I thought the Jo Cool/Jo Fool Website was very effective in sharing the do's and don'ts of the internet. It is important for students to know what the purpose of the website is and what kind of website. Giving out personal information is definitely something you should refrain from doing because websites can end up using it for other purposes without your knowledge. I took the cybertour and it really helped me decide what the acceptable thing to do on the internet. It is very important to read the fine print of any privacy policy and as Jo Cool/Jo Fool cybertour says "don't be a fool, read it or weep!"During the cybertour one of the examples was signing up for a website that makes CDs and it was cool because the company offers "copyright music" and "the store protects your financial info by using solid encryption, certified by an independent party you can trust."(Jo Cool/Jo Fool cybertour) I think another important thing for students to know about the internet is that everything you say and do on the internet can be traced back to you.
I took the cyberquiz and got a 15/20 because I did not know some of the statistics of Canadian teenagers. I was surprised at my score because I thought I knew more about the internet but I really learned a lot of things I did not know. I was shocked at the percentage of teenager who have met someone online in reality. Many of the questions were easy to answer but overall I think it is an important quiz for children ages 8-14 should take.
The Jo Cool/Jo Fool for teachers website is a fun and creative way for teachers to advise students in the proper way to use the internet. There are fun games such as "The Second Adventures of the Three CyberPigs."(Media Awareness, 2006) This game for children 9-12 years of age helps them "learn some important lessons about authenticating online information and observing online netiquette."(Media Awareness, 2006) This is a way for students to become familiar with the internet as well as deciphering what is fact and what is opinion. There is also a teachers guide that provides handouts and activities for the classroom. So not only is this a great way for students to navigate the web but it can be incorporated into the classroom as well as at home.
Jo fool or jo cool. (2006,April) Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/games/jocool_jofool/kids.cfm
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tools that would have a positive impact on student learning
I totally forgot to post on my blog this week because I was busy working on the Information Literacy Workshop Project. But I did get a chance to look over the different sites and I found that ReadWriteThink was one that stood out to me the most.I thought the link about after school programs was helpful because it is important for students to have that outside support of parents and teachers. Show in this link http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/grade/1-2/, parents and teachers are given ways to learn about reading, writing and creativity. One particular part of this after school resources was a fun handout on bingo which will help "child with cite words and help improve his or her vocabulary and reading."(ReadWriteThink,2010) This website has many important tools for classrooms as well as outside the classroom. It is a great way for parents to get involved in their child's education by getting "tips on how to help a child choose a book," which is part of the after school resources. Teachers can also print out hand-outs, make comic strips, word searches and a lot more. I would definitely integrate this website in my lessons because it is creative, fun and a great way to get parents as well as students interested in learning.
ReadWriteThink- http://www.readwritethink.org/ There are many authors to this link so I am not sure how to cite it. I'm sorry again for not posting sooner.
ReadWriteThink- http://www.readwritethink.org/ There are many authors to this link so I am not sure how to cite it. I'm sorry again for not posting sooner.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Reflection on MS Office Screencasts
Positive and negative reactions to the creation of your groups' instructional screencast materials.
I thought that the process of creating the screencasts was fairly easy. We all pretty much knew what we wanted to do and how we were going to go about doing it. One negative reaction I could think of is that there were too many people in the group and not enough tasks for everyone to perform.
Provide a brief summary of the feedback that you received on the Google Form. Was this feedback helpful? Why/Why not? Please explain.
The feedback that my group received was very positive. People did not know how to use track changes so they thought this was a helpful tool to learn and use in the classroom. Many people said that the screencast was thorough and detailed which is important when you are giving someone specific step by step instructions.People also stated that they will use track changes in their future classroom to show students how to correct their papers.
Provide a brief summary on the process of creating the challenge artifacts. Was this process difficult/easy? Please explain.
The process of creating the challenge artifact was not difficult at all because we decided beforehand what we wanted to do. Using track changes on a microsoft word document. We picked a document and highlighted the parts of the document that were incorrect using track changes. Then we created the google form which was not a hard process as well.
Were the screencasts that were created by the other groups' useful/helpful for your teaching/learning? Would you use them in your future classroom? Why/Why not?
The screencasts that were created by the other groups were very detailed and thorough and I think it is a great way to teach someone how to do something online. I would definitely use powerpoint in my future classroom because I am very familiar with it and it is an easy way to share information with my students. Making a grade book in excel was difficult for me because my home computer is an older version than the one the group used. This was a problem for me on both of the screencasts but I managed to find a way around it. I am not familiar with Microsoft Excel so that was difficult for me, on top of the fact that I did not have the same version.
What students might benefit from the use of screencasts? Please explain.
Students that would benefit from screencasts are those that can only learn in a visual and hands on matter. They will benefit from this kind of learning process because they can see exactly what they need to do and follow each step exactly. This is a helpful way for me to learn because I need to see things visually to comprehend a topic.
Would you consider using screencasts in your future classroom? Why/Why not? Please explain.
I would consider using screencasts in my future classroom because especially with younger students it is important to keep them stimulated visually. This would be a fun and easy way to get students involved in the learning process and a new way to display information to the students.
