The Last Assignment

I've completed the course feedback survey, the university course evaluation, and I've checked my grades on blackboard - everything is in.

Thanks for helping me understand technology. I had a great experience.

Internet Safety Reflection

I chose to read the article by Elder M. Russell Ballard entitled Let Our Voices Be Heard. As I read this, I felt like the biggest challenge we have with regards to media is that the media has the capability to devastate our families and pull our children as well as parents away from the gospel path. Most often, the attacks on the family are not direct or openly immoral; rather the attacks are subtle and amoral - the right and wrong issues don't even come up. Because immorality and sexual innuendos are everywhere, it is believed that since everyone is doing it, it must be okay. This is what is in our homes.
I also watched several video clips that were suggested. Julie's Journey talked about meeting someone you've met online. She describes the internet as a tool; it has to be used properly. It's like a knife; it can cut you. Amy's Choice warns us about going into private chat rooms. Sexual predators are very cunning and can lure an unsuspecting individual into a dangerous situation. Tracking Teresa had the most impact on me. Even though you may think you are safe and using good practice on the internet, this clip showed me otherwise. In a matter of 20 min. enough information was accumulated unbeknown to Teresa including exact directions to her house. Scary!! Keisha's Crime was disturbing. Anger can lead to destructive behavior that the internet can facilitate if not careful. Peer to peer harassment is becoming more and more common among the youth. The clip Faux Paw - the Techno cat is a great tool to use to teach kids about internet safety. It is easy to understand and because it's cartoon, it captivates the children. Katie's Story helped me to know, as a parent, how important parent involvement is when a child is using the internet. After watching this clip, I'm going to be buying the "missing game" that was suggested by police personnel. When children feel they can't talk to their parents, the situation gets worse and worse. This game allows a child to see red flag instances that might be happening with them. This game also teaches children how unsafe the internet can be and what cautions to use. The last clip I watched was Growing up Online - a Frontline story. This took a long time to view, but it was worth it. It talked about all the important aspects of using the internet at what not to do.
I spoke with two of my teenage children about how they communicate online. We talked about the importance of not putting any personal information online. They told me all about facebook and how safe it was to use. They assured me that there was no way anything bad could happen to them using this feature. I shared with them the clip on Tracking Teresa. I expressed to them that Teresa didn't share any personal information either, or so she thought. My daughter gave me the "I know, I know" response with the added eye roll affect. I really do need to give her credit though; she showed me her profile on facebook. She doesn't go anywhere else to chat. My son, though, was listening intently. He sat with me for a little while as I continued to watch more clips. We talked about how cunning predators are and how we need to be extra careful when chatting online. After our conversation, he went downstairs to the kids computer and revised his profile on facebook. Taking the time to talk to him about this and sharing with him my thoughts of how important this is, really had an impact on him. He has a lot of friends who spend many hours online. I'm sure he will be sharing what he learned with them.

ElEd TPACK Report -- Language Arts lesson

Watching the three videos

This has really been an eye opener for me as to what technology can do for children in a classroom. The video that demonstrated the spiders was amazing. It used to be that you could only draw information from an encyclopedia when I was in school to now actually seeing them in a real-life setting in a place where kids can actually go and take pictures, put those pictures on the computer and then send their to another school in a state thousands of miles away to make comparisons of different spiders in each of the states. To me, that is very fascinating. I really liked the story extension application. Taking what was a simple story on pages in a book to creating a multimedia presentation with the same idea but extending it using the students' ideas is fun to watch especially having the students be in Kindergarten. Wow!! The teacher mentioned the students being fearless when it comes to learning technology. I'm learning that a little at a time. There is so much out there that I still am overwhelmed with most of it. I've watched how Kid-pix deluxe software has been a hit with kids everywhere. The students at the school where I am teaching right now are thrilled when they are able to explore this application. They especially like the drawing tool that was used in the video clip. It was an amazing thing to see it drawn and then published to make a presentation for parents and other to view by using technology. I will continue on improving my skills as I continue to learn about technology.

1st grade lesson plans

Math direct instruction
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg7xgcg8_0cn3d6xcn

Literacy direct instruction
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg7xgcg8_3hfg2gfgr
http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dg7xgcg8_4hq8qvddw

Content guided instruction
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg7xgcg8_13jzb5rhr

Completing the evaluations

I completed both evaluations that were included in Assignment 9 along with the survey.

Observation of technology at my school

My first initial response to the technology in the school where I'm teaching was a little surprising at the small amount that was available. This school has a high socio-economic rating and I thought there would be more funding for technology. But I am very excited for some of the updated pieces of technology that are available, like the flex-cams and the computer projectors. This makes sharing possible for anything you have to show rather than just using an overhead projector and being limited on what you can share. Each grade has a TV/VCR checked out to them at the beginning of the year. The school is limited to one DVD player so scheduling that is a little more difficult, so planning is very important. There is also one mobile lab with about 30 laptops for the students to use. There are some digital cameras and camcorders also available. Teachers are becoming more computer savvy at my school -- there is no computer specialist at the school. If a teacher wants to teach using a specific program, someone from the district comes and teaches the teacher and then the teacher instructs the class. You really have to be on your toes with this. This encourages the teachers to get with technology!!