Internet Safety Doing

I talked with my father (47 yrs old) about internet safety. We talked specifically about two things 1) keeping yourself safe predators/scammers and 2) monitoring children's computer use.
I shared with my dad information I learned about not giving out personal information EVER on the internet and he knew that, but he liked hearing about how even tiny bits of seemingly unimportant information can lead predators to gain more information about you. We also discussed ways that we can monitor children's computer use, the major one being placing a computer in a public place. I shared with my dad the resources at LDS.org regarding internet safety, and because he is in the Young Men's Presidency at home, he said he will really check them out. Our dicsussion went really well and we came to understand that we both agree on the importance of internet safety. It was pretty valuable, both of us sharing what we know and believe.

Lessons Learned from Peers: Technology in the Classroom

The first main thing I learned was about the use of Permethean boards in the classroom. I had kind of heard about these type of "smart boards" before, but never seen how they can be practically used in the classroom. I really like the idea of utilizing this in the classroom because it would really motivate students as well as allow all the children in the classroom to see what is going on. Also, I like how you can save what the children have written on the board, because usually when you use a white board the responses are erased. This can help with assessment.

I also learned valuable information about utilizing PowerPoint in the classroom with children. I have always thought of using PowerPoint when presenting other teachers or adults, but I like how many of my classmates used PowerPoint to actually teach their lessons. In this way, organization of your lessons will be much easier than utilizing hard copies of things in folders or whatever. Also, it would be extremely easy to make changes to lessons you want to improve when it is in the computer on a PowerPoint. Also, all students in the classroom are better able to see what is being seen and taught.

Lessons Learned from Peers: Technology in the Classroom

The first main thing I learned was about the use of Permethean boards in the classroom. I had kind of heard about these type of "smart boards" before, but never seen how they can be practically used in the classroom. I really like the idea of utilizing this in the classroom because it would really motivate students as well as allow all the children in the classroom to see what is going on. Also, I like how you can save what the children have written on the board, because usually when you use a white board the responses are erased. This can help with assessment.

I also learned valuable information about utilizing PowerPoint in the classroom with children. I have always thought of using PowerPoint when presenting other teachers or adults, but I like how many of my classmates used PowerPoint to actually teach their lessons. In this way, organization of your lessons will be much easier than utilizing hard copies of things in folders or whatever. Also, it would be extremely easy to make changes to lessons you want to improve when it is in the computer on a PowerPoint. Also, all students in the classroom are better able to see what is being seen and taught.

Internet Safety Reflection

1. What article did you choose to read for your fourth article?
"Fighting Internet Filth" by Mario Hipol from August 2005 Ensign

2. What were the most important things you learned from the readings?
The choices we make in media can be symbolic of the choices we make in life. Don't be lax in the media you allow to be brought into your home. That you don't have to be a computer expert to help protect your family when they are on the web. I also really like the idea of having a Family Favorites collection on your internet browser to set the example for what is appropriate and what is not - encourage children to only go to these sights will diminish possible problems.

3. How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?
I will not be afraid or awkward about adressing issues like internet pornography, as this is when questions go unanswered and trouble can come. I will make sure my children and students know what is acceptable for internet use and what is not. Also, as technology changes and grows, I will make the commitment to learn about new technologies my children are using and are interested in so that I can know which guidelines to place on these new technologies and know how they work so as to see the dangers.

4. How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?
I should make sure that my family members and friends know taht I very much agree with the standards and guidelines the church has established regarding technology and that I have testimony that they will protect us. I can do all I can to encourage those I love to follow theses standards and guidelines as well.

ECE Technology PowerPoint

Teaching Young Children With Technology

View more presentations from caseyelle.

Technology for Teaching ECE Language Arts

Content: Kindergarten Standard 3, Objective 4, Orally manipulate phonemes in words and syllables (manipulation).

Pedagogy: The students will be given explicit instruction in the classroom about phonemes and have practice as in a whole class context. In this activity, the children will be required to manipulate and substitute the middle vowel in words to create new words. With this program, children can actually see how the vowels can replace one another to create new words, and understand the different ways that words sound and look with new and different middle phonemes. This activity will provide them with an opportunity to visually see how replacing the phonemes creates an entirely new word.

