Moodle/Web Page

After completing the Scholastic Web Page I was impressed at how easy the web page was to execute. It reminded me of the WebQuest assignment because it forced the creator to use step by step instructions in order to complete the website. My one complaint of Scholastic was that it was too structured. I found that it limited different aspects to what teachers could use on the website.

Some may be curious as to what "Moodle" is. I'm not too sure if it is an actual word, but it is the name that is given to the system that teachers at my school use to create their personal web page. As a teacher, I love the idea of teacher's having the website at their disposal. It allows me to post many different aspects of the course that may help students. Listed below is the link to the Moodle web page. Log in as a guest and you do not need a password. My two web pages are listed under World History and U.S. History 1......feel free to take whatever you want.

http://www.paramuscatholic.com/moodle/

Webpage Article

Although the article was short and to the point, it made me a little more reassured that creating a webpage is not as difficult as it seems. I remember creating a website about five years ago for an undergraduate education class and significant knowledge in HTML language was necessary. I never realized the amount of time, knowledge, and effort it took to create a webpage. Throughout the years, creating websites, in addition to other technological innovations, have improved greatly. I am thinking of different ways to create my webpage and I am also looking forward to seeing all of yours. If you have begun, do you have any suggestions for the beginners?

Oregon Trail

http://www.virtualapple.org/oregontraildisk.html

Anyone remember this game? I'm 26 years old and distinctly remember how much fun I had playing this game in elementary school. I thought that some of you may enjoy taking a trip down memory lane for a few minutes......or hours. This is also a great way to get younger students interested in actual events in U.S. History. Do not try to cross the rivers.....your wagon always tips over!

Brain Pop

This is a website that is geared towards elementary school students, however, it has many different videos that can be used as supplemental material in middle and high school classrooms. As a high school history teacher, Brain Pop can be utilized in a number of ways in my classroom.

In terms of videos, the website uses easy language and cartoons that outline major events in our country's history. The positive of the videos is that they outline major events that have occurred in the past. The negatives about the videos are that they do not focus on specifics on these events, primarily because elementary students are not able to analyze specific themes in these events in addition to the cost. I was surprised at how expensive the subscription is......almost $1000 for the school!

Overall, I will continue to use some of the free material that Brain Pop offers, but will not be able to subscribe to utilize all videos. I guess that is why some people have created websites like YouTube and TeacherTube. I hope everyone enjoys the website as much as myself.