Internet Safety Assignment Reflection

I read an article from the Ensign called "Tangled in the Web." It was a story about a woman who went from casual internet use to becoming addicted to chatting with people online. She talked about her struggle with overcoming her addiction and how helpful the Church leaders were in helping her beat it. At the end of her story there were a list of things to do when using the internet and a quote from Elder L. Tom Perry about avoiding internet addictions.

I watched quite a few of the videos on the resource page. I saw a lot of videos that told stories about people who got into trouble because of their chatting and agreeing to meet people that had met online. I really liked the Frontline videos about how the internet influences the classroom and how parents are viewing the internet. It's interesting to hear about the fears that some parents have and how those fears affect their children.

I learned from reading and watching these videos that it is important to use moderation in all things. When we let chatting or gaming or whatever on the internet begin to take over our lives, there are going to be problems. The tips that were given are helpful and can be an excellent guide. The internet is a wonderful tool, but we need to be aware of its bad points, too. It is important to be careful about how you talk to your kids about internet safety. You don't want to become so fearful about the internet that your children start hiding their activities online from you. It is important to teach them the dangers and set limits, but ultimately you have to trust your children to use their agency. I think the most important thing to do is stay informed about the internet. Learn how to use it and listen to counsel from Church leaders.

I talked to my sister about internet safety. When I asked her about what she knows about internet safety, she said that she knew that she shouldn't chat with people online that she doesn't know. I talked to her about addiction and about some of the videos I saw about how easy it is to find information about someone just based on their screen name. We talked about Facebook and how sometimes time is wasted while mindlessly playing around on it. We talked about how setting time limits for using Facebook might help to stop the time wasting that sometimes happens. She was surprised at how easy it can be to find information about somebody in a chat room. We talked about how important it is to monitor what kind of information you post online. Once it is out there, you can't take it back. I think our discussion got her thinking about how she uses the internet and that she will be more careful about what she posts online and how she shares information.

**I completed both course evaluations and I checked my grade.**

El Ed TPACK Report

TPACK Project-Planning

Language Arts-Informative Text

Math-comparing and ordering numbers

Science-hurricanes

Video Response

The most important thing I learned about using technology with young students is that technology offers many different uses and benefits for teachers and students. Before, I didn't really think that I would want to use a lot of technology with young kids but this helped me to see some easy ways to implement it and enhance student learning. Even something as simple as a disposable camera can be used to help students become engaged in their own learning and become excited about any topic. Technology helps the class to be able to communicate with other classrooms. I liked in the “I love Spiders” video that the class was sharing their pictures and information with a classroom in another state. That helps the students to get a broad view of a topic and it helps them to become excited about the subject. Just giving students exposure to technology will be a great benefit to them. Young children are naturally curious and by giving them access to a computer they will explore and learn new things. I thought it was a great idea to do a whole class slideshow or movie where each student does a page and contributes some how. It is important to teach students how to research online and inform them about copyright. It would be a good idea for the teacher to find specific websites for student use that will not infringe on copyright laws. The use of technology is increasing everyday and it is vital that we expose students to technology at a young age so they can become comfortable using it.

Initial Observation of Technology

There is a pretty good amount of technology available to the classroom I am working in. There is a TV and VCR, 4 mac computers for student use, a macbook for the teacher, a CD player, and a Promethean board in the classroom for use. Each of the computers is equipped with Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, and Word, as well as with some games for the students to play. The class also has access to mac carts that the teacher can sign up for. My mentor teacher has the computers come in at least once a week. A DVD player,projector, digital camera and video camera are also available for the teacher to checkout. The two main technologies that my teacher uses everyday are her microphone that she wears around her neck and the Promethean board.

I completed the midcourse evaluation and consent form.

