Cyberbullying: How to Fight the New Bullies, by Rosalind Wiseman
Cyberbullying is something that is unfortunately becoming more and more prevalent, as it's a great way to include the world in on their jokes. With the invention of myspace and other social networking sites, it's even easier, more public, and thus more humiliating. I have heard of numerous examples where people will leave comments or bulletins that are incredibly hurtful to individuals and aimed with the sole purpose of insult or humiliation. I have not heard of the instant messaging being used to any serious effect in my personal experience, but I have no doubt it does, as it's often easier to say things over the internet than face-to-face. Thus, it makes bullying easy. That accessibility is part of the problem, because anyone can do it, and the simplicity of a few words or a picture can have 1,000 implications on a child, or anyone for that matter, especially with a public perception and their own opinions and views of the situation. So, HOW DO WE MINIMIZE CYBERBULLYING? I think kids should be made concisous of the fact that if they have a problem with a student, online or off, that they get it adressed, especially if it starts affecting them personally and academically. Thus, I don't mean to advertise cyberbullying, but rather make sure kids know they have someone to talk to, and can get the problem solved before it becomes something more serious. That said WHAT IS A GOOD WAY TO RESTRICT ACCESS? Well, if the problem can be found to a specific student, the school can alert the parents and hopefully find a solution in that manner. I don't however, think schools should get involved in outside affairs, because that seperation between school and parent is important to many... even if not all parents do something to help their child's education. However, privacy is an issue, and one that can at this point only be asked to change, not forced.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Journal 4
"From Toy to Tool" by Liz Kolb
Audioblog is one of the more unique features of the internet, and I fear one of the least utilized. How incredible is it to talk into your cell phone and have all your dialougue appear online? Or a picutre you take one second, and have appear for all to see then next? It's absolutely incredible. One of the middle school teachers that I've observed used them to great effect. For people that are absent, he records the lesson, and when "quests" come around (that's a quiz/test), he has the kids come in for a roundtable, and they go over test questions that he records so that it can be used as a study guide. He's been having great success, as parents can kind of hear what's going on in the classroom, and students can take the audioblog and use in on their computer, transfer it to their ipod, and numerous other devices. This of course, leads to some great questions... HOW WOULD I USE AUDIOBLOG IN THE CLASSROOM? Well, for starters, I'd love to set something similar up, especially the test reviews that they could find online. I mean, I'd much rather they use their ipods for something educational rather than ignoring everything I say. That said, I hope it wouldn't replace in class discussion. So, DO I THINK AUDIOBLOG WILL REPLACE IN-CLASS DISCUSSION? No, absolutely not. I think it's much more of a great tool than a required force. Not all students have the technological ability to access such material, and as such I would not make anything of that sort mandatory. But for those that can, I'd love to provide the option to help further their studies and interest, inside and outside the classroom.
Audioblog is one of the more unique features of the internet, and I fear one of the least utilized. How incredible is it to talk into your cell phone and have all your dialougue appear online? Or a picutre you take one second, and have appear for all to see then next? It's absolutely incredible. One of the middle school teachers that I've observed used them to great effect. For people that are absent, he records the lesson, and when "quests" come around (that's a quiz/test), he has the kids come in for a roundtable, and they go over test questions that he records so that it can be used as a study guide. He's been having great success, as parents can kind of hear what's going on in the classroom, and students can take the audioblog and use in on their computer, transfer it to their ipod, and numerous other devices. This of course, leads to some great questions... HOW WOULD I USE AUDIOBLOG IN THE CLASSROOM? Well, for starters, I'd love to set something similar up, especially the test reviews that they could find online. I mean, I'd much rather they use their ipods for something educational rather than ignoring everything I say. That said, I hope it wouldn't replace in class discussion. So, DO I THINK AUDIOBLOG WILL REPLACE IN-CLASS DISCUSSION? No, absolutely not. I think it's much more of a great tool than a required force. Not all students have the technological ability to access such material, and as such I would not make anything of that sort mandatory. But for those that can, I'd love to provide the option to help further their studies and interest, inside and outside the classroom.
