FINAL RESEARCH

After reading the report, "How Teachers are using Technology at Home and in their Classrooms", I formed this topic and following question:

1. Digital technology is a must for our students future.

              a. How important is digital technology for the future of our students?
              b. KEYWORDS: digital, technology, students, future, careers

2. I used the deep web resource, Cannell Library at Clark College to research my topic.

              a. My first keyword "digital" produced results but not what I needed. The second
                  keyword   "digital technology" produced results, but again, too vague.
                 I added the word "student" for a keyword of "digital technology and students".
                 That produced many results (37) and exactly what I was looking for.
           
               b. Selwyn, Neil. "Schools and Schooling in the Digital Age: A Critical Analysis". Electronic
                    Resource. Print. 190 p. Hoboken : Taylor & Francis, 2010.

3. After reading this article, I feel that it is trustworthy. Using ASPECT, I found the following:

                    
A: Authority - The author, preface and acknowledgement listed many contributors.
S: Sources - There were over 24 pages of references citing everyone from Phd's to Scholarly Journals
P: Purpose - To enlighten the reader of the benefits of technology in our schools around the world.
E: Evenness - Draws on works and writings of others, but the author gives his opinion as well.
C: Coverage - In depth look at schools from primary to advanced structures of schooling.
T: Timeliness - October 7, 2010

4. My review of this book:

Neil Selwyn does an exceptional job at thoroughly delving into the effects of digital technology in our classrooms. He is an avid supporter of technology as it is a pathway for further education and career progress. Students need to understand technology at an early age, however, age, social class and gender play in important role in developing these technological skills. The rules and order of digital technology can bridge the gaps between these differences.

It is up to the student to comprehend the technology and the determination of the teacher to provide it. If either subject is not "on board" with educational technology, then readjustment or realignments in the classroom cannot be made. Educational technology is a powerful tool and can open many doors for students through new ways of thinking about the world and new abilities to act in the world.

Whether or not to use digital technology and how to integrate it into schools is a hot debate today. The best option is to use open sources approaches to technology. Open-source software is gaining momentum when compared to the purchase if IT equipment. Encouragin inter-generational communication within the schools is the best way to raise enthusiasms for digital technology today and the careers of tomorrow.

CREATE A WEB PAGE

This week, we created a web page using the basics of HTML coding, here is what I developed:

I have several HTML templates that I use for my ebay auctions, so I had some knowledge of HTML coding and the meaning of some abbreviations. However, this activity has really impacted my understanding of the web in that it is not as difficult to navigate as I previously thought. I always try to keep in mind these words of wisdom someone told me when I purchased my first computer eighteen some years ago, "Tell the computer what you want it to do". Not the other way around. I found that this class has really helped in providing me the resources needed to use the web more efficiently.

I did not know that you could capture or "snip" an image to use inside of another web document. I have previous knowledge of inserting photos and saving them as a jpeg file if needed in some instances, but the "snipping tool" we used for this weeks research was new to me.

This activity really appealed to me as it was interesting, fun and personal. I also enjoyed the "wordle" activity for the very same reasons. Some of our previous weeks weren't as interesting but needed just the same as they definitely furthered my knowledge of web applications and resources to use so that I can "tell my computer what to do".