name: thomas m. alfera - csun

Name: Thomas M. Alfera June 16, 2005

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(1) Evaluating Internet Resources: Most of what is posted on the Internet has never been subjected to the rigors of peer review common with many traditional publications. Students must learn to evaluate the reliability of information of the websites they visit.

• Select two websites that provide information about a topic related to your curriculum. Cite the URLs and names of both sites and explain which is more reliable using evaluation criteria.

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hawthorn.htm. This site claims that Hawthorne took a “dark view of human nature.” The site never goes on to say that his “dark view” often goes hand in hand with a view that is seems to suggest awe for the capacity of humans on an individual basis to withstand the horrors placed on them by a hysterical or sanctimonious collective. In short this is a web site of one person’s cloistered view of Hawthorne’s works of fiction. http://asweb.artsci.uc.edu/english/HawthorneSociety/nh.html This is an “official site” with links to the Hawthorne Society and offers discussion groups on the topics surrounding the man and his works. This seems more reliable because of the peer review which would provide scrutiny to any position taken. Additionally, this is a university site; and while a university doesn’t automatically deserve respect because they are an educational institution, this web site is overseen by Richard Millington, Head of the English Department at Smith College. He has published extensively on Hawthorne and his works. Furthermore, there is a link here that “calls for papers” which creates a sort of “open source” atmosphere where ideas can be challenged. The cumulative affect of these things make this particular web site a credible source for information on Nathaniel Hawthorne and his works. (2) Research with Electronic References: Since we live in the Information Age, it is particularly important that teachers are able to access and evaluate information to prepare accurate, up-to-date lessons, and to teach their students the principles of electronic research. In this activity you will examine a variety of electronic references in your quest to acquire information for lessons or other professional activities.

• Identify two topics to research using electronic references (broadcast news, almanacs, quotations, etc.). Research the first topic using at least one resource from each of five categories of electronic resources. Repeat the process with the second topic, using references from five additional categories. Include the URL, name of the resource, key information acquired, and a screen capture from each resource. (See examples of research ideas).

• Identify the special features (e.g. hypertext linking of terms, Boolean search capabilities, archival search, knowledge tree, downloadable movies, online audio transcripts, animations, translations, reference lists, printer-friendly output, multimedia links, PDA or bookreader download, visible directory structure, etc.)


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of each of the reference tools you have used. • Compare and contrast electronic references with their traditional paper

counterparts. Discuss at least ten tasks or features that are possible with electronic resources that are not possible with traditional paper resources.

• Develop a lesson plan that incorporates electronic references. Your lesson plan should require students to use two or more electronic references to address a specific curricular objective.

Topic 1 Puritanism Source #1 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4616663 The link above is a story on Anne Bradstreet, Puritan poet, from April 23, 2005 on Weekend Edition with Scott Simon.

The cool thing about this source is the audio clip of the story itself plus a reading of “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” by Anne Bradstreet. Source #2 http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?srcht=s&srchst=g&vendor=&query=puritan&sa=Google+Search The link above is to the New York Times, which led me to the next link: http://www.puritansermons.com/ This site is cool in that it is a comprehensive list of Puritan sermons from Cotton Mather to Jonathan Edwards.

Source #3 http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,791954,00.html The link above is to Time magazine online.


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This was especially useful because it linked me to the URL and image you see below on a modern take on where we come from as Americans. This is topic we visit and revisit often in my American Literature classes. This gives students access to information beyond that which is in the textook.

This is a decent web site for information of the lasting effects of Puritanism in America. While it does have several hypertext links for terms, it is limited in that the article seems self-serving and commercial. Most links and information seem to feed right back into Time magazine. Source #4 http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/purdef.htm The following URL is from Gonzaga University. While this site is limited in terms of the links it provides, it is useful for the definitions it provides on the building blocks of Puritan philosophy. Also, this site is what we call user friendly because it provides a very clear structure of its directory.

Source #5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Harbor Wikipedia provides an immense amount of information in a variety of modes. I was looking for a usable map of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. What I found was a fuzzy


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map from the 19th Century. Wikipedia is a fabulous resource because it is an encyclopedia entirely web designed, but it also allows users to add information; in this regard it is interactive. Each and every page I pulled up has a very clear contents area that is hypertext for easy searching on a given page.

