The last week of class : (

What was the most valuable aspect to you of creating a Personal Learning Environment?
The most valuable aspect to me about creating a PLE was first and foremost, learning how to do it (set it up) and then actively use it. Until this class I was oblivious to the world of blogging and PLE’s. Now I feel competent that I could do this all over again, and most importantly, do it in my classroom!
What did you like least about the Personal Learning Environment?
This is probably a silly thing, but I was always forgetting what password I had for which website, etc. So I sometimes had trouble logging in, but that was my own fault, not my PLE’s. I wish I had known how to navigate the PLE a little better, but I think because of the time constraints we had in the class that we learned enough to be semi-successful in using all that PLE’s offer.
Comment on the likelihood of your using a blog or wiki for personal or educational purposes in the future.
I will most definitely use a blog (and maybe experiment with a wiki) in the future. In fact, I have already started another one to document my semester abroad in New Zealand during Winter 2009. I think it would be a wonderful asset to a classroom to have blog. You could help parents stay informed, post pictures of the class (with parental consent of course), and help children learn to use the technology.

Internet Safety Sites

Online I watched videos at

http://www.netsmartz.org/resources/reallife.htm

http://ikeepsafe.org/iksc_kids/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/

What were the most important things you learned?
I need to teach children about this subject in a way that relates to them and their life experiences thus far.
There are lots of things available for me to use as a teacher on the internet to teach my class about internet safety, far more than I was aware.
The internet is becoming more and more popular, whether some people like it or not. Facebook, myspace, bebo, the list goes on. It also seems that because children are so used to the constant interaction of the media, teachers are having to change their style of teaching in order to accommodate to this.
Child predators are a real thing! Some might think this is too “serious” of a subject to bring up with young children, but it a definite issue that must be dealt with and faced, it’s just a sad reality.
How might you use the resources you discovered in your future classroom or home?
There are websites which offer definitions of internet associated words which some children might not be familiar with (I even learned a few new things!) and you can teach them about what these things really mean so when someone says something about them, they will be aware of what they’re talking about.
There are safety presentations you can request through nets smartz for your classroom or school to show your class and teach them about internet safety.
Teach students not to share their passwords (ONLY with parents), not to trust ANYONE they meet online. Even if they think it’s a friend, it could be someone else talking to them.
I also cannot afford to be naive as a teacher. I think one of the most important things I discovered about these resources is that I as a teacher need to be continually informed about what is happening regarding technology and the children I teach. If I don’t know what children their age are doing, how can I help prevent against it? I need to be informed about how to help children stay protected and enjoy the internet for the good things it offers and know how to protect them from the bad.

Intermet Safety and Awareness

The following are things I learned today while watching a video about the internet and some of its dangers:

Nearly 50 million children in the U.S. alone have access to the internet. They like chatting, shopping, “surfing” the net, looking for clothes, playing games, etc. They don’t know life without it. Over half of children like being alone when they surf on the internet, and feel safer and freer online because they think no one know who they.

Pornography websites top over 260 million. And there are sites to bet and gamble, and find out how to construct things like bombs. 90% of 8-16 year olds have viewed pornography online. Some of this is accidental, they don’t mean to stumble upon it, but it happens.

Domain names are purchased to intentionally deceive children and lead them to their websites. This is called “typo squatting”. People will purchase domain names similar to things popular among kids, like the name of a Disney character, in the hopes children will misspell things and go to their sites.

Kids are more often to look at a pop up and click on it, and be lured into what its offering or selling.

Today internet hate sites are showing up even faster than pornography websites. Children can be lured to them by searching for something for a school report, like Martin Luther Kind, Jr. thinking the things they say on these hate websites are historically accurate when in truth they are not.

46% of 3rd and 4th graders email!!!!

Cyber bullying is also becoming more and more common. Its being called the new “bathroom wall”. This bullying is done by posting hurtful comments, pictures, rumors, or even threatening someone. Sometimes this bullying is even done through text messages. This bullying can lead to depression and can lead to suicide.

Predators look for children who feel they are not listened to, and are more technologically savvy than their friends.


This is what I learned from an article titled “Leave it Alone” by Elder H. Burke Peterson. This article can be found at http://www.lds.org/

• What were the most important things you learned from the readings?
We think we are immune to violence and immorality in the media. This is not true and because we often fall into this belief, we do not recognize when we become trapped by its hurtful influence. No one can be exposed to the filth that is offered in so much of today’s media, without it affecting them. And this effect is not only spiritual; it’s emotional and physical as well. You will not be able to focus on things because the evil that we see can consume us and our thoughts. We need to rid ourselves, our lives, our homes and families of any destructive material. Throw it away! Don’t turn it on. Leave it alone.

