Final PLE Posting

Creating a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) was a very valuable experience for me. I think that one of the reasons why it was so valuable was due to the fact that I could always access this, on any computer, I could go back and look at past lessons and ideas I had, I also posted websites that I really learned a lot from or want to use in the future in my teaching. I think that this was probably one of the most valuable aspects, which was that I could post links to sites and pages that will help me in the future when teaching and using technology.
I think that the thing that I liked least about my personal learning environment was that I was never fully taught how to use it, or manage it, and I would like to make it a little more personal. This includes things like changing my templates to really reflect my personality. I also would have liked to post more personal things to this, to really make it mine, instead of just for our course, but I suppose I will just have to keep using it after this class and make it more mine.
I definitely plan on using this blog again, not only for my personal use, but also within my classroom. I think that it is a great way to include parents and the community within the classroom by showing them what is going on through pictures, newsletters, videos, and other fun facts. I can't wait to use it again!

Watching Internet Safety

I watched the iSAFE videos, specifically number 8, 2 and 4. There are so many important things to look out for and protect against the bad and negative influences of the internet. I've learned that the best way to help these kids and prevent all this trouble and all of these problems is through education about these issues, especially where the parents and adults are concerned. So many of these kids are young and do not understand the consequences and impacts that they can have on others or themselves. Educating not only the students but their parents as well is crucial in helping others to be aware of these issues and how to look out for their children. I could easily use these videos within my classroom or at home. They are helpful and informative, but they also give you as an instructor or parent time to pause the movie and consider and discuss these issues through questions they pose. It is so important that these things be brought up within the classroom and understood by all students. Promoting and prompting these discussions within the classroom is a great way to get the word out and let people know that this is real and happening everyday.

PLE Reflection on Internet Safety Readings

For the fourth article I read a talk given in a priesthood conference session, by President Gordon B. Hinckley, titled "A Tragic Evil Among Us". Some of the most important things I learned from the readings involved the widespread reach of the internet and media to every household and place, where it can affect so many. If we do not become aware of the dangers out there, we will be more susceptible to the evils out there, as well as be innocent to the different kinds of protection that is available to us. We need to avoid the evil in the media, which includes not only the internet, but also to movies, games, music, and much more. We also need to talk about these influences in our homes and their affect in our lives. They can be a great influence for good or evil in our families, depending on how we use them. I plan on making sure my family is aware of these dangers, and in so doing, I hope to protect my family, friends and other loved ones from the evil influences of the media.

Internet Safety Video Advice

The following is facts and advice from the internet safety video that we watched in class this week:

• The internet is an integral part of life for the teenagers of today's cyberspace
• Almost 20% of students feel safer on the internet then in the real world
• 89% of students are familiar with chat rooms
• Today's tech savvy kids are involved with risk taking on the internet
• Pornographic web pages now top 62 million
• Kids and teens are gambling now more than ever due to the internet sites
• 90% of 8-16 year olds have viewed pornography online
• Typo-squatting: the purchase of domain names on the internet, used to lure children to pornography sites through misspelled key words
• Kids approach being online differently than adults do; kids are more likely to open up pop-up adds and look
• Internet hate sites are showing up at an even faster rate than pornography
• Many hate sites are specifically designed to attract kids
• Many of today's kids are involved in piracy; more than 50% of today's high schools admitted to piracy on the internet
• 31% of students use the internet most often for online communication
• 60% of 3rd and 4th grade students go on the internet alone
• Cyber bullying: 52% of students have been hurt due to cyber bullying
• Avoid SPAM and SPIM
• 59% of students have more than one screen name online
• Cell phones can easily spread rumors and gossip
• Cyber bullying can have deadly consequences -depression, death etc
• People online may not be who they say they are!
• All children who have internet access are at risk!
• children are often willing to meet with those they chat with online
• Cyber predator: Grooming process -internet trust, build a relationship, get their personal information, and meet with them....
• Offenders can listen to children, respond to what they say, and pick out the children who are more vulnerable, and who know more technology than their parents
• Online relationships create a false sense of intimacy
• Boys are victimized as often as girls with cyber predators
• Educational system responsible for enabling a tech savvy education for kids... we as educators are responsible for making parents and children aware of inappropriate material on the internet and internet safety issues
• i-SAFE America is dedicated to educating and empowering youth to safety control on the internet
• We as teachers need to discuss internet safety with our students -share what the consequences can be

Mathematics First Grade Lesson

For this lesson we took our content from Standard 2 in the Utah First Grade Mathematics Core Curriculum, Objective 1, with Indicators A and B. This deals with teaching children about patterns and how to classify objects in different ways. We then looked to the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives, which can be found at this website: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/grade_g_1.html From this we chose a color pattern game where the children get to see a pattern displayed and then try to finish repeating the pattern, as seen below:

From here, we would just have the children work on these and pattern to see how they can use patterns in different ways. After this, we can show them how there are patterns within numbers as well.