I thought that the process of creating the screencasts was fairly easy. We all pretty much knew what we wanted to do and how we were going to go about doing it. One negative reaction I could think of is that there were too many people in the group and not enough tasks for everyone to perform.
Provide a brief summary of the feedback that you received on the Google Form. Was this feedback helpful? Why/Why not? Please explain.
The feedback that my group received was very positive. People did not know how to use track changes so they thought this was a helpful tool to learn and use in the classroom. Many people said that the screencast was thorough and detailed which is important when you are giving someone specific step by step instructions.People also stated that they will use track changes in their future classroom to show students how to correct their papers.
Provide a brief summary on the process of creating the challenge artifacts. Was this process difficult/easy? Please explain.
The process of creating the challenge artifact was not difficult at all because we decided beforehand what we wanted to do. Using track changes on a microsoft word document. We picked a document and highlighted the parts of the document that were incorrect using track changes. Then we created the google form which was not a hard process as well.
Were the screencasts that were created by the other groups' useful/helpful for your teaching/learning? Would you use them in your future classroom? Why/Why not?
The screencasts that were created by the other groups were very detailed and thorough and I think it is a great way to teach someone how to do something online. I would definitely use powerpoint in my future classroom because I am very familiar with it and it is an easy way to share information with my students. Making a grade book in excel was difficult for me because my home computer is an older version than the one the group used. This was a problem for me on both of the screencasts but I managed to find a way around it. I am not familiar with Microsoft Excel so that was difficult for me, on top of the fact that I did not have the same version.
What students might benefit from the use of screencasts? Please explain.
Students that would benefit from screencasts are those that can only learn in a visual and hands on matter. They will benefit from this kind of learning process because they can see exactly what they need to do and follow each step exactly. This is a helpful way for me to learn because I need to see things visually to comprehend a topic.
Would you consider using screencasts in your future classroom? Why/Why not? Please explain.
I would consider using screencasts in my future classroom because especially with younger students it is important to keep them stimulated visually. This would be a fun and easy way to get students involved in the learning process and a new way to display information to the students.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Similarities and Difference between Internet Project, Internet Workshop, Internet Inquiry and Webquests?
Internet Projects are a great way for teachers to start the process of teaching students how to use the Internet. An individual or group creates a project on a website for anyone around the world to cooperate in. One example that Donald L Leu Jr stated in his article was the "Flat Stanley" project which incorporated sending letter to different school all over the world and writing about what was happening in each classroom.(Donald L.Leu Jr.,2001) Internet Projects is a great way to bring not only collaboration within the classroom but in the case of the Flat Stanley project it creates lesson in literacy, letter writing and a way for students to feel proud of all they have accomplished in school.
Internet Workshop is different in that it is a way for students to show teachers that they know how to use search engines and decipher articles on the Internet. Teachers give the students a list of websites and they are asked to perform a task. Important advice on creating a task was "to provide open-ended activity for students," so not everyone comes back with the same results.(Donald L.Leu Jr.,2002) This gives students a chance to explore the resources and really think critically about the questions.
Internet Inquiry gives students a chance to research a specific question that is important to them. It helps students build reading, critical literacy skills, navigational and collaborative skills which are all a part of internet workshop and internet projects but most importantly it develops problem identification skills. They must use Dr Leu's phases of "search, analyze, compose and share," to really understand how to get the information and how to appropriately achieve the answer to their question.(Donald L.Leu.,2002)
Webquests are like Internet Workshops in that teachers gives students resources to find out information on a certain topic but one must be careful in making sure that it is appropriate for students and that it will get them to think analytically.
All of these instructional models are similar in that they are giving teachers a new way to convey information to students and students are learning how to navigate the Internet more effectively. These models all require research and it is important especially with younger children to monitor the websites that they are entering. Many models such as Internet Project and Internet Workshop use collaborative work as a way to educate academically and socially. They are all a great way for students to think critically, analytically and to share their knowledge with the class or even the world.
Internet Workshop is different in that it is a way for students to show teachers that they know how to use search engines and decipher articles on the Internet. Teachers give the students a list of websites and they are asked to perform a task. Important advice on creating a task was "to provide open-ended activity for students," so not everyone comes back with the same results.(Donald L.Leu Jr.,2002) This gives students a chance to explore the resources and really think critically about the questions.
Internet Inquiry gives students a chance to research a specific question that is important to them. It helps students build reading, critical literacy skills, navigational and collaborative skills which are all a part of internet workshop and internet projects but most importantly it develops problem identification skills. They must use Dr Leu's phases of "search, analyze, compose and share," to really understand how to get the information and how to appropriately achieve the answer to their question.(Donald L.Leu.,2002)
Webquests are like Internet Workshops in that teachers gives students resources to find out information on a certain topic but one must be careful in making sure that it is appropriate for students and that it will get them to think analytically.
All of these instructional models are similar in that they are giving teachers a new way to convey information to students and students are learning how to navigate the Internet more effectively. These models all require research and it is important especially with younger children to monitor the websites that they are entering. Many models such as Internet Project and Internet Workshop use collaborative work as a way to educate academically and socially. They are all a great way for students to think critically, analytically and to share their knowledge with the class or even the world.
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