Internet Safety Interview

After watching videos and reading talks about internet safety, I talked to my 15 year old sister. It was a really good experience. I asked her what she knew about internet safety and the only thing she could think of was how my dad puts parental control on our computer. So I talked to her about what I had learned about Cyberbullying online. I told her about the PBS Documentary I had watched about the boy who was bullied at school and then came home to the internet to be bullied even more. I told her his story about how he had been exposed to websites that encouraged suicide and how he eventually committed suicide because of the bullying he had experienced. We talked about how when you are online people will say whatever they want because they are not face to face to you. She really agreed with me that she didn't like that. She shared with me how she had been bullied on facebook by a boy from school because he wasn't afraid to say whatever he wanted. It makes me sad to see that it is happening to even my own sister. But she explained how she dealt with it and how he doesn't bother her anymore.

We also talked about how grateful we were that our dad uses parental controls on our computer because it protects us from alot of bad things that are out there on the internet that you might accidently come across. She shared how in her photo class in high school they work alot with the program photoshop and they are required to find pictures of celebrities on the internet to use in photoshop. Sometimes pictures come up that she does not want to see and she is grateful that because we have parental controls on our computer we don't have to worry about those pictures coming up.

It was a really good experience talking with her because she was really open with me and I was able to share with her some of the concerns I have about the internet. It was also good to see how she was grateful for the parental controls just like I am.

Two BEST ideas...

After watching the other project presentations, there were two ideas that I really liked and would like to use in my own classroom. I really liked the idea of putting the digital camera in the hands of the students. This is such a great idea because students can become familiar with the technology and they can see evidence of their work and be excited about the learning. It would be a great idea to put together a scrapbook of all the pictures the students took.

The other idea I liked best from the presentations was using the Premethian board (or Smart Board) to do a shared reading. This is great because you can high light words that you are focusing on, and everyone can see the text. You can have students come up and highlight the word family you are teaching.

I also thought it would be a great idea to use the Smart Board to type notes instead of writing it out on the white board (which takes forever). Students get so excited about using technology in the classroom, and I feel much more open to the idea of using it more in my own classroom.

What I learned from watching others' project presentations

One thing I learned from watching other people's project presentations is the importance of the students getting to use the technology themselves. There is much more learning going on when the students are exploring the technology and learning things on their own. The information becomes solidified for them. Lewis said that if he did the project again we would have let the students explore Google Earth, and I think that would be a great idea.

Reflection on the Media Readings

For my fourth reading I read: "The Message:Mushrooms, Music, Movies, and Magazines" by Elder Spencer J. Condie of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. It compared the media to mushrooms- just as there are there are some mushroom that are edible and delicious, there is music and movies that are uplifting and "virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy". On the other hand there are mushrooms that are deadly poisonous and the most poisonous are the one that do not show symptoms right at the beginning. There are mushrooms that look like safe mushroom, but are poisonous. It is the same with dangerous media- the most deadly are the ones that slowly poison us a little at a time.

The most important thing I learned from these articles is that you really have to watch what you listen to or view. And it is vital that you take safety precautions in your own home when you have a family. I also learned that no matter how many safety precautions we take, our children are still going to be exposed to the internet, so we must teach them how to avoid the evils of the media when they are directing themselves.

From reading these articles, I have realized that I do not want to have television in my home. Movies are fine because as a family we can decide what movies are appropriate and which are not, but most t.v. shows are full of poison. In my home I want to keep the computer out in the open for everyone to see. I want to put parental control on the computer so that my children will be protected from pop-ups and dangerous websites. I also want to teach my children all of the wonderful things that are available through the media.

From the things I have learned I can influence others to recognize the evils of the internet and different safe precautions they can take to protect themselves and the people they love.

