Internet Safety Reflection & PLE wk 14

PLE: YES, I completed tasks 1-3!

1. For the article of my choice, I selected "Leave it Alone" by Elder Peterson (I found the article under the 'Media' section). He boldly counsels individuals to have the courage to walk away from inappropriate media because it causes "the light inside of us to grow dimmer because the darkness inside increases."
2. I watched numerous video resources: several short clips from Netsmartz, the BYU cartoon, all three videos from Frontline PBS Documentary and "Katie's Story" under WebWiseKids. Most of the videos talked about online predators, but one tragic video was about a boy who committed suicide who had been a victim of cyberbullying. The videos also interviewed some of the parents, and the reactions were varied: one mother was overly concerned and involved to the point that she was pushing her children away; one dad admitted to being in the dark about his son's habits online; one couple took the recommended approach to get involved and help inform their daughter without sounding unreasonable and offensive.
3. In Elder Ballard's address, he made it clear that we are not to avoid all media; rather, we need to choose wisely what we view. Unfortunately, as Elder Ballard states "the family is the main target of evil's attack," and we are seeing this being demonstrated through media: pornography and television shows/movies that mock the traditional family but encourage sexual relationships outside of marriage are only a few examples. Therefore, he also encourages all of us to take a stand! We should not support inappropriate media at all, but should speak out against it! We should be very aware of the media being viewed within our families and make specific accommodations.
Similarly, Elder Bednar was very passionate about warning us against cyberspace. He too emphasized that technology can certainly be a great tool, but he sited several examples of how getting too involved in cyberspace creates a new reality for us that is really not reality at all. We need to set our priorities straight and make sure we are spending our valuable time in the real world, having real-life experiences with our beloved friends and family. The videos I watched certainly support his statements. Several of these girls were spending hours and hours on the internet, being pulled into chat rooms, etc. that were essentially, pulling them away from reality. They were in too deep to realize that their "online boyfriends" were really predators.
Concerning pornography, we have been given many guidelines to protect our family against pornography: keep computers in high-traffic areas of the home; install a filtering program; openly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the internet and discuss ways to prevent hazards from occurring; etc. etc. These guidelines are not only important to protect against pornography, but also against cyberbullying and online predators. All of the youth that were getting into trouble had computers in their rooms and were spending countless hours on the internet. They were uninformed or in denial about the dangers that were happening and did not inform their parents about the things they were doing.
Brother Graham's article calls for parents to be aware and informed about the popular technologies of the day. In addition, they need to set examples for their children and make family relationships a priority so children will not have to rely on virtual relationships. He also emphasized that it is the responsibility of the parents to protect their families against the dangers of technology. While it is their responsbility, the videos I watched made me realize that I cannot go to the opposite extreme either. If I do, my children will become offensive and closed off.
4. For this assignment, I interviewed my mother, and I was already aware that she knew most of what I was telling her. Growing up, my brother and I were not allowed to have computers in our room; we had one family computer in our living room and the rule was set that we were not allowed to be on the computer when no one was home; we had several internet filters; my mom got reports through aol of the activity of our accounts; etc. However, she did not try to ban us from using the computer or IM'ing our friends. She never asked for my password or tried to hack into my email account (like a few of my friends' parents). She was reasonable and therefore, we had no need to rebel.
So most of what I shared with my mother simply reinforced her viewpoints. She was, however, surprised to hear about the serious nature of cyberbullying. Like many parents, she has always been very cautious of online predators, but did not realize just how cruel kids can be with cyberbullying. Like myself, she was also surprised at some of the choices these girls (the ones in the videos) were making when they would decide to actually meet up and run away with the older men they were meeting online.
I was actually surprised with how much my mom knows about facebook (knows a lot of the lingo); she attended a fireside for parents concerning internet safety, especially about facebook. With the knowledge she learned there, as well as what I have told her, I think she will make an effort to make sure other parents are informed. I am her youngest child, but she is the Young Women's President in our ward and is very concerned about keeping "her girls" safe!

TPACK PROJECT

Early Connections: Technology in Early Childhood Classrooms

As I thoroughly read through the website, a lot of what I read was information I had previously been exposed to. However, I did learn several interesting facts. One was "computers are included in the curriculum within the classroom rather than set apart in a separate room or lab." I knew that computers should be included in the curriculum, but I never thought about the location of the computers mattering. I assumed it was just as helpful to take students to the computer lab as having students use them within the classroom. I think this key point is encouraging teachers to make technology a natural part of the classroom environment. Rather than having one day a week designated to attending the computer lab, computers should be used constantly throughout the week.
I also learned a lot reading the section "offer support for young readers." I had never thought that being allowed to type their papers would actually help students. Rather, I tended to assume that it would be an obstacle for them. However, I now know that word processors actually encourage children to view writing as a process. They allow students to focus on ideas, enabling them to more easily compose and revise text.
Lastly, I loved reading about speech synthesizers. Speech synthesizers use a digital voice that reads a student exactly what he has written. Since it is reading the actual writing, and not what the writer meant to say, it provides the immediate, focused feedback that is very helpful to students. "For example, when reading aloud a series of words without capitals or ending punctuation, the voice does not stop at the end of the idea. The importance of punctuation and capitals soon becomes clear."

