Week 14

I have completed the steps 1-4 for this week.

Internet Safety Assignment

READING:
For my additional reading I chose, "I Have a Question" by: William Porter. The question of "How can our family take advantage of what is available on the Internet while avoiding objectionable material and people of questionable character?" has been one I have asked myself several times as I prepare to have a family of my own.

WATCHING:
iKeepSafe Faux Paws -
I thought it was a really fun way to show children what they need to know for internet safety. The activities were fun, and also a really good reminder to children what they should stay away from.
PBS: A Revolution in Classrooms and Social Life -
I liked that they first talked about the importance of why students need technology, and how he said when they walk into a classroom with no media it's like walking into a desert and have nothing to do. They talked about the different things online that teenagers use and what they do with them.
Netsafe Utah: Cybersafe your Teens -
Shows parents what potential dangers are online that teens could run into. This program shows the parents what they can do to help their teens stay out of trouble.

DOING:
I was surprised by the large number of the teens who are getting into chat rooms or in other situations that can be potentially dangerous. Some of the most important things I learned were that to protect our children we must be aware, set rules, and have a filtering system of some sort. I used to have a really hard time with the idea that parents would need to set filters or not allow them to use computers on their own. I know that sounds silly, but I always thought it would cause more problems by being so strict. However, after watching these videos and reading more on the topic I have been surprised to see that most of the time problems are ran into by accident and teens proceed out of curiosity. Filters will prevent accidental runons for the most part, but I also believe that if computers are in private places teens will be more likely to look for things out of curiousity. Putting your computer in a public part of the house will help with this because they know there is someone watching them.

I decided to interview and teach of friend of mine who's children I have watched for years and two which are really getting into technology as social networking. Her kids are 12, 10, 6, and 4. I asked her what she knew about internet safetly, and what she was currently doing to protect her children from potential online dangers. She used to have a laptop for the kids and only her and her husband knew the password, but they found that it was causing problems so they told them two older children the password. They monitor the little ones, but for the most part let the two oldest govern themselves as long as they have permission to be on the computer and the kids have told them what they will be using it for. She also told me that they currently have no filtering device for the internet. After hearing this I told her some of the things I had found and that eventhough I used to feel the same way and didn't want my kids to feel I don't trust them, that there are still certain things that she could do to prevent accidental problems. After sharing some of the research and ideas to safeguard her kids without being too overzealous she was very appreciative. I think that she will for sure set more limits as far as when and where they can use the computer and also go back to having the children not knowing the password especially since they are gone a lot and are unaware of when they are actually using it.

TPACK Project

Week 12

I have thoroughly read through the Early Connections: Technology in Early Childhood Classrooms website.

TPACK Project - Planning

Language Arts Lesson Plan:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=df9hdm8b_2ccmt4vfw

Science Lesson Plan:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=df9hdm8b_4c8v5mcdt

Math Lesson Plan:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=df9hdm8b_3h8q796hp

Week 11

I watched the videos "Bookends of War" & "Inside the Kapunahala"

Week 10

After watching the videos I was impressed with the teachers' variety of technology used. I really liked in the "I Love Spiders" one that the children were able to collaborate with other children doing the same thing in another state. That helped the children to see what spiders they had in common and which were different and allowed them to question why that might be. I really liked the idea of the children communicating with other students from other schools and states. I think this is a vary valuable teaching method and I am looking forward to taking ideas from these and implementing them in my classroom, so my students can get the most out of what they are learning.

Week 9 update

I have completed my midcourse evaluation and informed consent.

Classroom Technology Inventory

In visiting with a Kindergarten teacher at Amelia Earhart Elementary I was able to see that there are a lot of resources available for teachers, that I wouldn't have guessed. Amelia Earhart has always been pretty tech-savvy, and now that they have been changed to a Title I school they have received more funding and now have even more technological resources in the classroom. Each of the classes even has a Smart Board!

I talked to her a lot about the additional time that implementing technology requires. She was emphatic that the extra time was well worth it. The kids get so excited and really WANT to learn. Plus it is all things that you can keep in your inventory and use in later years.

I am actually really excited to implement technology into the classroom now. She gave me several examples of things she has actually used in her Kindergarten classroom and now I am able to think of several ways to incorporate technology into my lesson plans.

Week 8 - Science Challenge

Kate - Phases of the Moon
Lizzy - Community Culture & Relationships
Kaylee - Weather

I think this is a great resource to get ideas from other teachers and what they are doing in their classroom. I also really like the idea of posting that on a class blog or wiki so the parents can see in more depth what we are doing in the classroom. I can't believe how many resources there are out there that I just had no idea about!!

