PLE 14

I posted the internet safety assignment already.
I compeleted the course evaluation on route y and I completed the course feedback survey.
I checked my grades on Moodle.

Internet Safety Reflection

1. For my article of choice, I read "Tangled in the Web" from the August 2001 Ensign.

2. I watched the Netsmartz videos, the Faux Pas video, and the Frontline PBS documentary. I also explored some of the websites listed.

3. A lot of the stuff in the videos I had heard about before, but I am still amazed at all the scary things that can happen on the internet. I think one important thing is that parents need to have open communication with their kids. The two girls who ran away with men from the internet in the videos both said that they felt they had no one to talk to, they they turned to chat rooms. I think this happens a lot more than people think. Parents also need to talk to their kids about the internet and set reasonable guidelines. Cyberbullying can be very harmful, and any child facing that needs to have a parent to talk to about it. I have never experienced cyber bullying, and this opened my eyes to how scary and dangerous it can be.

4. I talked to my mom about internet safety. She has had experiences with the internet and children with me and all my siblings, so she knows a lot about keeping safe on the internet. She is aware of the dangers. I shared with her what I learned about teaching kids to be safe on the internet and that it is important to be an informed parent. She agreed with me, and mentioned how much time can be wasted on the internet, and I completely agree with that. She says to keep her kids safe she keeps our home computers in open areas, and is aware when anyone is on the computer. She makes sure everyone knows what is and is not appropriate to do on the internet. She also tries to put a limit on computer time, so my siblings are not sitting on it all day. I think she is really keeping my family safe by doing those things. I was surprised how prepared and informed she is, and I think that is a really good thing. We also talked about how teachers can help their students on the internet, like teaching them the dangers, and also all the good things.

TPACK Report

Here is the link to my presentation:

http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dgx86zmc_5gfw3tbcw

My Three Lesson Plans

Language Arts Lesson:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcfkk7sx_1ftbgx6ck

Math Lesson:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcfkk7sx_2fbxqs5f9

Science Lesson:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcfkk7sx_3hqvjkngw

Week 10 PLE

These videos were great examples of how to use technology in a real classroom. The teachers were able to use technology when teaching language arts, reading, and science. One very important thing I realized from the videos is that you have to keep the students engaged. Technology should not be used just for the sake of using technology, but should be used when it can enhance a lesson to the children’s benefit. In the lesson with the spiders, it worked really well to have the kids go out and find spiders and take pictures of them. It was also really neat when the kids went on the website and were able to communicate with students from other places. The students are experiencing both science and technology. It is also important to keep in mind the needs of the students and to be flexible. Sometimes it is hard to fit in technology due to time constraints, so you have to take things slowly. The one teacher in the videos worked with the students individually on their projects--not every student is at the same level.

Week 9

I completed both the midcourse evaluation and the consent form.

In my classroom, there is not very much technology being used. There is an overhead projector and the teacher has a laptop, but that is all there is. I noticed that the teacher has to send the attendance to the office over the laptop, but I'm not sure what else she uses the laptop for. The projector is used on a daily basis.

The students also go to the computer lab several times a week, but all they do there is typing practice. The teacher said sometimes they do other projects, but the school wants them to learn to type before doing other projects.

I definitely think technology could be used more in the classroom, but there is just not very many resources available to the teacher.

Science Challenge Reflection

I watched Sam, Robin, and Nancy's projects and they were all wonderful.

There really are so many different things you can do with science because it is so hands on. The nice thing is that a lot of these projects were based on programs that are completely FREE. There is no fancy equipment required, just computers. These projects also showed me that they are pretty easy and they match up with a lot of the state core, so that makes it simple. Science tools and hands on activities makes lessons much more exciting and I think the students would really appreciate these experiences. I would love to use a digital microscope in my classroom, that would be awesome. They are so much easier than the old school microscopes.

