Journal Entry #1

"Your Google Guide," by Doug Johnson.


This article is basically a short, but extremely informative, user's guide on how to use the search engine Google. The article provides a step-by-step manual of how to effectively use Google, mainly focusing on how teachers can assist their students in using Google to the best of their ability for the most efficient results.

Question 1: Was the article useful in providing information necessary for efficient internet searching?
Answer 1: As a self-declared internet "junkie," I was extremely skeptical when I read the title of the article. I thought, "Come on, now, I already know everything about Google." I quickly discovered, however, that althought I know most things about Google, I do not know everything. The article was extremely informative and provided the reader useful tools to help optimize the Google experience as a whole.

Question 2: Was the article useful in providing a different persective in regards to how Google can be used in the classroom?
Answer 2: When I read the first few lines of the article, I felt the article was going to be redundant and it wasn't going to teach me anything I didn't already know. However, I was surprised to see that the author of the article provided a different perspective by formatting the article to be specifically geared toward his audience of teachers and educators. As a teacher-in-training, I was pleasantly surprised to learn new and helpful ways in which I can expect to use the Google search engine in my future classrooms.

Intro Blog for First Assignment

My name is Mona Flick, and I am taking the EDUC422 as my first prerequisite class for the Special Ed/Multiple Subject Credential. I have gained extensive knowledge of computers by first graduating with my Bachelor's Degree in Literature and Writing, and secondly from working as a Grant Writer and Paralegal. I am now looking forward to learning more about the iMac computers used in the computer lab, and how I can use my newfound information and training while earning my Teaching Credential and then becoming a Special Ed Teacher.

I am looking forward to teaching Special Education because most of my teaching experience is in that particular area. I worked as an Instructor for 6 months in 2000 at a private learning center where the instructors worked one-on-one with learning disabled children of all backgrounds. I was trained to teach children how to read with a specialized reading program developed by Linda Mood-Bell. It was at this time that I fell in love with teaching, and I have never stopped thinking about it since then. Since 2000, I have worked as a Teacher's Assistant for the Charter Schools of San Diego, and also as an Activities Director for an after-school 6-to-6 program.

I originally tried to waive the EDUC422 technology requirement, thinking I had already gained plenty of experience working with computers because I have been a Grant Writer and a Paralegal. I admit now that it excites me to have the opportunity to work with Mac Computers, and also to use this knowledge and experience to further enhance my abilities as a competent teacher.