EDUC 628-Spring-08

Barriers that Solomon Offers: 

Barrier 1:  Access to up-to-date hardware, software, and connectivity:

Barrier 2:  Access to Meaningful, High-Quality, and Culturally Responsive content to the Knowledge Base in that content

Barrier 3:  Access to educators who know how to use digital tool and resources effectively

Barrier 4:  Access to systems sustained by leaders with vision and support for change through technology

After reading this weeks assigned pages from Solomon and searching for blogs I am yet overwhelmed again with information about technology and its access.  When I read about the barriers in the text, I could really relate to what Solomon was saying about Barrier 1 –where she discusses student to computer ratios being lowered, but with many of these lowered rates, the computers that students have access to are old ones that are very slow.  I have been in some computer labs before where it takes the computers so long to boot up, or reboot because they are out of date.  I will get on one and just to get a pdf or something will require the download of  Acrobat Reader, etc. 

I think that there is access to meaningful, high-quality and culturally responsive content to the knowledge base, but the problem could be that educators do not know where to access it, and then perhaps they don’t know how to use some of this technology.  I know that since I have taken this class that I have found some valuable information and tools on the Internet for instructional purposes that I didn’t know existed before.  I hope to try to take all of the information I learn form this class and my other tech class, and put it to meanful use, even though I am not working full time right now.  Or should I say that because I am not working full-time right now that I will have the time to explore and plan some lessons for nest year.

In my EDUC 621 class, I had to go visit the site http://www.intime.uni.edu/. Regarding multicultural issue and technology and I found it to be a beneficial site.  There is a lot of information there and perhaps too much to fully grasp the site’s purpose in one visit of two, but I will continue to visit this site for information for my instruction. 

Also, I searched for a blog and I did a search for inTime blogs, and I found this one belowhttp://ehansonsmith.blogspot.com/Although the first two pictures of videos on the left only turned out to be pictures when I clicked on them and I was a bit discouraged, when I clicked on the Asterpix it took me to a tutorial and I joined up so I can find a video for a lesson in the future now.There are other interesting links on this blog spot, like the interactive American Writers- C-SPAN videos link.

I think this site is a good site that relates to educational access for the purposes of integrating technology into education, even though I think the pics should access the access.

Angie H.