Final Self-Report

The most valuable aspect of creating a PLE was actually learning how to use a blog. Many of the assignments that we had to post to our PLE's helped me know more and more about blogs. I felt like everyone else was using blogs except for me (for personal use), but not any more! Even though I don't know all the cool tricks there are to blogs, I feel pretty comfortable using them.
The thing I liked least about the PLE's, was reporting on them during the practicum. I didn't do it, because I always forgot. I probably forgot simply because there was no need to post a reflection every week.
The liklihood of my using a blog for personal or educational use in the future is very high! My husband has been bugging me to create a blog for our family, and now I will! They are a great way to keep in touch with people and to keep others informed as well as being informed. I think blogs would also be a good use for educational purposes and sharing ideas with other teachers.

Internet Safety Videos

I watched:
NetSmart: Cyberbullying, "Julie's Journey," and "Tracking Teresa"
ikeepsafe: faux paw
Frontline: A Revolution in Classrooms and Social Life; Self Expression
isafe: Privacy and the Internet

It is a lot easier to say things over the internet that you would never say in person. Words cannot be taken back, and things said over the internet are often regretted. We need to watch what we say over the internet, because those words stick forever, they never go away.
I learned that someone's home address can be tracked down in about ten minutes. From just a simple chatroom member profile, people are about to find out a person's name, age, gender, email address, interests, phone number, family members' names, address, school, and schedules. How scary! It is so important to have screen names that do not give away any information, and not to have information on internet profiles. Any little bit of information can get people closer to finding home addresses.
Faux Paw is such a great resource for teaching young children about internet safety. It is entertaining, and it focuses on only the most important parts of internet safety. I would definitely use this video in a younger classroom and also with my own children as I teach internet safety. All of the other videos I watched will be great to show to my own children as they get older. The videos are kind of scary, but I think that is okay. Internet safety is a reality that we have to deal with, so teaching with these videos will help children know of the dangers that are out there.

Internet Safety Readings

1. I chose to read the article Leave it Alone by Elder Peterson, an Emeritus member of the Seventy.
2. and 3. From Elder Ballard's talk, I loved how he talked about the good uses of the internet. Because the media is so HUGE, it can be used for good and bad. We should not avoid media just because of its bad uses. We must focus on the good, while shielding ourselves from the bad. Many of the other talks and readings addressed this importance. Other talks included some guidelines to remember for internet use in our homes. Although some were obvious (place computers in high-traffic areas and place filters on computers), I was especially convinced of some of the other points made. We should teach our family about the dangers of the internet, being open and honest. I should not be afraid to speak about certain topics with my children in the future, because some issues are too serious to be ignored. I also need to teach my children to not be afraid to let someone know if they come across something that makes them uncomfortable on the internet. One of the main points I will remember, is to have open communication with my family, to create a comfortable environment where we can be honest with each other and keep each other safe.
Brother Graham's article provided great ideas for good uses of technology. We need to use technology with our children positive and uplifting ways. There is no need to be scared of technology or the internet, but they must be used in positive ways.
4. Learning about internet safety has made me want to talk to everyone I care about! Parents are more clueless than they think. If parents become informed, then their children can be saved from worry and sadness. I want to teach and control what my sisters do on the internet, but I can't. I think having simple conversations with them about what I know will help them more than any lecture would. I think expressing my love and care for my family with help them protect each other from the evils of the internet.

Using Technology in Lessons

My classroom gets computer time once a week. They always do a math activity and then something else. It was awesome to hear one of the students this week say that math is their favorite subject. Besides having such a great math program, the students generally really enjoying using the computer for math. The first graders really take care of their computers and treat them with respect.
It is also amazing to see how using a laptop really helps these students practice their fine motor skills. They have to learn how to control the mouse, click and drag, and manipulate it in various ways. I would have never even made the connection between laptop use and fine motor skills. It is great to see how hard these kids concentrate and don't give up on not knowing how to type or control the mouse. They remain persistent and are not afraid to ask for help. Perhaps I could learn a little from the children about attitudes toward something I do not know how to use--stay persistent, and don't be afraid to ask for help!
I was observed for the first time this past week. I just taught a small guided reading group for the observation, and I got relatively positive feedback for my lesson and management. During my conference, my CFA asked me how I could have incorporated technology into my lesson. I had a difficult time answering this question becuase I have making the use of technology too hard.
Technology does not have to be hard. I could have simply used a really neat picture or clip off of a laptop to get the students' attention or get them thinking. That would have been so easy and the kids would have loved it! Using technology in even small groups can make a difference in the lesson. I am definitely going to try to make the use of technology not such a difficult task. It definitely helps to ask myself that simple question more often: how can I incorporate technology into this lesson? If I am open to the idea of the use of technology, it will come more naturally to me.

Virtual Tours

Google Earth virtual tours are a great way for children to explore the world and places that they could not otherwise travel to! I watched Amy Samuelsen's virtual tour, and one thing I really liked about hers what that she used a fun style placemark. It was fun, and not ordinary. I only used the tack placemarks, and I realized now that it probably wasn't the most exciting. She also traveled around the whole world to learn about environments and ecosystems. It is fun for children to travel around the world and compare the different kinds of land. I also watch Rebekah Handley's virtual tour. I LOVED her image overlays! She had one of Mt. Everest placed right ontop of the mountain image in google earth. It felt like I was on the mountain. Children could get really into her virtual tour becuase she makes the viewers feel like they are there. Now that I think about it, it would have been really neat to use an image overlay in mine. I am impressed with how much I learned during this assignment and the many uses that virtual tours have!

Google Earth

I have learned that Google Earth has many more capabilities than only searching for my house! Google Earth has a lot of features that can be used in all subject areas. It is not only useful for geography, but Google Earth can be explored with math, history, science, literature, and anything you are curious about. It can be used in the classroom to help students have an experience with the curriculum and explore on their own, rather than simply being told information. It would be a great way to engage students in their own learning. I also learned that Google Earth opens .kml and .kmz files. If you search anything on Google with .kmz at the end of the search, you will find files that can be opened in Google Earth. There are a lot of neat files that people have created to be explored with Google Earth.
I found a great link to "Smithsonian's Volcanoes of the World" where you can see the distribution of volcanoes around the world, see pictures, and get specific information.
Link to Volcanoes
This link can be used to observe patterns of volcanoes, their locations, and the effect they have on the physical features of the world.

Digital Storyboards

By looking at other PLE's, I learned that there is so much you can do with digital storyboards. They can be used for many different activities and objectives, not just storytelling. Storyboards can be used for poetry, personal narratives, interpreting, rand esearch projects. Also, storyboards can be displayed in different ways using different form of visual arts. You can use pictures, take your own pictures, draw your own pictures, use claymation, or act it out. Students and teachers have the opportunity to be creative and use their imaginations when creating a storyboard that is just right for the objective.
I am interested in teaching first grade, and I am in a first grade classroom for the cohort this semester. Storyboards can be adapted to the reading objective of students interpreting text. Students could interpret a story by drawing pictures, and then those pictures could be published in a digital storyboard. The students would have a lot of fun!