Science Challenge

Voice Threads I Viewed and Commented On:
1. Alyssa Hipps
2. Lauren MacDonald
3. Chelsie McCage

I learned that almost any science topic can be taught by using fun programs and tools. There were a variety of science topics and tools used in the voice threads I viewed. Kidspiration could be used to make activities for most science topics. The digital microscope is a great tool for observing things that are too small for the eye to see: soil, cells, small insects, etc. Stellarium is great for learning about stars, planets, Moon phases,etc. There are also a lot of different probes that just plug into the computer that would be very beneficial for experiments or observations of temperature, weight, etc.

Science is not one of my strong subjects and by exploring these different tools I was learning science.If I would have had access to tools like this when I was in elementary school I may have understood science a little better. I see how beneficial these tools can be in the classroom for students. They help the students to be engaged and take control of their own learning. I realized that the science tools are relatively easy to use and implement. If applied effectively in the classroom, students and teachers can learn and internalize the material.

Phases of the Moon, by: Elizabeth Rodriguez & Natalee Biggs

Science Challenge

Activity: Students will use Stellarium to help them create a chart of the changes in the moon's appearance during a month.

Content:
6th Grade Science
Standard 1: Students will understand that the appearance of the moon changes in a predictable cycle as it orbits Earth, and as Earth rotates on its axis.
Objective 1: Explain patterns of changes in the appearance of the moon as it orbits Earth.
Indicator a: Describe changes in appearance of the moon during a month.

Pedagogy:
Observing, Analyzing Data, Processing data
How it fits Content: Observing- The students will observe the moon to be able to chart its changes.
Analyzing data- The students need to be able to interpret what they are looking at on Stellarium.
Processing data- The students need to process what they learned in order to see the pattern in the changes of the moon’s appearance.

Technology:
Stellarium

How it fits Content: The night sky cannot always be observed and during some times of the year, the moon is not able to be seen at night. Stellarium allows students to be able to see the changes at any time during the day and if the moon is not able to be seen where they are, they can look at the night sky from another location on the Earth. Using this technology also saves time because they can use the program at any time and the program shows them exactly what the moon looks like. It takes out the worrying about forgetting to go out and look for the moon or not being able to see it clearly.

How it fits Pedagogy: To be able to observe, analyze, and process data, then the students need access to data about the changes of the moon. Stellarium is a great tool to do this.

Upsides and Downsides to Implementing a Tour

The virtual tours are a great way to put a lot of information into one place. It is very helpful for students to see where things are in relation to each other on the map. Virtual tours also are a great way for students to take charge of their own learning. They will retain more of the information because they are exploring it using Google Earth. The teacher may have to devote some time to teaching the students how to use Google Earth and how to access the tour, etc. A downside may be the time it takes to create a tour. It may be quicker for a teacher to put together a PowerPoint or a lecture.

Virtual Tours I Viewed

1. Alyssa Hipps
2. Markie Franc
3. Audrey Sanders
4. Emily Carr

Here is my link Civil War

This is my virtual tour:

Standard and Objective for Virtual Tour

5th Grade Social Studies:
Standard 4: Students will understand that the 19th century was a time of incredible change for the United States, including geographic expansion, constitutional crisis, and economic growth.
Objective 2: Assess the geographic, cultural, political, and economic divisions between regions that contributed to the Civil War.
a. Describe the impact of physical geography on the cultures of the northern and southern regions (e.g. industrial resources, agriculture, climate).
Objective 3: Evaluate the course of events of the Civil War and its impact both immediate and long-term.
a.Identify the key ideas, events, and leaders of the Civil War using primary sources (e.g. Gettysburg Address, Emancipation Proclamation, news accounts, photographic records, diaries).

My partner and I chose to do a virtual tour on the Civil War because there are many different battle sites in the United States. I have always loved learning about the Civil War and there is so much to learn about it. The tour allows for a lot of information in one place. It will make it easier for students to organize in their minds where these battles took place if they can see it on a map and read information about it. Most of the spots on the virtual tour are battles where there will be pictures with a brief description.There will also be an activity for students to find out important things that happened at that battle, important people, comparing casualties between battles and other things. A couple of the places we chose are important places-the Lincoln memorial where the students will learn about the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg address, the Appomattox Court house where the surrender took place, and the Arlington Cemetery where many soldiers were buried.

