Internet Safety Sharing

Doing:

For the internet safety awareness project I talked with my mom, who is in her late 40’s. It was beneficial to talk with her because my brother is in third grade, and is always on the computer. Even though he is not quite into chatting online and using technology all the time now, it soon will. I told my mom about the scariness of sharing passwords and what it can possibly lead to. I shared a few stories from the frontline PBS documentary about cyber-bulling and how it begins. I reminded her how important it is to make sure you talk with your children even when going through hard times. I also told her about chat-rooms and how online predators can find out information about them, even if they don’t share it. It was a positive, easy conversation as she was interested in hearing what sources and information I had learned.

Internet Safety Assignment

1. What article did you choose to read for your fourth article?
Leave It Alone, by Elder H. Burke Peterson, Emeritus Member of the Seventy

2. What were the most important things you learned from the readings?
Many times we watch or hear “unclean” media such as movies, music, or t.v. shows as a relief from the troubles of the world, but in reality it is just relieving us of our spirituality. This article was about staying away from “filthy” media in all forms. Elder Peterson explained that even if we take part in a little bit of this un-cleanliness it takes away from our light. By watching, or listening to these things it lets even just a little bit of darkness into us, and therefore takes away from our light. When some of our light is taken away he reminds us that we are more alone and less happy.

3. How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?
After reading this it makes me want to be even more careful when watching movies or t.v. shows. I do not want to get “caught” becoming immune to the filth out there, and even more importantly I do not want children to think that is normal or okay. I want to keep my children and the children I teach as clean and pure as possible. I want them to keep the light and to not be darkened by any source of media. I know I cannot choose what my students are surrounded by at home, but I can provide uplifting media for them to engage in. I will be even more careful in choosing internet sites and films for my students to watch.

4. How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?
I can have a positive influence on my friends and family by being strong and helping us not be passive about what we are entertained by. I can help provide quality entertainment and stand up for what is good and clean.

Learning from SlideShare Presentations

I am very glad I was able to watch other students' presentations on their teaching with technology. The first thing I learned about was that many other schools had Smartboards or Prometheanboards in the classroom. I did not see Smartboards being used in the classroom because our school did not have them. But I was able to learn different ways to use them, and I am excited to use them in my class hopefully. The other thing I learned from the others' presentations was a great website for online tools, games, and technology to use in the classroom. One girl did a lesson on reviewing spelling words, and used a short story to illustrate them. It seemed like a very effective lesson and I am excited to find and use effective tools from this website :

http://www.edzone.net/~mwestern/stuff.html

SlideShare PowerPoint

Technology Reflection 07

View more presentations from paijetta.

After looking at other students' power points I realized any lesson at all can include technology and become more interesting to the students. Even making words and things that are not complete lessons can incorporate technology in some way and greatly benefit the lesson.

Technology Enhanced Lesson

I have already done one lesson that used technology in my classroom. I have been put in charge of one of the guided reading groups in my class. For one of the guided reading lessons I had a book on Astronauts. My lesson plan was to introduce and teach new vocabulary words about space. To begin this lesson I wanted to let the students become familiar with the vocabulary words. I made a powerpoint with the vocabulary words as pictures. This way the students could connect the word with an image they may have seen before. I showed the powerpoint to introduce the vocabulary words, and then we read the book. At the end of the lesson I put up the powerpoint again to review the new words they learned. I will also use this powerpoint in a few days to review the new vocabulary and see if the students remember the words.

Week 10

While being in the classroom everyday, I realized I have access to an overhead with a pull down screen. This screen covers the white board and is visible by the whole class while they are at their seats. An idea to enhance a lesson with technology is to use the overhead while teaching a math lesson. In second grade they deal with two digit addition and subtraction. I can use the overhead to display regrouping and borrowing. There are colored chips to put on the overhead and they can symbolize the tens and ones separately. The students can help place chips on the overhead, and solve problems for the whole class to see. Not only is this good because it uses technology, but it also uses manipulatives. Anytime a student can have a hands on experience, they are usually more excited and can understand the concept better. Using technology and manipulatives will always be a great asset to my math lessons

Classroom Technology Inventory

As I begin my Cohort 1 experience in a second grade classroom I am amazed at how much there is to learn. It is interesting to see what is available to students and the school as a whole. I am in a non-rural school that is fairly nice, but has been around for 30 years. My cooperating teacher has her MacBook, laptop, everyday where she enters students grades and other personal information. The teachers all have access to wireless internet. My classroom has one computer in it, used most specifically for students to take AR tests. I have only seen the students get on the computer to take these tests, and nothing else. The office can contact the teacher through an interactive intercom. The teacher can simply talk back and communicate. My school, Sprucewood Elementary, has one computer lab with about 35 computers (only about 30 workat any given time). We have two mobile labs with 15 computers on each set.Some software that is available in the computer lab is Pages (which is kindof like Word), Kid Pix, Graph Club, Garage Band, Graph Master, Kidspiration,and Inspiration. The students at the school each have a 30 minute time once a week in the computer lab. There is a little bit of open time in the lab that teachers can sign up. Other digital technology at Sprucewood are digital projectors in every room except the portables, 3 document cameras, 6ELMO machines (like a flex cam), several digital cameras, a digital videocamera, blue clickers, overhead graphing calculators. Sprucewood's technical support is one 17-hour a week computer lab assistant. I am excited to get into the classroom and actually have my own students and use what is available to me. There are so many options with technology today, and I am anxious to try new things as a "tech savvy teacher."