Technology: The program we use is a game in which children click and drag letters to place them in blanks to create as many actual words as possible. This game was taken from the Scholastic website: (http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/flash/vowels/index.htm)

Technology for Teaching ECE Maths

Content: Kindergarten Math Standard 1 : Objective 3
Model, describe, and illustrate meanings of addition and subtraction for whole numbers less than ten.

Pedagogy: For this activity, students will be able use manipulatives (virtual) to see the practical application of addition for whole numbers less than ten. Having the children exposed to both the manipulatives and the numerals on the computer screen with reinforce what they are doing. Because this activity is in the form of a game, this will motivate students to want to get the answer right so they can win the game.

Technology: We will use a game called Ten Frame in which the students move virtual checker pieces to represent numbers being added to create the sum. We got this game from the Illuminations: Resources for Teaching Math website (http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=75).

Tech Inventory with Mrs. Gibby, 1st Grade Teacher

1. What technology is available in your classroom (computers, digital cameras,
VCR players, electronic toys, tape recorders, etc.)?
I have a speaker system in my room. It is for a student who has audio
processing problems. I also have an overhead projector, document camera, CD
player, two desktop computers, VCR/DVD player, digital camera (my own), laptop,
ipod speaker (my own to play music), etc.

2. What technologies do you wish you had in your classroom?
I wish I had a smart board and a projector

3. How do you use technology to get ideas and prepare materials for your
classroom?
I could not live without my laptop and the internet. There are so many ideas on
the internet that are easily asscessible. My laptop is handy when I need to
create documents or type letters. I use them both, constantly.

4. Do you find technology helpful/beneficial, or does trying to incorporate
technology frustrate you, your students, or your lesson plans?
I find it to be extremely helpful. It also comes naturally to me, so it's fun!

Digital Camera Activity

Content - 1st Grade Standard 3 Objective 1c.

Pedagogy - Hands on with growing real, live plants and reinforcement with watching plants grow over time and then viewing the experience again with digital pictures. They can compare the growth of the plants and reflect on their learning.

Technology - Digital Cameras

The XO Laptop computers are very helpful for the Early Childhood students because they are very easy to navigate and the keyboards are small enough for their little fingers to manipulate. These laptops would be great for project work in the ECE classroom when you go out to gather data and research to collect digitally the information they want to know about. This would help them to see that computers are used for obtaining and recording information. Also, these would be indestuctible, even if you run across a shoot truck! :) hee hee!

Notes from Research

Technology in Early Childhood Education: Finding the Balance

• Technology cannot and should not replace human interactions and relationships, but computers and software can serve as a catalyst for social interaction and conversations related to chilren's work
• The classroom must be set up to encourage interaction and then technology will increase, not impair, language and literacy develpopment - place two seats in front of a computer, place computers in close proximity to one another, etc.
• Computer play encourages longer, more complex speech and development of fluency
• Children tend to narrate what they are doing as they draw pictures or move objects around on the screen - thus, language development
  
• Compared to more traditional activities (puzzles and blocks), research shows computers elicit more social interaction and different types of interaction
• A word processor on a computer allows children to compose and revise text without being distracted by the fine motor aspects of letter formation - however, computer use should be relatively brief at this age as to prevent muscular-skeletal injuries and vision problems
• Computers allow representation and actions not possible in the physical world (i.e. they can manipulate gravity and speed and discover resulting effects) - thus enhancing inquiry learning
• Computers can reveal hidden strenghts for children with different learning styles
• 3-5 year olds: computers should be used as a means for exploration and discovery and should be one of many activity children can choose - open-ended use not for creating a product
• 5-8 year olds:
• p. 37 keys to success

5 effective ways for young children to use technology
1. Make and display a graph
- build a physical graph with objects, then a two-dimensional one on a spreadsheet or graphing program on a computer
-use meaningful topics for the kids (clothes colors, transportation to school, etc.)
-helps with transfer from concrete to abstract understanding
2. Explore with digital tools
-investigate the familiar world from new perspectives--close-up photos digital microscopes or cameras
-record scenes and sounds (and other senses or feelings) while exploring for later reference
3. Tell a story in pictures and words
-create stories and pictures with background voices that the kids use their creativity to make--they will love that they can see their creations
4. Write, record, and revisit
-use digital photographs, captions, drawings, voice recordings, etc. to record class activities
-make an electronic slideshow of a class book with individual contributions about the curriculum
5. Share and document learning
-chronicle and document learning progress
-take family portraits at Open House to display and send home

