Internet Safety

Wow, things have changed since I have been in school. In those days we did not have computers in our classroom instead we had locked computer rooms that could only be used with adult supervision. Now most classrooms have computers that the students can use when in at recess, when done homework or for class research projects. Due to the increased access to the internet as teachers we must enforce strict rules for our students’ internet use. These rules should be outlined at the beginning of the school year and reviewed whenever there will be major use of the internet in the classroom. You can also save kid friendly search engines under favourites on the browser such as Kidsclick and Canadian Kids pages. This way as a teacher you can instruct the students to use only these search engines and be less wary when students browse the internet.

Although we set rules as teachers for our students on appropriate use of the internet there will be a couple of curious students that will test these rules. To avoid them finding inappropriate websites you can use filters and blocking software. Your school can have server-based services that do not allow R-rated or unrated pages to be seen. Furthermore, you can change the browser’s internet option settings to not give access to these unsuitable sites. Even with all those precautions in place, students might still stumble across the odd inappropriate site and you will have to talk with that student or your class about the implication associated with this.

Spreadsheets in Language Arts

While I am in my practicum my Grade 3/4’s are doing a novel study on Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary. The story consists only of journal or letter entries so I thought I could get the student to make a timeline of important events happening to the main character, Leigh Botts. Although this can be easily done on paper, I think using a spreadsheet to make the time line would be a great way to integrate the ICT outcomes into Language Arts. During each section of the book the students could discuss the important events happening to Leigh and note the dates to input it into their spreadsheet. The great thing about using spreadsheets is that you can save your data and the next time you need to access it you will not have to go searching for it like when on paper. Additionally you can make the time line as long as you want very easily. The spreadsheet would look much like the one on this website: http://www.microsoft.com/education/AmazingAutobiographies.mspx. The only change would be that it is a time line of Leigh’s life instead of their own.

Discussion Boards: Pros and Cons

Pros:
In my opinion the most beneficial aspect of discussion boards is that every student must voice their opinion and knowledge. This is great for the students that do not usually participate in class due to being shy or being ridiculed by their classmates. Since discussion boards do not require an immediate response, students have a better chance at giving a well thought out reply which will enhance the overall discussion at hand. Students can access them, post new threads, as well as interact with their classmates any time of the day. This makes discussion boards highly interactive among classmates that do not always interact. They also promote students to find and learn information on their own which will benefit them in their future learning. Finally teachers can give students immediate feedback so that they do not have to wait and it will be fresh in their minds. The student can also review past comments and discussion to aid in future assignments and tests.

Cons:
The greatest obstacle of making discussion boards effective is that after school hours not every student will have access to the internet at home. This means that they cannot fully participate and benefit from the use of discussion boards. By the use of discussion boards in the classroom the students will have a decreased amount of face to face interaction with the teacher and their peers which is crucial to those students who need to build on their social skills. Finally one of the main fears as parents is online bullying which will have to be constantly monitored by teachers.

Minerals Concept Map

The above concept map of minerals would be great to use in a Grade 3 Science class. I would divide the student into groups of 2 and give each group a computer with the start of a concept map (the 4 main divisions of the above concept map). Their task would be to go to the following website, http://teach.fcps.net/trt20/projects/EKU/Default.htm and expand the given concept map in inspiration with the information they found at this website. An example of a finished concept map is the one I have posted. You could do the same for rocks by the use of the same website.

The ICT outcomes covered in this activity are:
GLO C4: Students will use organizational processes and tools to manage inquiry
SLO 2.2: organize information, using such tools as a database, spreadsheet or electronic webbing
GLO P4: Students will organize and manipulate data.
SLO 2.2: display data electronically through graphs and charts