Video Response

Yes, I watched all 3 videos!

The most important thing I learned from watching the videos is it really is possible to incorporate technology into your lesson plans. The examples given were not elaborate projects on the computer; they were simple tasks that had a natural connection to the curriculum being taught. In the first video (I Love Spiders), I really liked the idea of communicating with another classroom in the country. Not only does it cause your students to be excited about collecting data/information (i.e. pictures of spiders), it gives them a reason and purpose for doing it - sharing the information with another eager class. In addition, it allows your students to learn about other areas of the country. They might not get this information anywhere else, and if they do, it will probably be out of a textbook. The other video that really impressed me was Brown Bear, Brown Bear. I was not impressed because her activity was something amazing and unique that I have never seen before. In the past few years, I have observed countless activities tied to the popular Brown Bear book. However, I was impressed because she was found a way to use technology with kindergarteners. Previously, I have underestimated the abilities of younger elementary school children. I love the fact that her kindergarten students were able to use the computer to draw pictures of the assigned topic. That's so neat! After watching these videos, I have decided to do my best to incorporate technology in a variety of my lesson plans. What is my main motivating factor? The children's reactions! They seem to all love using technology and get so excited about a topic that is presented through technology :)

Technology Interview

For my interview, I met with Ms. Herren, a 2nd grade teacher who teaches at Whitehead Road Elementary. I began the interview by asking her to describe the types of technology she has access to in her classroom. She responded by saying they use technology almost daily. One way is with a program called Sentio: each student has a clicker and are supposed to log in to their particular class, using their ID or lunch number, in order to take their math test. They have a hard copy of the test in front of them, but they answer in with their clickers. Other forms of technology are incorporated into centers. During reading centers, students are allowed to use the computers to play "Ticket to Read." Another option is to listen to a book on tape. In addition, students have access to a little machine that they can slide a card (with a word written on it) into and have the machine read it to them; they are supposed to say the word along with the machine. Ms. Herren also has a personal laptop and has access to the media center where she can check out tape recorders, digital cameras or video cameras. However, the main form of technology she uses is a "technological whiteboard," called a Smartboad. Her classroom does not have a television, VCR or overhead because these technologies have now been replaced by the Smartboard.
Naturally, I asked her to explain more about the Smartboard because I have never heard of or experienced it. Smartboard is a technological whiteboard that looks like a movie screen; it is a big square screen with small areas of whiteboard on each side. It comes with an eraser and markers that allow you to use the Smartboard as a whiteboard though (except the markers are different than regular Expo markers- they show up on the screen without actually marking it). Next, Ms. Herren hooks up her laptop the the Smartboard so anything she does on her laptop is broadcast over the Smartboard for the whole class to see. She has a program, Smartnotebook, that allows her to design individual lesson plans. There are just so many different things you can do! For example, if you are teaching a lesson on time, you can pull up a clock that is actually ticking off the seconds and minutes. Ms. Herren absolutely loves her Smartboard because it is touch screen as well, making it even more interactive for her students. For example, when they had a lesson on money, students came up and pulled coins to different areas to make different dollar amounts. She also uses numerous teacher websites to gather ideas for upcoming lesson plans.
When asked if there were any other technologies she wished she had in her classroom, Ms. Herren replied, "Not really. My Smartboard seems to be able to do almost anything." She thinks it would be too difficult if each 2nd grader had his/her own laptop. However, she did comment that she wished her school gave access to YouTube. Two of her student teachers went out to a river and made a video using their camera. They wanted to upload the video on YouTube and broadcast it over the Smartboard. Unfortunately, they were unable to do this because the website is blocked from the school.
I concluded the interview by asking Ms. Herren a final question: how do your students respond to the technology used in your classroom? As expected, she said her students LOVE it. They love getting to use the computers and love getting to come up and do different things on the Smartboard. She said whenever she asks for volunteers, almost every student has their hand raised.

Oh, How I Love Kidspiration!

I read and commented on Tammy, Whitney and Ashley's videos!! They were all so fabulous.

Through this assignment, I really have learned to love Kidspiration and can honestly see myself using it in my future classroom. It would be inappropriate to simply sit students in front of the computer screen and expect them to teach themselves, but I think it would be a great assessment tool. After introducing a concept (i.e. seasons) to the class and performing numerous interactive activities to expand their knowledge, Kidspiration is a perfect assessment activity. It helps show how much students truly know as they apply concepts, but they are getting to play a game all along the way. This hands-on activity would be helpful to every student. Another HUGE advantage is numerous activities are already designed, preventing me from having to invent every program from scratch.
The only problems I can anticipate relates to the grade level I am teaching. For example, if I am teaching 1st grade, I may not let each individual student access Kidspiration. I do not want to spend all of our time explaining directions and teaching students needed computer skills. However, if I have previously observed that students are comfortable with technology, I will happily let them perform the activity on their own. Another possible problem is the lack of support during this activity. It will be extremely hard to have an effective activity if I am only able to visit with a few students. If I decide to use Kidspiration, I will encourage parent volunteers to come and help with the activity.

Kidspiration- Seasons!