Over the River Movie

TPACK Virtual Tour

What is the content you’ll be using in your lesson?

The content that I will be using for my lesson is found in the Utah state core curriculum for 4th grade. It is under Standard 3, Objective 1, c which states "Sort rocks by appearance according to the three basic types: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic (e.g., sedimentary–rounded-appearing mineral and rock particles that are cemented together, often in layers; igneous–with or without observable crystals that are not in layers or with or without air holes or glasslike; metamorphic –crystals/minerals, often in layers)." As a freshman in elementary education I took a physical science class where we had to memorize 40 sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. I do not remember learning these when I was in elementary school, and it was difficult for me to do well with the rocks. I believe this lesson will make it more meaningful and memorable to young fourth graders.

What is the pedagogy you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content?

I am using good pedagogy by selecting content, classifying rocks, that is normally hard to understand and unclear why it is important to learn. This lesson plan is very engaging and exciting, and I know students will have fun learning about rocks. The students will not be bored learning about rocks, which is normally not a favorite subject. Making science fun is always a plus, and a skill teachers need to aquire. I made a lesson plan that includes very up to date technology which is what students will need to know how to do. I know my students will be on computers even more than I am now, when they are in college and in a profession. My students need to be computer savvy and know how to do many computer programs.

What is the technology you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?

The technology I will be using for this lesson is Google Earth. This program is a perfect fit for the content to enable students to see real examples of each type of rock, on the earth. Students can see what it is like in every country, and recognize the similarities between them. Google Earth allows me to zoom in on any country, city, or landmark, and also see what it would look like from a "street view." There is no other tool that allows you to look at locations all across the globe with such precision and detail. This technology is great for my pedagogy because this program lets kids explore individually. Each student works at a different pace, therefore it is helpful for them to explore and learn on their own. Google Earth is great for many reasons, and it can also allow students to easily find locations they need, and become aware of additional information concerning a location, or country.

Hooray for Google Earth!

Google Earth Virtual Tour Plan

Location	Activity	Picture
1. Japan, Hokkaido, Mount Rausu (igneous)	Briefly introduce the rock cycle and explain that they will see places where all 3 parts occur. Have students reach the location on GoogleEarth. Ask the students what type of rock is formed at the volcano they see at Mount Rausu; discuss what happens in forming igneous rocks. Then have them watch the igneous rock video at http://activities.macmillanmh.com/science/ca/scienceinmotion/Common/SIM.html?Module=../Grade4/Chapter3-IgneousRockFormation/ Then have the students look at pictures of various igneous rocks.
2. Grand Canyon, Arizona(sedimentary)	Have students reach the location on GoogleEarth. Teacher will explain process of forming sedimentary rocks. Have them watch the sedimentary rock video at http://activities.macmillanmh.com/science/ca/scienceinmotion/Common/SIM.html?Module=../Grade4/Chapter3-IgneousRockFormation/ Have students look at pictures of various sedimentary rocks
3. Manualoa, Hawaii (metamorphic)	Have students reach the location on GoogleEarth. Teacher will explain process of forming metamorphic rocks. Have them watch the metamorphic rock video at http://activities.macmillanmh.com/science/ca/scienceinmotion/Common/SIM.html?Module=../Grade4/Chapter3-IgneousRockFormation/ Have students look at pictures of various metamorphic rock
4. Karnataka, India (sedimentary)	Have students reach the location on GoogleEarth. Have students explore this area using the zoom features and others available to identify at least one type of rock in the area. Once students identified one rock formation have students explore other locations and the rocks there.
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:	In our Google tour we used the Geographic web features of Panoramio. We also used the terrain feature, and labels so the students would know what they were actually looking at. Our tour began at Mount Rausu, Japan, it then went to the Grand Canyon, Arizona, next it went to Manualoa, Hawaii, and finally to Karnataka, India. The path shows the travel route to each location, visually.

