Readings

"The World Wide Web: Interfaces, Databases and Application to Education"
This reading's main topic was the creation of web pages for teachers use. The article discussed a software that would allow teachers to take advantage of web pages without being experts in the area. I appreciated the software extremely. Part of the reason why I felt that, eventhough, the software had its drawbacks, was because it is better than having to create a web page using HTML. I am currently taking a CS 301 class where we are learning how to write web pages using HTML and Java. It is painful! There is so much you have to write just for a title. For example, there are certain tags to let the computer know where a heading starts, you must always close the heading and there is a particular format to do that. Colors, font, centering all takes so much writing and at times it is just one line on the web page but in the writing of it you have 6,7 lines. Of course it all depends in the complexity of the web page but as a teacher I would rather use something that is already there and will facilitate my job yet allow me to implement web pages in my classroom but leave me with time to focus on other areas as well.

"The Database: America's Presidents"
It was neat to read about an example where a database served a great purpose in the classroom.

"Database: Bells and Whistles"
As I read the article I found similarities in the program the author was describing and Access. The article talked about check boxes and value lists which exist in Access as well. I can see how Access can serve as use in the classroom. In my CS 301 class it was covered as though the administratio would be the ones to take advantage of these databases. I enjoyed reading the article because it presents new ideas by showing how students can take advantage of these databases. It is complex to set up a database. When I was learnig it in CS 301 it was challenging but I walked out with extremely valuable information that can easily be applied in the future. Just as I saw that, I am sure students would value learning about databases and would leave having used critical thinkin in a variety of ways.