Science Challenge

For my science challenge I am going to focus on the 5th grade, Science Core Standard 2 Objective 2 which says: Explain how volcanoes, earthquakes, and uplift affect Earth’s surface. Give examples of different landforms that are formed by volcanoes, earthquakes, and uplift (e.g., mountains, valleys, new lakes, canyons)

I want the kids to visit these different landforms. There are many tools in Google Earth that would allow students to do that. For instance, they could use the time ruler to see the affects before and after major earthquakes or volcano eruptions.

What is the content you will be focusing on in your science activity:

I will be focusing on the Earth's surface and the different characteristics that shape it, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and uplifts

What is the pedagogy you will be using and why is it a good fit with the content?

The pedagogy I will be doing is observing, acquiring data, making predictions, and analyzing.

What is the technology you'll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?

The technology I will be using is Google Earth. This is definitely the best tool out there for exploring the surface of the Earth. The kids can see and explore the different characteristics of the Earth.

Google Earth Project Reflection

I looked at Robin, Julie, and Sarah's tours. They were all so good!

I think the Google Earth project is a good idea if it is done well and if it really would be better than any other project. Obviously, some subjects would not work well with this kind of learning experience. For things like Geography, this could be really awesome. Upsides would be that the kids get to see the real location, experience what it looks like, and play around with it. They can travel to anywhere in the world. I think it could gets kids really excited about the subject.

A downside is that this is time consuming! But then again, you could use the tour again and again, and it could get faster to make with practice. Another downside is that the school must have the technology to support this kind of project, and not all schools have that technology.

Boundaries Tour

I'm not sure if the post below worked because all I can see is "Google Earth Plugin is not currently installed" and it won't let me install the Plugin. But I follow the instructions, I promise!

Here is the link to my tour: PBWorks-Boundaries. If you click that link, the kmz file will start downloading.

Also, if you go to my PB Works page, there is a side link called Google Earth and my tour is saved there as a kmz file.

My Tools

For some reason the table was not cooperating. Here are my tools:
1 Turn on borders and terrain. Use the ruler tool.
2 Turn on borders and terrain. Use the time slider tool.
3 Terrain, border layers. Ruler tool
4 Turn on border and terrain

Google Earth Virtual Tour

I decided to do my virtual tour on borders between states and countries.

Standard:

3rd Grade

Standard 1: Students will understand how geography influences community location and development.
Objective 1: Determine the relationships between human settlement and geography.
c. Compare the shapes and purposes of natural and human-made boundaries of cities, counties and states.

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Bering Strait North America and Asia border	Don't Alaska and Asia look close together? It seems like you can swim from one continent to the other! Use the ruler tool to measure the distance from the edge of Alaska to the edge of Asia. How many miles apart are they? Did that surprise you? Why or why not?	Turn on borders and terrain. Use the ruler tool.
2. Mississippi River- Mississippi and Arkansas Border	Notice the border line (the gray line) and the actual river. They differ! Follow the eastern edge of the Arkansas border line and notice how it changes from the river path. This is because the Mississippi River is constantly moving. Change the date on Google Earth using the "historical imagery" tool. Can you see how the river shifts over the years? Why do you think this is? Source: "Arkansas State Boundaries" on http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2546	Turn on borders and terrain. Use the time slider tool.
3. Swiss Alps Italy and Switzerland border	Take a visit to the Swiss Alps! Why do you think this mountain range is the border? Drag along the mountain range and notice how long it is! You can use the ruler tool to measure the length of the mountain range.	Terrain, border layers. Ruler tool
4. Four Corners, USA Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico	At this border, we can be in 4 places at once! The white platform you see is where the big X is. Find the place where the 4 states meet. Does that match up with where the white platform is? Why do you think this is? Zoom in on the 4 corners Center. How big is it? What do you notice about it? Does it seem like fun? View the different pictures of the monument.	Turn on border and terrain.

I thought learning about borders, natural and man-made, would be a lot more fun and informational when using Google Earth. First off, I think borders can be kind of an abstract idea, because in real life they are all around us, but not always clearly marked or noticeable. Google Earth gives a birds eye view, and students can see the borders and how they really do separate different places. Many of these borders are also famous landmarks, so you get a two for one deal on this tour. Students can see the place for how it really looks and it's like they are taking a field trip.