SOURCES:

Igneous Rock Formation:
http://www.outreach.canterbury.ac.nz/resources/geology/glossary/igneous.jpg

Three Types of Rock Formation:
http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/2281951/RockCycle-main_Full.jpg

The Rock Cycle:
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~braile/edumod/pebble/pebbleAM_files/image007.jpg

Sedimentary Rock Formation:
http://www.energyinst.org.uk/education/glossary/images/sediment.gif

Metamorphic Rock Formation:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/science/images/sci_dia_33.gif

Metamorphic Rocks:
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/distance/geolab/R*M/metrx.jpg

Igneous Rocks:
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/distance/geolab/R*M/metrx.jpg

Sedimentary Rocks:
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/distance/geolab/R*M/sedrx.jpg

Digital Storytelling Rough Draft

This is what we have so far for our digital storytelling.

Digital Storytelling TPACK Questions

What is the content you’ll be using in your lesson?

 

The content we will be using in our lesson is from the Utah State Core Curriculum, Standard 8, Objective 6.  This includes having students write to communicate effectively for different audiences and purposes.  Objective 6 states "write in different forms and genres," and letter a states "Produce personal writing."  Examples of these are writing journals, friendly notes and letters, or family stories.  This is what we are focusing on for our lesson.  We are using pictures from a self-produced and self-illustrated book.  The book is titled Over the River and Through the Wood.  

 

What is the pedagogy you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content?

 

Through selecting a writing project that students in my class might work on I am using good pedagogy.  We are making a digital storytelling project that uses the genre of family stories.  In this lesson we will use our story as an example of a family story, and ask them if they have any fun stories from their own family.  This could also be used as an example of an adventure story as well.  I could ask the students to predict the outcome, and use clues to guess the ending.  After giving this example to the students I can have them create their own stories many different possible genres.  

 

What is the technology you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?

The technology we will be using is the paper and pencil storyboard template.  This technology helps me break down the digital storytelling and organize what to say with every picture.  This is a great tool to organize the digital storytelling, just as an outline to a paper organizes your thoughts.  Another technology tool I will be using is iMovie.  This will help me combine images, music, and narration to create the complete digital storytelling experience.  The technology of iMovie lets me add my own voice to certain pictures, and we can narrate a story as the students watch the screen.  It is also possible to publish these movies on TeacherTube and let others see the finished work.  This would be easy for the students to use as they can be excited about creating their own movie.  

Tech Savvy Teacher and TPACK Questions

Since my last post about the science activity involving technology I can now reflect about my experience exploring science through Kidspiration.  It was good practice to do a science lesson with the new technology programs we have today.  There are many great technology tools I can use as a teacher to make science more exciting and fun.  These are the questions I am going to address concerning my last post and previous science technology activity.  

what is the content you are focusing on in the science lesson?

The content I focused on in the science lesson was from the second grade core curriculum.  It was standard three which states, "Students will develop an understanding of their environment."  The objective is number one and it states, "Investigate relationships between plants and animals and how living things change during their lives."  The objective is 1b which states, "Describe the life cycle of local plants and animals using diagrams and pictures." 

what is the pedagogy you are using and why is it a good fit with the content?

The pedagogy I used were strategies that are important for teaching science.  I believed the students would learn these inquiry processing skills through this science activity.  The main pedagogy I used was processing data, describing relationships, using diagrams and pictures.  This skill was enhanced by breaking up each step of the life cycle and showing its' components and connecting the steps.  The concept maps were perfect for this because the students can not only understand the cycle mentally, but they can visually see how they relate.  Another pedagogy skill I used in the science project was constructing hypotheses.  The students had to provide examples, in pictures and words, of the parts of each step of the life cycle.  Students made educated guesses as to which steps were included in certain stages of a plant.      

what is the technology you used and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?

The technology I used for this science project was Kidspiration.  It was a fun and easy tool to use for this activity.  Kidspiration fit perfectly with my content area because it dealt with the life cycle of plants and animals.  Kidspiration has a science section and inside is a life cycle component.  I made a concept map to display the life cycle of a plant, and break it down into steps.  Kidspiration had pictures that related to the concept map items to make it more fun and pleasing to the eye.  Students can relate to pictures more than just words on a page.  Kidspiration fit well with my pedagogy because it again broke down the concept, allowing the students to process data and describe relationships.  The concept map is meant to create correlations between big concepts.  

The Tech Savvy Teacher

I have been recruited by my district to contribute an article to the monthly newsletter concerning technology in the elementary science classroom.  The column I am writing is entitled “The Tech Savvy Teacher. “  My newsletters will provide examples of how different technologies are used for specific science concepts.  I look forward to exploring these programs as well as implementing them in the classroom. 

The first science activity we did was based on this objective in the second grade core curriculum.  It is standard three, which says, “Students will develop an understanding of their environment.”  The objective is number one and it says, “Investigate relationships between plants and animals and how living things change during their lives.  The objective is 1b, which says, “Describe the life cycle of local plants and animals using diagrams and pictures.”  For this objective we used the program Kidspiration and used this technology to enhance our lesson.  We went into the science section of the program and selected the life cycles option. 

