Final Notes

Look at TPACK Planning
Ideal situation
Students use technology
Technology is important to the lesson plan.
What teacher will do.
What student will do.
Why would you use this technology?
in terms of content area
Representations-student learning
pedagogy-activities structures
triangle diagram (be, do, know)

14th Week

The article I decided to read was called “Tangled in the Web.” It addressed internet gaming and socializing. The author made the point that while her gaming got better, her real life suffered. Her relationship with her husband and kids suffered. Internet gaming became an addiction.
Most of the videos I watched were about the effects of online predators and cyber bullying.

These videos were very explicit in talking about the dangers of chat rooms. Both internet predators and cyber bullies use chat rooms to get what they want. One of the public service announcements on cyber bullying was very interesting. The video had a girl standing in front of an auditorium saying terrible things about a girl to the entire school. These were the kind of things that bullies say on the internet. The point of the video is that you should say things on the internet that you are not willing to say in front of the victim.

The most important take-aways were that the internet is a very useful tool, but it needs to be used responsible. Families can create blogs and use the internet to search for information. This shows the useful side of the internet. Chat rooms are especially dangerous because of the presence of predators and bullies. To prevent internet battle scars, computers should be placed in a well trafficked area. Parents should teach children how to use the internet for worthy causes like homework and information. Filtering programs can be installed to help block unwanted sites. Parents should learn to use the computer. Talking about internet safety in a loving atmosphere is also important. One other thing that was talked about was never giving out personal information.

The person I talked to knew that she never let her children on chat rooms because of predators, but she knew little about cyber bullying. She told me that her husband would check their internet history to see if any monkey business was going on. She is very aware of how to use the computer and knows basic internet safety. She shared a story about a girl who used internet safety while selling her computer and was blessed for it. I shared what I knew about cyber bullying. I talked about how children will be crueler over the internet than in person. She was very quiet during the whole exchange. I think it surprised her that children would be so mean.

I was surprised about her reaction because I thought she would be chattier about cyber bullying. She was very unfamiliar with the idea that cyber bullying and may have been a little uncomfortable. I was just surprised that she would be so uncomfortable about cyber bullying. I think that the person I shared with will be more likely to watch how her children use the internet. She will use the information to help her kids in the classroom (she substitute teachers at times). In that way she can help them be safe as well.


I have completed both sets of evaluations.

TPACK Report

http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=d7xqnjt_6g3g9rngb

Week 12

The most important thing that I learned about using technology in the early grades is that it can be done and easily. Three additional things I learned are, first there are many programs that young children can use that fit the curriculum of the early grades. Kidsperation and Kerpoof are two programs that are easy to use and that can provide good experiences for young children. Second, the teacher does not have to do all the technology work. While the teacher may need to structure the lesson to provide support in using technology, the technology available is easily used by children. For example, I have a two year old nice who knows how to work an i-pod touch. If she can use that technology school aged children should be capable of using simple technology. The last thing I learned is that the children can work together with technology. This will support learning how to use the technology and the actually curriculum while helping children work together. In short, technology is absolutely a useful and important tool for children to learn in the early grades.

Lesson Plan Links

My lesson plan links have been posted under my links section of this blog.

Week 11

Our Favorite Dinosaurs
The children seemed really excited to be videotaped about their favorite dinosaurs. Even though the younger children were in kindergarten, they were still able to participate in the technology experience. I also think that pairing the kindergarteners with older students helped the older students and the younger students use technology better. Overall the kindergarteners and the older students had a good time.

Creation Stories
The project in this video allows the children full creative control over technology. The children get to create their own stories using a program like digital storyboard about creation. While the video did not show any children, the video showed how children can become involved in technoloby that is more then just sitting at a computer.

A Day With Fractions
The children seemed to take the assignment very seriously. They were professional about what they said and how they said it. The children also spoke clearly in their project. They seemed to care how the project turned out. The project itself looked very professional and showed off the children's fraction skills.

The two videos that were required to watch (Bookends of War and Inside Kapunahala) showed that children like having hands on projects. The children were not frustrated or discouraged about the project. They were actively involved in creating a good product. The children also seemed to learn more life technology skills. The knew how to use cameras and the internet to find out information. The children also worked together as a team to create projects. The children seemed to work together better as they were involved with the technology because they wanted to create an awesome project. Overall the children were extremely engaged and pretty happy.

Week 10

I learned the technology can be used with younger students to teach them concepts. I noticed that the teachers had to give the children instruction on how to use the technology to complete assignments. The kids worked with the teacher a whole lot of the time. The teacher really interacted with the students while they were using the technology. The technology used was very simple. I loved how the teacher used cameras as a way for the children to use technology outside the classroom. This was a simple way to involve technology in the lesson. The children got really familiar with technology in all of the lessons. The teachers had two objectives. They taught the lesson and they taught the technology that went along with that lesson. The children seemed to really enjoy using the computers to finish the assignments. Parents were also involved through the use of technology. They saw the technological products of the children.