What makes a great teacher?

Teaching is one of the most complicated and stressful jobs today. It demands broad knowledge of subject matter, curriculum, and standards; enthusiasm, a caring attitude, and a love of learning. You must have knowledge of discipline, classroom management skills and a desire to make a difference in the lives of young people. With all these qualities required, it’s no wonder that it’s hard to find great teachers. I think I just was included in a class of great teachers. Thanks for letting me be part of it all. Oh Yea, why don’t they pay you gals and guys more if you can do all that?

TEC 6/77438 Instructional Applications of the Internet

ITEC 6/77438 Instructional Applications of the Internet  Fall 2016 

It was nice to read all your papers, review all your presentations and learn from them. This class has many creative minds and I am joyful because many children will benefit with all of you in a classroom. You will be working to assist the greatest natural resource we have, our children. We started with Twitter and Blogging and now we are ending the course as we started. L I hope to see the virtual you in my next class and maybe the real you at graduation.

Steven V. Ervin

Trolling on the Web

An important sidebar of virtual internet interactions involves online deviance and trolling. These include behaviors that range from mild mischief, to offensive language, to hacking and trolling, and to expression of complex social problem, such as by social radicals, terrorist, or pedophiles. Yet I can find little research that has examined online trolling in general or the impact of gender and background on these deeds in particular.

My research results indicate that men and women react differently to online trolling. Their observations of the impact of trolling on online groups vary a great deal. Always men and women identify different motivations for similar behaviors in different communities, and they both remark that men and women trolls differ in their behavior and motivation. What do you think?

What is a Web Filter?

A Web filter is an application that screens incoming Web pages. This application verifies web pages that should be accessed by certain users. This application compares all incoming web pages against the certain information technology rules and regulations stipulated by the installer.

Sometimes these filters over block or under block, which can result in the users not finding some information, based on constant rules hence blocking a wrong site. On the other hand, filters do not guarantee that they will block all the unsuitable content either.

Most schools, businesses or companies use an Internet censorship service. By using their Content-control software that is designed to restrict or control the content a user of the school or company is blocked from some internet access. This software normally used to restrict materials that are delivered over the Internet via the Web, e-mail, or other means. Content-control software normally determines what content will be available and what content will be blocked. The motive for the censorship is normally to prevent access to content, which the computer's owners and other authorities may consider intolerable. 

What is FTP?

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, which is a standard Network protocol used for transferring files from one host to another over a network that is TCP based such as the internet.  FTP server is software that is normally a html application that is used to run the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), which is the protocol for exchanging files over the Internet. FTP is normally built on a client-server structural design, which uses separate control and data connections between the client and the server.  FTP is a program that is used widely by computer users to enable them exchange files effectively.

A computer that receives an FTP connection is called an FTP server while the deigned software that is used to transfer files back-and-forth from one computer to another over the Internet is the FTP client. It is normally installed on a computer and can be used only when there is an Internet connection. FileZilla, CuteFTP or SmartFTP are just but some of the FTP client programs. With this program uploading and downloading a file becomes an easy task. With FileZilla, it is a secure way of transferring files such as videos, mp3 files without worrying. Support is available through their forums, the wiki and the bug and feature request trackers.

Furthermore, FTP clients have extra features that can be useful to the user. For example, a download that did not finish successfully because one reason or another can be resumed, especially in the instance of slow internet connections. Nevertheless, FTP program uses go a long way, especially for website users or owners to upload, ensures secure uploading of files, and can be used to.

It’s a Terminator Future see

Most students of today are technology savvy. They know how to access technology and use it to their advantage. Educators have played a role in promoting technology, however the students have carried it too far by depending on computers and other technology to create everything from bibliography generators, grammar checkers and even spell check. This can be a dangerous pattern because the students of today will be our leaders of tomorrow. Do we want workers to go to a computer to find out how to solve problems or do we want workers that provide solutions to problems with their own cognitive powers? Some students I have worked with cannot do any intermediate or complex math problems without using computers or calculators. I do not believe that trusting a machine to solve problems is a good thing for the human race.

            Educators need to come up with a way to engage our students and have technology take a secondary role in their lives. Today, administrators and educators are obsessed with testing and put unwanted pressure on their students. Is this why students feel they have to turn to technology so they won’t get behind in homework? Educators can give students the tools they need to succeed but most importantly the self-esteem they require to help them achieve their goals. They can do this by more hands on activities and making students aware of the consequences of using technology all the time.

            It is time for our students to use their brains to accomplish goals without the crutches of technology and become a successful part of our society. It is up to our educators to make this happen before we raise a society of technology driven zombies. 

Teaching and Learning

Schools that have not embraced technology in the processes of teaching and learning need to do so. Evidence from numerous reviewed literatures shows improved academic performance among schools that implement digital databases and the Internet.

The purpose of this post is to sensitize the education stakeholders on the significance of integrating technology in teaching and learning to promote collaboration and research of different tools. Research will always be a part of learning where students are given assignments and projects to work on their own or in groups. Therefore, access to web-based databases that aid young scholars in search of solutions to their classroom problems are essential. It is crucial that school administrators and teachers consider the digital aspects of education as a key factor on the way to the overall good performance of their students.

            Schools should adapt to modern digital libraries where students can access databases and the internet and carry out their research more efficiently. Research databases are an effectual tool that should be taken up by all learning institutions. The goal is we want our students to succeed with individual and collaborative research work. What do you think?

Google and Online Etiquette

I am a promoter that online etiquette needs to be taught in the classroom before students use Google tools. When on-line, students need to learn how to be respectful of other people’s viewpoints. If they should critique a viewpoint, they should also avoid personal attacks on the person who expressed the opinion, as well as the use of profanity. I think a very virtuous argument about internet privacy is, for example, if a student reveals too much about his or her identity, such as an address or other personal information, it is impossible to erase information. Teachers and families should instruct students how to responsibly guard their on-line identities. Also, age-appropriate restrictions need to be covered extensively. Unfortunately, of course, this comprises pornography and other adult materials that can be found on-line.

            I highly recommend a couple of websites that further explain the expertise that teachers should bring to the classroom with respect to Google tools. There is a Google for Education Training Center that offers “in-depth training”, and an “official Google certification before teachers educate kids on how to use Google tools properly. Consequently, it is important to educate teachers first (https://www.google.com/edu/training). In addition, another website briefly explains some of the vast array of features that Google has made available to teachers and students alike, features such as Google Drive, which allows teachers and students to collaborate in real time on class projects, using very advanced features (http://www.edutopia.org/google-for-educators).