Technology PowerPoint

Practicum Technology Powerpoint

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Using SmartBoard in the Classroom

I used the Smart Board in my classroom to teach the concept of angles. It was a really cool experience. I was supposed to teach the concept of right angles, acute angles, obtuse angles and perpendicular lines. So I created a PowerPoint to teach the definitions. Also in the PowerPoint I included pictures of things that the students can relate to: a playground, the Ball that drops during New Years Eve in Times Square, and a picture of the Disneyland castle. On the SmartBoard students would trace the angles they could find in the pictures. This turned out great because the students were creating the angles themselves and so their understanding became concrete. I also loved using the SmartBoard because the students were excited about it and it was really interactive. Almost all of the students wanted to participate and wanted to write on the SmartBoard.
The only problem with the lesson was that the students that were not writing on the SmartBoard at that particular moment had a hard time concentrating. Only one person could write on the SmartBoard at one time and so some students started to loose interest. Other than that, I felt like the technology really enhanced their understanding of the concept!

Technology in the classroom.

At my school they have a Smart Board. So I could teach the Utah 3rd grade core curriculum using the Smart Board: In math, stardard 3, Objective 2, a is states: Demonstrate the effect of reflection, translation, or rotation using objects. On the smart board I could have examples of shapes we have been learning about in class. Then I could physically show the students what you must do to these shapes for them to be rotated, reflected or translated. Then student can come up one at a time and show the rest of the class that they understnad these concepts. we can compare and contrast these concepts on the board.

Classroom Technology Inventory

Well, it was good to learn more about the technology in my school so that I can know what resources I have to teach. I really like the microphone speaker system my school has. Each classroom is wired so that the teachers can use a microphone to teach. This is nice because then the students can hear better and there is no excuse of "I couldn't hear you" coming from the students. It is nice to know that I can sign my class up for computer lab time at any time. This is useful if you want your students to learn how to do research on the internet, or if you want the students to "publish" their writing. They can type up their stories, poems, etc. on the computers in the computer lab.
Now that I know the technology available in my school and classroom, I can plan a lesson using the technology that is available. I think I may need to look into what software is available in the computer labs a little bit better! It is amazing to me that the school has so much technology, but I just don't see it being used very much.
One other thing I discovered from the technology inventory, is that the 3rd grade shares a lot of the technology among the three 3rd grade classrooms. So if I want to use one of the technologies I will need to schedule it ahead of time.

Virtual Tour through California!

Check out my virtual tour by looking at my link list!

TPACK for Virtual Tour

Content knowledge: Our virtual tour will be based on the 3rd grade core curriculum for Social studies. Standard 1, Obj. 3, a: Identify ways people use the physical environment (agriculture, recreation, energy, and industry). As this as the basis for the lesson students will see examples of these four ways people use the environment in California. The agriculture example is the Napa, CA vineyards because this is where grapes are grown and wine is produced. The Recreation example is Yosemite because there is opportunities for hiking, fishing, backpacking, camping, and swimming. The energy example is the Folsom dam in California because it is where a lot of the energy in California is produced. The industry example is the Hershey's factory where chocolate is produced.
The pedagogy knowledge is research based. The students will be doing many activities that encourage research about the four ways we use the environment to our advantage. This fits very well with the content because then students will better understand these ways and will be encouraged to come up with other examples they have seen of agriculture, recreation, energy, and industry.
Technology knowledge: In our virtual tour we will be using Google Earth. We will look at four different places in California using Google Earth. We will use the technology to put an image overlay on one of the four places. At each destination in the virtual tour there will be links to activities that the students can go to to learn more about the place and how it relates to the content knowledge.

Virtual Tour Plan

Location	Activity	Google Earth Content
1. Napa, California	Research-click on link
2. Yosemite, California	Explore the hikes available in Yosemite	Click on Terrain
3. Folsom Dam, California	Make a Hypothesis of why a dam creates energy
4. Hershey's Factory, Oakdale, CA	Journal Entry: why they would want to go or share an experience of visiting there
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:  Picture overlay for Napa California (vineyards)

http://blog.americanfeast.com/images/Napa%20Valley%20Vineyard.jpg
http://www.sagarmatha.com/images/yosemite.gif
http://media.modbee.com/smedia/2007/09/26/23/580-LIVE_p0928_28d1hersheycopy.standalone.prod_affiliate.11.jpg
http://www.ussdams.org/images/folsom.jpg