In this application we searched plants and a variety of species appeared.  We began with the birth of a plant and typed in seed.  Pictures of seeds appeared and we placed it in the concept map.  Then we added words that related to the beginning of a plant such as water and soil.  We could use words or pictures to represent these items.  The students can choose whichever option they prefer.  We did this same process for the other steps of the life cycle. 

 

The writing guide is another tool we used for this project.  We wanted to know what other words related to reproduction.  When we typed in reproduction a series of definitions came up and synonyms along with them.  We learned that a similar word to reproduction is breed.  We then used that word in our concept map and continued with our learning.  After we completed the concept map with pictures and words we went to the writing view.  There was an icon for every picture and word with writing space for explanation and expansion.  This is a great tool to help kids connect their learning with their writing.

 

Word Guide Page

 Word Guide Definition

Writing View

 

Life Cycle Page

Life Cycles Concept Map in Progress

Kidspiration was an easy and fun tool to use for this objective.  It allowed me to easily and affectively incorporate technology into the classroom.  Kidspiration helped enhance students’ learning of the life cycle by analyzing each step individually.  The program supplied pictures to relate the items in each concept map.  The concept maps helped the students analyze the exact steps of the life cycle.  Kidspiration made this easy and fun as it provided visual learning tools. Another processing skill Kidspiration enhances is the ability to observe a scientific theory.  The picture concept map visually broke down the abstract concept of a life cycle to a second grader’s level.  Kids also used prediction skills as they hypothesized the outcomes in a specific part of the life cycle.  

Science/Math Technologies

I explored many of the science/math technologies from the resources on our course website.  I am excited to there are many software resources that can increase my students' comprehension of specific content areas.  It is very true that students need to actually "do" science to understand it.  There is so much more excitement and enthusiasm with hands-on assignments rather than notes on the board.  One of the resources I explored more in depth was Kidspiration.  One of the science activities is called alike and different.  Here they present you with groups of pictures that are alike and different; you then choose the picture that is different and find other examples that are similar with it.  Then they have to write about why they are similar and different; it incorporates writing with science to increase a deeper understanding.  There are different categories you can choose such as math, social studies, science, reading, and writing.  This helps the teachers focus their students learning in different medians and resources.  I think this will be a great resource for my future classroom!

TPACK

TPACK has to do with how teachers integrate technology into their teaching.  TPACK stands for technological pedagogical and content knowledge.  The TPACK has three kinds of knowledge that it blends together.  First it is TK or technological knowledge, or knowing how to use various technologies, or specific kinds of software.  There is also CK or content knowledge, or knowledge of facts and skills.  Lastly there is PK or pedagogical knowledge, or general knowledge of skills related to teaching.  This has to do with general teaching methods, and classroom management skills.  All three of these knowledge types create the whole TPACK or how to incorporate different teaching methods and technology effectively.  Teachers need TPACK because it can help them decide which type of content is best taught through which method of technology.  Teachers can know a lot about a specific content areas, but not know the best way children will grasp the knowledge.  Also, teachers may have a lot of pedagogical knowledge, but if they cannot connect that with technology to enhance the content, it will be a loss for them.  I am excited to grow in all areas of the TPACK and combine my knowledge resources in the classroom.  

Learning about RSS and Web 2.0

This week I learned a lot about what the internet has to offer. I had no idea there was such a thing as an RSS and the abilities that has. This seems so much easier and that you can keep all your information and desired websites together. I also learned about the website GoodReads which I think is very interesting. This can be a huge benefit to teachers to collaborate about their favorite books and why they enjoy them. I will definitely use this once I get in the classroom. Another new subject to me is delicious.com. This is also another great tool for me to use as a teacher. I can continue to add great links and lesson plans for my students. I am excited to be learning more and more about the internet and assets that I have as a teacher.

We are in a multimedia generation nowadays, and teachers need to act accordingly. Not only should we as teachers use this technology, but we should also let our students be aware of it. I am actually excited to create a blog for my classroom; I think this will be a great tool. Parents who cannot come into the classroom but are interested in their student’s schooling can get updates and information from the class blog. I am also impressed with the delicious website and am glad to have a place to keep all my good ideas and resources. I feel like I have learned so many great things from this and last semester and delicious is the perfect place to home all of them. The classroom I have with my students will be completely different from what I experienced in elementary school. The task seems a little daunting at first, but I will be able to do it with my knowledge of these great resources.

My Technology Background Experience

I am pretty comfortable using the internet and its different functions. I have not created a blog before, but I have friends that have their own. I use the internet about one hour a day, and use it to search many different topics. I do not consider myself a computer "genius" but I can normally find the information I need. I am excited about this class because it will give me ideas to put my teaching online and share it with my student's parents. I also frequently visit the website Facebook where I have information and pictures about myself and friends.