Last One!!!

I did the course evaluation and the survey. Yay!

Week 13 PLE

1. I read "Fighting Internet Filth" by Mario Hipol.

2. Video Resources:
"Cyber-bullying: You Can't Take it Back" about rating girls as hot-or-not
"Amy's Choice" about a 15-year-old girl who left home to meet with a man she met online
"Angela's Experience" about how to handle internet harassment appropriately; kid-friendly
"Faux Paw the TechnoCat" about how to be safe online; kid-friendly
"A Revolution in Classrooms and Social Life" about how teachers need to keep up with technology and be aware of resources students can use to cheat; social networking
"The Child Predator Fear" about online predators
"Cyberbullying" about a child who was incessantly bullied online and committed suicide
"Online Chat Begins At Home" about parent-child communication
"Grooming Gracie" about online predators

3. I guess I just never realized how big of a problem cyber-bullying could be. In one of the videos rude MySpace comments turned into an all-out brawl at school where chairs were thrown and seven girls ended up suspended. In another video, a girl IM-ed a boy from school and led him to believe she liked him, then one day she told him it had all been a joke and that she didn't like him after all. This same boy was taunted incessantly online. He eventually hung himself. It was really sad. I just didn't realize how real that was. Everyone knows about internet predators and about the prevalence of pornography, but who would have thought such degrading exchanges could be going on?

4. For my "doing" experience, I called my 13-year-old brother to find out what he knows about internet safety. He had never heard of cyber-bullying, but he had heard of online predators. He said that you should never give out your real name or address or phone number and that if someone asked for information you should ignore them. When asked what he would do if something online made him feel uncomfortable, he said he would turn it off, and if it was bad enough he would tell an adult.

When I explained to him what cyber-bullying was and I told him about the videos I watched he didn't really react. But then again, he's kind of quiet and doesn't usually react visibly to things like that. I think it was good to make him more aware though.

I shared Elder Bednar's talk, "Things As They Really Are." I sent it to him and to my mom. I think there's probably a 50/50 chance that he'll read it--I'm hoping my mom will make him read it with her. But at the very least, I'm sure she'll read it, and that can only be good. It was a very good talk.

Google Presentation

My TPACK Assignment

3 Lesson Plans

Language Arts
Science
Math

Week 10

Technology can be as simple as using disposable cameras and websites. Even very young students can use a disposable camera. This teacher used the technology to tie in science (types), geography (where spiders are found), and literacy (communicating with other classes on the internet). Technology made her lesson exciting for the children and they learned a lot.

Use of technology required students to use a pattern (Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?). Students really enjoyed drawing on the computer and were able to improve over a couple of semesters. They like to experiment with computers in ways that adults usually don’t. Many don’t have computers at home so they are able to learn at school how to use one.

Teachers need to be aware of the resources available to them and how to use these resources. They also should be able to teach students how to access information for their research. Family and friends can take part in the use of technology as well.

PLE Week 9

I completed the informed consent and the midcourse evaluation.

There aren't enough computers for all students to use them, but the computers are used on a daily basis. I also thought it was interesting that students have a typing class. I didn't learn to type until I was in 7th grade. The TV in the classroom looks very nice, and so does the DVD player. Also, the teacher has her own computer so she has internet access and can save teaching documents and stuff. All in all it wasn't a super high-tech classroom but I didn't feel like it was really lacking either.

Science Challenge Week #2

I watched Ali's, Cassy's, and Megan's.



I really liked it when people integrated technology with other resources, like using two examples of technology, or like combining the use of technology with keeping a chart or reading a book. A lot of these projects seem like they wouldn't be too difficult to prepare and carry out in the classroom, but I think that it's important to be prepared for some troubleshooting or to explain the technology so that kids aren't frustrated by the technology. If we aren't well-prepared to use the technology it could actually hinder students' learning. But all in all I think technology is a very useful tool that can make learning more fun and meaningful.

Science Challenge Week #1

My science activity is the seasons activity found in Kidspiration. There are four boxes, one for each of the seasons, and students have to find images that correspond to each season and put them in their corresponding boxes. As a class you could use the writing view to write why you chose certain images for certain seasons (optional--most kids this age can't read or write yet anyway).

Content:
Kindergarten Standard 3 Students will develop an understanding of their environment.

Objective 1 Investigate changes in the seasons.

1. Identify the seasons and represent each with pictures and songs.
2. Observe and describe typical weather for each of the seasons.

Pedagogy:
Classifying images into categories (seasons). This is good for kindergarteners, who, for the most part, can't read. But they know how to read symbols and pictures. So classifying pictures into categories is great. The categories are even color coded: blue for winter, green for spring, yellow for summer, and orange for fall.

Technology:
Kidspiration>Science Activities>Seasons. This is good to use because it is already set up in the program for the teacher, each students' page can be saved so that the teacher can check over them, and it's a very simple program so students won't get confused. Plus, kids love to use computers.

Google Earth--Seven Natural Wonders of the World

This is the link to my Google Earth tour on my wiki.

I watched Ali's, Rebecca's, and Victoria's Google Earth tours.