Holes Book Trailer

TPACK for our lesson plan

In our lesson, we are using all elements to TPACK.  Our content knowledge is based on Utah's Core Curriculum for Language Arts.  We are using Standard 1, objective 2 for 5th grade which states:Develop language through viewing media and presenting.  For our lesson we have demonstrated how to make a book review as a preview for what our students will be doing.  In other words, after seeing our book review, our students will find their own book to review and make digital story to review it.  The pedagogy knowledge for our lesson will first be observing, by reading a book that they want to review, then analyzing the data to decide what information about the book they want to include in the book review.  By having them create their own book review they will really come to understand the overall picture and objective of the book and it will help them to think critically.  This is a great pedagogy element because students learn better by self-directed investigation that is teacher supported.  The technology knowledge for our lesson plan is based on pictures from the internet and pictures we will take ourselves digitally.  We will add music and voice-overs as well.  Basically, our book review will be a way of advertising and encouraging people to read the book by displaying it through technology.

StoryBoard Holes

TPACK Analysis

In our science activity we tried to incorporate all three elements of TPACK.  The Content Knowledge in our lesson was based on the Utah Science Curriculum for 3rd grade.  We looked up the standards in the Curriculum and chose objective 2b and 2d.  These are standards that we will have to teach someday if we teach 3rd grade.

We used Pedagogy strategies to teach the content knowledge.  The lesson includes having the students observing everyday, which encourages students to think critically and analyze the information to make their own conclusions.  By the end of our lesson the students will be able to make their own hypotheses from the information that they have collected.  Also, the fact that the students will be constructing a table of data on their own blog is a Pedagogy strategy.

In our lesson we incorporated two different technologies: Stellarium and Google Earth.  Through technology, the students are able to explore phases of the moon, which they might not be able to observe normally if the weather was not consistent.  Using technology in this activity allows students to be actively involved in the learning process.  It is also exciting for them to be able to explore technology since the rising generation is so involved and surrounded by technology.

By using all aspects of TPACK, this science lesson becomes very effective in the classroom. 

3rd Grade Science Activity

Technology is becoming more and more prominent in our culture, especially for the rising generation.  As teachers, it is our responsibility to incorporate technology into the learning process in order to connect and reach the students in an effective way.  Technology is hands on and helps the students to learn on a more individual level and

 interact with the content knowledge.  

By using technology in the classroom we are touching on all three knowledges of TPACK.  This lesson uses the appropriate te

chnology to teach the Utah Core Curriculum for 3rd grade science.  Our lesson plan is based on these objectives:

Objective 2: 

Describe the movement of Earth and the moon and the ap

parent movement of other bodies through the sky.

   b.  Use a chart to show that the moon orbits Earth approximately every 28 days.

   d.  Use a model to demonstrate why it seems to a person on Earth that the sun, 

planets, and stars appear to move across the sky.

To teach objective 2b the teacher will have their students explore Google Earth to discover the placement of the moon. Once they have found the moon they can begin the science project.  This activity will take 20 minutes of each day over the course of 28 days (the time it takes for the moon to orbit the Earth).  Each day students will take a screen shot of the phase of the moon for that day and describe what they see.  Students will post their screen shots and descriptions

 on their blogs daily.  Once students have a collection of the 28 day orbit of the moon, they will be able to recognize all of the phases of the moon and that it orbits the Earth to cause these phases.  This orbit is repeated each month.  Each phase looks different because

of the placement of the moon in relation to the Earth and the Sun.  This science activity could be set up as a center. 

To teach objective 2d, the teacher will direct a student discussion using the program Stellarium.  Stellarium is a way to watch the atmosphere pass by the Earth from a stationary location. The class will use their city as the location from which to observe the sky.  The teacher will pick an object, such as the moon or a constellation to focus on and show the students its movement across the sky.  On Stellarium there is an option to speed up tim

e. This is a visual demonstration that illustrates the objective.  The teacher can conduct a discussion about why the stars and planets appear to move across the sky.  Students will understand that the Earth rotates on its axis as it orbits the sun.  After the discussion, students can take turns exploring Stellarium in greater detail.

For this lesson plan the teacher relies heavily on technology. It enhances the project in many ways from teaching how to use technology and learning from it in a way that couldn't just be observed. While using the blogs to post the pictures of the phases of the moon, the students are logging their observations. This displays the information in a way that they can annalyze what they have seen and come to a conclusion about the different phases of the moon. Using google earth is a great way to incorporate technology because the children can do it in or out of class and weather will not be an issue. 

