Week 7 Reflection

As internet usage is becoming more and more prevalent in our schools, there is a going need to teach online etiquette and integrity. For older students these includes citing information that they find and use on project, giving credit for images that they take from websites and not taking ownership of work that is not their own. Younger students face their own set of challenges and it is more on the teacher's protective role side of things. Teachers have a certain amount of responsibility on their plates when it comes to what their students see online. When parents send their children to school their expect that their children will be shielded from what is inappropriate on the internet and it is the teacher's role to see to it that this is what happens.

I am happy to say that there are a number of child friendly search engines available; Ask Jeeves for kids and KidsClick!, are just a few. There are also ways of bookmarking all the websites that your class is allowed to visit and having your class simply pick from only that list. It is undeniable that technology has impact even the youngest of students. My preschoolers are proof. On the positive side, most children can use a mouse and navigate a flash website before the age of five. On the negative, many students are bored with more traditional mediums like books, and
reading seems to be taking a hit. However, as I look to the future I hope to see technology to bring things full circle. Maybe we will all have Smartboards in our classrooms, which we can use to "read" stories on and make them exciting for our kids.

Week 6 Reflection

This week an article I read called "Left to Their Own Devices" got me thinking about the pros and cons of school district issued laptops for students. The article brought up many good points and left me more undecided as ever on whether the ideal of an all digital curriculum is practical. I had heard of many schools in our area that had been experimenting with the idea with middle and high school students. During the same conversation, I also heard that the tests were a nightmare and I didn't even want to now what some students had done to their school issued, taxpayer paid laptop computers. The article brought up even more cons to the idea outside of the usual physical destruction that occurs. The fact that not all students are on the same tech savvy level and that if students brought their own computers from home, the teacher would have to play to the lowest system was a good point. The prevalence of hackers and overall cost, time and energy required to go all digital just doesn't seem all that practical at this time.

With that said, I do think having a digital option for textbooks is something to consider, certainly at the college level at the very least. It seems almost archaic that college students still have to pay huge sums of money for physical books that are going to be out of date and useless in a year and not worth selling to anybody. Electronic textbooks that you can download to a mobile device, read whenever is convenient for you and fit in the palm of your hand would be wonderful. I can only hope that colleges see the need to go digital and move closer in this direction soon.

Week 5 Reflection

It's big wide world out there! This is one of the themes of this weeks learning. This week we learned strategies of using websites like google and twitter to stay connected with our students and other teachers. Since you found this website, most of you would know that Google is much more than just a search engine, but also a series of e-tools. I for one love the way that Google seamlessly connects your email, blogs, websites, calenders, web albums, etc. so you can put one password in and have access to all your tools in one area.

For teachers it is especially important to be part of PLN or Professional Learning Network. The ability to communicate with other teachers across the country or notify all of your parents quickly by e-mail or instant message is invaluable. It has never been easier to develop professionally with the ideas and advice of other as it is now. One resource that more and more teachers are using to stay connected is Twitter. There are even websites out there to help you find good teachers to "follow" and tips for using Twitter as an educational resource. I remember when Twitter had first become popular a couple of years ago and a teacher I had encouraged us to join to further our educational goals. I quickly rode Twitter off as a fad and assumed that it would disappear quite quickly, much like My Space. However, as evidenced by the "follow us" on Twitter icons on many websites and the growing professional realm that is using it, I think it may be around for while, like Facebook.

In all, things like Google tools, Twitter and Facebook are the way that we and our students are getting our information and news these days. It only makes sense to make them a part of of PLN's and let them help us with our job.

Week 4 reflection

Today I totally had to step out of my comfort zone and create my own Webquest. This class's main object is to change the way that we (students) view technology and the it's effect on our teaching style. I will admit that I never really thought that technology applied to the younger grades, but consistently I have been proving myself wrong. While the webquest I created appleseverywhere, is for older, first and second graders, I definitely have me thinking about younger students are tech savvy and would be using the site as a learning opportunity.

Even making the website was a big step for myself. I had never created a website, outside of blogger, before in my life. At first I was at a loss at how to even pick a template, or add a page to the site. It took some work and time to learn how to edit and navigate around the page, but in the end I was pleased with the final product. It still looks pretty amateurish, but it is mine and I'm proud of the learning experience I was able to create.