Internet Safety Reflection

I. I chose to read the article entitled "Filling the World with Goodness and Truth" by Elder M. Russell Ballard. It was a really neat article that made one want to try their best to fill the world with what is good.
II. The movies I watched were shocking to me. These children were so young to be doing and going through the things they were. The PBS movies especially astounded me. That a girl at 14 could post somany horrible pictures, make it her life and say that they really weren't that bad and for a boy so young to be bullied so much that he committed suicide. It mad eme wonder what will happen in the future, how much worse it will get and scared to raise children amongst such dangerous situations.
III. My most important take aways were that I really need to stay up to date when in comes to technology so that I will not be ignorant. I also need to have a good relationship with my students and my children so that I am also not ignorant if they begin to get into things - to have a relationship where they can talk to me and so that I know them well enough to know when things are different and/or going wrong in their lives. I have also been engrained with the belief that the computer and all media should be in an open area in the house and that rules will need to be set and children need to be taught about the dangerous things out there and how to avoid them. One can never just assume that a child knows something.
IV. This parent already knew about the importance of having filters and programs established to block bad things on the internet, about having a computer in an open area, about not giving information out on the internet and not going into chat rooms. The parent was very surprised however by many of the things that I told them and I was surprised by how much they did not know. They did not know about cyberbullying and had never even thougt about its possibility or its consequences. They were astounded when I talked of how it is so much more dangerous because a child does not have a safe place to go to get away from it or how much more cruel children are because it is easier to say mean things over the internet than it is to say it to a person in person.
They also did not know about hate sites nor of the many dangerous things on the internet other than chat rooms (including the sharing of information on things like facebook)and pornography. When I gave ideas on what to do about these problems, the parent was very attentive and appreciative. This surprised me as I thought that they might not take what I said seriously as I am a college student who has not had experience with children. I believe that this parent will actually implement the idea of needing to be technology savy and talking to their kids about rules and expectations while on the computer.

I completed the university course evaluation, the course feedback survey and checked my grades on Moodle.

Here is my TPACK report

http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AZNKAjy7F643ZGZxZDNkNXFfNmRjYjQ4NmY4&hl=en

Technology lesson plans

Here are my three lesson plans!

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfqd3d5q_3hjh6tpsg

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfqd3d5q_4hcd8hkhn

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfqd3d5q_5dszjzjgt

Week 10 - InTime Videobase

One of a young child's favorite activites is drawing and it is often a great tool in learning - used to enhance many lessons. I had not thought before these movies that the drawing and art can be done using technology. Whether it is drawing using a computer, using KidPix or uploading pictures, students can use this art past just turning in a piece of paper. One advantage to using technology in the art is that it is easily accessible to young students. One of the videos showed kindergarteners enjoying using technology to draw. Another advantage is that it can be made into a slide show and shown to the whole class. The other videos showed how they can be encorporated into research - whether the student makes a research presentation or simply to compare the pictures with the information on the internet. One of the most important reasons is that the students love it - you could see from the videos how much fun they were having and that helps to enhance their learning.

Technology in my classroom

In the first grade classroom that I am in, there is not a lot of technology that the students have access to. There are two computers in the classroom, but I have only ever seen the teacher use them. The only time the students have used technology is when they watched part of a movie once, used the smart board for making words and once a group used an electronic math math (a game for the students to touch the number they hear called). Out of all the time I have been there, these things have only been a very small portion of the time. Outside of the classroom however, the students have access to a lot of technology. There are times almost everyday when the students have a chance to do work on computers in one of the many computer labs. The teachers has access to more technology also, many of the teachers simply don't utilize these resources.

I completed the midcourse evaluation and the informed consent.

Science Challenge PLE

I was able to watch the Voice Thread of Lauryn Paul, Leah Barker and Kaitlin Tingey. It was neat to see three completely different projects using probes and Stellarium. Using these technologies takes away many of the inevitable problems that comes with normal observation - things like weather that you can't control, PH strips all over the room, etc.

Doing these science experiments using technology makes it easy enough for all students to use and less of a hassle for the teacher. Plus, everything can be done in the classroom at any time of the day and year! It also allows for class to be facilitated easily in groups so that all students have the opportunity to explore and they also have the opportunity to collaborate. These experiments also follow the Utah Core Curriculum, so the technology is a good investment as they can be used year after year!

Force Plate Science

Here is the voice thread of my science project. (as a side note, make sure to read the text comments by my picture for each slide as well for further reasons why this is a great tool!)

Probes!

According to the Utah Core Standards for 5th grade science, the students must learn that matter is neither created nor destroyed (Objective 1 Describe that matter is neither created nor destroyed even though it may undergo change.
a.Compare the total weight of an object to the weight of its individual parts after being disassembled)
To teach this objective, I will have students use the force plate sensor probe to measure how much force an object give when it is assembled and when it is disassembled.

*The content knowledge being taught is that matter will not be created nor destroyed by showing that the total weight of an object does not change when it is disassembled.
*The pedagogy is hands on experience/experimenting. It is a good fit with the content as science is best taught when hands-on (science as a profession is only done this way, so students feel like scientists and things are better remembered when it is done themselves instead of just being told by the teacher)
*The technology being used is a probe for testing the force/weight exerted by the object and the computer to calculate/graph the force. It is a good fit as students will be able to instantly see that the amount of force exerted by the object is not changed when disassembled.

Tours, tours and more tours!

