The Power of Words

Note to self: this video is far more inspiring to help kids understand the importance of word choice than any lecture I could offer.

Internet Safety Questions

What article did you choose to read for your fourth article?
I read the "I Have a Question" article under the intenet link.

What were the most important things you learned from the readings?
The most important thing I learned was that there are 3 keys for protecting ourselves and our families from internet danger: • Parental awareness • Family rules • Filtering
I also learned in everything I saw and read that the internet is in fact a wonderful, valuable tool. We just need to be educated and to exercise self-control to use it safely.

How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?
From what I read, I know that one very important thing I can do is to get familiar with the technology my students and children are using! If I am using the same things they are, they will not feel as much like it's a private, secret world they have created. I also learned the value of straightforward internet safety education, and I will be sure to have plenty of discussions with my students/children concerning the matter establishing groundrules.

How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?
I can endorse technology and the internet to all my family and friends--particularly those who believe it is full of nothing but evil. Nothing could be farther from the truth; many individuals and groups, including general authorities, have praised the goodness that can be found in technology. I can explain that we simply need to know how to use it.

Internet Safety "Doing"

I instant messaged with my 13 year old sister about internet safety. As I looked for what her general safety level was like (we chatted on Facebook's instant messaging, and I had her check out her privacy levels on her account), I was surprised at how much she already knew! I then had her check out the netsmartz.org website and had her watch the video about cypergossip and the video called "Tracking Teresa." She enjoyed them both, and I think it was a beneficial and positive experience for both of us. Plus, instant messaging my little sister was so much fun! I think she really enjoys connecting with others with technology.

In-Class Presentations

The two best presentations used technology in a way that was engaging and informative for the students. One presentation used Google Earth with young children to help them understand the globe, and the students were absolutely encaptivated, especially as she used it to zoom in on their school. I was impressed by her connection from the core curriculum standard to the technology use. Another presentation also used GoogleEarth to take an entire grade (2nd) on a virtual tour. Again, I was impressed that she kept the entire grade engaged for 45 minutes. I think that the way she involved them in guessing which plants and animals might live at each of the 7 wonders was particularly creative and crossed content with technology very well. Great presentations!

Slideshow of Technology Lesson

Technology Lesson Slideshow

View more presentations from Mary Wade.

After looking at a classmate's powerpoint, I learned that even when a lesson is passive, pictures can still be used as a motivating factor to enhance lessons.

Tech Lesson

I taught my 1st graders a lesson called "Lucky Letters." In it, students were given several letters from which they were to create as many words as possible. This was a good writing exercise, as well as a good way to get the children thinking about forming words and spelling them correctly. I decided to use a powerpoint to give some examples of how we can form words together, as well as to give some examples/nonexamples. From the list of examples/nonexamples, students were asked to tell me which ones were nonsense words, and an animated X came on top of the nonsense words to affirm their answers. I ended up using the powerpoint for a little long for 1st graders, but overall, I think they had fun coming up with interesting words!

Technology Lesson Idea!

My first graders are currently working on becoming familiar with coins and adding them. I found an incredible website that would provides “emanipulatives,” including emanipulative coins and dollars. Students can drop coins into different groups, including two columns, part-part-whole, and 4 boxes. They can also click on a button that calculates the amount the boxes of coins are worth. This allows them to compare values of groups of coins, as well as gives them practice to become more familiar with coins. In my classroom, we don’t have computers available to students for individual practice, but we do have projectors that can be connected to laptops—this would be a great group activity as the teacher selects coins according to the students’ desires, and then questions them to predict, for example, how much each part of a part-part-whole problem is worth before revealing the answer, or to get students to try and find out which coins can be combined to create another value of coins. This would be extremely helpful for students who need extra practice with the coins. Here is the website! It includes other great emanipulatives! Enjoy!http://www.eduplace.com/kids/mw/manip/mn_k.html