Final Reflection

I actually got a lot of this class. There were some things involving technology that I just thought were way to complicated that I wouldn't ever try. Throughout this class I have learned those things such as creating a website and editing a video that I thought were too hard for me. Turns out that they are not that bad at all. So if I had to say one thing that I got out of this class, it would be that I realized technology can actually be user friendly. I will use technology in my classroom.

This class has changed the way I think about technology in a very similar way. I think that technology is a great asset to a classroom. I used to think that technology was just a waste of money; I mean I learned just fine without the ipad or whatever, but technology does actually aid and facilitate learning. Technology is cool, and is always changing. I know that if I keep up to date with the new technologies of the day I will be able to better serve my students.

Did u know??

I knew that the world was changing, but I didn't realize how fast the change was happening. This video made me realize that a lot of the technology taught in school will be obselete in a number of years. Because of this, we need to be teaching students how to learn things on there own. That is the only way that they will be able to find jobs later in life and compete with the younger generation. It is no longer about teaching students concrete facts, it is about teacing them how to adapt to new ideas.

Internet Safety

From what I could find on the internet about internet safety I noticed that a lot of attention is given to sexual predators that may target teenagers in the chat room. This is a very important issue to discuss but I don't feel like enough attention was given to the other dangers of internet use. However, I guess teenagers don't have to worry about identity theft or the other dangers of the internet. Although, I would have liked to see more information about how to avoid pornography and how to avoid getting viruses. I thought if was sort of ironic that isafe asked for such detailed information, then I remembered how to check if a website is secure. isafe seems like a really cool resource. As a teacher I would push that the school I work at somehow integrate that program, whether it be by a computer class or by having a internet safety week during which the students had time in school to review the program. One change I will make when giving out credit card numbers and such,is to only do if url contains https. Also, I made my facebook so that only the day of my birthday shows on my profile not the year. I had no idea how easy it is for predators to steal identities. I have heard some horror stories about how stolen identities have ruined peoples lives. When I am a teacher I will make sure that the students at least have a basic knowledge of internet safety because internet use is only going to increase over time and I'm sure new dangers will surface. When the students use computers under my supervision I will be very clear of the consequences of doing inappropriate things on the internet and contact parents if the students break the rules. Also, especially in these days of facebook and myspace, I would be sure to tell them what it acceptable and safe to put up on those sites.
For my lesson I taught my roommate about internet safety. I used the slide show you sent us to teach her. I think it went well, she said she already knew most of the stuff but she ended up taking her birthday of facebook and she didn't know about phishing and how convincing scams could get. She also found the https tip helpful.

finalist presentations

I'm not sure I understood what the videos and presentations were supposed to be about. The couple that won the competition definitely put the most effort into their project, but I wasn't impressed with the technology they were using (I think they were just using a website as there technolgy). However, with all of those premade lesson plans I will definitely check their site out. I really liked the project that Amiee and her partner came up with. It was simple, but their idea to connect people from all over the world in a debate is something that would be helpful in learning about other cultures and for seeing other peoples point of veiw. It was great to see all of the technologies that teachers have available to them to help students learn. However, the projects that used technologies from the internet and cheap things were more appealing to me. With all of the budget cuts that are occuring and all the teachers getting laid off, I couldn't justify getting a class set of ipads. I got by just fine without such expensive technologies.

I thought that creating this video was really fun. Once I got a hang on imovie it was actually pretty easy. The only difficult thing was uploading it to youtube. I could share it directly with yourtube, I had to export it to the computer first. I would feel comfortable making a movie for another class and using this technology with my future students.

DANG IT!

It won't upload to youtube, it says it is waiting for acknowlegdement. I'm gonna try again later

Media Project Update

The main difficulty we have been having with out media project is finding a time that we can get together to film the project. The good thing is that we have a very solid idea of what we are going to do so when we do get started it will be very efficient. We are going to be creating a sample student project. For the assignment the students will demonstrate how to effectively communicate and interact with people who are different from them. It is going to be sweet!