Internet Safety Assignment

INTERNET SAFETY REFLECTION

The article I chose to read for my article of choice was “It’s ‘Only’ Violence” by Brad J. Bushman. It discussed the impact of media on families and individuals, and addressed some myths about violence in the media.

The videos I chose to watch came from a variety of sources, including PBS Frontline, Netsafe, Webwise Kids, and iKeepSafe. The PBS videos addressed issues such as the consuming nature of the internet in the lives of youth today, the changing nature of the classroom as a result of media, and the opportunity the internet provides for youth to try on new identities. The Netsafe videos revolved around topics such as child pornography in cell phone photos, “grooming” techniques of online predators, online chatting, and how parents can establish good communication habits with their teens about internet safety. iKeepSafe provides an animated video designed to help kids learn about the dangers of online predators. Finally, Webwise kids has a video discussing the case of a specific girl who almost became the victim of an online predator, and particularly how her parents were able to communicate her with the help of a game that teaches about the issue.

After reading these articles and viewing these videos, I came away with an increased awareness and understanding of the issue of internet safety. My main take-home messages could be organized into three categories: awareness, and implications for me as a parent and an educator. Firstly, I was shocked by some of the statistics and facts presented about how all-consuming the internet is in the lives of so many teenagers. Though I used the internet quite often during high school and still today, I was shocked to discover how for some people they are literally living and growing up online. I was also amazed at the variety of ways cyberbullying can occur, and the cleverness of online predators. I was also reminded of basic safety principles that can help safeguard children and youth against some of the dangers of the internet (e.g. never give your name, address, phone number, or school to anyone online, never agree to meet someone you meet online).

Apart from being made aware of some basic internet safety issues, I came away with strong feelings about what I can do as an educator and parent to help protect my children and students and make them equally aware. I need to be a leader in both the home and classroom by becoming educated about the latest technologies kids are using and allow them to participate in setting guidelines with me. I can take time to ask them questions about what they already understand about internet safety, and then allow them to participate in setting clear, easy to read rules. I also need to take responsibility in educating them about the potential dangers of internet use, including activities that are illegal. It is clear from watching these videos that communication between adults and youth regarding this issue is often very difficult. But one of the biggest things I came away with from the articles and videos was the idea that if we are taking time to establish close, face-to-face, supportive relationships with our children and students, communication will be easier and they will be more likely to listen. Also, if parents fulfill their responsibility to teach their children the gospel, they will likely have a greater sense of self-worth and an understanding of who they truly are – thus eliminating the need to experiment with new identities online. Along a similar vein, helping children and youth see the breadth and depth of experience and joy that come from physical experiences with the body will hopefully motivate them to stop living in a virtual reality and begin experiencing the wonders that real life has to offer.

For the “doing” part of this assignment I taught my mom about some of these issues of internet safety. I mainly talked to her about the all-consuming internet in the lives of today’s teenagers, the threat of online predators, cyberbullying, and teenagers experimenting with new identities online. She was aware of many of these issues, but she was very pleased to be updated and reminded of them. For example, she already knew that cyberbullying occurred, and that online predators use chat rooms as their hunting ground, but she reacted with both sadness and amazement at the information I shared. I mentioned that some of the videos demonstrated that the existence of cyberbullying might not be observed just by walking into a school, but that online it is a war zone. She reacted strongly to this, saying that was a really good point, and she could see how that would be true. She also reacted strongly when I described how teenagers experiment with identities online, saying that she hadn’t exactly heard that talked about before, but she could completely see how that could happen, even with relatively innocent things like facebook. I was surprised that she was so quick to see how these things could be possible even if she hasn’t seen or experienced them before. I think she will probably share much of what I told her with my younger siblings and my dad, though she might ask me to share the information with them instead.

Week 14

I completed the first three items on the Week 14 PLE.

ECE TPACK Report

PLE Week 11

Bookends of War - http://etec.hawaii.edu/etecvideos/videos/bow/
Inside Kapunahala - http://etec.hawaii.edu/etecvideos/videos/kap/

A main idea that I came away with from watching these videos is that students are capable of much more, with regards to technology, than I probably assume they are, and many types of technologies can be enjoyable and interesting to work with.

