Talking About Technology

I am currently working with a teacher who has worked in the field for 20 plus years. She is open to new technology but very much lacks the training to feel comfortable using it. She has a smart board that she uses as a glorified white board and I have since made her attendance and lunch choices for the students in an interactive SmartBoard slide. The students drag their personalized frog to the selection of lunch choice they want for the day and she knows if a frog was not moved that the student is absent. I have also made many interactive games for her that coincide with certain standards that we are currently trying to achieve. I think this is actually helping her because it is forcing her to play around with it, problem solve on the days I am not there to help her, and brainstorm about otherwise she would like to use it in the future. When it comes to google docs she is still learning and very frustrated with it. I have been trying to help her the best I can but the set up the school has for all documents on one drive is very scatterbrained and not very organized. I too have a hard time locating things for her and I keep trying to assure her that since this is one of their first years going to google docs that things will just keep getting more organized and easier to access. I hope that my positive attitude about technology rubs off on her even after I have left her for the year.

Mythbusters

Mythbusters

I am still having a hard time accepting this new found research about learning styles being debunked. I have used this method myself when trying to diagnose my students and with differentiating work with struggling learners. I have had great success in the past using this method or so I thought. I started college in 2006 and it was drilled into my brain how important it was to consider multiple intelligences and Howard Gardner's theory while writing lesson plans. I try to incorporate all intelligences into my unit plans by including movement, song, creation, group learning, individual assignments, verbal presentation, mathematical investigations, technology, creative writing, and inquiry based learning. I always assumed by having a huge range of different “learning style” activities of a certain subject matter, that I would be able to reach at least a couple of my students. My goal was to have at least one activity that sparked each students interest to where they felt personally invested and tried their absolute best. I knew that was a long shot but I did not feel that there was any hurt in trying, except for maybe making myself crazy trying to incorporate them all during every single unit plan. Sometimes it is hard to find music related to science and mathematical subject matter and in some cases I have even written my own. The 10% 20% was a little easier for me to accept because I had in the back of my mind that we all learn differently, thinking back to Gardner's theory. I need an intervention I think “haha”…. I will have to research this more to get this misconception out of my mind.This will be a great question to bring up during my weekly small group meeting in the GTC Program and discuss the debunking of this theory as well as get feedback from my leading professor.  

Note to Jessica,

-No more referencing “Engagement” or “Multiple Intelligences” you look old ; )

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites. Examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.

Kids who are being cyberbullied are often bullied in person as well. Additionally, kids who are cyberbullied have a harder time getting away from the behavior.

•   Cyberbullying can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and reach a kid even when he or she is alone. It can happen any time of the day or night.

•   Cyberbullying messages and images can be posted anonymously and distributed quickly to a very wide audience. It can be difficult and sometimes impossible to trace the source.

Deleting inappropriate or harassing messages, texts, and pictures is extremely difficult after they have been posted or sent.

As illustrated in the chart above, the rates of cyberbullying victimization have varied over the years in studies conducted by the Cyberbullying Research Center. On average, about 26% of the students who have been a part of the most recent 9 studies have said they have been the victim of cyberbullying at some point in their lifetime. The rates of cyberbullying offending have also varied among the research studies they have conducted. On average, about 16% of the students who have been a part of our last 9 studies have admitted that they have cyberbullied others at some point in their lifetime.State and local lawmakers have taken action to prevent bullying and protect children. Through laws (in their state education codes and elsewhere) and model policies (that provide guidance to districts and schools), each state addresses bullying differently. Find out how your state refers to bullying in its laws and what they require on part of schools and districts.

Bullying, cyberbullying, and related behaviors may be addressed in a single law or may be addressed in multiple laws. In some cases, bullying appears in the criminal code of a state that may apply to juveniles.

In December 2010, the U.S. Department of Education reviewed state laws and identified 11 key components common among many of those laws.

http://www.stopbullying.gov/laws/key-components/index.html

To see those 11 key components click on the following link above.

 In the article, “Invited expert discussion paper, Cyberbullying: An overrated phenomenon?” by Dan Olweus, discusses the idea of cyberbullying being a sort of madeup media phenomenon and should not be worried about too much. I disagree and feel that it should definitely be discussed in our schools, classrooms, and at home. It is something that is just going to become a bigger problem as time goes on because of students gaining easier access to computerized devices and social applications. I think it depends on the age of students on how to address this problem so I will give some examples below on how I would introduce it to my second graders.

Second Grade Lesson on Cyberbullying

https://youtu.be/YFzay3Vm860

I would play this video in my classroom that is located up above in the hyperlink. I would want my students to watch it and we would have a discussion afterwards.

