Web+Resources

=Portfolio of Quality Education Web Resources=

For this assignment, we were charged with the task of putting together fifty web resources that could benefit our students in the classroom. The idea behind the assignment is to look for (and catalog) resources that pertain to our subject matter and course material.

In addition to finding the resources, we were required to create an account at delicious.com. This account is used as a storage repository that could be used to organize our resources. In order to clearly organize the resources, I created tags that provided information and insight about what each article was in reference to. These tags will make it easy to use organize the resources and use them moving forward. I have listed my tags / topics below.

One important aspect of the delicious page is to ensure that the resources were tagged and labeled correctly. In order to do this, we had to provide information about the title and location of the resource as well as a brief note about what the resource dealt with. This, of course, will serve as a reminder as to why I selected this resource in the first place and will allow me to use these resources in the future without having to go through and actually read everything before hand.

My portfolio consists of articles that I believe would benefit students as they work toward completion of the Computer Network Administration Program at Howard High School of Technology.

=Selection Process:=

The computer network administration program at Howard has a heavy focus on professional certifications. At one point, our program provided students with an opportunity to purse both Microsoft and Cisco certifications as part of the degree program. Because of this, I spent a great deal of time looking for resources that students could use to learn the material necessary for these certifications.

My second focus during the selection process was training and employability. Our course material is very unique and truly requires students to work in a hands-on environment. Each of the courses in our programs has a lab component that is use to supplement the traditional lectures and provide students with an opportunity to apply the material that they are learning. Because of this, I searched for and selected resources that I felt students could use during their supplied lab time. These particular resources are very important because they will teach students essential computer and networking skills that they may need to use depending on the type of employment they obtain.

Ultimately, my selection process consisted of a few basic steps. In order to find worthwhile resources, I put together a quick list of industry ‘buzzwords’ based on the tags and topics that I deteremined most important. From there, I searched delicious for those keywords and reviewed the most relevant articles looking for resources. After reading the resources, I tried to think of how this particular article related to our course material and then tried to think about how well it could be incorporated into a pre-existing lesson plan. If I felt that the article was something that could be used in class, I saved it and placed it in the appropriate category (tag).

For this assignment, I have organized my resources into the following categories:

=Tags / Topics: []=

1. Training 2. Integration 3. Cloud Computing 4. MS_Certifications 5. CCNA_Certifications 6. APlus_Certification 7. HTML 8. Operating_Systems 9. Linux 10. Computer_Networking

=Reflection:=

I found this particular assignment to be very interesting and believe that it will be tremendously beneficial for me as a potential teacher. Unlike most of the students in the course, I am not yet a teacher and have no real teaching experience to speak of. Because of this, I have never had to site down and find resources that students can use to garner a greater understanding of the course material. Having completed the assignment, I now feel very comfortable with the process and believe that I have compiled a valuable portfolio of resources that I can use to help my students learn more effectively.

As I have mentioned previoulsy, I am enrolled in this degree program because I believe it will benefit me as I work to become a vocational teacher at Howard High school of Technology. More specifically, I am looking to become an instructor in the school’s computer network administration program. Because of course material, it can be very difficult finding worthwhile resources that high school students can use to become more familiar with the subject matter. This is the primary reason that I think this type of assignment is important. Even though I have not yet stepped foot in the classroom, I am now equipped with a reasonably large portfolio of resources that I can use in the classroom and, more importantly, that my students can use.

In regards to my students, I think they will benefit from this assignment because I will be able to provide them with resourcses that will help them during the lab component of our course as well as the certifiation aspect. For me personally, I believe that this assignment has been beneficial already because I have been able to familiarize myself with online resources that pertain to the subject matter that I will be teaching as well as online sites such as delicious and wikispaces. Now that I have become familiar with these sites, I fully intend to use them moving forward for educational purposes.