Reflection: Internet Safety

I have always considered myself to be a proponent of using the Internet in education. In the not too distant past the reason for that may have been that I considered using the Internet to be a lot easier than trying to find the information in a book or, heaven forbid, actually ask a teacher. But now my reasons for being in favor of using the Internet in education are a little different (don't get me wrong I still really enjoy the convenience.) One reason is the vast amount of information from all over the world that exists online. I don't think any library on earth could compare to that amount. Also, we are living in a technology- dependant world, and as educators it is our responsibility to teach students how to use that technology in an academic setting. While the Internet can be extremely useful in doing research and learning, it is important to really evaluate the source. It is the teachers responsibility to evaluate sites their students will be using to assure students do not come across anything false, crude, or dangerous.
This activity has urged me to ask myself certain questions about the sites I am getting my information from. A good place to start is looking at the author of the site or material. Is the author listed? What are their credentials? Is their contact information listed? As for the content itself I will have to ask myself questions such as; Does it seem highly opinionated or subjective? Does it contain information I know to be wrong? Is the information cited (with more than links to other websites? These are just a few of the many questions that can be helpful when evaluating a website.
In addition to evaluating the site and running it through a series of questions, it is important to assure that students are kept safe while surfing the Internet. One way to do this is by supervising students while they are surfing in class/at school. This will assure they are where they should be. Another way to assure safer surfing is to use scholastic databases and search engines. That way students wont be lead to websites that contain bad or salacious material. It is also important to include the parents and make them aware of how the Internet is used in class and the sites that will be used. Finally, teaching kids about Internet safety and the questions they should ask themselves will help them in making decisions online. By taking these measures we create a safer more reliable environment online for our students.

Video Reflection: We Didn't Start the Fire

"We didn't Start the Fire" is a Billy Joel song I was introduced to my junior year of high school. My American history teacher played this song for us then gave us the assignment of writing an additional verse about the decade of the 90s. (This song was written in 89.) Since then, I have thought back to that experience every time I hear that song. This video has added a visual aspect to the song for me and caused me to think about this principle dealing with education. Our culture is a conglomeration of dates, objects, people and emotions. The things illustrated in this song, extend not only to a history class but can be used to show students just how many things can happen in a short period of time, especially if you consider this song only mentions a small portion of what went on from 1950 to 1990. The other principle I draw from this video has to do with the video itself. Here a teacher, took the time to track down images, organize them and synchronize them. In doing this, he provided students and educators an audio-visual example of how much goes on in our world. This also has me thinking of what kind of videos or presentations I could create that would hold students attention, and teach important facts and principles.

UEN and Pioneer

What?
In class we learned about the UEN website. (Which stands for Utah Education Network, if I remember correctly.) This was a website I had heard about from family members who work in education, including my wife, who told me her school is going to have all the teachers use the UEN websites. I learned that UEN provides a personal and public page to each teacher. The theater metaphor helped me understand the value of a set-up like this. We also learned how to set up the website and some of the uses of each function.
So What?
UEN provides yet another tool that teachers can use to get organized and allow parents and students to be on the same page. As I mentioned above, they will soon implement the use of the UEN website at the school my wife teaches at. They are doing this so that teachers can put their assignments online, thus eliminating the need for students to come and get an assignment they've lost. This is only one of the many ways UEN and pioneer can be used, there is still much I have to learn about these tools which leads me to the...
Now What?
Now it is up to me to learn more about these sites which I plan to start doing through the assignment given in class. (I've been out of town the last few days.) I would like to learn how to set up my personal page better and how to quickly transfer the information from there to my public page (or staging area.) I would also like to learn how the Pioneer website can help me find teaching material, lesson plans, curriculum standards etc. So that I have these tools at my disposal now and when I become a teacher.

Video Reflection: Did you know?

This video was similar to "Pay Attention," the video we watched last week. Like last weeks video, "Did you know?" provided some pretty amazing, yet not entirely surprising facts. For example I learned that 1 out of 8 couples married in 2006 met online. This just shows the power the worldwide web has in affecting every aspect of our lives. Another fact that really stuck out to me was that there are now five times as many words in the English language as there were in Shakespeare's times. That seems pretty amazing if you consider how massive a vocabulary existed back then. All these points are addressed to convey the idea that we live in exponential times, and if this trend continues I can only imagine where we will be in ten or twenty years. This impacts me as a prospective educator, and helps me realize the importance of doing the best I can to prepare the leaders of tomorrow in any way I can. By teaching I am, as the video said preparing children to fulfill jobs that have not yet been created and solve problems that do not exist. That seems like a pretty important task to me.