TPACK and Stellarium!

This week I learned that TPACK is a combination of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge. Content knowledge is when the subject being taught in class is really well-known by the teacher (for example, a college physics professor would have a very large content knowledge). Pedagogical knowledge is the knowledge and skills of how best to teach the content knowledge. So those teachers who were really good at helping you understand the material have wonderful pedagogical knowledge. Finally, technological knowledge is using technology to enhance the learning of the content or material.

When I was in high school I had teachers who were examples of all three of these knowledges. My math teacher was REALLY smart and he had an amazing understanding of algebra II and Pre-calc. He understood the ins and outs of math like no one else I know. In other words, he had great content knowledge. And he also had wonderful technological knowledge because he used technology to teach us how to use IT-83 calculators. But he did not have the full TPACK because his pedagogical knowledge was terrible. He would stand at the front of the classroom with his back to the class writing endless notes and explaining them in a monotone voice. He was not at all skilled in helping us better understand the content in ways that would reach all different learning styles. Usually I fell asleep during class (bored out of my mind), and then tried to decipher the scribbles I had made from the notes I had taken while half asleep.
On the other hand, my US history teacher had the complete TPACK: he knew his history (content), he used technology to play songs into our classroom which were about the history we were learning (technological), and he had some amazing skills in helping us understand the material and making it apply to our own lives (pedagogical).

For the science technology project, I am planning on using Stellarium. I think it is an amazing program and I wish I had know about it sooner! It would have been so helpful for Physical Science 110 A and B. I am excited to explore it more. Also, I think we might use google earth and sky as well. I think these programs will be great for helping children collect their own data about the orbits of the earth and moon.

RSS and Web 2.0 Tools!!!

Wow, I learned a lot this week about technology. First I learned what an RSS is: A shortcut to the internet where all of the websites I like to check daily can be brought immediately to my own website. This is so convenient because whenever anything changes I will know immediately by checking just one website. This is a big time saver. I can include all of my favorite websites: cnn.com, teachers websites, the weather forecast, etc. For me personally, I think it will allow me to be more informed about the news, because I usually don't check the news very often. But because of the RSS, I can put news websites onto my blog, and whenever a news article pops up that is interesting to me, I can read it and become more informed about the world. I think that this will be helpful in my teaching because I can use the RSS for teaching websites that will keep me updated on the latest teaching articles and information.
My favorite thing that I learned this week was the Web 2.0 Tools! We learned how to use delicious.com, which is an online bookmarker, and goodreads.com, which is a way to keep track of all the good books out there in the world. You can be connected with friends and see what books they recommend. You can rate the books you have read and write your own book reviews. I feel that the goodreads website is going to be a great tool for my teaching because I will be able to keep a well rounded repertoire of books. It is a way for me to remember all of the wonderful books out there that I can use in my own classroom. Also, I will be exposed to new books by looking at the new books that my friends have read, rated, and reviewed. I am really excited about this website. It is something that I plan on using all through my teaching career!

Technology Background

Well to be honest, I do not have much of a technology background, so I'm pretty nervous about this class. When I was young I played some computer games like Monopoly, this Ice crystal math game (I can't remember what it is called), and Oregon trail (like most everyone). In elementary school once of week we would go to the computer lab and learn to type using the typing program. I really enjoyed doing that- I even had a different typing program on my computer at home that I used because I enjoyed typing so much. When I got older I loved playing the Sims computer game where you would build your own houses.
In high school I took a computer class where I learned the ins and outs of PowerPoint, Word, the internet, and some other programs. I also took a computer art class, which was definitely out of my comfort zone- most of the time I didn't know what I was doing. But I learned how to use Photoshop and another Illustrating program (which I don't remember too much about anymore).
At my house, we used dial-up until the summer after my freshman year of college. So I used THE slowest computer all through high school. Now that I am in college I feel like I have been much more exposed to technology. I got my own laptop for the first time, I've learned how to download pictures onto my computer from my camera, I know how to research on the internet, I know how to email and use facebook. Before college I didn't even know what the difference was between a PC and a Mac- but now I do, and thanks to the exercise science class from last semester I sort of know how to use a Mac.