WebPages

1. WebPages By Steve Alston

2. Where didthe Internetcome from? • Well, when early packet switching research and academia love each other very much… • Originally, the internet was designed for its military application. The US government wanted a way to launch missiles even ifsatellite communication was disabled and cities were destroyed by Soviet weapons. The most plausible way for that to happen would be to have a network where any point on the network would have multiple access points.

3. DARPA Takes Over • Some geniuses from MIT ended up working for DARPA (J.C.R. Licklider was the head of computer research at DARPA and convinced his successors the investment would be worth it). He started discussing a “Galactic Network in 1962 (that was before I was born!) • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (they make James Bond jealous)

4. Blah, blah, blah Technical Stuff • At this point, there are a lot of acronyms and names. (IMPs, RFQ, ARPANET, NCPs, etc). • Time passes (the 60’s) • More time passes (the 70’s—Oh look! I’m born.) • In the 80’s, ARPANET (used to be DARPANET, but the name got changed) split into ARPANET and MILNET (MILNET stood for “Mil”litary “Net”work) one part would support research and the other would support operational requirements.

5. Al Gore Gets Involved • The National Research Council was one of the contributors (a really big one) of what would become the internet. They created a report that would influence then Senator Al Gore. • It’s all history from there. • To learn more (a lot more--more than you’ll want to know…and it’ll make your brain hurt) go here:http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml

6. Now that it is here, what do we do with it? • Now that we have the internet in our lives, how is it used? • Well, we spend a lot of time on it—I mean people in general. Everyone knows that teachers don’t have any free time because their too busy preparing lessons and grading papers. • A report came out about how we use the social aspect of the internet as a culture. • http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/social/

7. What does that mean? • Well, social media is important to us, apparently, so how can we as teachers take advantage of that? One way is find ways to make it a resource in our classroom. Here are a couple of ideas. • Edmodo.com –we’re already talked about this, but my students love it. • Gaggle.com—it’s a commercial school social network • Facebook—Younger students don’t need facebook, but for older students it is a way to connect with your teacher. Our School has a facebook group. Parents and students can find out what’s going on with our school there • There are many sites that can be used to blog both for school and personal use. • For more ideas check out this site:http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2010/05/100-inspiring-ways-to-use-social-media-in-the-classroom/

8. How can websites help you do your job? • Here they are some ideas in no particular order: Websites can be a tutor for your students Websites can be an instructor You can find extra resources on websites Games!!!!!!!

9. Tutoring • Here are some possible sites that can be helpful in tutoring your student, though many come at a price. Some of the more respected online tutoring sites are: • http://www.tutor.com/ • http://www.growingstars.com/ • http://www.eduwizards.com/tutor-search.php?left_flag=1&grd=1&subj=51&spec_sub=52&x=14&y=10 • There are other programs that access the internet that tutor students in skills that may need to be improved.

10. What the Experts Say • "Childhood is a multistage process where early investments feed into later investments. Skill begets skill; learning begets learning.” This according to James Heckman a Nobel Prize winning economist. • Heckman and Cunha's computer simulation showed that the sustained investments in disadvantaged children would have dramatic results. The attention would improve the children's school performance as well as their social skills. The children who perform better in school, would likely complete more education and not become involved in crime or dependent upon welfare. With no early childhood investments, only 41 percent of the students would finish high school and more than 22 percent would be convicted of crime or on probation. Just 4.5 percent would enroll in college. The study also showed: • With early childhood intervention, high school graduation rates would increase to 65 percent and college enrollment to 12 percent. Participation in crime would decrease. • With skill-building investments in high school, graduation rates also would be 65 percent, while convictions and probation for crime would fall dramatically. • Combining early childhood intervention with high school intervention would increase high-school graduation rates to 84 percent and college participation rates to 27 percent. • Disadvantaged children who received balanced additional attention throughout childhood would fare even better. More than 90 percent of those students would graduate from high school and 37 percent would attend college, while conviction and probation rates would fall to 2.6 percent. The additional investments throughout childhood could include extra enrichment and tutoring in school as well as opportunities provided by parents and institutions other than schools. (Harms, 2006)

11. Don’t want to teach, don’t worry! • There are lots of website out there that do that for you. There are many online sites that will help your students learn concepts that they either forgot, or else were never taught by that crazy teacher before you. • www.Khanacademy.com --My personal favorite • www.WatchKnowLearn.org --Over 4000 math videos • www.Sqooltube.com --I wasn’t real impressed • www.neok12.com --Cute lower grade videos • http://www.brainpop.com/math/freemovies/ this one can cost you money, but there is a free trial

12. Those were just the sites with videos! • www.math.com/students/practice.html • www.webmath.com -This is from Discovery Channel • www.freemathhelp.com --For more advanced grades • http://www.mathsisfun.com/definitions/index.html This is a math dictionary with image http://www.coolmath.com/0-math-help-lessons.html My sped students like this one.