A virtual tour organizes all of this information into one place and that makes it much easier to work with. If I wasn't able to use a virtual tour I may use PowerPoint or some kind of lecture with lots of pictures and examples to show the students, but with the virtual tour I think it makes the learning more student owned. They can learn about the Civil War by following the directions on the tour and I think they will take more away from it.

Civil War Virtual Tour Outline

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Fort Sumter	Look at the pictures and watch the video about Fort Sumter. Research using Google the names of the generals involved in both the Union and the South.	Gigapxl Photo Youtube
2.Bull Run (Manassas)	Research using Google which states were part of the Union and which states were part of the Confederacy. Compare the numbers.	Gigapxl Photo
3. Battle of Vicksburg	Research using Google how long the Battle of Vicksburg lasted and which side won.	Gigapxl Photo
4. Gettysburg	Research using Google how many casualties there were at Gettysburg.	Gigapxl Photo

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
5. Lincoln Memorial	Watch a video of the Gettysburg Address . Research on Google the date of when Gettysburg was fought and the date that the Gettysburg Address was given.	Gigapxl Photo Youtube
6. Battle of Atlanta	Research using Google the name of the Union general and how many miles of the South he burned on his way to Atlanta.	Gigapxl Photo
7. Appomattox Court House (Lee's Surrender)	Research using Google what date Lee surrendered to the Union Army and how his army surrendered.	Gigapxl Photo
8. Arlington Cemetary	Research using Google how many estimated casualties in total for the Civil War and compare that number to how many casualties for the Battle at Gettysburg.	Gigapxl Photo

Videos I Viewed and Commented On

Betsy Rodriguez
Markie Franc
Kim Brown
Lauren MacDonald and Audrey Sanders
Becky Edmonds
Alyssa Hipps-i posted her comment on youtube because it wouldn't work on blogger.

Most Difficult Challenge in Implementing a Digital Storytelling Project in Elementary School

I think the most difficult challenge in implementing a digital storytelling project into the classroom would be having enough computers for all of the students. Sometimes there are not enough computers available in the classroom for the students to work on. I guess a solution to this would be to have the students work in groups. If the only access the students had to computers was in the school computer lab, there would also be a challenge of giving the students enough time to complete their projects.Most classes only have access to a school computer lab one or two times a week. Although there may be challenges to doing a digital storytelling project, it is a very good project that the teacher should try to implement in the classroom.

My Video

story board #2

STORY BOARD

TPACK

I have learned that TPACK stands for technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge. It is using technology to enhance content teaching and methods of pedagogy. With the increase of technology growing everyday, it is essential that this integration of technology into the classroom takes place. Teachers must become familiar with the latest technology and use it to teach new content to their students. This use of technology will help students to become familiar with it and gain confidence in their skills. In the world today it is necessary to use technology. If students aren't being exposed to and using the latest technology, they will be at a disadvantage.

Most Useful Thing Learned During Week 2

Almost everything we learned about this week was stuff that I had never done before. It was challenging to learn everything so fast, but very beneficial. The most useful thing I learned was creating a website. As I was putting it together I realized how useful it would be to have a class website where the students would have all the information they needed for the class. If they were sick, they could find their assignments online. I think that parents would also really appreciate having a place where they can find out about upcoming assignments and be in touch with what is going on in the classroom. I plan to use a website in my future classroom.

This is my video message to Betsy Rodriguez!!

This is my video chat with Betsy Rodriguez!!

Technology Background and Experience

My background and experience with technology is pretty basic. I am acquainted with technology that is necessary for my school work, but other technology I am not as familiar with. I can do basic things on a computer such as: word processor, powerpoint, internet searches, etc. I have a cell phone that I text on and an ipod for my music, but otherwise my technology background isn't much. I know how important it is to be familiar with the latest technology and I am excited to learn about what's out there and how to use it.