Well, I'm still here and I haven't blown up a computer (yet). I have decided that while technology is great, in some aspects, I still find it very frustrating. Trying to download Pinnacle and struggling with Dreamweaver have only added to my frustration. Is the final product of my labor worth the frustration? I would have to answer yes.
While at times I have wanted to blow up my computer, or at least throw it out the window, when I saw my finished I-Movie I was greatly pleased. It was even more satisfied when I realized I did it myself! I think this experience will be good for me as I work with children who are just learning how to move a mouse or work a software program. I will be able to feel their frustration and assure them that I made it through and so will they!
The articles I have been reading are so eye opening as well. They have made me aware of uses for technology that I would have never thought of. Therefore, my conclusion to technology is that it is a necessary evil. So in the spirit of "you have to take the good with the bad" and "hard work pays off in the end," I will embrace the uses of technology for myself and my students.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Five Steps to Combat Bullying
The second article I chose to review is on using technology to combat bullying. The title of the article is Five Steps to Combat Bullying and is written by Jenna Andrews. She used a program for MAC called Comic Life to introduce her students to strategies for dealing with bullying. You can access the article through
http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604789
Bullying is a problem at every level of education. This article addressed how one teacher used a software program called Comic Life to help students connect to real life issues, such as bullying.
Students began by exploring the program by using it to create simple comic strips. The program has ready made templates, word bubbles, and pictures and is user friendly. After they familiarized themselves with the program, the students were paired off to brainstorm ideas about bullying they had been the victim or witness of. They created a storyboard for a rough draft exploring ways to diffuse the situations. They were responsible for creating a story and a plot for their comic strip. The story had to suggest a solution that could be used by a real student in a similar situation.
They used the Comic Life program to bring their comic strip to life. Then they shared their comic strips with each other. It was a great example of students using technology to address real world issues while being creative. Their work was even used to help teach others about bullying and solutions for bullying.
The Comic Life program could be used for many other purposes. It seems like a great tool to use in many different subjects for students to create meaningful and imaginative projects. This article opened my eyes to the many different uses for technology and specific software programs. These are very beneficial tools for educators to use to help children think out of the box. It sure beats the traditional lecture and presentation formats used by most teachers.
http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604789
Bullying is a problem at every level of education. This article addressed how one teacher used a software program called Comic Life to help students connect to real life issues, such as bullying.
Students began by exploring the program by using it to create simple comic strips. The program has ready made templates, word bubbles, and pictures and is user friendly. After they familiarized themselves with the program, the students were paired off to brainstorm ideas about bullying they had been the victim or witness of. They created a storyboard for a rough draft exploring ways to diffuse the situations. They were responsible for creating a story and a plot for their comic strip. The story had to suggest a solution that could be used by a real student in a similar situation.
They used the Comic Life program to bring their comic strip to life. Then they shared their comic strips with each other. It was a great example of students using technology to address real world issues while being creative. Their work was even used to help teach others about bullying and solutions for bullying.
The Comic Life program could be used for many other purposes. It seems like a great tool to use in many different subjects for students to create meaningful and imaginative projects. This article opened my eyes to the many different uses for technology and specific software programs. These are very beneficial tools for educators to use to help children think out of the box. It sure beats the traditional lecture and presentation formats used by most teachers.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Keeping Students Safe Online
http://newbay.ebookhost.net/tl/8e6/1/
The Problem with MySpace
by The Forsite Group
The article I chose to review for this entry comes from an e-book from Tech Learning. The e-book is entitled "Keeping Students Safe Online." This issue was of special interest to me because my teen aged daughter and her friends frequent MySpace as a form of communication between them.
This article began by addressing the recent issue of sexual predators using MySpace.com as a trolling grounds for under aged victims. My husband and I frequently watch the Dateline show, "To Catch a Predator." We were very aware of the situation of MySpace being a target for sexual predators as a way of enticing teenagers. This article addressed this problem and ways that parents and schools were dealing with it.
MySpace.com is a "social networking" site. It is a place for people to communicate. It allows users to access blogs, instant messengers, and email all in one place. There are currently over 70 million users worldwide. MySpace is not the only social networking site on the Internet, there are many. These sites do not introduce new technologies or services, they simply make using existing ones more convenient.