·      How did this video make you feel?

·      Have you ever felt excluded?

·      Have you ever been bullied?

·      How can you make sure this doesn’t happen to our classmates?

I would then read the book, “Have You Filled A Bucket Today?” by Carol McCloud.

I would ask open ended questions while reading the book and then ask questions to connect the book to the video that we watched earlier.

I would make a big classroom poster with examples of being a bucket-filler and a bucket-dipper and make sure that cyberbullying is under the bucket-dipper category.

I would hang this poster up in my classroom for students to use as a reminder of good computer etiquette and safety.

Feedly Screenshot

Technology at Reeths-Puffer Central Elementary

• How many computers are in the classroom? 3 laptops for students and a teachers desktop.
• Does the teacher have a computer connected to a projector? Yes it is connected to a projector and a smart board.
• Do the students have their own devices? They have three laptops to share as well as a computer lab they share with the rest of the school.
• Are they able to bring in their own devices? They do not want to be liable for their students devices from home.
• How many computer labs are in the building? There is one computer lab at Central Elementary in Reeths-Puffer district. 
• How many movable carts (e.g., a cart containing a classroom set of laptops or tablets) does the building have? There are no carts just three laptops per classroom. 

It says on Reeths-Puffers website that, "The Reeths-Puffer facilities offer state of the art technology and comprehensive and challenging curriculum." I was impressed that each classroom had smart boards but have noticed that a lot of the teachers do not have the training to where they feel comfortable using it. I wonder if the middle school and high schools teachers have better familiarity with technology? 

Blogging perks.

I think a blog would be a great tool to stay informed in my students life and keep better track of their personal progress as well as happenings at home. We have 28 students in the second grade classroom I am currently teaching in and it is starting to feel like it is going to be very tough to give each student the personal attention and feedback they deserve. With my students blogging I could keep an eye on their writing, punctuation, capitalization, as well as their fluency. Keeping their blogs all together is a great way for me to stay organized and have them accessible at all times with only the use of an iPad, computer, and even cell phone. This could also be used as a way to know what is going on in my students lives at home. They could post pictures and videos easily and keep me updated on important events in their lives. It would be very easy for me to keep notes on these kind of happenings and keep them organized. I could also have the students post their sports, dance, or whatever after school schedules they may have so I may be able to attend one of their events. Having students and a teacher blog could possibly bridge some gaps between parents and the happenings going on in school. They would be able to access their child's blog as well as my blog and write comments and stay informed on their child's progress.  I could see multiple benefits of blogging with my students and can't wait to try it out someday. 

10 awesome blog pages

http://abseymour.blogspot.com/?m=1

She just recently had a little baby girl and is not used to not being in the classroom. She is a first grade teacher and has lots of great ways to get to students excited about learning and uses themes like holidays to do so.

http://4theloveofteaching.blogspot.com/

Great classroom management ideas and techniques as well as favorite books she has been reading, which I love. She has a lot of hands on activity ideas available which look very fun and engaging. 

http://rd-busybees.blogspot.com/

She is a second grade teacher who is very good at curriculum planning. She also has a lot of freebee downloads which is great for us teachers who are on a budget.

http://dirtyhandslessonplans.blogspot.com/

Not as cute of a blog but has some good resources available for technology based lessons. She also sells materials and lessons with teachers paying teachers.

http://firstgradedelight.blogspot.com/

Her posts are very relatable and she talks about some of the difficulties teachers have on an every day scale. She has tons of cute and fun resources that I could use even in my second grade classroom.

http://historyiselementary.blogspot.com/

I love that this blog is mostly about history because social studies is my major and a huge interest to me. She talks about her book she recently published and has lots of ideas for engaging history lessons.

http://howtodresslikeateacher.blogspot.com/

Maybe it is because I am a female but I was worried about looking my part on the first day of school clothes wise. I still have a hard time figuring out an outfit and this woman has lots of great ideas in that department. She also talks about her daily adventures out of the classroom.

http://iteach2nd.blogspot.com/

She is a passionate second grade teacher which interests me because that is the grade I am teaching. She has a lot of wonderful ideas for management, engagement, and just having fun while being a teacher. 

http://itsnotallflowersandsausages.blogspot.com/

In this blog she talks about her frustrations with the education system. She also talks about how she deals with new changes arising and gives insight on how to not let it rain on your parade too much.

http://learninginbliss.blogspot.com/

This blog is mostly for upper elementary teachers but who knows what grade I may be teaching someday. I love how bright and colorful her pictures are that she includes because it helps me get a better idea of her message behind each blog.