Language Arts First Grade Lesson

We found this lesson through combining content, technology, and pedagogy for a first grade classroom. We took the content from the Utah First Grade Language Arts Core Curriculum, Standard 3, Objective 3, Indicator B, which deals with children learning onset and rime. Then we used Starfall as the technology resource. We found a teaching tool that used the rime "an" where they are asked to combine different onsets with that rime to create different words. There is a picture of this below to view. For teaching within the classroom, I would probably use this as a lesson for practice in using onsets and rimes. I would first demonstrate it in front of the class, and then have them practice on the class computers in groups during centers.

The link to Starfall is below:

http://www.starfall.com/ Another really great resource in teaching the language arts within the classroom using technology is found on this webstire resource:

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/kindergarten_links.htm

Digital Images...

There are so many ways to use and store digital images both in the computer and on the web. I discovered that pictures can be either lossy or lossless, which deals with how much informtaion is kept on the specific image. Also, PNG, JPEG, ans GIF are the formats most often used on the web, due to their size and clarity. We also got to use Picasa in order to remove red eyes from a cat. It was so interesting to see how we can use this program in our everyday classrooms.

Next, we spent time understanding how to use this new website, Kerpoof, where we can make a picture, draw, and make movies. It was incredible! I want to use this in my classroom, and I can't wait to show my students!
http://www.kerpoof.com/

Digital Camera Assignment

We created this digital camera assignment in order to meet the TPACK standards where we used technology pedagogy and content knowledge within the classroom. We connected this activity to the Utah Kindergarten Core Content standards, using standard 2, which says that students will develop a sense of self in relation to themselves and their community; objective 1 which states that students should describe things that influence relationships with family and frineds; and indicator a, whcih says that students should identify ways that students are alike and different. So we thought that students could go around and take pictures of people who are alike and different in many ways. We took pictures of students who were different in hair color. You could also differentiate using length of hair, eye color, height, shoe or hand size, etc. In this way, we can see that we are all different and that it is okay to be different, and we are using technology and effective pedagogy and content in order to teach this important concept.

Digital Cameras and Fun Activities!

There is an endless possibility of uses for digital cameras within a classroom. You could send the students around in groups on a scavenger hunt to take pictures of emergency and health items around the school, like the different exits around the building, the fire extinguisher, the nurse's office, and other places. You could also do some sequencing as far as explaining how to do things. You could send students around the building or the room to take pictures of different words or letters, like things that start with "A" or letters from their names. You could also show the weather throughout the seasons by taking pictures over time. You could also put them into groups and have them take pictures of different shapes, with one group taking pictures of circles, one of squares, one of rectangles, etc.

One Laptop per Child XO

I was amazed at this new source of technology within the classroom!!! I was even more amazed at the fact that a small child was able to learn this in a half hour or so, and then HE was the one that had to instruct us adults on how to use it! It was incredible! I also really love the idea that these are used to help kids in poor countries all over the world. With these, kids can get them wet, in the dirt, outside in the sun, and still connect to the internet, chat with one another, play a large variety of games, learn to use technology in order to make music, math, video, audio, pictures, writing, and much more! I want to use these in my classroom sooo much!

Reflection on Technology Resources within an Early Childhood Classroom...

It is easy to see that there are many ways within an early childhood classroom in which technology can be used and implemented. Some of these things we have already done in this class. Some of these things include making and displaying a graph based on information collected by the students. This can be a great help in their learning and in assisting them to cognitively move from concrete to abstract understanding with two-dimensional graphs. Having the students explore with digital tools is also another way to improve their learning. This really helps children with hands-on learning and manipulating the world around them. They truly get to explore the world around them through technology. Telling a story in pictures and words using technology is something that we already learned how to do within this class. This would be great in order to teach students, the only worry I have is in not having the materials within the classroom to present it, like a computer projector. There are other ways, though, to still implement this type of technology use within the classroom. You can also write, record and revisit on things such as a field trip. This can connect something fun and interesting to the students to actual content and subjects within the class. The last idea was to share and document learning. This can be used everyday within lessons, activities, and even as a teacher, to create a blog or wiki for the class as a whole. These younger children do not have long attention spans, and technology is a great way for them to explore and navigate in which their attention is kept, their curiosity is explored, and their learning is enhanced.