In the video "Bookends of War" students seemed to particularly enjoy working together to make their class website. They made remarks indicating that they enjoyed the collaborative aspect, and they seemed to understand what they project would be useful for. It seemed that this kind of collaborative project allowed them many opportunities to problem-solve amongst themselves, and thereby explore different possibilities. From this video I learned that technology can be successfully incorporated in a unit or lesson when students are genuinely interested in it and can recognize the benefits, and it can be helpful and enjoyable when they are able to work in groups or partners.

I found the video "Inside Kapunahala" to be very informative in that it showed not only how technology skills and media literacy can be taught in stages in the different grade levels, but also how many different standards can be met in a project like this one. Areas that are strengthened include communicating ideas through pictures, writing, and speaking clearly, as well as simply how to use technologies like video cameras. Students in this video obviously enjoyed the chance to "be on TV", but they also seemed to take other responsibilities seriously. They also seemed to understand the different skills they were learning and how those would be helpful for them in the future.

Lesson Plan Links

These links are on my link list, but I am posting them here as well:

Science lesson plan:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhm2d4kx_22gzppfv78

Math lesson plan:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhm2d4kx_21ghd5mpf6

Language Arts lesson plan:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhm2d4kx_20ffd7mjcz

Week 10

The most valuable thing I came away from the video presentation was the knowledge that several technologies can be used naturally and effectively in a classroom unit for younger children. For example, in the video “I Love Spiders”, the teacher of the class in Virginia incorporated the following technologies into her class’ unit on spiders: audio and video presentations, disposable cameras, and the internet (relaying pictures and information between two classes using a website). I was impressed by how naturally all of these technologies fit the subject matter and made for a more interesting unit. If I had been a student in that class, I think the technologies used would definitely enhance my learning and make me excited about the subject matter. I also thought this was a great example of how more than one technology can be used to enhance learning. The technologies were used in giving background information, in a hands-on activity that allowed students to gain firsthand knowledge both in the area of using specific equipment as well as the content area being taught, and then in a larger-scale endeavor that reinforced knowledge gained by allowing students to share their knowledge with others. I would love to find ways to use technology like this in my future classroom. I believe that trying to think of activities that would enhance both knowledge of technology and knowledge of the content area would be more effective.

Week 9

I had a very pleasant experience visiting with Ms. Barlow of Rock Canyon Elementary School. Her classroom appears to be equipped with many of the latest useful technologies. These include four computers in the classroom (including hers), a digital camera (belonging to her), a TV, CD player, internet and wireless internet access, a computer projector, calculators, and a DVD and VCR player. Ms. Barlow wishes that her class could have access to a Smart Board or Prometheus Board. She has been saving her money to try and purchase one for her class, though she expects them to become standard technological equipment for all of the school's classrooms in the near future.

When it comes to getting ideas and preparing materials for the classroom, Ms. Barlow said that her class uses the computers everyday for reading. She also shines lessons on a whiteboard using a projector and allows students to interact with the technology as much as possible by circling things, etc. (kind of like a makeshift Smart Board). She uses the computers for testing reading, as well as to enhance the core curriculum. For example, her class has studied different aspects of a "County Fair", taking a week to study different things you might find there, such as wool. One way she uses technology to teach about the process of wool being taken from the sheep and eventually spun is to show the class pictures of the process taking place (e.g. the sheep being shorn, etc.).

An additional question I had for Ms. Barlow was how she decides what technology is age-appropriate for her students. Her response was that it mainly just comes from experience. She has been teaching for 28 years and has therefore had plenty of experiences to teach her about age-appropriate technology. For example, sometimes she will sort through visual resources and decide that some pictures are too detailed or otherwise not appealing to the second graders. Similarly sometimes something will involve too much text that is over their heads. She tries to gear the technology to students' attention and whether it will relate to them in some way. I also asked her if children have become more technology-inclined over those 28 years, coming to her classroom with more experience than past generations - she said that they are definitely more technologically savvy than in past years, and often they come to her classroom knowing more about the current technology than she does.

Week 9

I completed part 1 and 2 of this week's PLE assignment.

