Teaching about Internet Safety

For the 'doing' part of the internet safety assignment, I taught my mom and younger sister (age 15) about internet safety. After talking about what they already knew about internet safety and any questions they had about it, I talked to them about all the dangers that are out there on the internet that we should be aware of. Although they already knew about most of the dangers, I think it was good to remind them about being careful with the internet.  We also talked about lots of the ways you can protect yourself when you are using the internet.  Specifically, we talked about being careful with Facebook (not putting personal information on your profile, not talking to people you don't know, etc.) and not opening emails that you don't know who they are from or what might be in them.  Also, I showed them how they could get to articles on internet safety through lds.org so they could go there if they have more questions.  Overall, it was a good experience, and I think it served as a good reminder for all of us to be aware when we are using the internet.  Lots of times, I think we feel like the problems that happen with the internet always happen to other people and we are somehow protected from everything that could happen, but it is important to remember that you need to be actively working to protect yourself and your family from problems that may arise on the internet. 

Technology Integration Ideas

There were some really great ideas presented in my group for ways technology can be integrated into lessons:
1. One of my favorite ones was to use photostory to have the children record themselves reading parts of a story so that they could hear what they sound like when they read. This is a great way to encourage the children to read with expression because it helps them to hear what their reading sounds like and help them to want to make their reading more interesting.
2. Another idea I got from my peers that looked like a great way to use technology was to use a game show template either online or on Powerpoint to make a lesson more fun. One of my peers used a template for "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," and another used a template for "Jeopardy" that she found online. I think that these templates could be used to enhance many different lessons, and it would be a really fun way to get the children excited to participate.

What I Learned from Other Project Presentations

I enjoyed looking at other people's presentations of what they did in their classrooms to incorporate technology into a lesson. One thing I learned from watching these presentations is just how much you can do with technology to enhance lessons. There are so many great resources, programs, and equipment that can be used to help children enjoy lessons and have more hands-on learning. I think that, as teachers, it is important to be willing to take a little extra time to incorporate technology into lessons because it really does add to the quality and effectiveness of lessons. Also, the children really enjoy the use of technology in lessons, and it helps them to develop their understanding of programs and equipment for their own future use of such technology.

Technology Integration PowerPoint

Technology Integration

View more presentations from hanksd.

Internet Safety

1. For my 4th article on internet safety, I chose to read "Fighting Internet Filth," by Mario Hipol. This article was very helpful and gave a lot of great suggestions for specific things parents could do to help protect their families from encountering problems and filth on the internet. The article was great because it described how to do specific things with the internet, and it was in simple terms and in great detail so that any parents could follow the instructions and use it in their homes.

2. I think that the most important thing I learned from the readings is that it is essential to make a commitment NOW to protect my home and my classroom from internet filth. I learned from these articles that there are so many things we can do as precautionary measures so that we prevent problems before they even happen. I recognized through these readings that we should do everything we can to prevent problems so that we don't have to deal with them when they arise.

3. After reading these articles, I have a new resolve to do what I can to protect my future family and my future classroom from all the filth and problems that can occur with the internet. Before I read these articles, I did recognize that there were lots of problems that could arise with the internet. However, I don't think I really realized how important it is to safeguard against these problems and to do everything I can to prevent issues before they arise.

4. I think that the most important thing I can do to help my family members and friends with internet safety would be to share what I have learned and make sure they are aware of all the things they can do to safeguard themselves and their families against the evils that can come up through the internet. I can help my friends and family to know how to get to resources that can help them with ensuring that they are protected from harmful internet content. Also, I can make sure they are aware of different ways they can be knowledgeable about the internet and other potentially harmful technology so that they will be able to protect those they love from problems that can arise.

Plans for Incorporating Technology

My plan for using technology in a lesson is to show a couple of short video clips at the beginning of a guided reading lesson I am doing tomorrow with a group of 4 students. The focus of my lesson is on helping the children to use vocal expression and intonation when they read, as well as reading smoothly instead of breaking up their reading word-by-word. I will be showing them a clip of monkeys making noises to talk about using expression and intonation when we read. Also, I will show them a clip of swans gliding smoothly to talk about making their reading smooth.

I think that this will be a fun way to get them thinking about what their reading should sound like. It will give them a visual and audio example of how to read smoothly and expressively. I think they will enjoy it, and I think it will be a helpful use of technology that will reinforce what I am teaching.

Technology in the Classroom

One idea I have for incorporating technology into a lesson would be to show a video clip at the beginning of or during a lesson to enhance whatever subject or topic is being taught. I think that video clips (digital storybooks, short educational videos, videos incorporating or illustrating whatever is being taught in the lesson, etc.) can often be a powerful tool for teaching children because they get very excited about watching them. Because of this, they will often pay close attention to the video clips and really learn from them. After watching the video clip, you can then guide the children's thinking to relate what they just saw to something that you are studying. Also, you could tell the children before they even watch the video clip what it is that you would like them to watch for in the clip.