13. Just a one more? • http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/math2004/math2004_menu.html

14. What the Experts Say Being literate in the 21st century goes beyond the ability to read text, many of today’s language arts teachers say. Learners must be able to synthesize and utilize a wide variety of media—such as video, audio, and still images—to express themselves and compete in a global, collaborative environment. (Ash)

15. Don’t want to teach, give ‘em a worksheet. • Worksheets are sometimes boring, but they allow students to practice skills that they may need to brush up on, or need a little extra practice. Here are some good free sites (because I’m a cheapskate). • www.Math-Drills.com Over 10,000 Free worksheets • http://www.eduplace.com/math/mw/Houghten-Mifflin’s got their entire line of homework assignments available online—Thanks! • http://www.freemathworksheets.net/ -it like Build-a-Bear, except with math homework • http://www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets/ -this site is cool because it has good stuff

16. What the Experts Say Worksheets can provide opportunities to reinforce skills children are already working on - writing letters and words, identifying numbers in a sequence, identifying shapes and colors, etc. …Paper and pencil practice with these concepts can…reinforce awareness of concepts they are gaining through exploration and play. (Patterson, 1993) There needs to be a balance between worksheets, technology, inquiry-based, project-based, teacher-centered and student-centered work being done in school and sent home. No matter if a child is gifted or struggling, they are bored after completing a number of worksheets. (DeWitt, 2011)

17. Well, they wanted to play anyways… • Games can be a good way to reward students as well as provide motivation for students to finish their assignments • http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html While this site isn’t all games, the kids don’t know that. • http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm • http://funschool.kaboose.com/arcade/math/index.html • http://www.fun4thebrain.com/ -I recommend Alien lunch time for kids that struggle with multiplication • http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/This site allows you to make puzzles to use in the classroom.

18. More games! • http://www.sesamestreet.org/browseallgames?p_p_id=browsegpv_WAR_browsegpvportlet&p_p_lifecycle=1&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column-2&p_p_col_count=1&_browsegpv_WAR_browsegpvportlet_elementType=subject&_browsegpv_WAR_browsegpvportlet_subject=Numbers+%2F+Counting --Count with Big Bird • http://www.disney--games.com/winnie_tiger_and_piglet_color_math_247.html

19. What the Experts Say • The motivational power of games and their ability to encourage cooperation are felt to support the work of schools in developing independent but social individuals. According to a study conducted by Haugland (1992), 3-4 years old children using computers with supporting activities that reinforce objectives of the programs have significantly more developmental gains than children without computer experiences in terms of intelligence, long-term memory, problem solving skills, and verbal skills. (Bakar, Inal, Cagiltay, 2005)

20. To make a long story short…or not. • Websites offer many ways in which we can enhance our teaching. It is important, however, that we remain teachers in the classroom. Students need to have an environment conducive to learning. If a teacher just gives out worksheets all the time time, or just has students watch youtube videos, the experience that you bring with you to the classroom means little. If you want to make a difference in children’s lives, then learn find ways to use websites to enhance student learning.

21. References • Ash, Katie. (2011) Language Arts Educators Balance Text Only Tactics with Multimedia Skills. [Abstract] EducationWeek Dec. 11, 2011 Retrieved from:/2011/06/15/35mm-languagearts.h30.html?qs=using+videos • P. DeWitt (10/2011) Death by Ditto. Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2011/11/death_by_ditto.html?qs=worksheets • Harm, Willam, (2006) Enriching Education Throughout Childhood Pays Big Dividends for Disadvantaged. Retrieved from:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-11/uoc-eet111306.php • Patterson, Peggy. (1993) Worksheets: Good or Bad? National Network for Child Care. Retrieved from www.nncc.org/Curriculum/dc26_worksheet.html