Other Virtual Tours...

After viewing others' Google Earth virtual tours, I feel like there is a world of ideas and lessons that I can implicate within my classroom to involve technology, geography, and much more. Mine seems small and insignificant compared to some of the ones I viewed. I also learned that there are so many ways to present the same information in a virtual tour, depending on the media used to enhance it. I saw a few different ways to present a tour on exploring the continents and oceans, as well as a tour on some of the major wonders of the world. I hope to make another soon!

My Google Earth Tour...

My virtual tour on google earth was created with the kindergarten grade level in mind. I created a tour for students to learn about the different locations of many different kinds of bears around the world. Students can view many areas around the world and see pictres, measure distances, jump to links, and learn fun facts about the many different kinds of bears that live around the globe. I would use this to help introduce animals to the students, and how there are so many kinds, and they live in so many different places. From there we could look into other kinds of animals and locate where they live around the world. In this way children are learning not only about an animal and facts about it, but also about how spread out they are throughout the world.

7th Week Reflections on Google Earth!

Here is a link to the kmz file that I had to locate. It is on the locations of polar bears, that can be tracked and seen through google earth.
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/europe/what_we_do/arctic/polar_bear/about/tracking/googleearth_pbt/index.cfm
There are many ways that this can be used in teaching, but I particularly want to use this kmz file in helping me to create my google earth tour for next week's class. I plan on having the tour be for kindergartners, where they can observe and compare the different locations of a type of animal (bears) around the world. In this way I can still meet the core standards for Kindergartners, and find ways to implement google earth within the classroom.
This week I also learned a great deal about google earth. I've never used it before, so everything is new to me!!! I learned how to "fly to" any location, and even tried going to my home in Washington state. I leaned how to navigate around google earth, and to use different labels and tools to enhance the experience, like having photos, links, national geographic articles and pictures, and even making the buildings 3-D. It was so awesome!!!I love it!

Week 6 Reflections...

After viewing three other different digital storytelling videos, I feel that there is so much more that I could have done! I didn't even realize the other resources that I could have used to create my digital storybook. There was an ABC rap, a story about being a lion, and even a nursery rhyme illustrated with pictures! It is fun to see also how creative we all can be within this one assignment. I would like to create another storybook, but maybe use different media... like videos, pictures that I have actually taken, and especially music. I also liked the way that many people used their voices to narrate and illustrate what was happening. I felt that mine was a little monotone when narrating my story.
As for different adaptations within the classroom, there are many that I could do in order to teach a kindergarten or first grade class. I could first of all, show the video a few times, so that the grade level would get used to it, and maybe sing or say the words along with the video. I could also make a digital storytelling book with the words written accross the bottom of the screen as they are being said so that the students can get used to reading and hearing these words said. Since this is a much younger age group, I would also find digital storybooks or create ones that have more visuals with words, and even ryhmes, so that I can increase phonemic awareness within this age group and help encourage them to read and understand more.

My New Video!!!

This is my new video, "At History I'm Hopeless" a narrated poem by Kenn Nesbitt. It was so much fun to make, although I don't necessarily like to hear my voice narrating the poem :)

Week 5 Reflection

This reflection is late, but I do have a lot to say about what I have learned about making a storyboard... There is so much involved, but I feel that there is much that I can do in my classrooms by making these... I did find some great websites with information and pictures where I can use these later on, for other things. Some of these include clipart and music. The biggest problem that I had was in finding out what I was supposed to do... There were exampes from Moodle, but I could not access them on my computer... It kept shutting down on me for some reason. So, here it is, and I now understand a lot more, and can't wait to make my movie!!! :)

My Storyboard for "At History I'm Hopeless"

Here is my Storyboard for the poem "At History I'm Hopeless" by Kenn Nesbit. It is late due to so many problems and troubles with understanding and trying to figure out what I am supposed to do... But, here it is! :)

Week 4 Reflection

From looking at others' Tech Savvy articles, I feel that there is a whole different world of technology out there that I could use in the classroom that I've never even thought about before. When I think about my own personal elementary education experiences, I wish that I could have had more of these incredible experiences with technology. I always feel that I am behind a little, but I love seeing all the different things that others have done with technology. From viewing the world from the satellite to pinpoint maps, locations, and areas all over the world to using a microscopic telescope to look at different items and what they're made of while connected to a computer, there are so many possibilities to explore with technology in the classroom. I just need to find out how to use them all! :)

The Tech Savvy Teacher

September 25, 2008

The Tech Savvy Teacher

By: Christina Sears

As teachers we all know that technology is worming its way into education more and more. Students these days are becoming more technologically advanced than their peers and even their parents, and at younger ages as well. It is imperative, then, that teachers find ways to incorporate this new technology into the classroom. Below is a good example of a Kindergarten science lesson that incorporates technology, effective pedagogy, and the Utah core curriculum content in a fun and exciting way.

