Finals...

What was the most valuable aspect to you of creating a Personal Learning Environment?

Being able to share with others what I have learned about technology this semester.

What did you like least about the Personal Learning Environment?

Sometimes I had trouble with Blogger not working or not uploading things.

Comment on the likelihood of your using a blog or wiki for personal or educational purposes in the future.

I love blogs and I plan on using my blogs lots in the future! I think they are a great way to communicate!

Internet Safety Videos

I watched some isafe podcasts, ikeepsafe faux paws, and NetSmarts Video Resources

What were the most important things you learned?

I learned a lot about how easily predators can find you. You have to be so careful not to give out any information that people could use to track you down. Also, I thought it was really interesting to learn about secured websites. I often buy things on the internet or put in information without knowing if a site is secured or not. I will definitely be more careful!

How might you use the resources you discovered in your future classroom or home?

These resources could be great to show to students in your classroom. It is important to provide them with opportunities to use the internet, but we need to be careful about making sure they know how to keep themselves safe both at home and while at school. We need to take advantage of being educated with technology because a lot of these kids' parents don't have those same priveledges. Same thing at home. I will make sure my children know the dangers of the internet and educate them on how to keep their identity safe!

Safety on the Internet

Let our Voices be Heard - M. Russell Ballard Reading Questions:

1. What does Elder Ballard say is our "biggest challenge" related to media?

"Thus our biggest challenge is to choose wisely what we listen to and what we watch."

2. What guidelines have our Church leaders been giving us for safe use of media such as the TV and Internet?

We should hold family counsels to discuss what is appropriate. We should be the biggest influence in our children's lives. Be good examples of what media to view. Limit the time they can spend on tv and internet. Set blocks and filters. Have computers and TVs in an open place. Take the time to watch meaningful shows with our children to lead by example.

3. As a teacher, how can you appropriately influence children and parents to develop healthy patterns of media use?

We can lead by example. We can give suggestions for positive, uplifting media for children to view with their parents. We can provide incentives for viewing those preferred medias. We can be especially careful about what we show in the classroom - that it is the kind of media they should be viewing.

Provident Living guidelines regarding Internet Safety Reading Questions:

1. Which of these guidelines do you follow?

We use our computers out in the front room and we have filters on our computers. We have discussed the dangers of pornography and how to stay away from it. We don't talk to people we don't know of share any personal information.

2. How might you share these guidelines with family and friends?

Talking about them on a blog, bringing them up in conversation, or sending out an informative email are a few ways.

Technology and a House of Learning Reading Questions:

1. What experiences have you had at home with the balance between protecting and providing when it comes to technology use?

2. What ideas do you have for learning to preside, provide, protect, and nurture when it comes to technology in your own home?

Technology and a House of Learning Reading Questions:

1. What experiences have you had at home with the balance between protecting and providing when it comes to technology use?

Growing up, my parents were always warning us about the dangers of the internet and reminding us of how to stay save. They also provided us with opportunities to learn more and experience what the internet had to offer.

2. What ideas do you have for learning to preside, provide, protect, and nurture when it comes to technology in your own home?

Staying current on the technology is very important to me. I will try to stay current so that I know what my children are dealing with everyday. I also think it is so important to make sure my children will know the dangers of the internet and how to protect themselves. This is something that will be talked about frequently - hopefully until they get sick of it like i did with my parents :)

What article did you choose to read for your fourth article?

The Message: Mushrooms, Movies, Music, and Magazines
What were the most important things you learned from the readings?

We need to be careful of the look-alikes. We need to decide whether or not things are wholesome enough for us to be viewing or listening to.

How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?

They need to know how to tell which is good and which is not good enough. They need to be taught the ways to tell if something is of good report.

How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?

I can lead by example of what I know is right and wholesome. When others see me making those decisions based off what I believe, they will respect me and follow my lead (hopefully :)

Practicum week 4

This week, our teacher showed a video about Thanksgiving to all three social studies classes. The students were totally sucked in. They loved watching the video and having it wrap up what they had been learning in the previous weeks. They also were able to do a shared reading where the students got the opportunity to read a page in the microphone as the whole class followed along. The students really enjoyed both of these opportunites. I didn't use technology this week. I was going to share a video to accompany my writing activity - but it turned out I didn't have the time allotment to do so. What I wanted to do was to find videos on the internet that were similar to America's Funniest Home Videos. Our writing activity was on the book, That's Good, That's Bad where things that seem good turn out bad and vice versa. I was going to show videos and pause them in the middle and ask the children what they thought might come next to change whether it was good or bad.

Practicum week 3

Once again, the students didn't have computers this week so they weren't able to use technology, but they really enjoyed seeing it used in the classroom. I made a PowerPoint presentation for our social studies lesson which we showed on the school's projector. The administration was great about getting us the projector and video camera and were there to help us when needed. The attitudes of the students seemed to be very engaged while being able to watch a PowerPoint while learning about the Thanksgiving lesson. After being able to experience that technology in the classroom, I am excited to find more opportunites to use technology. I am doing a writing activity this week with the students and I hope to be able to find a movie which shows the "that's good - that's bad" examples which we will be writing about.

Practicum week 2

This week the students didn't have computers (they have it every 3 weeks) and so I didn't see any technology used really in the classroom. The students use a microphone every day (which they enjoy) and they use an overhead but that as technological as it gets on a daily basis in the classroom. I didn't use technology in the classroom this week, but we were able to arrange to check out the projector to use next week.
One thing that I think would be great for these second graders to experience is to use the internet to research about the pilgrims for Thanksgiving. They could do activities on the computer to help them understand what life was like for the pilgrims in the 1600s.

Practicum week 1

I am in a second grade classroom and I guess I didn't know what to expect with the technology in the classroom. As BYU students we see it virtually every single day, but I wasn't sure the capabilities they would have in the elementary classroom. One thing I saw was that our school has a computer specialist, which I think is so great. Our students went to computers on both Tuesday and Thursday this week. We weren't able to observe this becuase it happens to be the same time we leave to go to our math class. I was impressed, though, that they get to go there twice a week.

I didn't have any experience trying to use technology in the classroom this week. We mostly observed and the only activities where we taught were set up by our teacher. Starting next week we will be doing some of our own lessons, so I am excited to find a chance to incorporate the technology into my lesson plans.

One idea that I think would be fun to use for integrating technology into the classroom is to create an interactive powerpoint for our social studies lesson. We are going to teach the students about how the times have changed since the pilgrims and I think that technology is the perfect way to demonstrate that.