Let's Talk About It!

After I read and watched the provided resources on internet safety I talked to a 15-year-old youth about my learning. I asked her questions about her knowledge about chatrooms and the potential danger there. I shared the NetSmartz online videos with her and invited her to watch them.

I found this conversation extremely valuable! After I asked her questions about chatrooms I asked her about her views on things like Facebook and how much her parents are and should be involved in monitoring internet use. I gave her scenarios and asked her how she would respond if she was the parent and had a daughter who wanted to do such and such on the internet.

The main thing I learned from this experience was the importance of teaching children about the positive and negative aspects of the internet AND keeping up to date and informed myself so that I can better monitor and understand what is out there.

2 Best Ideas

As I watched the presentations I learned a lot about how technology can be incorporated into the classroom. Incoporating technology can be small and simple or large and complex, it all depends on the resources available to you.

The two best ideas I learned from the class presentations were:
-scan pictures from a book into the computer and project them so that all of the students can see it
-use a powerpoint with visuals that can not be brought into the classroom (such as endangered animals), give students as real to life an experience as possible

These ideas are both small and simple ways to incorporate technology into a lesson. I wish I would have seen more cases where the students were really using the technology because I think that that's even more important and meaningful when teaching concepts.

It's All About Learning!

I viewed a couple of my groups' presentations and learned that not every school had the same amount of technology as mine did. It makes me wonder, will the school I teach at have some of the technology I've enjoyed in my practicum? My group member's presentations taught me that I can integrate technology into my lessons no matter how much or how little technology I have access to just like Cyrus did when he used the projector. I can put technology in the hands of my students, as Charla did with the SmartBoard. The tricky thing is remembering to use technology! If teachers are aware of the resources at their fingertips then the technological possibilities are endless!!

Presentation from SlideShare

Using Technology in a 1st Grade Classroom

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Reflection on Internet Readings

I chose to read an article about the internet called “Fighting Internet Filth” by Mario Hipol. This article appeared in the August 2005 Ensign. The most important thing that I learned from this website was the importance of staying educated about technology as a future parent and teacher. I appreciated the advice that Brother Hipol gave and the counsel that we should take every opportunity to educate ourselves, even by doing things such as taking technology-related college courses. He ended his article by saying “It is important not to let down your guard or to give up because you feel overwhelmed. Resources are available, and you can make a difference in what your family views on the Internet.” One major difference I have seen between kids and parents is that kids are more willing to experiment with technology whereas adults tend to avoid new technology. As a future parent and teacher I want to stay connected with the current technology in the world. If I am aware of what is out there then I can better educate my future children and students and make them aware of potential dangers. From what I have learned I will tell my family and friends more about what I know of the internet and its potential dangers. Oftentimes, I think that parents do not supervise their children’s internet usage as much as they should, simply because they are unaware. I will tell my friends and family about programs such as Facebook, e-mail, internet sites, and such.

More Technology!

Many students in my class are English Language Learners. As part of my plant unit, I taught a lesson on how people use plants. I put a variety of clip art pictures depicting things that come from plants on a Microsoft Word document and projected them on a Promethean Board. Under each picture I wrote the word because this helps students, especially English Language Learners, tie something they understand (a picture of a strawberry) to its name. I used these pictures to assess their background knowledge on the subject. Many students did not believe that most of the items came from plants. This gave us a great starting point for a discussion on the material.

Five Little Leprechauns

I was looking for a children's book to read for St. Patrick's Day, but I got to the library too late and so they were already all checked out. I found a cute poem called "Five Little Leprechauns" and so I used clip art from PowerPoint and created a little video through PhotoStory. I didn't record myself reading the poem because I used a pointer to point to the words as the children and I read the poem together. The kids liked it and it was different than the traditional read-alouds done in the classroom. The kids are so used to just taking in technology that they were surprised that they had to do the reading for the video, but they quickly got used to that idea and began reading.