I really had a fun time watching the tours that others made - it helped me realize more of the cool things one could use the tool for. I was able to go through Daren's tour of religious buildings, Lauryn's tour of communities and Kellie's tour of volcanos. Each used the same tool to do very different things!
Google Earth will be a great tool to use in my classroom as it allows further exploration into the topics studied in class. Not only will they hear the facts that I teach, but they will be able to gather facts for themselves as they look at pictures, the terrain, etc. and they facts that others have posted in reation to the location. It will also help the children remember what they are learning. Espcially for visual learners like myself, a picture helps me learn the information, and especially helps me when I need to recall the information. The only problems with using Google Earth are that in some situations, not all of the children have the ability to see the tour (whether it be that there is not a projector to make it big enough or not enough computers for all to see it on). Also, if students are taking the tour by themselves, it will take time to instruct them on how to use this tool.

Here is the link to my biomes tour: http://browningclass.pbworks.com/Class-Content
It will take you to renown places on Earth that represent 4 different biomes.


Enjoy!!!

Virtual Tour Planning - the Major Biomes

The Major Biomes

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1.desert - The Mojave Desert	-Look at 5 pictures in the area: What kinds of plants do you see? From the pictures, what do you think the weather is like in this place?	-be able to see the terrain and pictures and weather -have ocean turned on
2.rainforest - The Amazon	-How is this place different from the Mojave Desert? What types of plants do you see? Describe the atmosphere? What do you think you would see, hear and feel if you were here?	-be able to see the terrain weather, and pictures
3.tundra - Northern Alaska	-What do you think the difference is between the weather here and the weather in the Amazon is? What effect does it have on the landscape? What types of animals could live here?	-ba able to see the terrain, pictures and the weather
4.savannah - Middle Africa	-How is the Savannah different from all of the other biomes we have visited? Which of all the biomes have we visited would you prefer to live in?	-be able to see the terrain, weather and pictures -have ocean turned on

Utah Core Curriculum 4th Grade Standard 5 Understanding Environment (so they will be able to identify the biomes in Utah)

Makin' Movies

I had the priviledge of being able to watch the videos of Leah, Daren, Kaitlin, Lauryn, Kellie and Mariah. I was amazed at the creativity and the amazing ability to choose, take and make pictures.
The difficulty of making movies in the Elementary Schools will be that students will be on so many different levels - even more than our college class had. There will be students that have a lot more experience than I have had and students that have never had access to computers. I will have to teach the different skills, and while I know that students should learn the technological skills, I will be too tempted to do all of the movie making myself. It would also be hard in many schools to be allowed enough time to enough computers. The classrooms rarely have more than two or three computers for students access, and if students have to take turns all the time, it will take away from class time.
However, I believe if I can make it work, I will, for it is an important skill and will be a better way to teach many objectives.

Movie: The Giver

TPACK

The overall principle to be learned from TPACK is the importance of balance in teaching. The three areas TPACK focuses on is technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge. All three must exist to have the best teaching. If a teacher only has content knowledge, then while the students may recieve all the information they need and more, it will not be recieved well because the teacher does not know the methods used for best teaching children. If there is technology and nothing else, then a student may know how to use a computer and other devices, but will never learn what they are supposed to. Even two combined does not work. If a teacher has content and pedagogy, but not technology, he/she will not be able to relate as well to students of this technological day in age and will not be able to prepare students for the technology that will be vital to prepare them for what will come in the future. Only content and technology, and so on will not give the best education possible. Each of the three are vital tools and should be part of a teacher's training as well as be incorporated into the lessons taught to the students.

Image of TPACK symbol found out: http://apscms.net/staffpages/cjearthtree/files/2009/09/tpack-contexts.jpg

Story Board

Web 2.0

In completing the web communications project, I was able to exponentially increase my knowledge of the workings of the internet. It opened up tools that I had never even heard of and not only did I learn things that I needed for the project, but it opened up whole new worlds for me that I can explore and continue to learn about. I believe the most important thing I learned was RSS and how to use it. Too many times I have wanted to allow others quick access to things i do and have never been able to. It is an important tool and will be especially important for my future classroom as I give students assignments on the computer. (Not too mention the definition/meaning of RSS was one of the rare things that I was able to say I knew about technology that my husband
didn't) My favorite new tool, and also a very important one, was picnik for editing photos. I have always wanted to know what to use to edit photos and be able to use cool effects, but have never known how. Now it is a tool I will use all the time!

Video Chats!!!

After finally getting the camera and chat to install, here are the results!!

Asynchronous chat:courtesy of facebook!



And synchronous chat:
(the little pic in the corner...)
courtesy of g-chat!!

Ta-Da!!!

Technology in the Life of Janae

I am fortunate in the fact that I was introduced to technology in my infancy. While, yes, I didn't quite understand what it was at that point, it is crucial in the fact that my father, an ever tech savy, updated individual, has been a lifelong example.

In my early years of childhood there was a black-and-green ancient Mac in my playroom, where I learned how to function a computer and loved to play games and make pictures with an early version of a program like paint. When I discovered that most of my friends did not have computers in their homes I was confused, as I grew up thinking it was a common thing to have a computer. As soon as computers began to be a common household item, my father updated our computer to and began to educate me in the workings of Microsoft Office. In elementary school I was first introduced to touch typing and began my career in typing up schoolwork. At the age of 11 I was allowed to get an e-mail address for the first time. It wasn't until middle school that I became immersed in the internet and now cannot live without it. Throughout high school I was introduced to new things on the internet for journalism and to better improve my research. Since then I have added a new e-mail account, facebook and just a couple of months ago began blogging for the first time. Out of all of my experiences, the one that will always be the most memorable was my early days in elementary

school playing Oregon Trail in computer lab!