Laura+M.

A Little About Myself: My name is Laura Madera and I was born in New York City on June 19th, 1990. I grew-up with my mom, dad, and older sister in our apartment in Washington Heights. I have attended Catholic schools since the third grade and, thus, stumbled upon Fordham College at Lincoln Center as I finished high school. I received my Bachelors Degree in May, graduating with a major in English and a minor in Women Studies. I consider myself very fortunate to still be in the Fordham family and community by attending Fordham’s Graduate School of Education. In the time between my birth and Graduate School, I have travelled to the Dominican Republic, Barcelona, London, Paris, and I have taken a couple of road-trips down south to Florida. I am fluent in English and Spanish. I love to read and write (both short and long prose and yes, even essays). I love all kinds of music. I LOVE New York; it is my home and it has taught me to appreciate and venerate the arts and culture. Perhaps, the most important thing anyone needs to know about me is that… I LOVE CATS! =^.^= I will end my introduction here as I could go on and on and on about cats.



My Life As A Tech-User: I remember the first computer I ever had; it was a big clunky thing, a Compact Presario. I was in the third grade and I did not know how to use it; in fact, I did not even know what a computer was for. As I understood it, computers were fancier, new age type-writers. To that end, I typed-up my book reports and my history class’s research assignment on Abraham Lincoln never anticipating to do much else with a computer. In sometime, my older sister (a tween by that point) had heard of a little thing called the internet. Being the wonderful nerd that she was (and is), she asked our parents if we could sign-on with aol.com so that she could find scientific articles and journals (like I said…nerd). She successfully convinced our parents and we signed on together with AOL. She showed me how to chat with my friends (the few that had internet access). I quickly learned about chat-rooms and IMs. Yet by the seventh grade, I needed research too as school required current information. I asked my sister how to find out information and she recommended national geographic online and such. I was instantly hooked on that kind of academic information. By high school, I was reading the New York times online and a number of other newspapers and magazines. I then discovered internet radio stations which catered to my in global music and political interest. Today, I do the same with my iPad, iPhone, and desktop computer. I stay in touch with the world through messages and by reading about different global topics. However, I would like to change this, as much as I can, throughout this semester. For too long I have enjoyed other people’s stories; I have never written one for the public before. I am excited about blogging because I think I can finally relay my own thoughts about the world I live in and experience.

NETS Goals:
 * Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity**
 * Goal:** Throughout this course, I would like to learn about web tools and/or programs (like wikispaces and Dropbox) which will engage students in using digital tools and resources which will ultimately enable teachers **//and//** students to edit their works together as well as apart.


 * Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments**
 * Goal:** Throughout this course, I would like to learn about technologies which support e-books or internet books (like Google books or Project Gutenberg). I believe this is a way to include technology inside of a classroom already accustom to using the internet and include interest in materials which were originally/traditionally printed.


 * Model Digital-Age Work and Learning **
 * Goal: **In this course, I would like to familiarize myself with a social network (something along the lines of Twitter) which will relay quick and important information to students.


 * Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility**
 * Goal:** I would like to discover free online tools and sites which promote free literacy through newspaper and magazine articles; this I feel would promote my own ethical behavior online and therefore my student’s behavior. Furthermore, I believe this is a goal towards social justice.


 * Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership**
 * Goal:** I would like to read and respond to classmate’s blogs on wiki as well as other blogs my friends and family may have.


 * [|Personal Use Project Goal]**
 * Goal:** Develop a personal blog in an effort to share opinions, ideas, and interest with others (through Wordpress.com), ultimately familiarizing myself with routine contributions to the digital world.



[|Copyright and Fair Use PowerPoint/Jing]

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