Virtual Pond Dip Voicethread

Week 8

I watched and made recorded comments on the voicethreads of Andrea, Trisha, and Rebekkah.

I think implementing my science activity idea would have several upsides in a classroom. First of all, the Virtual Pond program could be explored by the students individually, giving them some freedom in what order they do things, what information they choose to focus on, etc. It allows them to seek after what they find most interesting in preparation for the final project. It also combines visual and textual elements to benefit different kinds of learners.

On the downside, students could get distracted with other computer or internet activities if they are not fully engaged in this program. If some students are faster readers, typers, or generally better at using the technology, this could result in them finishing early and then getting bored with waiting for everyone to catch up (unless they choose to explore more of the extra links, which can be quite fascinating).

Virtual Pond Dip VoiceThread

Week 7

My technology-enhanced science activity will involve students using the "virtual pond dip" resource to learn about various microorganisms. During the main part of the activity, the teacher will take on more of a supervisory role, allowing students to explore the technology and take charge of their own learning.
• Firstly, the teacher will guide students through a brief lecture/discussion about what microorganisms are, and what role they can play in our environment. Students will be allowed to make comments and ask questions.
• The teacher will then transition them into the next part of the activity by leading them to the computers and then through to the "virtual pond dip" program. The teacher will instruct the students to read and explore the information given about each of the microorganisms in the “jar”. They will be advised to explore some of the additional links provided for certain microorganisms, and they will also be asked to make notes (using a Word Processor) on things they find especially interesting or important (copying and pasting not allowed).
• Specifically they will be asked to make note of the following things:
- How the different shapes, sizes and structures of the microorganisms compare to each other
- What characteristics of the different microorganisms might help them fulfill their individual roles?
• Students will then be free to explore the program on their own.
• After students have had adequate time to explore and make notes, the teacher will then lead a discussion on some of the things students may have learned in their exploration, specifically focusing on the two questions listed above.
• As a follow-up assessment, students will be asked to further research one of their favorite microorganisms and present a 1-page report/poster.

1. We will focus on the grade 6 Science area, Standard 5, Objective 1 (observe and summarize information about microorganisms).
2. The pedagogical measures used will include observing, classifying, and acquiring and processing data. These will specifically be accomplished through reading text, taking notes, viewing images/objects, and discussing. I feel that these things work well for the content area because they encourage students to not only take in information, but to also make sense of the information. They will also help them make connections between bits of information, compare and contrast microorganisms, and understand concepts about microorganisms more effectively than if they just listened to a lecture.
3. The technology used will include the “Virtual Pond Dip”. This is a good fit for the content area and pedagogy because it provides both visuals and texts for observation, as well as plenty of information to process, classify, and discuss. It provides a way for students to take charge of their own learning and exploration.
4. The representation produced by the technology is both visual and textual. This will serve to meet the objective by allowing students to make observations about microorganisms without having to go to an actual pond. It will allow them to make comparisons about basic bits of information provided through text. The representation will meet the needs of those who are more visual learners rather than auditory learners.

Week 6

For this week's PLE assignment, I viewed the virtual tour projects of Andrea, Trisha, and Katie.
I think implementing a virtual tour could have many benefits in the classroom. Firstly, it allows students to take on a more independent role of exploring locations and doing activities individually. It also allows them to explore global locations in a fun, exciting way. And since basically the whole globe is available for viewing, it opens the door for many creative activities that call for contrasting different global locations. Doing a tour also allows students to learn through many different tools or activities. For example, you could attach a photo, video, or a link to additional information to enhance student learning.
However, a virtual tour could also have a few downsides. For example, this kind of activity may not allow for group work or collaborating with others. A way to counter this would perhaps be to have a group discussion or collaboration after participating in the tour so students can share what they explored and learned. Another downside is if many students have trouble viewing the tour or using the computers, it could be hard for the teacher to attend to all of their needs at once. Similarly, some students may feel less confident using a computer than others.

My tour takes you to some key locations from the era of the American Revolutionary War, including the location of the Boston Massacre, the approximate location of the Boston Tea Party, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA, and the approximate location of Washington's Crossing of the Delaware River.