Science Challenge

Week 7

My Standard and objective is 3rd Grade Science 1.1 Describe the appearance of Earth and the moon - c. List the differences in the physical appearance of Earth and the moon as viewed from space. I will use Google Earth and Sky for them to explore the appearance of the earth and moon and Kidsperation to have them chart the things they learn.

TPACK -
Content: Describing the differences in physical appearance between the Earth and the Moon
Pedagogy: Observing, describing, and classifying. Because the children cannot do hands on activities with the differences between the earth and the moon obviously they can't touch and feel the moon, but this way they can observe what the moon looks like and make and list distinctions between what they see and start inquiring as to why it is different.
Technology: Like I mentioned before since they cannot have a hands on activity with the appearance of the earth and moon, Google Earth and Sky will give them the best look at the subject matter.

PLE #6

Caroline - Cultures Around the World
Kaylee - Natural Disasters
Lizzy - Nature

I thought it was a really interesting idea, and one that I had never been exposed to. Like many of the other assignments it was a lot of work, but I'm sure the second time around wouldn't be nearly as bad. I really think it could be an extremely beneficial tool for the classroom!

My Virtual Tour

Here is my Virtual Tour on Clocks.

Google Earth Virtual Tour

Using the 2nd Grade Math Core 3:2e I will teach the children different types of clocks and how historically time was kept and allow them to tell time to the quarter hour and practice sequencing their day by time.

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Kanazawa, Japan (Digital Fountain Clock)	Based on the time the clock tells them the child must decide whether it is time for breakfast, lunch or dinner.	Picture of Kanazawa Station Fountain Clock
2. London, England (Big Ben Analog Clock)	Tell time by quarterly increments and at 15, 30, and 45 the children will do different physical activities.	Pictures of Big Ben at different times
3. Lexington, Kentucky (Foucault Ceiling Clock)	Draw a diagram of what they see in the picture and what time it is	Pictures and videos of how it works
4. Greece & Rome (ancient sundials)	Make your own sundial clock	Pictures and a how to video on making your own sundial

The google earth virtual tour is a really neat idea. I like the idea of rather than talking about an area and just showing them on a map where it is with pictures while talking about it. They can go from place to place, seeing where it is relatively to where they live. It also makes learning real because they are not only learning a concept, but they are also acting on it in an interesting way. My only concern is that it might be a little abstract for young children.

Videos and Implementing Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

1. Elizabeth - "Three Little Pigs"
2. Leslie - "Some Pig"
3. Kate - "Scarlet Pimpernel"
4. Caroline - "A Tasty Alphabet"
5. Kaylee - "The One Thing I Won't Eat"
6. Mariah - "Little Red Riding Hood and the Not-So-Big, Not-So-Bad Wolf"

It was a fun assignment and I can see a lot of great ways to incorporate it into the classroom. I think that the most difficult part of incorporating this into the classroom is that young students (Kindergarteners, that I hope to teach) would need quite a bit of help putting one together. With one teacher and up to 30 kids this can be very challenging. It would be a lot of fun to make a class story however and each child can contribute one "page" or part of the video and that would lessen the time and still give them exposure.

Digital Storytelling Video

TPACK & My Storyboard

It has been really interesting to learn about the concept of TPAC. I never really thought about how much I can really do with technology in the classroom to enhance learning. Unfortunately there are so many occasions where technology is used poorly. Understanding how Pedagogical (the WAY you use the technology) and the Content being studied and that Technology work together helps teachers best utilize technology in the classroom.

WOW...I'll tell you what....WOW...

Oh my gosh, I had no idea there were so many useful resources available. Go figure! :-) This week was a little stressful, and packed with lots and lots of stuff to do, but I also learned about a lot of excellent resources. The most useful, although it is pretty broad was the wiki. I had heard of it, but didn't really understand it or know how to use it. I can really see how it will be very useful in my classroom. I always just planned on having a blog because it's what I knew and it would work, but there are so many things you can do with a wiki for educational purposes. I'm really excited to have all of these new resources to go to!

Asynchronous:

Synchronous:

My Technological Background

In elementary school I remember having computer time, but all we did was play games. Not that I'm complaining :-). In junior high I took the an Information Processing class which was actually very beneficial. The information I learned in that class, I have used on a daily basis and am very grateful for those skills. After graduating high school I have had several clerical positions where I have used my skills in Excel, Word, Access, Power Point and internet resources. I love working with computers and ofter wonder what I would do without it! My dad is a professor and has always been an example to me of a good teacher because he is always trying to learn and use the newest technological resources. Seeing him do this has helped me want to be the same way. It's pretty amazing to think where we have come in such a short time. My dad's thesis and dissertation were both done on the typewriter, which blows my mind! I can only imagine what advances will come just in the next few years as I begin my teaching career, but I look forward to it!