Journal 3
"Video in the Age of Participation," by Glenn Bull
The inclusion of media is simply an amazing and phenominal process, and not one to be ignored. As computers change, upgrade, and grow, using plenty of video media is becoming more and more accessible, from video storage sites, to the increased memory and outputting power of cpus. I know that it is the teachers throughout my educational experience that use technology in new and facinating ways that have kept my interest level in teaching and creativity so high. In fact, today I went into the room of one of the most technological teachers I have ever known, and the leaps and bounds that have been made are incredible... with a good imagination and the know-how, there's no limit to the educational experiences and unique adventures kids can have with a creative instructor! That said, unitedstreaming was an incredible site which could find nearly anything and everything in education within seconds, and relevant information at that! It's phenominal to know that teachers have such strong support systems available to us, and that with the knowledge of making it ourselves or finding the resources others have given us, that we can have similar experiences with our own students, because making a kid understand, have fun, AND pay attention is an impressive feat, and one that leads to a good education. WOULD I USE DIGITAL MEDIA LIKE VIDEOS IN MY CLASSROOM? Absolutely! From finding media online, to creating my own cheezy attempts, my goal is to entertain students and keep them engaged in the subject, because once you lose them, it's hard to get them back. SECONDLY, WOULD I USE/RECCOMEND UNITEDSTREAMING? Absolutely once more! It's a great program that makes finding new ideas so much easier, helping cut down on prep time, and often opening new possibilities one might not even think about, in media, in lesson plans, and beyond.
The inclusion of media is simply an amazing and phenominal process, and not one to be ignored. As computers change, upgrade, and grow, using plenty of video media is becoming more and more accessible, from video storage sites, to the increased memory and outputting power of cpus. I know that it is the teachers throughout my educational experience that use technology in new and facinating ways that have kept my interest level in teaching and creativity so high. In fact, today I went into the room of one of the most technological teachers I have ever known, and the leaps and bounds that have been made are incredible... with a good imagination and the know-how, there's no limit to the educational experiences and unique adventures kids can have with a creative instructor! That said, unitedstreaming was an incredible site which could find nearly anything and everything in education within seconds, and relevant information at that! It's phenominal to know that teachers have such strong support systems available to us, and that with the knowledge of making it ourselves or finding the resources others have given us, that we can have similar experiences with our own students, because making a kid understand, have fun, AND pay attention is an impressive feat, and one that leads to a good education. WOULD I USE DIGITAL MEDIA LIKE VIDEOS IN MY CLASSROOM? Absolutely! From finding media online, to creating my own cheezy attempts, my goal is to entertain students and keep them engaged in the subject, because once you lose them, it's hard to get them back. SECONDLY, WOULD I USE/RECCOMEND UNITEDSTREAMING? Absolutely once more! It's a great program that makes finding new ideas so much easier, helping cut down on prep time, and often opening new possibilities one might not even think about, in media, in lesson plans, and beyond.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Journal 2
"Breathing Fire into Web 2.0", by Justin Hardman and David Carpenter
From what I can gather, Web 2.0/Dragonnet seems to be like a fancy mix between a myspace/facebook, webct, and a giant server of information. It's very impressive how small ideas can grow, bloom, and become something so much greater than they were ever planned for. I definately like the idea of posting and sharing information with other teachers around the world. This can give new teachers a springboard to jump from, and for regular teachers, there's always something new to try or learn. I also like it's communication aspects for students and parents, opening up a vessel to communicate, with the teacher, as well as fellow students when/if they need help. I suppose, in that sense, it's the only thing that scares me, that it's similar to webct. Webct is a useful program, but it has it's share of bugs and glitches. I have yet to try dragonnet, but I'm sure it has it's share of holes and glitches, it wouldn't be 2.0 without it. As far as questions, ONE WOULD BE HOW I CAN USE THIS SYSTEM TO MAKE IT MORE USER-FRIENDLY FOR THEM. I think the allure of having a "school myspace" might be very enticing, as well as with the digital age we live in, one can't really go wrong. SECONDLY, WHAT IF I OPENED THE PROGRAM UP TO PARENTS? I think it could be a positive experience for them to get involved as well, especially in the form of communicating with the teacher as well as monitoring and helping their children along.
