Internet Safety Reflection

I read the prominent living article. It was a list of things families can do to protect their family from unsafe internet usage. I also read the article that talked about technology manners. For the video I watched the PBS special on internet safety.
TAKE AWAYS
The article was great because it had some quick things families could do. After watching the videos I think the most important one is NOT allowing children to have a computer in their room. I also think it is vital that parents know how to use the technology. Because if parents don't know how to use the technology they will never be able to tell if their children are in trouble. Also, I liked how the article talked about having security percussions on the internet like blocking certain sites. That will take away a lot of the problem. Finally, the most vital one of all, never share personal information with someone you don't know or don't post it on your website so people you don't know can see it.
The PBS special was so informing I learned things that I did not even know. I liked the episode on the classroom technology. The teachers realized that they needed to use technology to keep the students interested in the classroom. I totally agree with it because I'm always doing several things at once. For instance, right now I'm doing this assignment, watching glee, and eating dinner. The videos also talked about the new life the internet can give them. I never realized that some people get all their self esteem from the internet. When that 14 year old girl was posting the inappropriate pictures that gave her,her joy. This an important reason why children shouldn't have a computer in their room. Also, another reason why you check your childs computer! I was surprised also by the "Ana" sites. I struggled with this problem before and I'm SO grateful I never found these sits that could have cause so many more problems. I thought the most shocking story was the junior high boy who killed himself over what was said to him over the internet. However, once I thought about it, it made since their are groups on facebook that are based on hating certain people. How sad and inconsiderate people are becoming.
Reflection on Teaching
I called my mom and talked to her about internet safety. My mom just started using the internet a couple years ago. She is extremely clueness about how to use the internet. However, because she raised 5 children she knew what to do to protect her children from the internet. She was surprised about the cyberbullying she was not aware about that and the damages it can cause. She also didn't know about all the horrible sites that can help you become anorexic or help your commit suicide. It was more of an eye opening experience for my mom to realize how bad the internet it is. My parents do follow all the rules from the internet safety so they were aware of all of those.

My Lesson Plans

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgzq2p7t_1vrx6zrgb
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgzq2p7t_2dn27z4fx
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgzq2p7t_37bb6v8df

Video Response

I got a lot of the brown bear video. I loved how a kindergarten teacher was able to use technology in her classroom. I would think it would be difficult to have such young students use technology but she made it seem so easy. The thing I was most impressed with, was the fact that she said her english language students loved using the computer too! I am currently working with several ELL students and they also love technology. Sometimes when they don't understand a concept at all we will show them a YouTube video in spanish that explains the concepts and that helps so much. Also, they can figure out computers which makes them feel successful. That was aspect of technology that I have never really thought about before. I see technology used so often and it always makes the students more excited and the lesson a little more exciting!

1st week in the Practicum

My first day we saw how much technology was available in the schools. I was really impressed that every class in the school has a smart board. These are so nice to have in the classroom it lets every student participate and every student can always see what's on the board. In my classroom they have 3 Macs and my teacher has a laptop. Also, in the school they have 4 mobile labs that have 2o Mac laptops each. My teacher takes advantage of these every friday. She gives her students tests on them. The students love it because they get to use the laptops it makes test taking more enjoyable. Also, the school has 2 classrooms that are technology based the student to computer ratio is 2-1. We have a lot of technology and the teachers use it very affectively. I have also finished everything for this week!

Reaction to Science Project

For the science projects I watched Ethan's, Tara's, and Katherine's project. Everyone did such a wonderful job. Each person used a different tool so I thought that was cool to see how you could use them. I'm in a third grade classroom and they are learning about the moon and the stars and how they rotate so Ethans would be perfect to show my students. I enjoyed Tara's it would be really good for younger students, because it's easy to use, and younger students love animals. Katherines was just cool! I thought the whole time that this would have been a perfect science project in Elementary School. It was interesting to see the PH levels of all those household items. I liked this project, it was good to see all the tools you can use for science. Science is a difficult subject to teach so its great that their are tools to help you!

clouds

http://voicethread.com/share/700697/

Science Project

For my science lesson I am going to have my students learn about clouds which is in the 4th grade, Standard 2, Objective 1, part A, which says that students should be able to identify 3 different types of clouds. The activity will start by going outside and looking at the clouds. (Watch the weather to make sure their will be clouds) Have students bring their journals with them and have them describe the clouds. The color, fluffiness, and how close they are together.
Then we will go into the classroom and classify the clouds by their characteristics using kidspiration. They have a tool on their for classifying clouds which is perfect for the content because each type of cloud has different characteristics. Also, kidspiration has the perfect set up, it has the different pictures of clouds and it already has an outline for the students to follow.