This lesson comes from the Utah Kindergarten Core Curriculum. It is found in Standard 3, which states that students will develop an understanding of their environment. More specifically, as stated in Objective 1, students will investigate the changes in the seasons. Keep these other goals in mind as you conduct this lesson:

-identify the seasons and represent each with pictures and songs

-observe and describe typical weather for each of the seasons

-describe the information each of the five senses provides with the changing of seasons

First you want to introduce and describe what a season is to the class. Discuss what different seasons feel like, using the five senses (ie do you feel warm or cold when the sun comes out?). Explain that there are four seasons, and ask if anyone can name them. Using a projector, so that all the students may see, open up Kidsperation. Open up the Kidsperation activities, and then open the Science activities. Scroll down until you find the activity named "Weather and Seasons", and open it up. Explain to the class that you are going to place what weather happens in each of the seasons. Pick Utah as a state (or the state that you are in at the moment). Drag it into the lower right blue box, and name it as "Utah". Next, ask the class to describe to you what each of the pictures means. Point to a picture (a sun, cloud, etc) and have the students describe what that feels and looks like, so that the students know what each picture means. Next, have the class describe what the weather is like for summer. Have them help you, as a class, to choose which icons to drag into the "summer" box. Make sure to help them understand when summer is and what it feels like, so that they know how to describe it.

Divide the class into groups of two or three. Have each of the students open up Kidsperation on a computer, and let them try to do the same thing you did as a class, but for "fall", "winter", and "spring". Help students as needed. Make sure that the students take turns using the computer, and that everyone is participating. Bring the class back together, and have them contribute, as a class, to help you as the teacher fill in the other seasons, discussing why different symbols go in each of the boxes.

It is easy to see how easy technology can be incorporated into the classroom. Students learn and grow in so many more ways when they get to experience technology hands-on and utilize it themselves. This lesson was an effective way to teach students about weather and the changing seasons, while at the same time enjoying themselves and strengthening their technological abilities. What a great way to learn!

Copyrights, Fair Use, and TPACK

I had no idea that I could use and have access to so many resources through copyrights and fair use as a teacher. It opens up so many doors as far as using multimedia in the classroom and as far as bringing new ideas into my teaching.
I really enjoyed learning about TPACK as well. I'm excited for the upcoming project next week... I really think that when you bring technology, pedagogy and content together, you can have an optimum learning environment. This world is moving faster and faster down the road of technology, and I feel as though I better get moving so I can keep up with my future students.

Frustrations...

Today's class was frustrating. I felt so lost and behind all the time. We learn things in the class, and then before I really get a chance to do them we're off to something else. It also didn't help that my computer did not have many of the programs that we were looking at today, so while I'm trying to download some of them the rest of the class is exploring it, and by the time I've finished, the class is on to something else totally different and I'm left with a new downloaded program that I don't know how to use. And to top that off, my computer froze on me and had to be completely shut down and rebooted.... I really do love this class, don't get me wrong, its just that today was a bit frustrating, and I felt that I was always one step behind.

Technology Empowers!

I feel so empowered and excited every week as I end my technology class on Thursdays! I love the feeling of learning something new and exciting, like this week when we learned how to use and be on Goodreads... I went home and told my roommates about it and now we all share in goodreads. What a wonderful way to share your love of literature with others! I worked at starting up a bookclub over the summer with friends in my ward, but it sort of fell apart after people left and we couldn't really discuss and talk about a book or keep up the club. Goodreads is an awesome way to continue this, as we can decide on a book to read and then share our comments and discussions about it online. I love this class!!!

Cake Fun!

I love cooking! Can I just say that again?! I had the opportunity to practice and learn how to seriously cake decorate during the summer in order to make a friend's wedding cake (eek!). I wanted to make sure it was perfect, so this is a picture of a final run-through of it. In October I get to start actual cake decorating classes, and I can't WAIT!!! :)

The great Northwest is one of the most beautiful and scenic places in the world, and also the place that I call home. This picture was just taken during this past July in the Columbia River Gorge, from a little lookout place my family has unofficially named "Sears Point".