Early Connections

• Can range from short and simple lessons to being an integral part of long-term projects
• Should be used in addition to hands-on learning
• When selecing software it is important to choose material that is DAP: it should encourage exploration, imagination, and problem solving
  Reflect and build on what children already know
  Involve many senses and include sound, music, and voice
  Be open-ended, with the child in control of the pace and the path
  Hardware that can be used in the classroom:
  Tape recorders
  Video cameras
  TV/VCRs
  Fax machines
  Portable keyboards
  Digital microscopes
  Computers
  For choosing technology to be used with younger children, the best choice for a particular situation may be no new technology, or just simple tape recorders and cameras.
  
  

Polyneisan Island Tour Link

Virtual Tour

Tour TPACK

Content: 1st Grade Core: Standard 3, Objective 3a. "Describe traditions, music, dances, artwork, poems, rhymes, and stories that distinguish cultures."
Pedagogy: We will be teaching specifically dances from the different islands the students will be "visiting" in this activity. This allows students to not only learn new cultural skills, but also to apply what they learn to real life by participating in the dances.
Technology: Because the students can't really go to theses islands and see these dances in real life, being able to see them in realy life Google Earth and video clips are perfect for this activity. Using the Google Map virtual tour, students will gain a bette understanding of where these islands are in the world and viewing the video clips will make these things come to life.

Intro to Virtual Tour

Location Activity Google Earth Content

1. Hawaii Watch and do Hula Dance Terrain, 3-D

2. Tonga Watch and do Tongan Dance Terrain, 3-D

3. Samoa Watch and do Samoan Dance Terrain, 3-D

4. Tahiti Watch and do Tahitian Dance Terrain, 3-D

Details of image/overlay/path/polygon: We are going to have movies at each of the islands demonstrating the different kind o dancing that is native to that culture.

One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein

Storyboard

Digital Storytelling: Content, Pedagogy, Technology

For our digital storytelling project we are basing our project on Utah Core Curriculum for Kindergarten Standard 1: Objective 2a - view  variety of media presentations attentively and Standard 3: Objective 1b - identify and create a series of rhyming words orally. We are using the pedagogy of poetry interpretation. And the technology we will be using is digital photography and PhotoStory.

Content, Pedagogy and Technology

The content we focused on for our science challenge is 1st grade science, plant growth. We chose to use a pedagogy that included observing (through the use of a microscope), classifying (the different types of leaves and what characteristics set them apart), and analyzing data (making what they are learning thier own by drawing their own picture of a leaf). Becuase youngsters are naturally curious, we thought by allowing our students to become their own scientists and collecting thier own samples of leaves and watching them under a microscope would utilize that naturally curiosity in a way that would help them learn the curriculum content standards. The technologies that we decided to use are the DigitalBlue microscopes and the Paint program on Windows. The microscopes allow that entire classroom to observe what is being seen in the lens at the same time, instead of having to huddle around a tiny eye-piece and taking turns; this way, students can all analyze and observe at the same time. We decided that utilizing Paint would expose students to a new way to create art - they have drawing with paper and pencil/crayon since they were in preschool so enabling them another medium for artistic creation, we thought, would help spark their creativity.

Tech Savvy Teacher: Uncovering Microscope Mysteries

Discovery learning using DigitalBlue microscopes.

In today’s world of iPods, laptops and being connected at the hip to your cell-phone (literally), 5 year olds better know how to master Mario Cart than they know how to read a picture book. Teachers have now had to start confiscating cell-phones, monitoring internet use during class time, and asking their students to help them with computer programs – why shouldn’t we take this “problem” and use it to capture the attention and renew a love for learning in these little technology addicts? Tech Savvy Teacher is a monthly column meant to inform teachers of the 21st century in how to integrate technology in their elementary school classrooms.