(3) Educational Research: Teachers should be familiar with research related to the teaching of their discipline. The Educational Research Database (ERIC) provides access to abstracts from numerous educational publications, and is the best place to start when conducting educational research. Find two or more abstracts of recent, relevant articles related to the use of technology in the teaching of your subject. Summarize implications for the teaching of your subject. Cite the articles using APA format., and include the text of the abstracts. Abstract #1 Daud, Nuraihan Mat, Husin, Zamnah (2004) Developing Critical Thinking Skills In Computer-Aided Extended Reading Classes. British Journal of Educational Technology, v35, n4, p477-487 July 2004 Retrieved July 10, 2005 One of the skills that can be taught in an English proficiency class that adopts literary texts for teaching the language is critical thinking. The background, characters and their motives are among those that invite critical inquiry and interpretation. Although it has been claimed that discussing literary texts in the traditional way can help develop students critical thinking skills, it is yet to be proved whether the use of a teaching aid can help the process. This study is, therefore, carried out to see if the use of computer software can help to develop such skills. It specifically looks at the potential of a literary text, Othello, and a concordancer in developing and enhancing critical thinking abilities of 40 English as a Second Language (ESL) students at the International Islamic University Malaysia. An experimental study was carried out, where an experimental group was exposed to text analysis using a concordancer whilst the control group analysed the text manually. The Cornell Critical Thinking Test was used to analyse the


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critical thinking ability of the students. The experimental group outperformed the control group in all the subscales measured, but the percentage of variance in the scores was low. The implication of this study is that having texts available online supplemented with software programs designed to enhance critical thinking can indeed do just that: enhance critical thinking skills. I suspect because students of the current and successive generations are digital natives and their comfort level rises when working in the “native land,” so to speak. I also suspect that all the crying out against the use of technology to present texts by the so-called “book lovers” is really nothing more than a digital immigrant voicing his/her discomfort--stranger in a strange land. Abstract #2 Labbo, Linda (2005) From Morning Message to Digital Morning Message: Moving from the Tried and True to the New. Reading Journal, v58, n8, p782-785 May 2005 Retrieved July 10, 2005 Abstract: This regular column in "The Reading Teacher" offers support to educators who want to take an active stance when it comes to integrating technology with the literacy curriculum. Here, the author suggests practical ways that teachers can productively link classroom computer technologies to tried-and-true practices. She shares her rationale for recommending that teachers use computer-related literacy instruction, describes one tried-and-true practice (Morning Message) and explains how conducting it with computer technologies can enhance and amplify students' literacy-learning experiences, and closes by inviting educators to identify and try other computer-enhanced practices with which they are comfortable. Unfortunately, the link to the full text of this particular article requires a credit card and membership. I am not currently willing to join this group. Although, it should be noted that this is a journal that curries certain appeal and this publication is one that speaks directly to issues and questions I am faced with everyday in the classroom. What I can glean from the abstract, however, is that by using a medium like Nicenet or any other newsgroup set up for my classroom, I can meet the students on their own digital turf, as it were. Ms. Labbo’s argument is that by doing this, students are more inclined to actively participate in activities, thereby “buying into” and owning their own education. I see the merits in this argument and plan to implement Newsgroups for my classes beginning next year using Nicenet for things like Reading logs, and both intra and extra class discussions, similar to what we are doing in SED 514. (4) Online Academic Journals: A growing number of academic journals are available online, some of which are free, and others of which require a subscription. Find an electronic journal related to your subject and include a screen capture of a relevant article. Briefly summarize the article.


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Administrators should be familiar with the legal code as it pertains to education. Research a legal case relevant to education in secondary schools and include a screen capture from this case. Briefly summarize the case. *PTP-tip The PTP requires that "Candidates for a Teaching Credential understand and honor legal and professional obligations to protect the privacy, health, and safety of students, families, and other school professionals. They are aware of and act in accordance with ethical considerations and they model ethical behaviors for students. Candidates understand and honor all laws relating to professional misconduct and moral fitness." You may wish to cite relevant laws or cases as an aspect of an artifact for TPE 12.

Through demonstration and explicit instruction in the use of mindful strategies, such as setting a purpose, questioning the text, and evaluating structures and forms, educators are able to give students skills for the comprehension of information in the online environment. These skills, when used in conjunction with Web-searching strategies and site evaluation, should also provide students with the ability to plan for their use and dissemination of information, as they are both consumers and producers of ideas. The two sentences above are from the abstract of A, Kyrnes’ March 2005 article on linking think-alouds and comprehension to online research, and provide the best summary of the article.

Because textbook availability is an ongoing issue for many school sites, California has adopted what is commonly referred to as “Williams.” The basic gist of this decree as spelled out in Ed Code 60117-60119 is that all students should have access to textbooks


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for their classes. The law provides for sanctions against school districts that do not provide textbooks to all students. Furthermore, the law provides a specific course of action that a plaintiff can pursue of they feel they are not being properly supplied with textbooks in the classroom. (5) Locating multimedia teaching resources: At many libraries, teachers can obtain cards which give them special privileges as educators, including the ability to check our more resources and keep them longer. Teachers can check out books, CDs, DVDs and and videos. Find a video related to the teaching of your course in the Los Angeles Public Library System (or other public library system), CSUN main library, or the CSUN Teacher Curriculum Center. Describe the video resource and its call number, and if possible, find a teacher study guide for the video by performing an Internet search.

I found a video recording of Antigone by Sophocles. Its call number is DVD 882 S73Ed.

Above is a screen capture of the hold I have placed on a DVD recording of Anitgone through the Los Angeles Public Library system.

name: thomas m. alfera - csun

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