Final PLE post

The most valuable aspect of this PLE was being able to reflect on the things that I learned and ideas that I have for incorporating technology in my teaching. I now have my own personal site that has my ideas and the knowledge that I gained through this course. There are some aspects of this course that I will definitely want to remember, so this PLE will be very helpful in reminding me of what I learned.

The only real issue I had with the PLE was the occasional problem I had with posting something or uploading a picture or video. I didn't have any problems with the postings, I thought they were a good time for reflection. However, I understand technology is unpredictable so that isn't something that can really be changed. I would change the number of PLE postings due during the practicum. I often found myself writing the same answers each week.

In the future, I would most likely use a blog for personal use to keep my extended family updated on my family's life. However, I do think that it would be interesting to use a blog as a type of class newsletter, where parents can be updated on what is going on in their child's classroom.

Readings on Media and the Internet

For my fourth article I read "I Have A Question" by William C. Porter. From these articles, I learned that the most important thing in regards to Internet and Media safety is to make good choices about what you view and watch on the Internet and the media. This may include setting rules and guidelines for your family to follow in order to protect them from the dangers posed by the Internet. The Internet and media can be positive and productive resources, however we must know how to combat the negative and evil influences that can be found through these mediums. By reading these articles, I have learned that many of the dangers on the Internet and media occur unintentionally or are subtle and indirect. This knowledge helps me to know to be more explicit in helping my students to understand what to do if something that they were not expecting occurs while they are on the Internet or watching some sort of media. Through what I have learned, I can encourage my friends and family to make good choices when using the Internet and media. I can also set my own limits on how much time I spend on the Internet and the media. My students and future children will look to me as an example, so if I am making good choices about what I choose to do, they will hopefully take counsel from that and choose to make productive and positive choices on the Internet and media. I will also take some of the ideas given about how to make my home safe from Internet and media dangers. These articles really helped me to see how important it is to make conscious choices about how I will use my time with the media, as well as how I will teach my students and children.

Internet Safety Video Clips

Many children have never known life without the Internet.
Online to have "fun"
1 in 4 students don't have problems talking to strangers online.
Problem sites: pornography, gambling, hate sites
260 million pornographic websites
40% have visited an inappropriate website
90% of 8-16 years old have viewed pornography online. It is usually unintentional.
Inappropriate material appears in key word searches, advertisements, etc.
Companies use popular misspellings to lead students to pornographic sites: "typo squatting"
Hate sites are showing up at a faster rate than pornography
Over 50% of HS students have admitted to plagiarizing
30% say its easier to talk with people on the Internet than in person
3rd and 4th graders: 18% go into chat rooms, 46% use E-mail, 26% use IM
High tech teasing: psychologically harmful, longer duration. "The new bathroom wall"
Cyberbullying can be deadly: depression, suicide, murder
People online may ot be who they say they are.
Every child with Internet access at risk.
Cyber predation: internet friendship, built false trust, arranged to meet, criminal act--The Grooming Process (these predators act like they are understanding, caring friends) They listen to the children, give them more attention than they receive and find out important details about the child.
Boys are victimized as often as girls
Parent-child communication about internet behavior is lacking.

Final Week of Practicum

Once again, I have not seen my teacher use technology in her classroom. She has made several comments that she should probably try to integrate it more into her classroom, but she has been teaching for many years and has several routines that she already uses.

This week I was able to use technology in a read aloud lesson. I read my class a book about Thanksgiving and I used Google Earth to show the students different places that were significant in the story of the Pilgrims. We looked at England and Plymouth Rock, as well as the school that I was in, so that the students could make a direct connection to what we were looking at. The students responded very well to this lesson and really enjoyed looking at the different places. When we were done, the students wanted to keep looking at places.

The students have been learning quite a bit about the history of Thanksgiving and the different events that took place. They could use the digital storytelling program to produce their own retelling of the Thanksgiving story. They could then share their stories with the other members of their class.

Week 3 of the Practicum

Much like the weeks before, I did not see a significant amount of technology used in the classroom that I am working in. My teacher has been teaching for several years and has many routines and lessons she uses that don't involve the use of technology. The only technology that I really see the students use is when they go to computers for half an hour every week. In talking with some other members of my cohort, we found that it is difficult to use technology in younger classrooms, especially if they aren't used to it, because they get distracted and excited and it is hard to manage the class. We did talk about using that aspect as an incentive to get students to behave, like saying "If you don't sit quietly and pay attention, we won't use the technology."
This week, I used technology once in one of my lessons. I read a book about turkeys to my class and I made a PowerPoint presentation showing different pictures of turkeys. The students really enjoyed it and were able to see what turkeys truly look like.
One idea I had for a lesson using technology, as it is Thanksgiving soon, I would like to read a story about the first Thanksgiving to the students and then use Google earth to show the locations of different events that took place.

Week 2 of the Practicum

As I talked with my teacher this week again about different technology that can be used in the classroom and in the school, I didn't really gain any new information about what I might be able to use. My teacher really does not use any technology in her classroom, and said that I can feel free to try and integrate any type of technology that I can or want, but kind of gave the impression that I would have to come up with it on my own. One of the other 1st grade teachers has a projector that can be made available for other teachers' use if necessary, so I will probably end up using that for a lesson.
This week I did not use any technology in my teaching because I didn't really have time to plan it out in my lessons. For two days of the week my class had a substitute so I took on quite a bit more responsiblity in the classroom than I was planning on, so I focused a lot on that. Next week, however, I plan on using technology in at least one of my lessons.
I am planning on using technology in a shared reading lesson this week. I am teaching a poem to the students, and I am planning on showing pictures and words through a PowerPoint presentation. I am going to try and find more technology to use in my lessons besides just a PowerPoint.

This Week In Practicum...

This week was the first week in the practicum. As I observed the classroom, I looked for different technology in the classroom. The only technology that I noticed was 2 computers and a TV/VCR/DVD player. I discussed this with my teacher and she told me that the school does have some technology, such as a computer lab where the students go to do computers once a week. However, in the classroom, she doesn't really use any technology when she is teaching.

One idea that I have had where I could use technology is to make some sort of interactive PowerPoint that could be shown on the TV screen, or through the use of a projector. Adding narration, music and pictures could turn a seemingly uninteresting lesson into a really exciting and interactive learning experience. This could be used in a reading lesson or a math lesson, or any other lesson that needed to be made a little bit more interesting than what it is at first glance.

I didn't get a chance to use any technology during my teaching this week. Hopefully I will be able to have access to some soon and start incorporating it into my lessons.