Writing in HTML

I never thought I would be able to write in HTML, but today in class I realized that it actually isn't that difficult. If I do it enough, it wouldn't be long before I would be able to write in HTML without the guide sheet. It took me awhile to figure it out, but it is very logical and the rules are stable. The biggest difficulty is the tediousness of it, how the smallest error will through the whole thing off. It's like math, everything has to be accurate to work together correctly.

I look forward to playing with HTML and seeing what I will be able to create.

My website that I will be working on: teacherloree.webs.com

Article Review

I read the article for this class entitled "Adopt and Adapt: Shaping Tech for the Classroom."(http://www.edutopia.org/adopt-and-adapt)

I agreed with several points in this article. However, I disagreed with this article more than I agreed with it. I agree that technology is taking an increasing role in education and as our culture and use of technology evolves and grows I believe this is only appropriate. On the other hand, there are so many instances in which students become dependent on technology to the point that they don't understand--nor care about--the logic behind the operations they perform.

For example, as a tutor in the public middle school I would work with 6th and 7th graders, trying to explain the concepts of greatest common factor (GCF) and least common multiple (LCM). The greatest difficulty my students ran across was that they did not know their multiplication table. They had to count out or use their calculators to find the common numbers for even numbers of low value. They were helpless without their calculators. As a junior in high school I had to take a mathmatics class to prepare me to pass the math section on the ASSET test. One of the restrictions on the ASSET is that you may not use scientific calculators. However, there were lessons in my class that my one-on-one teacher said she could not teach me unless I had a calculator. I was curious as to how that would help me pass the exam, the sole reason I was taking this class.

If you had asked little me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I probably would have had many answers for you. I might have said a scientist, veterinarian, counselor, singer,.... The answer changed all the time. But if you had asked me what I did not want to be when I grew up, I always had a ready and consistent answer: teacher. Teaching seemed to me to be the most undesirable job in the world. I didn't have many good teachers until I got to college. I perceived teachers as stressed out, overworked, and uncompassionate. I currently major in Elementary Education at Northwest University.

I first started teaching when I was about twelve. My sister Natalie was three years old and I wanted her to be the smartest kid in preschool. So I began teaching her how to add and subtract with marbles. While she was home-schooled in first grade, I would give her spelling tests and help her out with concepts she was having trouble with. During this time I did not consider teaching as something in my future. But this experience gave me the opportunity as a young girl to put into practice talents I did not realize I had.

In high school I began tutoring part time. I worked with grades ranging from kindergarten to 10th grade in subjects that were just as varied, from reading to social studies to algebra to Spanish. I was shocked to discover that I actually enjoyed teaching and was good at it. Today, I look forward to working with students. I look forward to helping children find their talents, interests, gifts, and help them make discoveries that will open worlds of opportunity.

I would like to teach middle school, but anywhere from 4th-9th grade would be great. The subjects I enjoy the most are US History and English.