructions for making your own rubric. This is a valuable resource especially for new teachers that have not had a lot of experience creating and using rubrics.

5. Multiple Intelligences

My top 3 intelligences are intrapersonal 69, interpersonal 63, and logical-mathematical 56. The video that I watched was "Multiple Intelligences Leave No Child Behind". I found it interesting that there is a school based on multiple intelligences, where all areas of intelligence are viewed as equally important. Furthermore I found it interesting that the students strive to find out their strengths and weaknesses early so they can understand them and work with rather than against them.

6. Teaching Tolerance

The grade level that I chose was grades 1 to 2 and the subject that I chose was Social Studies. The lesson that I selected was "Freedom Flag", a activity designed to help young students learn the meaning of freedom. Students are asked what freedom means to them and then are asked to explore what freedom has meant to different groups of people throughout history. Next, the class creates a "freedom flag" out of construction paper with the key words for freedom written on the stripes and the students names on the stars. This exercise lets the students think about what it means to have freedom as well as in what ways their ideas of freedom vary from other students and other cultures.

7. Multicultural Education and Equity Awareness Quiz

Question 4: In a 2007 study, UNICEF rated the treatment of children in the 23 wealthiest countries in the world based on 40 indicators of child well-being. Which two countries received the lowest ratings?
I found this question to be extremely shocking. I had guessed that the countries with the lowest ratings would be Mexico and South America but I was shocked to see that the countries with the lowest ratings for the treatment of children was actually the United States and the U.K. It seems outrageous to me that the two richest countries on the list would be rated the lowest in the treatment of children. I guess in the case of the United States, being wealthy and a world leader does not mean that that we value the well being of our children.

Question 10: Powder cocaine (largely used by wealthy people) and crack cocaine (largely used by economically disadvantaged people) contain roughly the same amount of the drug per gram. Under federal law, how much of these substances must an individual be convicted of possessing to be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of five years in prison?
I actually knew the answer to this question, I had come across this information during my studies in college. It was explained to us class that many of our current drug laws are racially motivated. In order to get the mandatory 5 year sentence you have to have 500 grams of powder cocaine usually used by wealthy white people vs having only 5 grams of crack cocaine usually used by poor intercity blacks. When I heard about this law I thought it was outrageous, the same mandatory sentence should be given regardless the demographic of the user. Crimes should not be more or less illegal based on your S.E.S or the color of your skin.

8. Netiquette Guidelines

My score on the netiquette quiz was 100%. 8-) I think that teaching kids netiquette is very important. It gives students the knowledge that they need to be successful when using the internet. Technology is so prevalent in the lives of students today it is important for students know what behaviors are acceptable and what behaviors are not online.