From what I can gather, Web 2.0/Dragonnet seems to be like a fancy mix between a myspace/facebook, webct, and a giant server of information. It's very impressive how small ideas can grow, bloom, and become something so much greater than they were ever planned for. I definately like the idea of posting and sharing information with other teachers around the world. This can give new teachers a springboard to jump from, and for regular teachers, there's always something new to try or learn. I also like it's communication aspects for students and parents, opening up a vessel to communicate, with the teacher, as well as fellow students when/if they need help. I suppose, in that sense, it's the only thing that scares me, that it's similar to webct. Webct is a useful program, but it has it's share of bugs and glitches. I have yet to try dragonnet, but I'm sure it has it's share of holes and glitches, it wouldn't be 2.0 without it. As far as questions, ONE WOULD BE HOW I CAN USE THIS SYSTEM TO MAKE IT MORE USER-FRIENDLY FOR THEM. I think the allure of having a "school myspace" might be very enticing, as well as with the digital age we live in, one can't really go wrong. SECONDLY, WHAT IF I OPENED THE PROGRAM UP TO PARENTS? I think it could be a positive experience for them to get involved as well, especially in the form of communicating with the teacher as well as monitoring and helping their children along.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Journal 1
Finding New Ways to Connect: By Eleanor Yang Su of the Union Tribune
Technology is certainly an evergrowing trend in the classroom, and our generation in general. The fine majority of college students are well equipped with a cell phone, labtop, and more, making instant messanging, social networking sites (myspace/facebook/etc.), music, and texting all the more accessible and relevant. Many professors in Cal State San Marcos ask that labtops be turned off because they figure students are abusing their internet capabilities to play games and check sites. This is partially true, but at the same time, many students use the technology to help themselves, especially with taking notes, as this generation has incredible typing skills, and can put something on a computer much faster than they could ever write it. And while I find most students here are disliking programs such as webct, more and more classes are using it as the basis for delivering and grading work. Clickers are becoming a popular way of testing student knowledge in the classroom, and I have heard that our own Physics program has started using them. With San Marcos being so new, I'm suprised we don't have more technology, other than webCT or our school e-mail. I know we have unique sites and such, and that all the information is there, but it is "the old e-mail way". I know at orientation now, we've opened up an instant messaging system for students to use when they have questions. It's already been used numerous times, and orientations haven't even started! It's amazing the wildfire that techonology can bring. Do I think clickers in the classroom are a good idea? Yes, I think they can help teachers test and track student knowledge, as well as not put students on the spot, which can be viewed positively or negatively. Do I think services such as instant messaging should be added to the arsenal of information we continue to grow? Yes, and I don't see any reason for that to change. As I stated earlier, we just started an AIM system and it's working great. Perhaps even a myspace someday... only time will tell.
Technology is certainly an evergrowing trend in the classroom, and our generation in general. The fine majority of college students are well equipped with a cell phone, labtop, and more, making instant messanging, social networking sites (myspace/facebook/etc.), music, and texting all the more accessible and relevant. Many professors in Cal State San Marcos ask that labtops be turned off because they figure students are abusing their internet capabilities to play games and check sites. This is partially true, but at the same time, many students use the technology to help themselves, especially with taking notes, as this generation has incredible typing skills, and can put something on a computer much faster than they could ever write it. And while I find most students here are disliking programs such as webct, more and more classes are using it as the basis for delivering and grading work. Clickers are becoming a popular way of testing student knowledge in the classroom, and I have heard that our own Physics program has started using them. With San Marcos being so new, I'm suprised we don't have more technology, other than webCT or our school e-mail. I know we have unique sites and such, and that all the information is there, but it is "the old e-mail way". I know at orientation now, we've opened up an instant messaging system for students to use when they have questions. It's already been used numerous times, and orientations haven't even started! It's amazing the wildfire that techonology can bring. Do I think clickers in the classroom are a good idea? Yes, I think they can help teachers test and track student knowledge, as well as not put students on the spot, which can be viewed positively or negatively. Do I think services such as instant messaging should be added to the arsenal of information we continue to grow? Yes, and I don't see any reason for that to change. As I stated earlier, we just started an AIM system and it's working great. Perhaps even a myspace someday... only time will tell.
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