• How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?
I think I will be more prone to discourage things that I do not feel good about watching or listening to. Usually I would just shrug something off by saying I didn’t really care for it, but I think I need to be bolder in stating how I really feel and not let those in my circle of influence have any doubt about where I stand.

• How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?
I will encourage those around me to surround themselves with positive things which encourage good thoughts and only the highest regard for God’s sacred creations. Satan wants nothing more than to have us consume our lives with filth instead of wholesome things and I need to support my friends and family in doing good things so they in turn will help me do the same.

Elder Burke also gave three suggestions: daily prayer, reading the scriptures daily, and confessing and repenting. We should not go a day without doing this to add to the protection we receive against evil and should not be afraid to confess and repent of something we have done wrong, or have become addicted to, even if that means going to your bishop.

The best thing to do in order to not have negative impacts from the media is to avoid anything which is contrary to the will of God and teachings and things you believe in and stand for.

Last week of the practicum

Unfortunately I did not see a lot of technology used in the classroom this week, at least not anymore than usual. The students in our class have computer time once per week, but there were not a lot of other elements really incorporated this week into our class.

I finished my “moon” lesson this week, and used the document viewer again for my Venn diagram. It really helped the students to see my partner teacher writing on a replica of their diagram to help them know what they should be doing.

We’ve been teaching a lot about the moon in our class this week, and I think it would really be beneficial to use stellarium in the class to show students the different patterns and phases of the moon. There are a lot of great programs out there to supplement curriculum in the classroom, I think some teachers are just a little hesitant to embrace technology for fear of using it and not knowing how.

I will survive!

The countdown to when I can get a good night’s rest again has begun. I am learning so much about management, assessment, and juggling different children and their needs, but it can all be a bit overwhelming.

This week in the classroom, I did not see a lot of “new” technology that I hadn’t seen before. Our teacher loves, loves, lover her projector, but she doesn’t incorporate a lot more than that.

For Veteran’s day I did a read aloud with a book called The Wall by Eve Bunting. I put the book on the document viewer while reading it. This really helped so all of the class was able to see the illustrations as I was reading the text. I also taught a science lesson this week comparing the differences and the similarities of the earth and the moon. Using kidspiration I made a venn diagram to use for this lesson. Kidspiration is a great program with lots of good formats you can use in your science or social studies lessons, or even for writing.

Second week of Practicum

What a whirlwind this whole experience in the schools is. Whew! Throughout this week I've kept my eyes open for different ways our teacher uses technology. The fact that she has a projector and document viewer in her room definitely helps. Technology definitely plays a part in our classroom. She uses those two things for almost everything. It helps out so much. Like this week she was showing them how to draw a turkey for a little Thanksgiving activity and she was able to just put it up there on the document viewer to show the kids instead of trying to use the chalkboard.The document viewer is great for modeling things to students, you can also use it when teaching cursive. Miss Utah came to our school this week and presented a presentation on internet safety. She used a projector and a power point type presentation. There was a little bit of technical difficulty, but overall it turned out well. I've noticed some teacher shy away from using technology, why I'm not sure. Maybe they're afraid it will be too complicated? I don't know.

This week Marcie and I taught a music lesson where we taught about the treble clef and staff, etc. We used the document viewer to show how to draw the notes on the lines and spaces and to label them. It really helped out because all of the kids were able to see on the projector screen instead of trying to see through us while using the chalkboard. So far my assessment on technology in the classroom is two thumbs up!

Ideas for using technology in the classroom

First week in the practicum....ahhh! Ok, not, it has been great, and I was shocked that our teacher has a document viewer in her classroom (and a projector) but she had to pay for a lot of these things out of pocket as well. But the classroom is definitely not in the "dark ages". I'm looking forward to working in this class, and I've already seen the teacher put technology to use with things like teaching cursive writing on the document viewer, etc.

Here are some ideas we discussed in IP&T class this week for teaching with technology:

Shared writing

Teacher and student share ideas, collaborate and negotiate writing, the teacher writes. Depending on the purpose this is a small or whole class depending on the lesson.

Ideas for using technology: Document viewer, projector, Microsoft word, smart board (to write what they tell you to), search the internet for details about topic or shared writing idea, watch a video clip as a class, have them write about it.