Technology Inventory

I am currently doing my first cohort experience at Mapleton Elementary, where I am working in a first grade classroom.  Through doing the technology inventory, I was able to see what all is available to teachers in that school.  I was surprised at just how much the school really does provide to help teachers incorporate technology into their lessons and their classrooms.  Although the classrooms at Mapleton (or at least the one I am in) do not really have computers available to the students, there are two large computer labs in the school that are available for teachers to schedule whenever they are available.  Also, the children have a computer class incorporated into their weekly schedule.  

I was very pleased at how much technology was available at this school.  I know that Mapleton Elementary is one of the more wealthy schools in the area, and I can tell by all the technology in the school that a good amount of this money has been put toward improving technology at the school and making technological equipment readily available.

Link to Virtual Tour

Here is the link to my Virtual Tour in my filing cabinet:

http://sites.google.com/site/dehipt287/Home/virtual-tour

*Or, you can click on "Diane's Filing Cabinet" under My Links.

TPACK for Virtual Tour

3rd Grade Visual Arts Core Curriculum: Standard 1, Objective 1
a. Explain possible meanings or interpretations of some significant works of art.
b. Invent possible stories that may explain what is going on in these same works of art.

The content I'll be covering in my virtual tour will be analyzing art and trying to figure out the meanings of various works of art. In order to do this, we will focus on 4 famous European works of art. The students will read background information on each of the artists who painted these works. Then, they will look at each of the paintings and try to find meaning in them. They will try to come up with possible stories of what might be going on in the images.

The pedagogy I'll be using in the virtual tour will include knowing how to word the explanations of the backgrounds of the artists in such a way that the children will be able to easily read them and understand the meaning. Also, I will need to know how to organize the activity in such a way that it is easy for the children to complete. I will help the children as they work through the activity and be available to answer questions as they go along. Also, I will discuss the paintings and painters with them throughout the activity in order to scaffold their learning and make it more meaningful.

The technology I will be using in the virtual tour is Google Earth. This fits well with the pedagogy and content for this activity because Google Earth will provide the children with a great way to really visualize where these paintings were painted. Also, it will help them to recognize that these painters grew up in completely different cultures and had very different backgrounds than they have had. Therefore, they will need to really think about the perspectives of the painters when they analyze the paintings. As the children use Google Earth, I will be able to increase their learning by asking them questions and guiding their learning. This technology will work very well with the pedagogy and content of this lesson.

Virtual Tour Plan: Learning about European Art

Location	Activity	Google Earth Content
1. Florence, Italy	In the first activity, I will have the students go to Florence, Italy and read information about Leonardo da Vinci and his famous painting, the Mona Lisa. They will then speculate possible meanings of the painting and reasons why da Vinci chose to paint her in the way he did.	I will have them look at an image of the Mona Lisa and read about the background of Leonardo da Vinci.
2. Paris, France	For the second activity, I will send the students to Paris, France, where Jacques Louis David was born. He painted Napoleon at the Saint Bernard Pass. They will read about David and his connections with Napoleon. Then, they will speculate possible meanings of the painting.	I will have the students look at an image of Napoleon at the Saint Bernard Pass. I will have a connection to a Wikipedia article in which it discusses David's connections with Napoleon to give the students more background on the painting.
3. Barcelona, Spain	I will then take the students to Barcelona, Spain. This is where a famous Spanish painter, Diego Velasquez, painted Las Meninas. The students will then analyze this painting as they have the others, speculating what the artist intended as the meaning and any possible story of what may be going on in the painting.	The children will look at an image of Las Meninas and read general background information about Velasquez.
4. London, England	I will have the children go to London, England, where John Constable painted The Haywain. The students will read about John Constable and look at the image of this painting. After doing this, they will look for meanings in the painting and guess a possible story of what might be going on.	The students will look at an image of The Haywain and will read background information about John Constable.
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:	Since this lesson will be focusing on European art, I plan to insert a polygon around Europe to show the students where the borders of Europe are.

"Ode to Joy" Digital Storybook

TPACK in Digital Storybook

Through using a digital storybook, I will help my students to develop their reading comprehension by reading, interpreting, and analyzing the text to a song that they know. In my example, I am using the text to "Ode to Joy." The children will analyze the text to the song they have chosen by making connections to themselves and to their prior knowledge. Based on their analysis of the text, they will come up with symbols or picture they can draw that will represent the lines of the text. They will then draw these pictures and use them as the background for the lines they go along with. For pedagogy in this lesson, I will need to know how to help the children best interpret their text. I will need to come up with good thought questions for my students to help them connect the text with their prior experiences and knowledge. The technology I'll be using in this lesson is PhotoStory, which will allow the students and myself to create our own digital storybooks. Also, we will use freeplaymusic.com to get music for the background of our storybooks.

