Tuesday, November 3, 2009

To Twitter or not to Twitter at the office

I just finished reading an article from the Sept. 13th Eagle Tribune titled "To Twitter or not to Twitter at office? New rules". Workers have access to social media on the job, and this has created numerous problems, from loss productivity to possible civil rights violations. Obviously when someone is using social media for personal use on the job, there is a loss of productivity. Civil rights violations could come into play if someone is watching or listening to a YouTube video that a coworker finds offensive. New rules need to be developed that detail what is acceptable or not in the workplace, and that will differ depending upon the work environment. Some companies depend upon social media for reaching out to its employees and customers, but could run into a problem with proprietary information appearing in blogs and tweets. The technology is growing so fast that companies are having difficulty keeping pace.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

How do you provide equal access to the digital world?

Regardless of how much (or little) technology that you have within a classroom, each student should have equal access to it. To provide equal access, you may need to consider the needs of each of your students. Students come to us with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. Some students may have hearing, vision, or fine motor skill issues which require special consideration when implementing technology. You may have students whose parents will not allow them to use the computer, for various reasons. In order to provide equal access, it may be beneficial to explain in the beginning of the year to each parent how you plan on using the computer for learning, and what safeguards are in place to ensure the safety of their children. Possibly if the parents understand that technology can actually advance their child's education, they may feel more comfortable and be more willing to let their child participate. If they still don't give permission, assignments will have to be adapted so that they student can still participate and learn the content. If this occurs, it is not the teacher , but the parent, that is denying the equal access to the technology.

Monday, October 12, 2009

How and Why Teachers Need to Evaluate Websites for Use in the Classroom

During the time that students are with their teacher, the teacher is acting in the capacity of a guardian authority, and as such, has the responsibility to make sure that all material that students use is age and content appropriate. For elementary students, the teacher can do this by pre-selecting the websites that the students will use, checking for age and source of information. All links in the selected websites should also be checked for the same information. Students also need to be taught, starting at a young age, how to evaluate websites for themselves. They have to be taught healthy skepticism, so that they question the validity of information. The teacher should model for the students the process of evaluating websites and what to look for. Then students can be provided with a checklist that they can use when doing projects that details each item they need to check for. The students first project could be practicing this process alone, before they have to do a research project. When doing more detailed projects, this checklist should be turned in with the project so that the teacher knows the student followed the procedure, and is learning the process. This could be an item graded on the rubric for the project.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Chapters 7 & 11

I am amazed by the sheer volume of products and applications that are available on the internet for sharing and collaborating. One that intrigued me was Sribd , purported to be the largest social publishing website in the world. What I love about it is that anyone can be an author by submitting something to Scribd to be published. Just because a publisher rejects a work, doesn't mean that it doesn't have value. Through Scribd, anyone who is interested in the topic can find your work and read it. You can find documents from students, teachers, everyone, and anyone. Even the government is posting to it!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

9/30 homework

I came to this course with the preconception that using the computer was a solitary activity. My personal experience has been that I have used the computer primarily for research. Not necessarily just for school, but also in my every day life. When I need information on a topic, I go to the computer. After doing the assigned reading, I have come to realize that rather than being a solitary and isolating experience, technology can actually bring people together. It allows people to work together creating and implementing who because of distance, would never be able to be together in the same room. It allows relationships to develop that never would have without the technology. I was also amazed to see some of the things that can be accomplished through technology, such as the work done through 1kg.org. Through the use of technology as a means of coordinating the project, some amazing human improvement projects are being accomplished.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

About Me

Hi! This is my first blog, which I am learning about in a course on Integrating Technology in the Classroom. I am working toward my Master's in Education for Elementary Ed. I have worked with students for the past 2 years as a para educator and for 6 years before that as a reading assistant. I have worked with students from preschool through high school. Currently I am working with six grade students.