Shared reading

Text needs to be shared (be able to see the words), teacher reads first, students follow along.

Ideas for using technology: Elmo, digital storytelling could introduce the book and you can replay it again and again, PowerPoint’s, promethium board,

Reading Aloud

Book that is on a higher level than kids would read on their own, teaches fluency and motivates them to enjoy literature and aid in comprehension.

Ideas for using technology: Google earth tour of where the author is from, websites that talk about books, storyboard for the author or concept you’re teaching, digital recording of them reading (let students guess which emotions are being evoked)

Interactive Writing

Student and teacher write together.

Ideas for using technology: Smart board

Guided reading

Everyone has a copy of text, do a picture walk, make predictions, mumble read

Ideas for using technology: Power point with highlighted phonemes etc. or what the focus for that day is,

Reader’s workshop

To increase fluency and prosily, increase understanding of a text, improves self-efficacy in reading.

Make a video of their final performance, use video clip to shows examples of actors performing, or displaying different emotions.

Writer’s workshop

Use a blog for journal entries by different students.

Google Earth Tours

This week in my Technology class was probably my favorite thus far. Last week we learned about some of the cool features of google earth (yes, you can do more than find your house!). This week we created a virtual tour using google earth. I decided to use a state core standards which related to cultures and their customs,currency, etc. so I created a tour which takes you to Washington D.C. to represent the U.S., China, France, and Australia. At each of the stops there is also an activity for students. I watched some of the other tours created by other students in my technology class. Each of their tours gave me a new idea. One of them took you to locations for places where they have different types of dance, another gave you an inside (literally!) look at volcanoes all over the world, and the other I watched was a tour of castles. The possibilities really are endless with this program. I was terrified when I heard we had to use html tonight, a completely foreign thing to me, but now I want to know more than just the basics. Like I said, this has definitely been my favorite assignment thus far. Quite time consuming, but I feel like I learned so much this week.

Google Earth

This week we researched google earth and found out about some of its cool features. Before this I had only done the basic "type in your address and see your house", but this went far beyond this. I had never thought about using google earth to take my students on a field trip. Dr. Graham pointed out that we will not have the ability or funds to take our students on very many field trips where we leave the classroom. But if you use google earth, you don't have to! You can see the Sphinx in Egypt, or go to the coast of the Pacific Ocean in California where sea turtles lay their eggs, or see the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The possibilities really are endless because you can locate places all over the world using google earth. One girl even found a site where she located cloud formations with google earth.

At this site below it has lots of kmz files, ones which you open with google earth, everything from history to art. I found a really cool project someone did with the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Before I found this file I had thought about doing a project with google earth on the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World site

I would use this video in my class to take my students on a time travel "vacation" around the world. At each place we visited, we could imagine what is was like at the time that structure was built (like what were the conditions when the Sphinx was constructed in Egypt?)

Once again, an amazing feature of technology I can use in my classroom!

What I learned from digital storybooks...

This week’s project was a really good learning experience for me. Creating a digital storybook was not daunting at all, except initially when I wasn’t aware of how uncomplicated it would be. I watched a few other projects of my peers as well that retold stories and poems in a digital storybook format. They used pictures of themselves and narration to tell the stories, and one group used clay to create their pictures. The other storybook I watched had illustrations done by its creator. How cool! I think creating a digital storybook allows for so many different approaches. It doesn’t have to be used just for a story, it could be a poem, a science experiment, documenting a class talent show with clips of each performer. I see so many applications for my classroom with this digital medium. Students could write and perform their own stories to be turned into movies, or could be burned onto cd’s to present to their families as gifts at the end of the school year. They could also draw their own pictures and collaborate together to form a class storybook to be published onto a class website. Children in younger grades could “sculpt” clay creations to be assembled into a storybook. The possibilities really are endless! Thank you Dr. Graham for showing us this great classroom tool! This is one bit of technology I definitely am no longer afraid to try on my own again and will be using in the near future in my own classroom.

My first digital storybook!

This is the digital storybook Stacy and I created using the poem Battle Hymn of the Repulsive by Michael Bowman. Enjoy!

Digital Storytelling

This week I had my first encounter with digital storytelling. I don’t think I even knew of the “genre” of technology. We watched some really cool examples of other people’s digital storybooks, and one was of a 3rd grade student. So I thought to myself, if he can do this, then surely I can. We didn’t complete our storybooks this week, but we started the initial work for them. We’re doing an awesome poem and we’re going to put it altogether next week. Scary part—singing on our storybook! Ah! I think this would be awesome to use with my class, and it doesn’t seem extremely daunting, so I think it would be very good to use with students, even in the younger grades you could find ways to allow them to participate in the process. Digital storybooks get an A+ in my book!

