Reading Response 3/24

Leu 12

This chapter encourages us to develop a classroom homepage on the Internet. A classroom homepage organizes resources for units of study. Each of the instructional models can be used such as Internet Workshop, Internet Project, Internet Inquiry, and WebQuest. Organizing links can be effective and safe for children to use.
Homepages can be used to share student work with others. Teachers may work collaboratively by viewing each other's homepage.
Communication between school and families can improve using the classroom webpage. Email messages can be sent and received by parents and teachers to foster better relationships. This enhances your image as a teaching professional.
Examples of classroom homepages were explained. Preschools and Kindergartens are more photograph and information driven for parents. There are links for articles on parenting for parents to peruse.
The elemantary grades have more links on their homepages.
Weblogs can replace some classroom webpages. This is what I will be doing for my second project. I am creating a blog instead of a classroom homepage. My needs are informational for parents in Kindergarten. Weblogs keep everyone apprised of the happenings in the classroom.
Middle and high school homepages focus on content knowledge, notes, assignments, and grades.
Directions explaining how to create your own classroom page were explored using HTML language. Commercial sites for making a classroom homepage were listed. Tutorials for going through the steps to create homepages on the Internet were given.
Elements of a homepage are emails, student work, due dates for assignments, organizing links, and student newspapers. I liked the idea of having a place for student work, photographs, and a newspaper highlighting student achievement.
The homepage incorporates all the new literacies we are studying and encourages teachers to develop classroom homepages using additional resources.
This chapter was interesting, but I will not be doing a classroom homepage as I stated before. It was very enlightening though, and I will use it as a resource.

Xu 7

Xu talks about the steps needed to integrate popular culture texts. Teachers need to research school and school district policies and gain support from school administrators before they use resources that are outside of the school box. Writing a rationale for popular culture text could include the headings of guidelines, explanation, nand the example of the popular culture text.
Sharing your positive results with parents, colleagues, and administrators is important. Time issues were discussed.
I think I will use popular culture texts in my ABC project with my Kindergartners this Spring. They can use Sponge Bob, Spiderman, or Star Wars to make an ABC projcet with.