Reflection 2

Week 2 Reflections:

After completing the MAPping information activity, what are your reactions to your findings?

This is my digital concept map created by using Wordle that pieces together the concepts of my definition of educational technology, today's learner, the reality of education today, and the potential impact technology can have on education. Wordle was very easy to use, and made me really focus on the important concepts/ideas. I did learn that words used repeatedly are enlarged so you can see the most important words/concepts. I love the colors and the ability to change the layout and fonts to fit your own style. I plan on using Wordle at the beginning of the year as a way for students to visually introduce themselves. They will put in words/phrases that describe who they are individually.

I also plan to use Wordle as a review tool at the end of a chapter. Students can put in key concepts that they learned in the chapter/unit to demonstrate what they learned and to tie the concepts together. 

What are some implications for the future of our students if we fail to teach them these skills in school? After all, the schools may block access to sites, but students still have access at home.

Not Analyzing Internet Information: The Implications for StudentsThe Internet now is the number one source used by students in research. We no longer have to go to the library to check out tons of books and read through massive amounts of text to find the information we are searching for. Unlimited information is now available with just a few keystrokes. However, all of this information still has to be filtered due to the overwhelming amount of fictitious information available on the web. The filters at school stop some sites from being accessed, but students access it all at home. So even though the information comes to us in a much faster speed, it still takes some time to analyze each site to determine its validity. Students need to realize this now—before they get into college and in their careers. It is our responsibility as educators to teach these skills to our students. If not, they could be led far away from the truth without even knowing it.

What will you do differently while searching on the Internet for information now? How confident are you with the information you've used in the past (as part of your college career and/or in your profession)?

I used different search engines to look up the subject “velcro crops”. I then went into the first site listed on each (Google, Yahoo, and AltaVista). I was always under the assumption that relevance was what drove the order of the listed results for a search from a search engine. I only now realize, after reading the articles, that some search engines display results by the number of hits to the site. I am so guilty of almost always using the first few sites listed instead of filtering through more.
When I was in undergraduate school, I really mainly used books, magazines, and periodicals from the library (the old fashioned way) to research. I really didn’t start using the Internet for research until I started graduate school and I never really analyzed my sources the way I should have. Even though I thought I was doing a good job, I realize now after completing this assignment that I really was not.

 Do you see any advantages for organizing your information via a social bookmarking tool? Which one did you choose to use and why? What are some ways you think you could use these tools in the future?

Delicious and Google ReaderThis was my first experience with using Delicious and Google Reader. After creating my own Delicious account and accessing my Google Reader, I see definite advantages of using both. Delicious bookmarks are exciting. I have a long list of Favorites on my computer at work. I do organize them in folders, but it still takes a little time to find what I am looking for. If I was on my home computer, I didn’t have access to my Favorites from work so I would have to look them up again at home. Delicious is so easy to use and since organization is one of my necessities, this is great for me. Google Reader is also a great organizational tool that allows you to access updates to sites that you follow.
For the future, I plan on letting my students use Delicious to create bookmarks when they research topics throughout the year.