Emily Carr -- IP&T 287

Week 14

2009-12-09T23:00:00.000-08:00

I did items 2-4.

Internet Safety Reflection

2009-12-09T22:51:00.000-08:00

1. I read "I Have a Question" by Robert C. Porter.
2. The videos that I watched were mainly geared towards kids and helping them understand the dangers that can lurk on the internet in a friendly, uplifting way. They were mostly told from the perspective of other kids and teens.
3. The most important thing that I got from the readings and watching the videos was that even though there is danger in the internet, there can be benefits too as long as you are using the tools correctly and safely. There are ways to be in the world and not of the world. Being not of the world does not mean being "out" of the world. The important part is setting guidelines and sticking to them.
4. In my conversation, we discussed internet filters, how to tell children what is safe or not, and where good locations might be to keep a computer (i.e. in a public place). They already knew quite a bit about internet safety, but I thought it was interesting that some internet safety precautions seemed pointless and annoying to them. Some things, like staying away from chat rooms, were a given. But others, like internet filters, seemed superfluous to them. I was surprised by that because to me it is better to take extra precautions than to trust that nothing will pop up or that my children will have the sense and wisdom not to click on what they shouldn't. They took my suggestions from the readings seriously, and our conversation was meaningful. We will implement the changes necessary in our household and establish an internet safety plan for our family.

2009-12-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

TPACK Planning

2009-11-18T18:24:00.000-08:00

Here are my three lesson plans for the TPACK project. They can be found as google docs web pages at the following links:

Math--Identifying Shapes in the Environment

Science--How People Use Plants

Language Arts--Making Words

Technology Observation

2009-11-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

My first impression of the technology in the school was that there was a lot that was in every classroom, but not a lot that could be used for specific lessons or other things. They have smart boards, document cameras, math robots, iclickers, mac laptop carts, computer programs where the kids speak into them to improve their English accent and on and on! It really was incredible to me. It didn't seem like the technology was actually used very often though. For the most part the kids do cutting and coloring and pasting types of learning activities. The smart board is used every day in our classroom, which is extremely useful, but other than that, hardly any technology is used. I think it's a great resource, but the teachers don't implement it very well.

I completed the technology survey, midcourse evaluation, and consent survey.

Science Reflection

2009-10-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

Voice Threads I watched:
Julia
Tiffany
Mekelle

One of my favorite parts about this was just getting to know the technology I can use in the classroom. We never used much technology when I was in elementary school now, and the technology available is astounding. I think that some of them were more useful than others, but overall it's just good to know they're out there. I also like the voice thread tool because it would be a great way to give directions and examples for student projects if they need to reference how to do it at home.

Stellarium -- Science and Technology Combined

2009-10-27T14:37:00.001-07:00

Here is a voice thread presentation describing a science project using Stellarium as an effective technology tool.

Science and Technology Project Plans

2009-10-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

The content of this experiment will be 6th Grade Science Standard 1, Objective 1, a and b (identifying the moon's changing appearance and the pattern behind it). We will be using Stellarium to identify the changes in the moon's appearance. This will be so helpful because then we won't have to worry about a cloudy night or about remembering to stay up late to see the moon. Every student will be able to participate in this activity in a safe environment without fear of failure due to outside sources. This project will be exploratory because they will need to make predictions about why the moon changes the way it does over time based on just their observations.

Virtual Tours Reflection

2009-10-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

Tours I watched:

http://techbrooke.blogspot.com/
http://mekellehardy.pbworks.com/Google-Earth
http://educationrocksmysocks.pbworks.com/Google-Earth

I think that this is a really cool idea to do with children to make something that you're studying come to life. If they can see it in context, they will relate to it more and remember what they're learning. The hardest thing, I think, would be having the kids go through the tour themselves. I know that sometimes if you click the wrong thing, it can take you somewhere that you didn't want to go, and it can be confusing to get back sometimes. I think it took more work for me than I would have wanted it to because I didn't know what Google Earth had to offer, but now I think I have a better idea of it. I don't think I would ever assign kids to make a virtual tour of their own, but I think that it would be a valuable thing to watch as a class.

Religions of the World Virtual Tour

2009-10-14T16:36:00.001-07:00

Click here to view the Religions of the World virtual tour (made with Google Earth).

Google Earth Virtual Tour Core Curriculum Standard

2009-10-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

Social Studies -- 6th Grade

Standard 1 -- Students will understand how ancient civilizations developed and how they contributed to the current state of the world.

OBJECTIVE 2: Evaluate how religion has played a central role in human history from ancient times to today.
Indicator a: Explore the importance of religion in the cultural expression of ancient civilizations (e.g. customs, artistic expression, creation stories, architecture of sacred spaces).

Google Earth Virtual Tour Plans

2009-10-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Stonehenge	Measure the size of stonehenge	3D buildings, measurement tool
2. Tian Tan Buddha	Turn on 360cities layer in the gallery. Look at pictures of the Tian Tan Buddha Identify the religion	3D buildings, 360cities tour: "Hong Kong Big Buddha"
3. Notre Dame	Take the 360 degree virtual tour Identify the Religion	3D buildings, 360cities tour: "zero kilometre on the parvis of Notre Dame"
4. Mecca	Turn on National Geographic layer in the gallery. Read National Geographic pop-up information boxes. Use that information to idenify the religion. Identify the Religion	National Geographic pop-ups of "Heeding a Divine Call" and "Red Carpet Treatment"

Digital Storytelling Reflection

2009-10-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

After doing a digital storytelling project, I think that the hardest part of implementing a project like this in an elementary school classroom would be providing enough time in a computer lab for the kids to create something like this. Many students may not have a computer at home, so they would need to do it at school, and I can see how it would take a very long time for some kids to get everything just the way they want it.

The digital storytelling projects I watched were made by:

Rebecca Jaggi
Emily Williams
Natalee Biggs
Julie Sosa
Betsy (Elizabeth) Rodriguez
Lauren MacDonald

2009-09-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

Storyboard

2009-09-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

TPACK

2009-09-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

TPACK is an acronym for Techological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge. In other professions, one or two of the knowledge areas would be sufficient, but in teaching, all three are necessary. A biologist may use a computer program to create charts and analyze trends in the brine shrimp population in the Great Salt Lake, but unless he has pedagogical knowledge, he would be ineffective at teaching students about it. Teachers often think that they just need pedagogical and content knowledge to create worthwhile learning experiences for their students, but by adding the use of appropriate technology, teachers can add a whole new dimension to their lessons. Technology often provides the real-life application that students crave. The best teachers successfully balance technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge in their classrooms.

Internet Communications Project

2009-09-17T14:03:00.001-07:00

The most useful thing I learned from the internet communications project was how to embed things. I always knew that you could embed youtube videos and things like that, but I didn't realize how many different types of things you can embed. And the best part is that when you update it somewhere else, it updates on your web site as well. I think that will definitely come in handy in the future. I think the best part of the assignment for me was actually being able to create a web site. I always thought that something like that was way beyond me, but now I know that I can do it, and it gives me confidence that I'll be able to learn new technology later on.

Synchronous Video Communication

2009-09-10T15:44:00.001-07:00

Video Communication

2009-09-10T15:35:00.000-07:00

Technology Background

2009-09-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I'm not exactly the most savvy technology user. I'm good with computers, but I'll admit that I'm definitely ipod illiterate...and on occasion texting can be struggle. But for the most part I feel like I know what I'm doing. As long as I sit down and take a minute to figure it out, I've got it for good. Yay for technology!