Internet Safety Reflection

1. I read all of the articles. My article of choice was Technology and a House of Learning.
2. I watched all of the videos that were posted under the suggested resources
3. From the readings, I found it really interesting how internet safety was tied to the Proclamation to the Family. Parents are supposed to preside, provide, protect, and nurture their children. I liked how it suggests the positive things that children can do that are associated with the internet. I found it particularly interesting watching the PBS documentary about cyber-bullying and cyber-stalking. I have heard stories about people who are bullied over the internet or stalked but I never realized how much of a problem it is. I really liked the videos and games that are available to teach children how to be safe on the internet. It is a fun way of teaching children the dangers of internet safety.
4. After reading these articles and watching these videos my immediate thought was to talk to my mom. I have a thirteen year old sister who uses the internet every day and the videos made me very concerned. My mother on the other hand is basically the definition of technologically crippled. I asked my mom what she knew about cyber-bullying. She was aware that it happens; however, she did not realize how serious of an issue it is. In addition, I asked her what safety precautions that she knew about that would prevent internet safety problems. She responded, “To have the computer in an open area and not in the bedroom”. I shared with her what I had learned. I told her that internet filters are a great idea and also having family standards regarding internet usage. She said that she was surprised at how much my generation relies on internet. For her generation, internet is convenient and cool; however, if the internet disappeared tomorrow life would still go on. One thing that surprised when speaking to my mom is how much she knew on the subject and consequently implemented internet safety strategies into the home. For example, she moved the computer into the family room. Furthermore, when allowing my little sister to get a facebook they talked about safety and my mom added her as a friend. One suggestion that perhaps she will implement is an internet filter. In addition, hopefully she will remember the information I have shared with her and continue to monitor my little sister’s internet usage.

TPACK

Lesson Plans

Here are the links to my three lesson plans:

1) http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddf9t24d_5f7qd5hc9
2) http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddf9t24d_4dgxh44d7
3) http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddf9t24d_3ddgscwdz

Video Response

I am amazed at how quickily and easily the children caught on to the technology being used. A lot of the assignments we have done thusfar in this course I have second guessed being able to implement them in the lower grades. The teachers in these videos were lower grade teachers and the children loved using technoilogy. In the lesson with the spiders, the teacher had the children take the pictures and they were behind the computer when viewing them on the website. The children were highly involved in the lesson which made for a more effective lesson. Also, technology makes things more organized. When something learned is posted on a website children can easily go home and look at it. Also, parents can go and look at what their children are learning. I loved watching each of these videos. They all got me excited about implementing technology into the classroom. These teachers did a wonderful job of showing that implementing technology into the classroom is a fun rewarding experience.

Initial Observation

My initial thought when entering my classroom is that there was not very much technology. There are no computers in the room and no smartboards. The technology in the classroom consists of a tv, cd player, and projector. There are certain things that the whole grade shares such as a smart board and a document camera. There is one computer lab on the school. It is a pretty nice lab with about 40 mac computers. However, the computers dont have very many programs because the school doesn't have enough money to buy them. The teachers do not implement technology into their lessons very much. I have only seen a projector be used in a lesson. There are some great technologys available to teachers; however, there is not much available in each individual classroom.

I completed the midcourse evaluation and the informned consent.

I watched Emily, Tiffany, and Rebecca's videos. There are great advantages to using technology in the classroom. I used Stellarium to view the stages of the moon. It allowed me to view the moon in a way that would have otherwise been impossible. I have become more comfortable with using technology and look forward to using it in my future classroom.

Science Project