Avoiding Adverse Adventures

There are many things that a teacher has to worry about in a regular day but probably the greatest is to keep every child in his/ her class safe. Acting in loco parentis is a very intimidating role, when dealing with technology it gets even harder. We are required to protect children from invisible threats. it is not enough any more to make sure that Billy doesn't get pushed off of the swing and Suzy doesn't stick her finger into an electrical outlet now we must be on guard for cyber-bullies that may be anonymously attacking Billy on the class blog or Suzy accidentally stumbling upon a pornography site.

I believe that the way to handle these types of problems is with communication. Before
any student logs on they should have participated in a class discussion about the rules and responsibilities that come with internet use. Many students feel safe in front of the computer. I think that we must ask them what rules they have to keep them safe at home and then work together to identify ways that the same rules apply online. If a student is not supposed to talk to strangers while walking to school than they should follow that rule while perusing the web. Students usually are required to inform their parents of their whereabouts, this can apply on line as well, if students are done their work early they should be provided with a list of safe places that they can go, and they should tell the teacher where they are going.

Adventure my Axis!

In the Grade Two class that I am working in the daily predict and track the weather on a daily weekly and monthly basis. This would be a great opportunity to integrate technology. students could graph use one worksheet to record both their predictions and the actual temperature and then convert the information to a line graph to see how the two correspond. They could use another worksheet to record the weather, and then use a bar or pie graph to represent the number of days that it was windy, cloudy, sunny, etc.

Overall this lesson would prepare them for their later social studies and science curriculum while making them familiar with the technology.

ambling on the internet

On line discussion boards are a great way to add technology to the classroom. There is no end to the way that on line discussions can be used to expand on in class assignments. Discussion boards can be used to trace learning throughout the year as students explore a topic. They can be used to hold debates that a regular class time does not allow. Students in smaller rural schools could team up with other schools to discuss assignments and peer tutor beyond the confines of their small classes. Discussion boards can be used for students to respond to current media events, for example in secondary social studies classes students could respond to the political debates as they are being televised. Discussion boards also will allow teachers to respond in a meaningful way to more students and monitor common misconceptions or class wide problems.

Problems may arise with the use of discussion boards if all students do not have equal access to the technology. Teachers also must be aware of safety regulations and FOIP laws which control what students are allowed to post. There have been recent problems with cyber bullying which may cause problems because postings can be anonymous and can be read by all.

Over all I believe that the pros out weigh the cons so long as the teachers take responsibility
for the discussions and teach their students about the proper usage of discussion boards. Just like any new classroom technique teachers need to set rules and consequences from the beginning.

Absolutely Awsome Concept Maps

The Nose from Jupiter: An Interactive Novel Study
Grade Six Language Arts

I would use this concept map for an in-depth novel study. The students are required to read the novel for detail, refer back to specific portions of the text, and respond to the text. The students would also have to navigate the web mapping tools as some of the activities require them to change colours or add information. I have also included some hyperlinks which will help the students practice their research and inquiry skills.

This assignment to use writing skills, reading skills, reflecting skills, math skills, categorization, memory, research, visual representation, as well as a number of computer skills. This activity meets the ICT learner outcomes C1 2.1 and 2.2, C4 2.2, C6 2.3 and 2.5, F4 2.1, P1 2.1, and P2 2.2. This extensive type of study would span a large block of time and could be incorporated into a few different subjects.