UDL Checklist for Spanish Speaking Country Webquest

I recently applied the Universal Design Learning (UDL) checklist to the Webquest lesson, Identifying Spanish Speaking Countries and was very pleased with the results.  Upon completion of the checklist the lesson showed 25 "features" and only 7 "barriers". The main barriers were lack of an auditory component and there were a few barriers on goal settings.  It was interesting to critique this lesson plan from a different set of criteria and very satisfying to know that when this lesson was taught it was a strong lesson plan. 

Keeping your PC Safe

Remember a time when it was safe to surf the net... when viruses were for people and not computers...  well, times have changed.  I recently completed 3 tutorials on internet security. 

My first tutorial was Defining Malware.  I've heard the term malware before but prior to this tutorial all I could tell you, is malware is bad.  This tutorial expanded my knowledge and gave me some interesting tidbit to share.

• It is actually a catch all phrase that includes adware and spyware. Prevention is the key to avoiding malware and there are some useful pieces of software. 

My second tutorial was about Windows Cleanup.  My PC is getting slower so this one was particularly useful. 

• Something fun on this one is if Windows cleanup is working it will make the sound of a flushing toilet.  By freeing up memory my PC it give me more room for important things, like pictures of my 9 month old son. 

The third tutorial was about Firewalls, what they do and don't do.  I thought my firewall did everything, but actually, there are many things it doesn't do. 

• Firewalls don't help if you've already downloaded and installed the virus.  
• There is firewall hardware and software. Firewall hardware is part of the routers and is used to hide your computer from the internet.  Software firewalls must be installed and come with security suites.  We use the Avast suite for everything. 

RSS Feeds and what they mean to me

While I'm working on catching up in CEP 810 I continue to work on the RSS lab.  Session 1 has quite a few pieces and parts and I'm trying to make sure I get them all.  I'm new to RSS feed and creating the page on netvibes was quite an adventure, but it really was easier than I thought.  I've enjoyed going to the page once a day to see what all has changed in the world and found that having these RSS feeds all together within my netvibes page is not only convenient but it helps me make connections in the news that I'm reading.  For example, on tree hugger there is an article on their new plastic bag ban. I posted a comment to that blog stating that I support the plastic bag ban and would love to see something like that happen in Michigan.  That belief ties in with a lesson that I've done on recycling and using that information will make that lesson plan more robust, it is an example to show my student that other cities are banning plastic bags and ask for their ideas on recycling and if we could enact such a ban in our city.  One frustrations I've had with some of the RSS feeds I've added is information isn't updated as regularly as I'd like. Treehugger updates daily and Cool Green Science updates about every other day or so, but the educational sites I've added don't update content regularly at all, like Edutech and weblogg-ed haven't posted in a month.  In an age when I've gotten used to having new information instantly, content that's a month old seems ancient.  RSS feeds can become almost addictive because they are constantly new things to read. 

Here is a link to the screenshot of my RSS feed page.
http://screencast.com/t/3i4BwKi9e

I wasn't able to get everything in the screenshot because it goes over one screen and Jing doesn't have that capability.  To see the full RSS feed go to my Netvibes page at http://www.netvibes.com/zienjenn

Thanks and stay cool.
- Jennifer

Webpages vs Blogs

Before reading and listening to the information that was presented in my CEP 810 class, Teaching Understanding with Technology, I had no idea about Blogs.  The immediate difference that I noticed was that it is easy to post anything to a Blog and change things on it.  Blogs are specific where as webpages are usually broad and not usually updated frequently.  Blogs deal more with present news and webpages cover a general topic and present information based on that one subject.  Blogs are the views of one person on a subject and can be followed by a group and are interactive, webpages are not interactive. This link is especially informative Blogs in Plain English created by Lee and Sachi LeFever of the Common Craft Show, of what Blogs are used for everyday.

Friday Night

I am sitting at home doing my homework with one hand while my Mom watches Dylan.  I can hear every squeak he is making and have the biggest grin on my face.  Oh how I wish I were the one playing with him and not typing one handed.  I get my stitches removed Tuesday and dressing off of my right hand then I may have use of both hands to type.  Let's hope.  Have a great weekend.