Internet Safety

A lot of problems can arise from Internet use, especially in the classroom setting. Although students may not intentionally visit some sites, often inappropriate sites will pop-up. Sources such as Google or other search engines often bring up these sites if you do not enter your search accurately. For younger students, they most likely are not aware of all of the harmful things on the Internet. Still, teachers should take the responsibility of teaching their students Internet safety. At the beginning of the year, students should be given a short lesson on Internet safety and be given ways to steer clear of unsafe sites or pop-ups. Students should be expected to be responsible for themselves and for one another.

Kidspiration

I love this program. It is so easy to use and has so many possible projects. I know that students would love to use it because not only does it make learning fun but it allows them to use a computer for classwork. The only issue with this program is availability. If a school has a low budget, it may be too much to ask to get it installed on multiple computers. Also, many schools do not have multiple computers available. But for schools that do use this program, it is an amazing tool. I used Kidspiration to create a time line that outlined previous events in my life and used pictures and creative text to make it colorful and exciting.

Here is the project that I worked on.

Assignment #4

Click here to view my lesson plan.. Students will go to an online Mad Libs resource and create their own Mad Libs. They can print out their completed story and the teacher could post it on the wall. Click here for the link the online Mad Libs.
I based this lesson on tools that are available in my classroom at Northshore. It would be great to have a Smart Board for this lesson-but Northshore does not have one. The tool that I would need for this lesson are computers for each student. There would not be a need for any programs and previous set up would not be required. Students would simply need to go to a website to do the activity.
Using technology for this activity would give students the opportunity to do a fun activity online. Mad Libs is a fun activity but it is still educational. It changes the learning environment in that students take responsibility for their learning. They decide if they are going to do their best at the project or not. The lesson becomes learner-centered because they are not sitting and listening to the teacher but are discovering things for themselves. The teacher will be watching the students interact with the material.
The challenges that I could see happening are that students may have difficulty finding the websites and following directions. This does give students the opportunity to work on their listening skills and learn how to follow directions. The teacher could hand out typed directions so that she would not have to keep answering the same questions over and over again. The teacher should circulate the room and ensure that students are doing what they are required to do.
This assignment covers NETS for grades PK-2:
1. Illustrate and communicate original ideas and stories using digital tools and media-rich resources. This fits in to my lesson in that students are using their own adjectives, nouns, etc to complete an online story. Students can also print out their work when they are finished.
4. In a collaborative work group, use a variety of technologies to produce a digital presentation or product in a curriculum area. This can be applied to the lesson because students will use the provided website to produce a "digital presentation" or what has been taught in class- the role of adjectives in a sentence.
7. Demonstrate the safe and cooperative use of technology. Students will be responsible for going the website provided and will earn the teacher's trust by following the rules for proper Internet use. Students will be expected to cooperate and follow regulations instilled by the computer lab and by the teacher.

Class Reflection #6

Lately I have been feeling that I am pretty useless in my classroom. I know we are there to observe and soak up as much as we can, but I'm ready to do more. However, today I felt so encouraged. We have a new student who has just recently begun attending Northshore and has been really struggling in almost every subject. I usually administer the spelling test and I when I grade this student's spelling test, I have to correct almost every single word. Today was different. Before the test, my teacher had me work one on one with the student- going over the words and helping them to remember tips for spelling the tricky words. When I went to grade their spelling test, I was so excited to see that they were all correct! 100%! I know that this is such a small feat, but I feel like I was able to help. I couldn't help but be extremely proud of this young student. It's amazing how God gives us encouragement when we need it the most!

"Web 2.0 Share the Adventure"

Here is the link for the video by Sylvia Martinez.

This video was really interesting to me. I found it helpful because it focused on ways to keep yourself from becoming bogged down the the endless features and tools of Web 2.0. I know that I get overwhelmed just thinking about all the possibilities, but this video gave me some helpful hints. The main message of this video stressed the importance of involving students with the process of integration technology into the classroom. As the president of the organization Generation Yes, Martinez encourages teachers to dive in to the world of technology and not to be held back because of a fear of failure. She notes that although the metaphor of digital natives and immigrants may be true, it should not be used as an excuse for teachers to refuse to get involved with technology. Students still need teachers to help them with technology, even if students are probably more capable and more comfortable with the tools.

Technology enhances the classroom experience for both teacher and student. Martinez stresses the fact that nothing will ever change in the classroom if you choose not to try new things. If a teacher starts a technology based lesson plan, there must be a specific goal in mind for there to be success in the lesson. Students can even be put in charge of organizing and monitoring one another to ensure that proper and moral policies are being followed.

This video helped me to realize that I will never be able to do it all- but that is ok! As a teacher, I can direct my students in the way that they should go and allow them to discover the wonderful tools and opportunities that lie within technology. Technology has the power to give each student a voice- whether that is through blogging, wikis, student made videos, or the like. If I am afraid to use technology, I will be keeping my students from the very thing that is pushing our society toward a bigger and better future.

For more information on Sylvia Martinez and Generation Yes you can click here....