Meaghan+Allison

1181052759 toc Contact Info: email- allismea@ku.edu or facebook

I am from Topeka, Kansas and will be a senior in Middle Math Education in the fall. I hope to teach 8th grade Algebra in the Kansas City area. I agree that technology is useful in the classroom, but will admit that I am not very good at using it myself. It has become obvious that technology affects us everyday, including and especially in the classroom. Students will most defnitely experience technology in their futures, and we as teachers should do our best to ensure that we too are keeping up with the technology of the future. I hope to learn more about technology in this class and look forward to building my own webpage.

One technology I look forward to learning more about is iMovie. I have this program on my personal computer, but unfortunately have no idea how to use it. Hopefully learning about this program help me in my classroom and for other fun projects on my own. I also look forward to creating my own webpage, as this will be very useful as a new teacher.

As far as a technology horror story, I cannot think of anything too traumatic. However, I have lost my share of word documents and been lost in Excel.

Web Exemplar: 6-6-07
I found this site using google.com, searching "Christopher Columbus, Student Research". This search was fairly easy after I included the word "student" to my search. This brought up many sites specifically designed for students. This site seems particularly appropriate for Middle School students for many reasons. I first noticed the quality of the organization of this site. The page is mostly white, with eligible black text that is easy to read. At the very top of the site there is a table of contents with a //short// list popular questions students might have. Clicking on each question brings you directly to the section of the page that explains that question, making maneuvering around the page very easy. Each question is visibly bolded and easy to read. I also liked the fact that each question was //briefly// explained and included a corresponding picture and explanation. The site also includes other resources the students might find useful. The only part of this website I would change, would be to include maps or other media on the site. I believe that this site is credible because it is copyrighted by Kidport in 2007. I found this site again using google.com, however I simply searched "Christopher Columbus". This search brought up many sites, some useful and some not. I don't think this search was as effective because it brought up holidays, biographies and museum sites, when my intent for research was student research. Although this site includes a lot of information, I'm not so sure it is useful or user friendly for Middle School students. The organization of this site is very poor, starting with a confusing title/heading. It is not clear whether this page includes information about Columbus Day or Christopher Columbus exclusively. Also, there is no table of contents and paragraphs are short and poorly written. There are no related links or other media resources available on this page. The layout of this page is also not desirable. The background is messy and filled with unnecessary clip-art. Although the colorful site might intrigue students, it is not the best way to get the desired information across. The site is copy written by “sunnibunni”, which is not particularly credible.
 * __Meaghan Allison:__**
 * Good site**: http://www.kidport.com/RefLib/UsaHistory/Columbus/Columbus.htm
 * Bad site**: http://sunniebunniezz.com/holiday/columbus.htm

Letter to Principal: 6-6-07
Return to People

6-7-07-Web Exemplars-Meaghan Allison
Good Rules to Follow: 1. Look for clarity in organization and content. 2. Make sure the source is credible and reliable. 3. Interactive media such as video, maps and photos enhance a website's content and clarity.

Comments on Peer's Exemplar: I agree with the choices of both websites this student choose. For his good website, I agree that the site is reliable, interactive and entertaining. I would however like it if there was a clear "map" or table of contents on the page so that at user is able to reach specific information more easily. As far as his bad website, I also agree that this website is not desireable. The font is very small and there are very few pictures or other interactive materials for students to engage in. Also, there are many distractions throughout the page including advertisements and confusing links.

Standards




Link to Personal Website:
[|www.7thgeometry.wikispaces.com]