Digital Storybook Storyboard

TPACK in Science Lesson

The content covered in the lesson and activity below is information about leaves and its parts. We had the children explore what leaves look like in great detail, and they had the opportunity to learn about the various parts of a leaf. Also, the lesson helps the children learn about leaf identification. The pedagogical knowledge included in the lesson includes knowing the best ways of involving the children in discussions about leaves. Also, it would include being able to talk about the way the leaves look, the parts of the leaves, and how to identify which plant certain leaves come from, in terms that the children will understand. There are two technologies included in the lesson below: the microscope and the leaf identification website we used.

Investigating Leaves of Plants

First grade students are required to learn about and explore various plants from their environment. It is important for children to understand that not all plants are the same and, therefore, be able to identify the differences between them. For this activity, I worked with Heather Harris to plan an activity that involves technology in carrying out a science lesson. The objective we focused our lesson on was that students should investigate plants through observing and drawing pictures of plants. Further, we extended the lesson to explore identification of plant leaves.

To start off our science activity, we would have the students get into groups and gather various leaves from outside. Once the students bring these leaves inside, we would have them draw pictures of the leaves they collected. The picture below show our drawings of our leaves.


After the students have drawn their pictures, we would have them go to a leaf identification website, www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/forsite/key/intro.htm, where they would use this technology and their observation skills to identify the type of plant their leaves came from. One of the leaves we identified as we did this activity was a leaf from a sumac plant. In the picture below, you can see the image of our leaf next to the plant it came from on the identification site.

Once the leaves have been identified by the children, they would put their leaves under a microscope to observe in more detail. The children will notice that the leaves are not just one solid color, but have speckles and different colored veins. Also, there are often holes and blemishes in the leaves. Below is shown how our leaf is actually many different shades of green, unlike the dark green color that is seen without the microscope.

Additionally, each leaf contains veins, blemishes, and even tiny hairs, which are hard to examine without the help of a microscope. Below, you can see the veins of a dried leaf that we observed while doing this activity.

After the children have observed the leaves carefully under the microscope, we would have the children make new drawings of their leaves, making sure to show the new details that the learned about and observed.

IPT 287 - Science Technology

My favorite science technology that we explored was the microscope. It was shocking to me that the microscope was only $80, and that made me very excited because it helped me to see that it really isn't such a huge financial burden to buy fun technology tools to supplement my teaching. I had a lot of fun looking at various things from outside under the microscope because it made me really excited about learning about the world around me. I think that this would be a great tool for me to use with my future students because it will help me to get them excited about science. Also, it would be very easy to do a lesson with the microscope like what we did in class because all we did was go outside and collect samples of whatever we could find. By allowing my students to go outside and pick up samples of things they would want to look at, this would be a great way to use their natural curiosity to learn more about their environment. Also, this would be a very inexpensive way to have a meaningful science lesson.

IPT 287 - TPACK

Before this week's class, I had no idea what TPACK was. TPACK stands for Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge. This represents various areas of knowledge that are especially important for teachers to have when they are teaching in order to make their lessons most effective for their students. I think that it will be especially helpful to me to recognize the importance of tying technological knowledge in with my knowledge in other areas because it will help me to make my lessons much more interesting, and I will be able to reach my students much more easily. I think it will be very useful to understand TPACK as a teacher because it will help me to concentrate on improving my teaching skills and knowledge so that I will best be able to help my students learn.

RSS & Web 2.0

Before today in class, I had never heard of RSS and had no idea how useful it could be. I have not had much experience working with Web 2.0 either, so I learned a lot today about various different ways I would be able to use these in the future as a teacher. I think that RSS will be extremely helpful to me when I teach because it enables me to have faster, easier access to resources all over the internet. Because teachers often have very busy schedules and may find it hard to spend large amounts of time searching the web for new ideas, suggestions, research, education news, etc., it will be extremely useful for me to use RSS to have quick connections with all of these different sites in order to save a little time. Also, because it will be easier for me to access this information, I will be much more likely to use it in my classroom and hopefully make my teaching more effective.

Technology Experience

I feel like I'm fairly proficient with technology. Basically, I've used computers quite a bit since I was in elementary school and middle school, even more in high school, and significantly more than that since I have come to college. I feel pretty comfortable with technology in many cases, but there are still lots of areas of technology that I feel like I need to learn more about.