Internet Safety

*I completed the rest of the PLE for the week (surveys...)*

I read the article "I Have a Question" from the 2001 Ensign about using the internet for all the good things it contains and avoiding the bad.

I watched the BYU animated video for kids about how to be safe on the internet. I also watched the PBS videos about how connected to technology high school kids are, the one about child predator fears and how even good kids might make a bad decision, and the one about cyberbullying with the young boy who killed himself. I also explored the ikeep safe website and explored.

From doing these readings and watching the videos, I think I remembered how fatal the internet can be. Because I have used it as a source to access internet or talk to family for so long now, I forgot about all the other things accessible by internet. I also remember how much went on in chats while I was in high school and how much drama online conversations could cause. I also see how technology in the classroom is so very important. Even as a college student today I know how much easier and more appealing it is to do an assignment when it is something I have to use the computer for. To go and look through books or take tests, just doesn't appeal compared to being able to explore and type and manage on a computer like I am comfortable with. And I know that kids today are even more technologically advanced than even me and how important technological knowledge as well as awareness is to their lives and their learning.

For the doing experience, the person I talked to was first of all surprised at how much technology kids just know how to use and how much technology is involved in teaching these days. They were of course already aware of the dangers of technology and the internet. However, their family computer at home is not in a common area where parental supervision is always around and they thought about how important it might be to change that with a 12 year old in their house. Not only did the cyberbulling video surprise me, but it surprised the person I shared it with just as much. They had thought about others hurting their kids through internet access, but they had not thought of it causing their children to hurt themselves.

TPAK report

TPAK report slideshow

Week 12

*I read the website (Technology in Early Childhood Education: Finding the Balance) thoroughly.*

Lesson Plans

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhhwwsx5_7f6b84shc

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhhwwsx5_6gzh4dpgw

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhhwwsx5_5cgjht7jf

*I watched both videos for the ple assignment-week 11*

week 9.............

Technology Inventory -
The teacher I interviewed talked a lot about the school's need for more technology to be available. Apparently because the school is in a fairly wealthy area, there is not a lot of extra funding available (that could possibly be used on technology) like there is in low income schools. She said she wished she had a digital camera to document the year for the children and at the most a video camera which personally I think it is good for young children to hear themselves talk in order to develop their speech. Of course a digital camera could capture video just as easily.
The only thing this teacher used technology for was in centers. Which in preschool are free. And because there are only 2 computers in the classroom and 12 students, not everyone gets to use a computer each day and most students do not even use a computer once a week because they choose other centers over computers. However, the teacher has a personal computer which she can use to search ideas of new ideas for learning in lessons, centers, or research a field trip for the children to take.
I asked the teacher what she thinks of using technology in such a young class like preschool and she said that it's great for them to explore and "play around with", but planned lessons involving computers does not usually go over well. Especially with only 2 computers in the classroom. And even going to a computer lab at school, preschoolers need a lot of one-on-one help which one teacher could not give.

*I have completed the midcourse evaluation as well as the informed consent form*

PLE week 8

I watched leslie's, kate's, and lizzy's voicethread demos.

I learned that there are so many different things technology can be used to enhance learning in (even just science related things!) I also experienced some kid friendly technology by using kidspiration-which is important when teaching early childhood grades. I think most people all used different objectives, proving that the possibilites are endless!

Week 8...