Creating a Classroom that Advocates Safe Use of Technology

It is important to create a learning environment that is safe and effective for students to understand and develop different skills. Teachers are there to promote safety in all that they do and that includes teaching safety on the Internet. It can be difficult to know what kind of information must be copyrighted and what does not need it. So teachers must familiarize themselves with the copyright laws and inform students of these rules. To promote the safe use of technology and the information found teachers can give a lesson to students about the rules and regulations of copyright laws. They can provide different websites and make the students define if the information in a particular website is copyrighted or not. Teachers can also display in the classroom the specific copy rights and wrongs given on the Copyright and Fair Use website. (Starr,2010) If the rules and regulations are clearly provided for students there is no reason for copyright laws to be broken and students can practice safe and legal use of information they find on the World Wide Web.

Teachers can create a positive example for students by following the copyright and fair use laws provided by Educational World website. There are specific guidelines that teachers must use such as only using " a single chapter from a book, poem of 250 words or less, an article of 2500 words or less, a single chart, graph diagram from a newspaper, periodical or magazine." (Starr, 2010) These rules are needed to create order and safety in the classroom. Teachers can give examples of fair use during specific lessons to show the students what fair use means and how it applies to the classroom. So when a teacher is discussing a poem to the students she can describe that it is okay to copy this material because it is under the fair use rules and regulations. Not only can teachers show positive use of technology by following copyright and fair use laws but they can teach students about plagiarism and its effect on the students educational skills. Teachers must "address the larger issue of how students can learn to share their ideas with pride and confidence and with the understanding that mutual knowledge construction is a good thing."(The 2learn.ca Education Society, 1997-2010) Teachers need to address the fact that plagiarism is wrong because it is cheating but also that it is lazy and teachers want to hear students opinions because there voices are important. By teaching students the laws and consequences of plagiarism through a fun and entertaining activity students will learn the rules and dangers of this topic. This can be done by "providing them with pre-culled resource that support their exploration of a topic," as well as "providing students with resources that are ethnically sound such as local newspapers, that are deemed appropriate by our local community."(The 2learn.ca Education Society, 1997-2010)

Starr,Linda. (2010, May 25). Copyrights and copying wrongs. retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280a.shtml

Starr, Linda. (2010, May 25). Is fair use a license to steal?. retreived from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280b.shtml

2Learn.ca Education Society.The plagiarism landscape (1997-2010). retrieved from http://www.netknowhow.ca/NKHPLlandscape.html

Concept Map Reflection

I used the Bubble.us software to complete my concept map project and I really enjoyed using it because it was so easy and organized. I typed the url right in and started mapping out my concept, which was great for me because I am not so computer savvy. I liked how the bubbles were big and colorful so for anyone who was viewing my concept map would be engaged and interested. It was very easy to create new bubbles and delete them as well if I made a mistake.I liked how you were able to move the bubbles around if they were overlapping or position them in a certain way. I think one of the biggest selling points for me is that it is the only program you did not have to pay for. The program does not ask for any invasive information, just your username and email address. I really liked this program and I would definitely use it again in my future classroom.

I think the most difficult part of this project was developing my concept and what I wanted to write to convey the message across. It was difficult thinking of the proper sequence and type of wording I wanted to use to teach a child how to tell time. I know it is a process that is simple to explain to someone orally but it is a whole different thing to write it out in a concept map and try using simple language. I didn't know if I should put phrases or just words in the bubbles but I think I explained the concept well in my previous blog. I never realized how difficult it is to explain to someone how to tell time without showing them a clock. I tried to think of it in the most simple terms and tried to explain the concept to the best of my ability. This kind of topic would of been much easier to explain visually but I think this is a great tool to use to introduce the subject and then to show it visually.

I can use this tool of concept mapping to introduce a topic to my students and ask them to give me certain words they think of when I say the word time. They can create a concept map or we can as a class to go through all of the important terms and concepts that are essential in a certain subject. I could use this tool on almost any subject because it is creative and visually stimulating which is key in teaching young children. This kind of tool can be used to display cause and effect as well as the process of the scientific method. It is a very diverse tool to be used in any school setting and grade.
bubbl.us

Concept Map Project: Teaching Elementary School Level Children How to Tell Time

This concept map shows how to teach telling time to young children. This is something that I am familiar with because it is a concept that is essential for elementary level students to grasp. I want to become an elementary school teacher so this topic is something that I will be teaching in the near future. It is important to go about this subject in a fun and creative way so the students will be engaged while still learning the basic concepts of telling time.

Before the students can learn how to tell time they need to learn the terminology connected to time and a clock. The face of the clock is where the number are present and it is usually in a circular shape. The numbers on the clock are important because they represent the hours as well as the minutes so it is important for children to understand that concept. The number 12 on the clock is at the top and to the right is 1,2,3,4 all in a circular motion around the outermost part of the clock. The numbers 12 and 6 are seen as bases because they are across from each other. The number 6 represents half past while the numbers 3, 6 and 9 are quarters.

