Week 3

The first thing I noticed when navigating to Han Laoshi's pages, were the extreme differences in layout/style. On the page for her previous school, she seemed to go for a much busier feel, while on her current page she went much more simplistic. She did choose to utilize a notebook-like layout for both pages. On the teacher's pages from my previous post, their means of demonstrating a schedule, were of a different nature that Han's. Whilethey simply chose to update/remove assignments in a list format as each week passed by, she chose a much more legible and reliable approach. Her use of GCal was a wise addition to her already linked and listed assignment format. Like Altman, she gave links valuable study materials, whether they be notes, flashcards, or games. Unlike most foreign language pages I've browsed through. Han makes a point to make sure her students understand how to insert chinese symbols into a typed document. This too, demonstrates her desire to integrate technology in the classroom. I personally prefer Han's most recent page, due to its simplicity. The original page was a tad too busy for me. While this one includes the exact same information, it does so in a much more functional manner. I also like the way she separated her class periods/grade levels on the side of the page, and then specifies it again in within her calendar. She also provides resources for parents in both sites. Both of her pages are FAR better than Mrs. Faiella's page, and a tad more detailed than Mrs. Altman's page. All-in-all, I'd say her teacher's pages are very well put together.

Teacher's Pages

I've decided to journey back to my old grade schools' district website for this assignment. I remember what it looked like back when I attended its schools. I can assure you its come quite a long way since my childhood days. I plan to teach middle school or high school social studies, and I figured it's a tad more likely that I'd find teacher's pages in the former. I found myself looking directly at my 8th grade social studies teacher's page, Mrs. Faiella, on the Marlboro Middle School website. Ironically enough, my younger sister is in her class now. Guess I'll know when she's avoiding assignments! =) The school's PAGE is more or less identical to the districts site. Information with regards to contacts, school hours, an updated list of clubs, educational resources, an updated faculty list, a brief history of the school, an academic calendar, athletics, student council, student supply lists, and an event calendar, though commonly found on most websites, are certainly helpful. What makes this one stand out, is that it also includes access to important documents/forms, radon testing results, food allergy guidelines, important deadlines, urgent news, anti-bullying info., and a separate link to teacher's pages. This page leaves absolutely NOTHING out. It's easy to navigate, and somewhat easier to navigate than our own university's website. As far as the teacher's page is concerned… if there was ever any doubt as to what subject this incredible educator teaches, she has an American flag plastered in the top left-hand corner of the page. Also on the left, she has a link to a syllabus-like page, which more or less outlines the units to be covered each marking period. Below that is a link to the homework she's given to each class period. Fairly basic, and simple enough to understand. As I navigated the teacher's pages, I saw names that I recognized but not from Marlboro Middle School. My 8th grade year, the district decided to revamp itself and move the 6th graders into the middle school. Hence the reason I'm finding teachers I had during my time at Mar El (Marlboro Elementary) on the middle school's page. So i decided to compare my two most memorable teachers. The two women who are directly responsible for my wanting to become a social studies teacher. Mrs. Altman, my 6th grade teacher, teaches Ancient Civilizations. The moment you navigate to her page you can not only tell by the red bolded topic plastered in the center, but the pictures she has throughout the page. In addition to the items posted on Mrs. Faiella's page, Mrs. Altman's page ALSO links to important files/study guides, educational links, and educational puzzles. I find this page to be much more useful/beneficial, to the viewer. It's much more colorful, and has more tools for success. I would expect nothing less from her to tell you the truth! It was pretty cool to see what my former teachers have been up to in the last decade!

¿Tech Savvy?

Teaching has always been the path I desired to take. As a young girl I'd go into work with my father and sit in on some of his classes, and even a few of his colleagues' classes as well. My father teaches Math and Computer Talent in Coney Island. With that in mind, it's safe to say I'm not foreign to the use of technology in classrooms. As soon as the latest new "toy" is available for purchase, he jumps on it as a new means to educate his students. Living with him is much like living in one of his classrooms, due to his desire to keep us up to speed as well. I can certainly learn more, and am assured that there's much more out there than what he's taken the time to show my family and I. With a father so "gung-ho" about technology, its difficult to not feel the same. I never experienced life without it, so I can't say with confidence, that I don't appreciate it. I certainly find it absurd when a 9 or 10 year old owns an iPhone, but I find it extremely beneficial that communication has been made much easier via the evolution of the internet and other computer software. I do believe society has lost touch with a more personal form of communication. Unfortunately, as a child growing up in the "Internet Age," I witnessed some teachers who were enthusiastic about infusing their lesson plans with a bit of technology, while also witnessing those who refused to accept it. Some situations we've all become quite familiar with are: "When I was your age we used typewriters, papers were handwritten, calculators are for the lazy, go to the library and don't base everything off of google." As a history major, I relied heavily on Web-based databases for much of my research. Powerpoint Presentations were of great commonality, and Blackboard was either avoided, or "worshipped religiously."  "Classrooms now have access to millions of digitized documents. Students have the opportunity to use these documents as historians and scholars do: analyzing and evaluating information; interpreting snapshots of a given person, place, or event; and synthesizing their findings...Technology can now help.
 " (Allen, Dutt-Doner). According to the video "Learning to Change-Change to Learn," today's children have been taught to use technology for simple survival, yet they are banned in many schools from using many of these technological forms. Integrating technology into the classroom, will not only make children more enthusiastic about learning, but will also provide them with more in the end. "That's the new 21st century set of literacies, and it looks a lot different than the model most of us were raised on." It's about understanding change, comprehending it, harnessing it, and ultimately accepting that "the new" may not be so bad.  So yet again, while I do agree with some of these points my former teachers and professors have made, I do believe integrating technology into a classroom setting will certainly hold great benefit. I do not however, believe that we should rely SOLELY on technology in these settings.

December 2005/January 2006 | Volume 63 | Number 4 Learning in the Digital Age Pages 66-71. Fakes on Technology: Using Digitized Documents in the Classroom    

About Me

Hi everyone! My name is Stephanie Rubin and I am 22 years old, hailing from Marlboro, New Jersey (Currently residing in Belleville). I am pursuing an MAT in Social Studies grades P-12. I graduated from Montclair State with a History degree and International Studies minor, in May. My preferred historical periods to study are Early Modern Europe, Antiquity, and Ancient Egypt. I realized relatively early on that I was interested in entering the field of education. I hope to teach history on the high school or middle school level. Besides history, I'm also interested in fashion, music, travel, and theater. I took private voice lessons until the end of high school, and sang competitively as well. I am a dedicated Giants fan, and probably the only member of my family who prefers football to baseball. When it comes to pets I prefer man's best friend (I've got a yellow lab, and a beagle). Looking forward to an exciting semester with all of you! =)

-Steph