Planning Virtual Tour

My virtual tour will address the grade five Social Studies content core, standard two. The virtual tour will mainly serve to fulfill the first objective of standard two, because it will allow students to “see” and more fully experience some of the places/situations that played a role in the timeline of the American Revolutionary War. I chose to do a virtual tour on this topic because I love history, particularly the history of the United States, and I was excited to view some of these locations myself. I feel that Google Earth is an appropriate and exciting instructional approach to use for this curriculum standard; as opposed to some other approaches, this gives students a chance to bring some of these locations and situations to life rather than simply read about them in a dry textbook.

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Intersection of State St. and Devonshire St., Boston, MA (location of Boston Massacre)	According to our class discussion, and after reading the supplementary google material, write a journal entry as a person who witnessed the event. Consider these questions: Were you involved? Whose fault was it? Why do you think this was an important event?	Historical/personal accounts of the event to read
2. Independence Wharf, 470 Atlantic Ave OR Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum (near location of Boston Tea Party)	Watch the video showing a reenactment of the Boston Tea Party	Boston Tea Party reenactment Honolulu (Google videos)
3. Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA	Record your thoughts on how this area may have looked during the period of the Revolution. What things may have looked the same/different? After doing this, view the accompanying illustrations depicting the area at that time.	Illustrations/pictures of area (Google images)
4. Washington Crossing Historic Park (Delaware River)	Beginning from this location, determine how far Washington and his troops may have had to travel across the river to reach NJ.	Ruler tool on Google Earth

The Hardest Thing with Digital Storybooks

I think one of the most difficult things about using a digital storybook project in the classroom would probably be giving specific enough instructions that students won't feel too overwhelmed, but also give them room for creativity. The possibilities for this kind of project are really unlimited, so it will be a challenge to make the project appropriate for the curriculum as well as the age group.

Screen shot of video conversation

Storyboard

This is my storyboard for my Digital Storybook project! The content for my storybook is drawn from the K-6 Language Arts Core Curriculum Standard 1: Objective 2, and Standard 8. I feel that using a digital story would help in teaching this content because it provides a new, interesting way to hear and see language; it provides an additional media through which language can be viewed and presented. Also, viewing certain lines of text along with accompanying dialogue would most likely assist students in identifying simple words, such as the names of the colors. If students had the chance to make a digital storybook themselves it would give them a chance to reflect on different purposes for writing, different possible audiences, as well as practice working on drafts of a project. This project includes a textual, auditory, and visual representation - I feel that the combination of these three would serve to teach this content area because some students will respond better to one representation than another. Hearing words spoken, seeing some of them written out, and then viewing an accompanying picture would, I feel, strengthen the learning experience.

Digital storybook

Week 3

According to my understanding, TPCK stands for the combination of knowledge of technology, knowledge of a specific content area, and pedagogical knowledge. In other words, it is knowing how to teach a specific content area with the use of technology.

I feel that this knowledge is vital for several reasons. First of all, it is important to keep up to date with today's technological advances because many content areas can be more effectively taught through the use of technology. If one has specific knowledge of a content area combined with pedagogical knowledge of how to teach that content area, this is powerful; but then when combined with technological knowledge, many new avenues of teaching and learning are opened up. However, it is not always appropriate to use technology to teach a content area - therefore, it is important to know when to appropriately use it to best enhance the learning process.

Week 2

I found this week's assignment to be very interesting and educational! I am sure that the new skills I learned will come in handy when I have my own classroom. I think the most important thing I gained from the assignment was simply the knowledge that I can create a wiki where my students can have easy access to links and class information - what a great way to stay organized, and stay connected with the students! I was amazed at how many there options there are as far as what you can post and how you can organize things - I guess the possibilities are endless, really. More specifically, it was interesting to learn about embedding things in the wiki. In the past, when using things such as Google Map, I barely noticed the links and buttons that helped you with things like embedding. It's fun to actually know what those are for now!

Technology Background and Experience

My family had a PC until I was a teenager, and then we bought a Mac, so I am familiar with both operating systems. I have used a Macbook laptop during my college years. I am familiar with the use of facebook, email, the internet, online bookmaking programs (e.g. blurb), etc. I consider myself relatively comfortable with technology and enjoy learning about the latest and greatest things!