At Highland High-Tech Elementary, team teachers Theresa Gervais, Krysten Clark, and Kamrie Littlefield have taken the leap to include technological gadgets in their 1st grade classroom. During a science unit where students investigated different types of plants and the environments in which they grow, their technologically competent 1st graders got to see plants up-close and personal! “With the use of a Digital Blue microscope, which takes pictures of the view in the lense and sends it to the computer screen, we created a lesson to teach our students about observing and drawing different kinds of leaves.

"Entire" leaf under microscope.

We were able to find and classify different kinds of leaves (entire, serrate, dentate, needles, etc.) to examine under the microscope and show close-up pictures of leaves. This allows the students to get a much closer view all at once, rather than trying to pack an entire class around a single microscope, by observing the detailed characteristics of each leaf.

Close-up of "serrate" leaf.

View of "lobbed" leaf under DigitalBlue microscope.

The students were able to analyze the main features that that differentiate the leaves and further classify them by type. Then, to integrate technology even more, we would have the students use the Paint program (on a PC) to draw leaves, including different edges and veins within the leaves, assessing their knowledge of the content. The learning even extended outdoors as we became scientists and gathered samples of our own.”

First-grade drawing of dentate leaf made in Paint.

This is an example of using technology to teach content standards. This particular activity is geared toward first grade Utah Core Curriculum. It covers standard 3 objective 1.a, that students will develop an understanding of their environment by observing and drawing pictures of plants. Integrating technology into the classroom can make learning and assessment “fun” as well as increase their technological prowess. Look for next months issue of Tech Savvy Teacher for ideas on how to use Google Earth as part of your classroom instruction.

Exploring Science Tech Resources

I looked through a couple of the science technology resources available on the course website and I found some interesting things. The Kidsperation site is cool! It provides some fun, interactive games for students to play as they also learn basic computer skills. I thought Stellarium and Celestia were awesome! This would be perfect for a unit on astronomy - even with really young kids, you as the teacher could pull it up on a big projector in the classroom, or even on the ceiling (How cool would that be!?!) and you could point out constellations or watch the phases of the moon! Very useful tool - and free! I also explored Google Earth a bit more. Although I already know how to navigate Google Earth pretty well, this would be a great resource for instilling discovery in students! When I first got on Google Earth I went crazy thinking I could see places in the world that I have never been to in a real, 3-d way - especially travelling through New York City!! If you haven't done it yet, I highly suggest typing in New York City in the search box and then turning on the 3-D buildings - a virtual tour through the Big Apple!!! It's awesome!! Anyways, that's my blog for today! :)

Teaching with TPACK

It sounds to me like TPACK describes a well-rounded teacher. We have been taught in so many classes that what we teach is what we are, and so with TPACK, in order to be a good teacher, we need to be have a good base of pedagogy, content knowledge, and technological knowledge that bundles together as an effective way of teacher using the most resources possible in this era of teaching, education, and technology. A good teacher is able to combine their individual knowledge bases of content, pedagogy, and technology to create lesson plans that include all three of the knowledge bases so that the students can build their own knowledge in the broadest way possible.

What am I learning?

Well I'll tell you! I had not idea you could get continual information from several websites at the same time like you can with RSS feed! That is soooo cool! And now I know how to do it! I also love GoodReads! This will be so helpful when I am a real teacher! It may even be cool to have a specific bookshelf on my GoodReads account that my students could go to to see the books I introduce to them each day/week, whatever I end up doing. Remember the "5 new titles a day" from Dr. Jacob's class... I LOVE that idea! Anyways, a shelf in GoodRead specifically for my students would be a great reference for them to look back on the books I've recommended for them!

Techology and Me

Cellphone...e-mail...computer schoolwork... iPod... my background in technology is pretty average for the regular college student. I am pretty good with many popular computer programs for office-type work and digital-design (most Microsoft programs, Photoshop, Visio, ProVision, Outlook, and Google Earth). For the last 3 summers, I have worked as an intern for Qualcomm Incorporated which is an innovative cell-phone company that comes up with cool new technology gadgets and programs for their cell phones, so in this regard, I may be a little more familiar with technology. Although I know how to do lots of things when a computer is working properly, if something goes wrong... um... ya... I can't help ya (or myself) there! My Daddy is a Mr. Fix-It and so he always solves my computer and technology problems.