Adults and teenagers utilize the Internet in very different ways. For adults, the Internet is a tool. They use it to check email, get information, and shop. Teenagers view the Internet as a place to hang out with their friends, especially for real-time communication. As many teenagers have grown up with the Internet, it is assumed that they know the dangers of it. Research shows that this may not be the case. In their online profiles, 70% have provided their first name, 67% have supplied their age, 61% have included contact information, and 59% have posted their location. These are some pretty alarming statistics. My husband, who is in the Criminal Justice program, recently went to a seminar on Internet predators. The speaker showed that just by searching for a zip code you can pinpoint find many unsuspecting teenagers. This is because that even if they put in fake information, the majority of teenagers include their correct zip code.
With the information that MySpace was being used by sexual predators, parents and school officials became alarmed. School districts faced many questions when deciding how to deal with this situation. The two main questions were, "Was MySpace the only threat?" and "Did they have cause to block it?" This last question was the most challenging. It was compared to banning books in school libraries. Every school district or library the receives federal funds must comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). This act states that images that are harmful to minors (children 17 and under) must be blocked. Because many MySpace customers post partially nude or nude photographs, many school districts decided to block the site. Some users got around this block by creating fake URLs.
MySpace faced new challenges when this problem arose as well. They did set an age restriction and you must be 14 or older to create an account; however, this does not stop a teenager from pretending to be older or a predator from pretending to be younger. They hired an industry to oversee safety, education, privacy programs, and law enforcement issues. They have also created protection programs to prevent strangers from contacting members under 16 and provided parents with links to free filtering software that monitors and limits Internet activities and access.
This article was a reinforcement for me of the dangers that do lurk on the Internet. The Internet was designed as a tool and has evolved to something much more. It has become a gathering place and a communication network. The solution to me is education. We need to educate our children about the dangers of the Internet, as well as the benefits of it.
The Problem with MySpace
by The Forsite Group
The article I chose to review for this entry comes from an e-book from Tech Learning. The e-book is entitled "Keeping Students Safe Online." This issue was of special interest to me because my teen aged daughter and her friends frequent MySpace as a form of communication between them.
This article began by addressing the recent issue of sexual predators using MySpace.com as a trolling grounds for under aged victims. My husband and I frequently watch the Dateline show, "To Catch a Predator." We were very aware of the situation of MySpace being a target for sexual predators as a way of enticing teenagers. This article addressed this problem and ways that parents and schools were dealing with it.
MySpace.com is a "social networking" site. It is a place for people to communicate. It allows users to access blogs, instant messengers, and email all in one place. There are currently over 70 million users worldwide. MySpace is not the only social networking site on the Internet, there are many. These sites do not introduce new technologies or services, they simply make using existing ones more convenient.
Adults and teenagers utilize the Internet in very different ways. For adults, the Internet is a tool. They use it to check email, get information, and shop. Teenagers view the Internet as a place to hang out with their friends, especially for real-time communication. As many teenagers have grown up with the Internet, it is assumed that they know the dangers of it. Research shows that this may not be the case. In their online profiles, 70% have provided their first name, 67% have supplied their age, 61% have included contact information, and 59% have posted their location. These are some pretty alarming statistics. My husband, who is in the Criminal Justice program, recently went to a seminar on Internet predators. The speaker showed that just by searching for a zip code you can pinpoint find many unsuspecting teenagers. This is because that even if they put in fake information, the majority of teenagers include their correct zip code.
With the information that MySpace was being used by sexual predators, parents and school officials became alarmed. School districts faced many questions when deciding how to deal with this situation. The two main questions were, "Was MySpace the only threat?" and "Did they have cause to block it?" This last question was the most challenging. It was compared to banning books in school libraries. Every school district or library the receives federal funds must comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). This act states that images that are harmful to minors (children 17 and under) must be blocked. Because many MySpace customers post partially nude or nude photographs, many school districts decided to block the site. Some users got around this block by creating fake URLs.
MySpace faced new challenges when this problem arose as well. They did set an age restriction and you must be 14 or older to create an account; however, this does not stop a teenager from pretending to be older or a predator from pretending to be younger. They hired an industry to oversee safety, education, privacy programs, and law enforcement issues. They have also created protection programs to prevent strangers from contacting members under 16 and provided parents with links to free filtering software that monitors and limits Internet activities and access.
This article was a reinforcement for me of the dangers that do lurk on the Internet. The Internet was designed as a tool and has evolved to something much more. It has become a gathering place and a communication network. The solution to me is education. We need to educate our children about the dangers of the Internet, as well as the benefits of it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
