Educational Resources

As educational resources continue to improve, so do the opportunities for students to learn. Web based educational activities on sites such as Knowledgebox and Learn to Read reach students at early ages. I feel that it is very important for students at young ages to become aquainted with programs like these. Granting students access to programs likes these allows them to improve in certain learning styles which they may be lacking in. More importantly it takes them out of the everyday textbook/lecture classroom.

Interactive activities on the computer and internet like these, gives students a chance to work together in a variety ways they may not be used to. I have always found it easier to learn when you are engaged in more hands on activities, which education web based resources provide. I am very impressed with resources like Discovery streaming. Younger students are very impressionable and by providing them for example with video footage of different events from history; it may be easier for students to remember through the images. As resources like these continue to improve we will see a variety of new resources which teachers can use. 

My Access

My Access is a great tool to enhance writing skills for students in grades 4 through 12. The program allows students to use computers effectively in the classroom to complete writing exercises. Teachers are given a large pool of different writing options and situations from which they could assign to the students. It allows students to work on different types of writing such as narrative, persuasive, etc. I find My Access to be a great tool for students, especially those who really need help improving writing skills. Grades are not given a week from submission they are given within a few minutes of completing the assignment. The program also explains how to improve in areas where a student may be lacking. Instant feedback is essential for students to truly understand there mistakes. When students get a paper back a week or two weeks after submitting it, they are no longer thinking about it. Douglas Reeves believes in the Nintendo Effect in which students respond to electronical responses when immediate and accurate. The feedback will provide a positive effect on the quality of writing.
The program is very useful for a variety of reasons, one that stands out to me, is that it gets students writing more and writing creatively. J. Chircop states "Studies have shown that the amount of writing that students complete is positively related to tests of writing ability," as stated in his work Student Achievement Soars with Use of Quality Strategies. My Access offers easy to understand rubrics which are effective in providing feedback to students. Reports also show that more activity in writing programs like My Access, has lead to an increase in grades in Math, Science and Social Studies classes. In most cases students are expected to perform well on writing assessments. Giving students more opportunity to develop there writing skills will only lead to better end results.

Web Quest

Web Quests, in my opinion, are one of the best tools for including technology in the class room. Through Web Quests students can use different sources of technology to learn in a variety of subjects. It is easy for teachers to include aspects of Web Quests into different lesson plans and really are pretty quick to put together. Web Quests and education tools like them allow teachers to be more creative in the classrooms. Students remember the teachers who were not afraid to try different things. The society we live in now is very digital and on the go. Students enjoy being on computers, and exercises like these allow them to use the internet as a resource database.