4 the big bad WORLD wide web

http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewStandard/Preview/5371

• Standard: MAFS.3.MD.1.2 “Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using standard units of grams (g), kilograms (kg), and liters (l). Add, subtract, multiply, or divide to solve one-step word problems involving masses or volumes that are given in the same units.”
• http://pbskids.org/games/measurement/
• Educational Games; educational arcade games
• I would use educational games such as the website above to teach the measurement standard for 3^rd graders. These games are familiar and fun which would get the student excited to learn. Especially for subjects such as math the creative aspect of the games can put the child in many different situations forcing them to fully grasp the concepts.

I think that the internet is an incredibly strong source for student to use for research. While there are obviously some dangers to the immensity of the web, by teaching students the appropriate use many problems can be avoided. In addition by following the A,B,C,D,T rule many worries can be avoided because of how cautious the rule is. I think that another good rule to follow would be that if you are unsure about a site it is probably not credible and to aviod. Due to the convenience and availability of information on the internet there are only special circumstances that it should be avoided. Such as at a time it would be important to focus on using paper sources because it is important to teach students not to be dependent on the internet.

When I do research on the internet the biggest thing that I look at is the credibility of the site; I like to choose well known sites such as, The New York Times, so that I know I am getting reliable information. I also use a lot of databases that the school offers because I trust that nothing on there is distorted. Things that I have not really thought about that the podcast mentions was the Ads. I tend to just ignore Ads because I see them so much on a daily basis but it is something that I would be important to teach kids to look out for because they can indicate incredibility.

From working on the Web Hunt I have learned how to specify and pin point a google search to find exactly what I am looking for. I especially like the tool to exclude sites by putting “-xx”. This would help me avoid using Wikipedia because it is always the first source. I have also learned that sometimes it requires multiple websites to find what you need. Such as using a list of top ten educational websites to find the best website for your need.  This assignment has also opened my eyes to how immense the different resources are on the internet. There is really something for everything on the internet.

1.       Find a Printable hourly planner that students could use to organize their days.

2.       Find an Educational game for student learning the geography of the world.

3 Digital Naturalization

I decided to do a critique on Edmodo because it is a site that can be used in many different ways. Overall I enjoyed the idea of the site by be able to create pages and spread information that way. However, I really just did not like the design and thought it was tricky to use. For it to be a beneficial site to teachers I feel like it would require a lot of practice and maybe even a class to use it to its full ability. I also do not like the idea of sharing the site so that parents could see what their child is working on. The idea is great but I think it would lead to parents being upset or too involved in what is going on in the classroom. I do love how it can be connected to Google Drive because that is a great way for kids to transfer their work so it does not get lost. I may enjoy the site better if I thought it was clearer and understood all the components better! https://www.edmodo.com/

 

As a teacher I would definitely use an education portal to easily transfer student information about grades and assignments. Also I would use social media as a learning tool because are so many other ways to utilize them then for just social reasons and it would be most beneficial for the kids to learn all the versatility. I do not particularly enjoy wikis or blogs because I feel like if a child should be writing just to write then journaling by hand is the most thought provoking. In a classroom for upper grade school I would use Netsmartz to have the students learn about digital citizenship because it is interactive which for them is not boring and hopefully they can concentrate longer and learn more. I would want them to understand the concepts of netiquette and protecting their personal information. I feel like kids especially mid-teens do not fully understand the consequences of abusing the web.

Personally, the newsletter assignment has been a major struggle for me. I feel like I know how to do everything but I cannot seem to be able to make it look good! There is so many different shapes, borders, font etc. and I feel like everything I do clashes and looks sloppy! Although I have learned some new design skills such as doing the double column through tables and also the mail merge. I think the mail merge is super cool and finally understand how teachers sent out newsletters when I was in grade school.

2 Word, copy, tweet

If there is a program that I have used the most it is MS word. I have used it for papers mostly but also to edit pictures, make SOPs and projects for classes. I think some of the tools that MS Word offers are interesting yet overlooked because most people don’t see all the capabilities it has such as automatic table of contents or citations. In college I have seen teachers use MS Word mostly for study guides and typed notes but for the most part I can not recall it being using too much.  After reading the textbook pages I think that as a teacher I could use MS Word as a tool for planning, evaluating and demonstrating.  As a teacher especially to younger students I think that MS word will be a good tool for notes and plans however I think there a other interactive programs more suitable for instructional materials.

I have experienced with copyright and fair use multiple times while righting papers and other school projects, but other than that I haven’t done a whole lot beside citations. I have always struggled with what I need to cite and what I don’t and it can be especially frustrating to have to deal with citing sources when writing a 10 page paper or even an assignment that may need to give credit but it is important to understand the copyright and fair value laws to show respect to others work. Also, the concepts of fair use and public domain make me nerves because a lot of media is not black and white and a simple overlooked factor could lead to a copyright violations.As a teacher I think the safest way to avoid copyright issues is to cite everything and which also exhibits to students the respect of other peoples work. Further, I feel like the concept of copyright has become more difficult and overlooked since the growth of social media, because things are mindlessly quoted and shared.

Before this class I had always used twitter strictly for social aspect of useless tweets about what I was doing that day or a cute dog picture. However since working with twitter with different motives I have learned how valuable it can be as a source of information. Every company and news network has a twitter and depending on how a person utilizes these components it can be an extremely beneficial place to gather information. Even hashtags have changed the world with being able to group information so simply. As teacher I would use twitter to get information out to students and in addition get feedback and questions from them.  Twitter is especially unique and beneficial in the classroom because student can interact with world events and information yet at the same time information can be secluded and directed towards the students individually.