Reaction to Google Earth Tour

I watched Tara Gardners, Sandy Ellsworth, and Kellyn Humphries. I really enjoyed how some of them used google tours. Sandy used the terrain in hers to show difference is landscape. I thought it was much more effective then just showing pictures. I also liked how Kellyn used 3-D buildings.
This assignment was really tough for me because the first time I did it, I lost it so then I had to redo it. I think the worst part was how complicated it was to post. I do think it is a cool technique to use in your classroom, however I feel like it is a little unrealistic. I wouldn't spend 2 hours making a project for 1 lesson. Teachers don't have that much planning time, and this is very time consuming. However, if I did have the time I do think students would enjoy it because students would be able to actually see different parts of the world, the weather, terrain, and the artifacts.

Google Earth Tour! Finally!!!

My google Tour

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1.The Acropolis, Athens, Greece	Looking at the the antient temple, and describing some mythology that took place there.	Viewing Acropolis
2. The Colosseum	Continue to tell about the importance this theatre in greek culture. Put on a play in class	View more picture of the Colosseum
3. Look over where Sparta and Troy were.	Explain about the Trojan War	Watch a video on the Trojan war
4.Cape Sounio	Talk about Poseidon, share some myths about him and the temple	Show pictures of Poseidon

For my lesson it comes from the 1st Standard in the 6th grade Social Studies curriculum. This standards states that students will understand how anciet civilizations developed and how they contributed to the current state of the world. The objective is analyze how the earliest civilizations created technologies and systems to meet community and personal needs. Greece created myths to explain why things came to be. This met the personal needs of Greeks because they needed to know why they were here, and why things happened. Mythology is the way Greeks chose to do this. I chose Greece because Greek mythology is so fascinating and I really think students would love hearing all about the anciet Greeks. The Google Earth tour would be a great way to show this because they could really see the all the anciet buildings. I think it would just make the experience real for the students. Google earth tours are an awesome tool to use in the classroom.

Digital Storytelling

I think the most difficult part of implementing a digital video assignment in the classroom would be having the time to do it. It would take time to teach the students how to make the video. Also, they would have to come up with the material and story. However, it would be a great way to innergrate curriculm. You could easily use art, technology, and social studies, all in one assignment. Even though this would take time I do think it would be worth the time. I also think ELL students would benefit from this because it uses pictures and music. I watched 5 peoples videos Nancy Swensons, Sandy Ellsworth, Katherine Kerr's, Tara Garner, and Breanna Stutz.

TPACK

The more and more I learn about technology the more and more I realize I know nothing. I'm excited about all the different techniques we are learning. I can see myself really implementing some of the technology into my classroom. When I took the pre-assessment, I didn't even know what my options were as a teacher with how I could use technology. I hope by the end of class I will pick up lots of tools I can use in my classroom.
I also have realized how much more efficient technology is then the old way of doing things. For example, instead of sending a letter home to a parent every week you could have a class website that they could look at instead. Also, technology gives students so many more opportunities to learn, it's easy to see pictures, videos, and to receive information. Technology can be an amazing thing if we learn to how use it properly.

My Story Board!

Week 2!

At first I was really worried about making my own website. However, once you got the hang of things it was really fun and I enjoyed making my website. I learned how to edit a picture, link maps, and create a survey. I really liked the surveys because they are a great way to have students give their honest opinions. I thought this was an excellent tool to use in the classroom. I actually thought having a class website in general was an amazing idea, because then you can have constant interaction with the parents. Also, if you posted all the assignments on your website the students and parents would always be aware of what was going on! I learned a lot from this assignment!

My Video Chat Picture!

New picture!

My Tech Experience

My tech experience is very limited. I took the required classes in junior high and high school. I know how to use the internet, powerpoint, and limited excel. I obviously know how to type and I also know how to research. This is my first tech class in college. I'm looking forward to learning a lot because I realize I need it!