Mine and Stacy's storybook template......more to come next week!

What I learned from other Articles...

I like the idea of using technology to enhance education, but not to take over it. At first when I was hearing about all of the new ideas and technologies out there, I thought that maybe using these instead of the good old fashioned techniques was a bad thing. But after experimenting with them myself, and reading about other's ideas, I think these "new fangled" things can definitely be an asset to the classroom. I looked at two different articles which featured the digital microscope and also the stellarium.org site. I wish some of these things had been around when I was in grade school. Instead of making things more complicated as I thought technology might do, I think these things are very beneficial, both to help us out as teachers and to help our students have a really solid understanding of science and its components. Thank you technology!

The Tech Savvy Teacher

Activity: Temperature of water

Standard: 3, Objective 2a
Observe and measure characteristics of water as a solid and liquid.

In the olden days, you pulled out your twenty pound microscope, gathered some slides and swabbed some specimens on them, then watched as your students all tried to gather around to take a peek through the lens. Today there are such things as digital microscopes which can be projected on a computer screen for all to see, and can even capture video. Other savvy options include computer programs to record the eclipses of the moon. With all of the many technological options for school teachers today to put a little “oomph” in lesson plans, we decided to take a test drive on the wide open road of advancements for the classroom and put one of these new inventions to the test.

To teach the characteristics of water we began by putting ice water in a pot and watching as the temperature increased, heating it to the evaporation point, and then collected the evaporating water with a glass plate, allowing it to condense to form water. During this process we recorded our data with the digital thermometer and tracked the increase in temperature, noting the change in the state of the water from solid to liquid, making observations along the way, hypothesizing about the changes that might take place.

For the experiment we used a digital thermometer, digital camera and computer program which charts and collects the data from your experiment called logger pro. Using the digital thermometer allows students to visually observe the increase, or decrease in temperature. The data was collected in the logger pro program which allows students to see the results and discuss their hypotheses and view the generated data to see if they were correct or proven wrong in their theories.

Here's an up close view of our ice in it's beginning stages:

Here we are watching as it changes from ice to a liquid, beginning recorded with the Logger Pro software and the digital thermometer.

Notice our safety gear! Goggles and gloves, always be protected!

Finally a liquid!

Here we cover the boiling water with a plate to create moisture (or condensation), giving the appearance of rain.

Here Devin is entering his observations using Kidspiration 2, a great program with many different formats to document programs, use diagrams, etc.

Our temperature graph. At the top of the graph it reached the boiling point.

A video of our "rain".

Wow, I never knew how many different rules existed for using technology. There are so many different resources, but we as teachers have to make sure we use them properly. I already knew they were a bad idea, but as teachers we definitely cannot use pirated videos, music, etc. When it comes to some things though there are exceptions (like when all of my scantron sheets get wet). Everything I use as a teacher needs to be both acquired legally and used legally. And I need to sight my sources! The sighting doesn’t end, even when college is over...Also, something that I didn’t know about videos in the classroom was that they cannot be used as rewards or incentives without acquiring the proper permission and probably paying a fee. Dear Disney...

When we discussed Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, I learned about so many available resources to supplement my teaching that I never even dreamed of. I loved using the digital thermometers in class with the pro logger program, and exploring what the moon and various constellations looked like the day I was born with the Stellarium program. There’s so many things out there that did not exist when I was a child, I realize from this class just how important it is to stay up to date with today’s technology for the classroom.

I love this class!

I loved the information we found out today about RSS feeds. I think it would be a great way to keep yourself informed about current events and topics in regarding Education and also a good way to keep parents informed. I think when I’m a teacher I will definitely have a class blog and also post books on a website like good reads for my student’s parents to access for quality references of what they could have their children read. For instance parents could go there to have a resource for what to have their children read over a summer break. Children can definitely benefit as well from these modern resources. Better informed parents means better prepared students. Students could even have a class blog and include their own book recommendations and favorite sites to visit for help with homework, fun games to play, etc. The internet is an amazing resource when you know how to use it properly to your advantage.

First day of IP&T 287!

AHHH! So, this has been slightly overwhelming, but I'm excited to be doing this new technology class. I think it's going to help me increase my slightly lacking knowledge of "up and coming" technology and help make me a cool teacher on the block, instead of the uncool one dragging in overheads on the first day of school.