The big players in telling time are the minute hand and the hour hand. It is important to spend thorough time on the concept of what each means and the difference in length of each. The hour hand is smaller than the minute hand. When the hour hand is on the 7 and the minute hand is on the 12 it is 7 o'clock. So the number 12 is very important when the minute hand is on it but it can be confusing describing the differences between which number the minute hand and hour hand should be on. When the minute hand is on the 1 it represent 5 and 2 is 10 and so on until you reach the 12. It is also important to go through the concept of seconds, minutes and hours. That there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day. The concept of am and pm is important as well, that am represents the morning

The concept of telling time is a very complex and needs to be explained in simple terms that young children can understand. This will take a while to grasp but this chart is just a starting point for the concepts that are essential in teaching this subject.Being able to tell time is a part of our everyday lives it helps us get to places on time, gives us a sense of the future as well as the past. This topic to me is very important for children to understand at an early stage in their educational career.

Information Literacy Workshop

I think the most difficult part of this project for me was finding the right website to evaluate. I was originally confused as to what kind of website we could use, so I picked something that was in range of my major. I thought we could choose a website that students could evaluate in their own way so I used a interactive website that had games reinforcing education in math and reading. This clearly was not the correct way to go about this project and I see it now. When I looked at the example rubric it confused me because it had the same type of format, a website that reinforces learning how to spell for young children. I tried to follow that same type of format and it confused me even more on the main topic of this assignment. Once I looked back at the objectives and reevaluated my previous work I realized that I was going about this project all wrong. I needed to find a website that students could evaluate and retain information that will help them further understand how the Internet works. I chose Internet Safety as my topic because I think it is very important before any student uses the Internet that they should learn the rules and regulations first. Once I found a topic that I could get abundant and important information on I knew that I could conquer the rest of the project.

I can apply the knowledge I learned in this assignment to my future profession because as a teacher I will want to use the Internet as a learning tool for my students. So if they learn the basics of Internet safety then they will be better prepared for the dangers of the web. They will know what kind of information is inappropriate and what to do if they find this kind of information. They will learn to be safe and that some people will use their personal information in a harmful way so to be careful of that. I will also use my skills of making rubrics in my classroom because I will now have experience in what I will want to accomplish in my lessons and what criteria is acceptable and what is not. The lesson plan templates were very helpful during this exercise because it enable me to stay organized and focused on what the essential goal of the lesson was. All of these skills will be useful when I become a teacher because I will know how to evaluate my students and what key goals I will want the children to learn as a result of my lesson.
It is very important to teach children at a early age the dangers of the Internet because so much of our academic career and beyond is reliant on the World Wide Web. Teaching the basics now will help them in the future to decipher important information. The web is so vast that it is hard sometimes to know what is real or not. It is important for teachers to guide children on the web because many sites can have false information or can be from people who know nothing about the particular topic. Students need to learn also that not all people on the web are who they say they are and to be careful about giving away too much personal information. It is important to "make meaning out of the overwhelming and potentially manipulative amount of information that now is available and growing everyday."(November, 2010,p.27) The Internet is a big scary place full of a great number of opinions and facts and it is up to the teachers to show children the difference between the two.

Information Literacy Workshop

I found finding the proper website the most difficult for this project because I wanted to use something that was relevant to my field of study, elementary education. It took me a while to find the right website but I search educational websites and looked at the authors credentials. I really liked the type of games they provided and it reminded me of things that an elementary school would use to teach math and reading. I am working in the Hartford Magnet School and I know first hand that these games would be great for the students I am working with. It was also a challenge to create the lesson plan because it had to be so thorough and clear. I used the examples and tried to match the kind of responses that were given. I think this assignment was very difficult for me because there was no specific topic and there are so many websites, rubrics and thing to choose from.

I can use the knowledge that I have learned in this project in my future profession because now I have a great website resource to use when I am teaching and I have learned many new skills. There are so many sites on how to complete a rubric and tools to help teachers it is amazing. Technological advances in education are really important not only for students but for teachers as well. I am grateful for this assignment because it has helped me become more confident in my computer and educational skills. The Internet is a great tool to use in the classroom but it is important to teach students how to use it properly. I will definitely use these skills I have learned in my future classroom, maybe even this website because it is creative and fun for elementary level students.

It is true that the Internet is a great place to get and share information but it can be dangerous if children are not taught the proper way to navigate the web. If students don't learn the etiquette of the Internet than they will fall prey to pedophiles, pornography and other unsightly things that we do not want to expose them to. The Internet is a great tool to use in and out of the classroom but it is important to thoroughly school children in the dangerous of the web. They need to learn how to be safe and then the experience will be a joyful one.