Video Reflection: Pay Attention

"Pay attention to our children's intensely rich education experiences." I would say that sentence sums up the message this video was trying to get across. Children and adolescents are constantly plugged into electronic media, it is how they relax, socialize, communicate and have fun. The message that I get from this video is that if they are using electronic media for all this and more why not take advantage of it and make it a part of their learning as well. This is a concept that is not completely foreign to me, but I must admit there were some ideas listed that I would have never even considered. One example of this is using cell phones in class for an assignment. I would think this would be against many school policies yet I can see, especially as a potential language teacher, the positive response you could get from an activity such as this. It makes sense to allow children to learn through the media they use every day, rather than trying to force it down their throats in a way that is uninteresting and where the value of the information does not seem evident. I would agree that this is definitely one position where "if you cannot beat them you should join them" and I think this dependency on technology will only increase in the future.

Google sites

What?
In class we learned the basics of Google sites. This was a relatively new experience for me as I have never created a website before. Once again google has provided an easy way to create a website that is free and can be accessed by anyone I desire. I learned that you can embed a lot of different materials including You Tube videos and google gadgets, both of which can be useful for a teacher. I also Learned how to create pages with different functions such as calenders, announcements, and homework schedules.
So what?
Learning how to navigate and create google sites has shown me how easy it can be to create a website that can be used by my future students. I like the idea of having one location that parents and students can go to to find out everything that is going on in every class that I teach along with any other programs I may be in charge of. I think this would help eliminate confusion and unnecessary back and forth correspondence when parents/students are only seeking basic information like dates and deadlines. A website also seems to be a great place to be creative and have fun with the subject matter.
Now what?
Now the trick is to familiarize myself with google sites and continue to discover any other features the site may have. I would also like to have a website that I could show to future prospective employers that would illustrate how I plan on delivering information to parents and students. I think this would be valuable even if the school already has a website set up for that purpose (as many do) as it would show that I am familiar with the concept and am able to maneuver around the territory. I also plan to combine this with the technologies and resources I have learned about and will continue to learn about.

Video Reflection: Mr. Duey Raps

This video was definitely interesting to say the least. As to whether or not I think an approach such as this would be effective or not, well it worked on me. Thanks to this very nontraditional approach I now remember how to do things with fractions that I haven't used since high school. Plus I can't seem to get the song out of my head. (if that's not effective teaching I don't know what is.) Mr. Duey's use of technology (website, video) along with some very interesting rap music provides students with a way of learning that is more entertaining than standard classroom lecturing and easier to retain. This video has reminded me about the importance of "teaching outside the box" (which is ironic if you consider the fact that his teaching is done inside a video box) and implementing the technologies that we have to do so.
I'll teach you everything you need to know about fractions...

September 6, 2009

Everything Google

What?
Class time was spent exploring some valuable resources I didn't even know I had at my disposal. Or at least if I did, I had know idea the programs offered by Google could be used in such a way in an academic setting. I learned that in the program Google Docs several people can work on a single document at the same time. I also learned about iGoogle and how it can be useful for a future teacher. I learned that Google Calender is more than a personal calender and can be inserted into a website so that others can use it. I also found that Google Presentations is very similar to Microsoft PowerPoint, a program I have used on many occasions.
So what?
I think it would be best to go through the programs one by one and explain how why they are more useful than I thought or knew about. Google docs is a program I wish I had known about years ago (I don't know how long it has existed so perhaps it would be better to say I wish I had known about it earlier on.) I believe Google Docs will make group work a whole lot easier for the rest of my college career and it will be a good program to allow students to use when I am a teacher. The program iGoogle has already proven to be useful as it has allowed me to consolidate all the google programs I use, along with news, bookmarks, etc. into one page. This will help me with organization and keeping on task. Google calender will be a great way to keep myself the students and parents all on the same page. It is something I would definitely implement onto a class website. The other programs offered by Google such as Google presentations are great because the offer the ability to create documents the same way Microsoft Office does but they can be accessed with greater ease from different locations. (And best of all they are free!)
Now what?
So now the trick will be to take advantage of these programs, not just when I am a teacher, but right now. That way I will be used to them and will be able to teach kids how to use them the way I have been taught. Another benefit to staying on top of technologies such as those offered by Google is being aware of updates and improvements in the programs. I hope to use programs such as these and others in all areas of teaching and I feel it will allow my future students to be more aware of and involved in what is going on in my class.