I don't know how often I'll actually use Google Earth tours in my classroom. It took a lot of time to create that tour, and I feel like I could prepare a more informative lesson in less time. Also, I felt like sometimes Google Earth ran really slowly, or every now and then wouldn't let me click on things. This could get really annoying, especially when I can't control the quality of the internet connection I use. However, I may use Google Earth during a lesson (without a pre-made tour) so that students can better see where places are and how they relate to other subjects. It would be nice to be able to have a projector and use Google Earth during a geography lesson or something. I think kids would love to see the Earth spin and zoom in and out.

PLE Week 5

Geography for Life Standards

Standard 3
Students will understand how physical processes shape the earth's surface.
Objective 1: Examine the physical processes that shape the earth's surface.

I'm going to do a virtual tour of the seven natural wonders of the world. I think that Google Earth will be a great tool for this because students would be able to see where on the Earth these landmarks are. Also, there will be pictures and activities for the students at each place.

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Grand Canyon	The Colorado River has been eroding the walls of the Grand Canyon for thousands of years. Did you know if you drove from one side of the Grand Canyon around to the other side that you would have to drive over 200 miles? Measure the width of the Grand Canyon and compare that to the distance you'd have to drive to get around it!	--Picture of Grand Canyon and Colorado River
2. Great Barrier Reef	The Great Barrier Reef was formed as Australia has moved northward with the tectonic plate. Hundreds of species of animals live in the Great Barrier Reef, which can be seen from space. Name four animals that live in coral reefs.	--Pictures of reef-dwelling creatures
3. Harbor of Rio de Janeiro	Rio de Janeiro means "The River of January." This body of water is not actually a river, however. Can you tell what kind of body of water this is?	--Picture of the harbor
4. Mt. Everest	This is the tallest mountain in the world and was formed by two tectonic plates crashing into each other. Can you measure how tall it is?	--Picture of the summit
5. Auroras	These are often called the Northern and Southern Lights because they are usually only visible in the far north or south. What continents do you think you could see the lights from?	--Picture of the aurora borealis
6. Parícutin	This volcano is called a cinder cone. It began as a crack in a corn field and reached five stories high in just one week. It covered an entire city in ash and lava. Do you know of any other cities that have been covered by volcanic ash?	--Picture of eruption
7. Victoria Falls	These waterfalls are located in Africa. All around the waterfalls are flat plateaus, which are usually not ideal for waterfall formation. The falls were formed because the Zambezi river eroded large cracks in the sandstone of the plateau. Can you name another natural landmark that was eroded by a river? How is that place different than Victoria Falls?	--Picture of plateau and falls

PLE Week 4

I watched the following videos:
Rebecca's
Lizzz's
Riena's
Beth's
Brooke's
Mariah's

I think the most difficult parts of creating a digital storytelling project in an elementary school classroom would be getting all the children to participate when the project has to stay on one computer and working out tech problems. If we make a story as a class, students will have to take turns in groups to work on it with the teacher, which means that the other children will need some independent work to keep them busy. Also, what if I can't get the sound to work or something? I don't want to have to spend a ton of time figuring it out. Hopefully I could find someone who knows how to fix it or I'd be able to Google the problem and get it solved on my own.

Digital Storytelling Project

Book Trailer:

Storyboard

TPACK

TPACK stands for Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge. Technological knowledge has to do with knowing how to use technology. Pedagogical knowledge has to do with knowing how to teach. And content knowledge has to do with knowing a lot about a specific subject.

When you combine each of these elements in different ways, you get different types of knowledge. For example, pedagogical content knowledge (or PCK) would be knowing how to teach a specific subject such as biology. Possible combinations include technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), technological content knowledge (TCK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK or TPACK).

It is important for teachers to understand TPACK because it allows them to think about various teaching strategies and ways to present information. Furthermore, teachers must have a solid TPACK background because they need all of these skills to be proficient teachers.

Assignment #2

I think knowing how to create a Wiki is very useful, especially as a teacher. It was confusing at first but I think with practice and by using more online gadgets I could create a very useful wiki for a real-life class rather than just in a pretend situation. It might be fun to try out some other wikispaces and see how they compare to pbworks. It would be useful to have. I could put up a calendar, discussion topics, assignments...It's definitely worth getting acquainted with.

My website is http://scorpiondefender.pbworks.com/

Yay I can talk to Jessica using my webcam:

Sorry your eyes are closed Jessica. I look weird too. Oh well.

Yay I can send video messages on Facebook:

IP&T 287 Assignment 1

My technology and background experience:
1. I know how to use a computer.
2. I'm familiar with Microsoft Office, and I can use it well enough to write papers, create a spreadsheet, make a PowerPoint, etc.
3. I don't own a Mac, but I am familiar with some of their features, like how to right-click, copy/paste, etc.
4. I know how to download/upload photos and sometimes I can do videos.
5. I know how to Google search, how to read blogs, how to find information in general on the internet.
6. I can use a TV, DVD player, iPod, cell phone, digital camera, and a variety of kitchen appliances.
7. I know how to write a blog.

:)