Reflection Journal Entry #2: Criteria in Looking for Sites

When looking for a site for my students I must be very cautious, especially because they are second graders. I would primarily look at whether the site is appropriate and user friendly for children of the younger ages. They shouldn't contain any offensive or vulgar words or images. Of course credibility is very significant as well but I would first look to see if the site suits the second grade knowledge level and then see if the site is credible and well content oriented. I would also check to make sure the site is easy to use and navigable for students. If there are too many different links to click or go through it would be too difficult for students to use. The site should also be fun and exciting for students to keep them entertained and focused.

In terms of finding sites for my classroom preparation, I would primarily look to see if the site is credible or not. The site doesn't have to be all colorful and picture filled for me when trying to prepare a lesson for a class. I think the content is most important because I will be using this information to teach my students and therefore I would need trustworthy information with good resources. For preparing classroom lessons, I would be more open to sites so that I can become as educated about the topic as possible.

When finding sites for my own entertainment, I don't have many restrictions other than staying away from sexual or vulgar sites. I mean, yes, sometimes I do look for credibility just so that it's not a complete waste of time but I more so look for something that will interest me not so much for the facts and knowledge I'll gain from it.

Annotated Sites List

Personal Growth

• I found myself challenging the extent to which I really thought about the sites that I chose to use and going beyond the obvious. Instead of choosing the typical "teacher" sites such as Enchanted Learning, which has everything that a teacher needs for any type of curriculum on one site, I tried to find sites that would stretch my own knowledge. I found it difficult to find sites such as these because the ones that did seemed a bit to difficult for students of a second grade level. I had to find sites that were both fun for the students but also a little challenging which wasn't the easiest task. In the end I realized that I could just take certain ideas from sites and use them to create my own creative, fun, but education based lessons and activities.
  

Purpose

• To list 5 websites and explain their credibility, the purpose of the site, and how they can be beneficial to a second grade teacher. The following websites can be used both for the content within them and for the ideas that emerge from them.
  

1. Pen Pals

• This site introduces a pen pal organization that can be used for teachers and their students. I found it to be credible because they have a ton of information about the organization and the people in charge of it. They also have contact information and pictures of the different students involved. Overall, the site was very professional and had a lot of information and references that made it trustworthy. Teachers can use this site to help their students learn about other cultures as well as use this as a tool to improve their writing and reading skills. Through this pen pal system, students can also learn different languages by communicating with children of different countries around the world. The great thing is that this site can be used with students of all ages and backgrounds. Teachers can communicate with one another to create relevant lessons plans that the students can talk about with one another.

2. Worksheet Maker

• This site is an interesting tool to use in order for teachers to create their own worksheets for students based on the topic they are teaching. Many different incorporations and companies pulled together in order to create this site for teachers which shows credibility. The site also has contact information and different resources that can be checked. Although there are worksheets that are pre-made and can be printed out, teachers can also custom make worksheets to fit their own needs. These worksheets can range anywhere from puzzles to factual worksheets which is really nice as well.

3. Supplies

• O'Block Books is an online store for teachers to use to buy supplies for their classroom as well as their individual needs. An address, phone number, and e-mail address are listed on the site which shows that it is credible. The site has supplies for every subject and specifically for second grade teachers. The store consists of workbooks, teaching materials, and classroom materials which are all essential for teachers.

4. Health

• This site is created by Dole food company which is very well known and credible. Mostly based on health and food, the site contains a separate page for teachers. Teachers can use this site to teach kids about healthy ways of eating and exercising that can be fun and exciting for younger students. The site contains various topics incorporating food and physical activities that teachers can base lessons around. This is a good way to promote healthy eating and lifestyles at a young age so the new generations of children can be healthier and more active. Students can also explore on this site at home with their parents to find good recipes and activities to do for fun.
  

5. Resources

• This site is created by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Extensions program which works to help improve different educational needs around their community. The program has contact information listed and the program is very well known for people in the education program around the area. In addition to improving education needs, the program helps to promote good citizenship as well as many other links that provide information about many different topics for younger children. Teachers can pick and choose from certain sites and find good lessons to teach. There's one site, Out on a Limb, which teaches about resolving conflicts amongst children. Therefore, teachers can use this site and similar sites to teach children about proper behavior and how to be good people. In addition, students are able to go onto some of these sites and watch different videos or play games that are educational.
  

Reflection Journal Entry #1: Credible vs. Non-Credible Sites

When asked whether a site is credible or non-credible many different ideas pop up into my head. I initially check to see if the site is organized and professionally done. However, even if the site doesn't look completely professional but the content looks alright I check to see if the site has a publisher (name, contact information, company, etc.) that can be looked up. If there are no sources for me to look up and to check for validity then I usually do not use the website. If there is a publisher I then look at the copyright date to make sure the information is pretty recent and not from fifty or more years ago. After I check for and approve the validity and source of the website I then proceed to reading the first line or two of the page (if there is content) or I look for something on the site that will give me information to check and see if the grammar and spelling are correct. Lastly, I check to see if the site have any links to references or sources for the information shown on the site. If the links are referencing other sources that I know are scholarly, I know that the site can be trusted. However, when sites with facts don't have links to references but are published by a professional organization specializing on the topic of the website I can trust the information.

Lesson Plan: 2nd Grade Researching Dinosaurs with Credible and Non-Credible Sites

Objective

• To introduce students to researching on the internet and to distinguish between credible and non-credible sites through exploring the topic of dinosaurs
  

Materials

• Computer with internet access
• White board (for brainstorming)
  
• Worksheets with questions
• Handout with credible and non-credible websites
  

Outline:

• Create a worksheet with questions asking about different facts on dinosaurs (What are dinosaurs? What are plant eating dinosaurs called? What are meat eating dinosaurs called? When did dinosaurs exist? Did humans and dinosaurs live together? How did dinosaurs communicate? etc.)
  
• Write the questions from the worksheet on the white board and have students respond to what they believe are the answers.
• Then hand out the worksheets and explain to the students that they are going to use the internet to research the questions and find the correct answers.
  
• Use the computer (internet) to explain to the students how to type in websites and look up facts about certain topics (in this case, dinosaurs).
• Show the students the difference between a credible and non-credible site by showing them examples and having them share their ideas about the differences. Write these ideas on the board so they can see the differences and tell them to use this as a guideline when researching for their assignment. Also share with them the actual facts about credible websites, such as: having a professional publisher, having links to other references and sources, having good grammar and no spelling mistakes, etc.
  
• Give them a handout of sites (both credible and non-credible) to use but do not let them know which ones are which:
  

Credible

• http://www.kidskonnect.com/content/view/20/27/
• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/allabout/
• http://www.fieldmuseum.org/sue/index.html
• http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dinosaurs/
• http://www.search4dinosaurs.com/index.html
• http://www.billybear4kids.com/dinosaurs/long-long-ago.html
  

Non-Credible

• http://the-office.com/bedtime-story/dinosaurs.htm
• http://www.webmasternow.com/humor/dinosaurs.html
• http://www.storyplace.org/eel/activities/dinosrock.asp?themeid=17
• http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/matt1999/alien/dino.html

• Partner up the students and let them explore these different sites in order to find the answers to the questions on the worksheet but also have them mark which sites they think are credible and which ones they think are non-credible.
• Come together in the end and go over the answers to the worksheet and also to the credible and non-credible sites exercise.
• Let them share their feedback about what they thought was challenging, interesting, fun, etc.