Internet Safety

These are the notes I took that tell about the most important "take-away's" that I took from our readings:
Let our Voices be Heard --M. Russell Ballard
“Television … has replaced the family, the school, and the church—in that order—as the principal [instrument] for socialization and transmission of values

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing -

“Do not attend, view, or participate in entertainment that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in entertainment that in any way presents immorality or violent behavior as acceptable. …

7 things parents can do to minimize negative effects- establish family standards on media, make family a greater influence over media,make good personal media choices, limit screen time, filter internet sites and lock tv shows, have screens in common rooms, watch appropriate media with children.

Things as they really are:

We live in a time when technology can be used to replicate reality, to augment reality, and to create virtual reality.

Don't let our addiction keep us from person-to-person communication --interpersonal relationships

Nothing is really done in "secret"

Consider 2 questions: 1. Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life? 2. Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?

Pornography:
-Don't open emails from people you don't know, keep in high traffic areas, teach not to share personal information, tell children to inform parents of any problems with pornography that pop up so parents can take care of it and block it.

Internet: I have a question:

3 suggestions to help parents avoid dangerous areas online
1. parental awareness 2. Family Rules 3. Filters
*Recognize that people online aren't always who they say they are.

-I completed parts 1-3 for week 14.

Internet Safety:

For my "doing part" I talked with my dad. My dad has very little experience with the computer/internet, so I was curious to see what he knew and didn't know. He already knew that it was very easy to end up on internet sites just by typing in one wrong letter, and he has always told us not to get involved in any chat rooms, or even be friends on facebook with people we don't know. However, he didn't realize how many people really were involved in chat rooms, which ended up in problems such as rape, murder, obsession, etc. I think he was also surprised at all the different articles that have been presented by general authorities regarding internet safety. He was well aware of the things they mention about getting into pornography on the internet, but not other internet safety issues. Although there hasn't been any problems yet with my own family concerning the internet, there are still two young kids at home that spend a lot of time on the internet. Our computer is located in our office, which is generally supervised, but not always. I think after what he has learned, he will be more aware of what things my siblings are doing on the internet, how much time they spend on the internet, and making a greater effort to make sure even if they are on the computer, that doesn't take away from interpersonal, one-on-one communication with their family, friends, etc. He also realized how lucky he has been since he hasn't had to deal with internet problems with his older kids since he wasn't very observant or strict on internet rules before.

TPACK PROJECT

These are pictures of the students using the ELMO to explain how they solved different math problems

Technology Used By Teacher

There is a wide range of technology that is available to the students and teachers at my school. Although my teacher does make good use of the technology she has, she definitely doesn't use all of her many resources to her advantage. The technology resource she uses the most is the ELMO. She is constantly displaying different worksheets or papers up on the board so that the students can see exactly what she is referring to. It is supposed to be shared among all the 2nd grade class, but it seems to stay in her classroom majority of the time. If she ever needs it, she has it, and teachers always have to come to her to borrow it. I think it is a great resource because it is convenient for the teacher, and also easy but beneficial for the students to work with. She also frequently uses her own computer. During writer's workshop, she often plays soft music to help the students focus better [also more fun for the students], and she uses it to show student's different websites that they can use when they want to learn more about something. The attendance is also done through a program on her computer. When we were doing our technology inventory of the school, we learned that there were mobile computer labs [40 laptops] that can be easily shared, but our teachers rarely use them. There is also time for students to use the actual computer lab, but teachers have to sign up for times, and I haven't seen them go there once in the 3 weeks I have been at the school. This is unfortunate because computer skills are crucial to a students education, and not all of the students have access to one at home.

After watching the video, the general theme and thing that I felt was most important to learn and remember was that technology really can influence a students way that no other lesson or activity can. It provides students with more hands on activities. it allows them to create things that can easily be fixed or changed without taking too much time. It introduces them to new technological resources that are available to them, and gives them the advantage of already knowing how to use them properly. Many studetns come to school with very little on no access or experience with any type of technology. Techonology, specifically computers, are used so much in society, and if school don't provide students with opportunities to work with and explore those types of technology, they will be seriously behind. I think they made if very clear of all the possible lessons and programs that students can be easily taught to use, but that will enhance their learning process tremendously. It seemed that the two things they seemed to think that stuetns benefit the most from are learning how to use the internet appropriately/effectively, and also using programs for different project (art) related activities. I think it is important to learn from these videos that it is the responisibility of teachers to feel comfortable using different technology resources, and also provide opportunities for students to learn from it too.

Technology Inventory

There are many different forms of technology available for the teachers/students, but everything is shared either among the entire school or each grade level. In the classroom that I am working in, the only technology they always have in their classroom is a tape player, CD player, and the teachers personal laptop. The teacher occasionally uses the audio devices to let students listen to recorded stories or songs, but she uses her own laptop for that purpose most of the time. She is able to connect her computer to the Elmo to project certain things for the class. I was surprised that there wasn't a single computer for the students to use, but I guess if the teacher wanted to use the computers, it wouldn't be too difficult to get access to some. The students watched one movie, and the tv had access to VHS and DVD. However, that also had to be shared among all of the second grade-maybe even with third too. It seems that they have a lot of resources, but the teachers don't really take advantage of everything they have.

-I completed the mid-course evaluation, informed consent, and technology inventory

Science Challenge Video

I made comments on Karyn, Heather, and Heidi's constellation activity using stellarium. Just from the activity my group did and the other groups activity with stellarium, it was clear that implementing different types of programs and technology with science makes understanding the information much more clear and engaging. I think it makes talking about concepts that sometimes feel abstract like stars and temperature, but more real. It is also easier to make connections, and see how the concepts actually work. It provides much greater understanding when you can actually see what the constellations look like, and/or watch the temperature rapidly increase or decrease with the temperature probe. The downsides may be that the technology can be slightly distracting. It's always exciting to use new things, but students might get so involved in experimenting with the pieces of technology that they struggle to focus on the content intended to be taught.When using new technology, you also have to be careful what grade level you allow to use the equipment because temperature probes and other instruments are probably expensive and slightly fragile.