Storytelling part 2

I watched:

Robin Shaw- The Marvelous Homework and Housework Machine

Kate Smith- Scarlet Pimpernel Book Trailor

Sam Webster- I Bought A New Tank For My Goldfish

Keri Wooten- The Ancient Treasure

Julie Chatfield- Corbin and the Etch a Sketch

Nancy Taylor- Franklin D. Roosevelt

It was really fun to watch other people's projects and seeing their ideas. I was surprised by the range of different storytelling projects. I have some creative classmates!

I think the most challenging aspect of this challenge for students would be figuring out the technological part of it. I had some problems with Windows Movie Maker that were really frustrating, and I don't know if I could help 30 kids try to figure out what is going wrong with their software. This project would have to be highly scaffolded and planned out, but it could be really fun if it went correctly.

Creativity definitely wouldn't be a challenge with the students. This project has the potential to bring out so much personality and creative juices in every student! It would definitely be an adventure.

My Digital Storytelling Project

My project was on the poem "Let Me Out of the Classroom" by Kenn Nesbitt. I thought it was a really cute poem, and my cousin was kind enough to be the kid in the story. I used Windows Movie Maker for my project, which I liked while making my project, but saving turned into a nightmare.

Luckily it all worked out in the end and I think my finished project turned out pretty good! For some reason the sound went a little off when I uploaded it to YouTube, but that's ok!

TPAK

The What

TPACK stands for Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge. From what I understood, TPACK is a combination of all the smarts a good teacher should have. It combines teaching strategies, technological understanding, and content knowledge. Teachers know the material they are teaching, know how to teach the material, and how to throw in technology to make things more interesting, but still adding to their learning.

The Why

Clearly this concept is super important. There is no way a teacher can be totally effective without a combination of good content knowledge and pedagogical skills. The technology part to me is a newer idea that can add a great deal. If a teacher can use technology properly, their effectiveness will go way up.

Storyboard plus TPACK

For my digital storytelling project, I am doing a poem by Kenn Nesbitt called "Let Me Out of the Classroom"

Here is my storyboard:

(if you can't read the side note I put on there, I will not be drawing the pictures for my project. Lucky for everyone, I am using photographs :)

Alli the Website Maker

I thought this past week was totally awesome! Not only did I have an intramural soccer game and we got a day off of school, I learned a TON of useful information.

The MOST useful thing I learned was how and where to make these free websites. I have never heard of pbworks.com before, but it really is a great tool. It has a ton of capabilities, and it is free, which I am all about. It is also fairly easy, which let me know that I do have the ability to make a website and be able to keep it up without giving myself a ton of stress and extra work. I also realized the many useful tools that can be posted on the site. I loved the discussion board idea, and I incorporated that into my pbworks site. I think kids would have fun taking polls on there and writing their ideas where other classmates can see them and reply.

The website I made can be found here. (allisonwhitezell.pbworks.com) It was a lot of work to make, but I am proud of the finished result.

I was talking to my younger sister, who is in 5th grade, and her class has a website. It uses webs.com rather than pbworks. I thought her website was really cool because it can be customized in a bunch of different ways.

Video Chatting

My synchronous video tool. I had never used Skype before, and it is totally awesome! And free, which makes it that much cooler. (Yes I was looking away when I took the screen shot. Oops)

My asynchronous tool. I hope this doesn't creep you out Robin, but I practiced leaving you a video message on your Facebook. Haha. Luckily it wasn't too hard.


The hardest part about doing this part of the project was figuring out how to do a Print Screen on a Mac! I am an avid PC user and Macs make no sense to me. But I came and conquered.

My Technology Background

I would say that I have had a good amount of experience with technology. I always had a computer in my house growing up and I loved playing games on it. My parents would buy me 'educational games' and they were awesome. In high school we were required to take a computer class, and I learned a lot about the Internet and Microsoft programs through that. I currently work for the church doing computer support. For some reason I can never fix my own computer, but I am pretty good at fixing other people's computers.