Social Bookmarking

National Archives:
The “History of Women” exhibit caught my eye mainly for the reason of learning more about women who made significant contributions in our past. As we all know, especially in United States history, there is an abundance of historical information about men, but very little about women. This exhibit opened my eyes to the importance of teaching students more about those women who were liberated and unafraid to stand up for their rights as citizens who were willing to make positive changes in society. Women’s rights today are reflective of these important contributions in our nation’s history. The videotape available on this site would be an excellent classroom resource.

NEA – National Education Association:
“Becoming a Culturally Competent Educator”
The following three areas fit my teaching style the best:
1. Create a cultural competence committee or task force.
2. Ensure that your school has a mission statement that commits to cultural competence as an integral component of all its activities.
3. Network with parent, family, minority community, and faith-based organizations concerned with the needs of diverse students.
I believe these areas demonstrate the most effective ways to learn, demonstrate, and implement effective strategies to understand the variety of cultures present in schools. Creating a task force and mission statement helps to focus on a single purpose of compassion and unity within a community. Having a network, or base is essential in establishing the foundation for this group that ultimately represents a sound platform within a school district.

Kidsclick:
21st Century Problem Solving site – at hawaii.edu
This site links directly to step-by-step problem solving skills for students as well as teachers. These helpful links provide a relevant and useful data resource for reading level 7+ (grades 3 and up).

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators:
The bulletin board ideas for middle school gives access to many useful ideas to incorporate in the classroom. These pictures and ideas are the perfect resource for new teachers! I will definitely refer to this site when I begin teaching…

Edutopia:
The “Instructional Module on Multiple Intelligences” is a resource that contains everything you could possible want to learn about regarding multiple intelligences. I took an interest in the “why” section, for its attention to the details of why recognizing the fact that we all have different ways of learning is so important for teachers to consider. Learning about the interests, learning styles, and learning levels of each student allows teachers to develop lesson plans that work within each grade, level, and subject individually.

Teaching Tolerance:
The “Harry Potter” middle grades activity will give students the opportunity to examine magic, science, and friendship. The topic of social and cultural themes, among others, allows students to brainstorm ideas about magical powers (fictional) as well as discuss what powers they might wish to possess. I would utilize the “questions for discussion” to provide and initiate an open, meaningful dialogue between students. I think this forum would inspire a creative outlet of thought-provoking ideas and exchanges.

EdChange:
Equity and Diversity Awareness Quiz
1. According to a study by the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights, what percentage of physicians report witnessing a colleague giving reduced care or refusing care to lesbian, gay, or bisexual patients?
2. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median annual income for U.S. white men, 25 years or older, who have earned graduate degrees, is $80,000. What are the median annual incomes for Latina and Native American women, 25 years or older, who have earned graduate degrees?

The first question blows me away, simply because I refuse to believe that people would actually provide reduced care or refuse to care for these members of society. In this day and age, why would people consciously choose to be so ignorant?

The second question serves to remind us of the inequalities that have been present in society for many years, and which are most recently being changed. Fortunately, we are making progress in assuring a lesser gap in pay equality between men, women, and minorities.

Netiquette Guidelines:
Netiquette Quiz score: 80%
Teaching netiquette to students is important because it sets up a specific list of online rules. These rules pertain to every single entry into the wonderful world of cyberspace, and providing these rules to students at a young age will help them adopt necessary responsible computer habits. An important part of netiquette is remembering to treat others with the same respect you would expect to receive. If you are not careful in your choice of words, you might unintentionally give someone a !-( and not even know it! YIKES!