Cyber bullying

Kelsey Knutson

Lisante J (Published N/A) Cyber bullying: no muscles needed, Spark Action Retrieved (March 24th 2011) http://sparkaction.org/content/cyber-bullying-no-muscles-needed

In the beginning of the article it gives an example of cyber bullying. A seventh grade student was mad that his old "girlfriend" was insulting him, so he instant messaged a lot of friends saying he is going to kill her. Surprisingly his friends told and the boy was banished to a new school, and legal action was taken place. The boy had to go to court, and also had to do community service hours.
An organization that promotes web safety took survey of fourth thru eighth grade students and learned that forty two percent of kids have been bullied, and fifty three percent say they have bullied someone online.  Its believed the numbers are so high because technology is right there in front of adolescents (cell phones) so the time to sit and think about their actions is not really considered. Another possible reason that the numbers are so high is because the internet can be anonymous. So things a student maybe afraid to say in person can be said behind the safety of their technology.
At the William Penn school in Philadelphia the dean and staff members have gone as far as to add cyber bullying to the schools honor code. If a student is caught cyber bullying then they are placed in front of the community council, leading to suspension or expulsion.
Some states are trying to make this illegal and Virginia already has. The article also talks about ways parents can prevent cyber bullying.

Internet Safety at home and at school

Crais, S Internet safety at school and at home, Education World, (Retrieved April 10^th 2011). http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech218.shtml

Internet safety at home and at school

A school in Memphis has 7^th-12^th graders carrying their own laptops from class to class. About two years ago these parents began to ask how they could control what their child is doing online. Mainly this concern comes from online chat rooms, because kids tend to have more online friends then real friends. On line stalkers look for these children, and gain their trust so they can meet them.

The school developed a laptop parent advisory council, where the parents discuss ways to prevent this from happening. The panel of guest speakers included a sheriff, a psychologist, a cyber-law specialist and one of the parents. In the night meetings they discussed many things the children need to be taught. These things included the dangers of chat rooms, and appropriate email usage. At the meeting they also discussed how to determine what your child is doing on line, rules to place for on line usage. There are many signs that could help a parent prevent their child from having an online stalker, one of them being if there is an increased amount of time being spent on the internet.

How are smart boards used in the classroom?

eHow contributor, How are smart boards used in classrooms? eHow  Retrieved April 3, 2011

How are smart boards used in classrooms?

With smart boards it is possible to show videos, write equations, and check homework all on the same board in a classroom. Smart boards are used as a computer monitor and a chalk board at the same time… minus the chalk.

Operation

Smart boards are touching sensitive devices. Information that is displayed on the computer monitor is projected up on the board. Making it easy for teachers to present a problem and then move about the classroom helping students solve the problem.

Slide Show

During presentations presenters can move about because of the slide advance or reverse button also on the screen. Kind of like on power point, only now the presenter/teacher doesn’t have to be glued to the computer, because they just hit next, or back right on the board.

Digital Blackboards

The smart boards also functions as a dry erase board using the smart pens. The pens can mark or write on anything that can be projected. So a teacher could use a blank piece of paper to have one student come up and show the class how to work it out. Or the teacher could have something they are showing the class likes a power point and it may make it clearer to mark on it at the time of presentation.

Peer Review

Another great reason to have smart boards in the classroom is because students work can be projected up on the screen so their classmates can see what they got for an answer, and how they came to that conclusion. By doing this the students are feeding off of each other.

Which Wiki is Right for You?

Brisco, S (05/01/2007) Which wiki is right for you? School Library Journal Retrieved (March 14th 2011) http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6438167.html

Which Wiki is Right for You?
This article talked about the different three different types of wikis. One wiki was called the PBwiki, another was the wikispaces, and the last one was called wetpaint. Each one of these wikis has a free version and also a version one has to pay for. Depending on how much space someone wants, or if they want an advertisement free wiki is how they base how much if at all one pays for a wiki. For example the more space someone wants than they more their wiki will cost. The free versions of these wikis were generally 2GB. Wetpaint is the only one of the three that is totally free of cost, and has unlimited space access.
The PBwiki stands for the "peanut butter wiki" because it is suppose to be as easy as making a peanut butter sandwhich. For this reason the PBwiki is most commonly used by educators. Its easy access and ability to use makes its time consuming very limited, and teachers don't generally have a lot of free time. This wiki uses wiki text like WYSIWYG (what- you- see- is -what - you- get), this language reminds me some of texting lingo.
when creating these wikis it is an easy process, and only takes a few steps. First the creator has to name the wiki, then provide a wiki creator's name, and lastly provide a wiki password.
If i were to choose one of these wiki's to use for my classroom, or collaboration i would choose PBwiki. Mostly because of how easy it is to set up, and maintain and add to.

IPAD's in the classroom

Barseghian, T (January 27th 2011), Teaching with a tablet: one educator's experience, Mind/Shift (March 8th 2011). http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/01/teaching-with-a-tablet-one-educators-experience/

Q: Do you think the Ipad is actually changing the way students learn?
- Ipads are helping students to learn differently. A teacher puts sample video;s up and when the student is at home they can watch the video quick. It is like the students can take their teachers home with them.
Q: Where do they work out the problems?
- There is a sketch pad, but this teacher does not believe the Ipad can completly replace the old fashioned paper and pencil. Because the Ipad does not allow her to see her students work their math problems out.
Q: How have their test scores measured up?
-In the begining their test scores were actually worse than her classes that were using sctual text books. She says that once she had a discussion with her class about what they had access to and how to use them correctly to benefit them, (especially the videos) their scores improved a significant amount.
Q: Do you see the Ipad helping with students who are having a more difficult time then their classmates?
-The Ipad will help the students who want to do well. One thing it does is allow her to know who exactly is answering what, and if a significant amount of the class has the wrong answer allows to go back, and go over that problem.
The article also talked about how students were saying the Ipads made math more fun and learning more fun. Teachers using these do not think it is just a passing fad, or that the Ipad will go out of date quickly. They are expensive, but in time would pay for themselves if text books no longer need to be bought. Also talks about how some teachers are afraid the Ipad would replace them, she answers them as to the fact that it is just like if i child is reading from a text book, she still has to walk around and make sure that students are doing what they are supppose to be doing.

Twitter in the Classroom

Delisio, E (2011) Full Tweet Ahead: More teachers using twitter, Education World Retrieved from february 2011 http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech261.shtml

More Teachers Using Twitter
-One way twitter is used is to communicate with students and parents. Also another way is to network with teachers around the country.
Homework Tweet
-One of the teachers from teh article uses twitter to tweet the students homework. He puts their homework assignment on their every night so the student can look to see what exactly they have to do that night. If a student has their cell phone connected to twitter, than the student will recieve a text message of what exactly they have to do.
Math, earthquakes, surveys
-In the article it talks about a school in Florida, and how the teacher used twitter to not only get to know her students, but to also integrate some math problems in their conversations. In Kansas the teacher created a twitter feed connected to NASA. Sutdents receive updates about volcanoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes throughout the world. The teacher does this in order to make the cureent events around them come to life for the students. Another teacher in Michigan uses tweducate in order to get her first graders to communicate with each other about math porblems. Twiducate is a twitter designed for education. This site teaches children online skills and personal responsibility.
Chatting, finding friends
- Some classrooms are using twitter for students to be chatting with each other. Twitter was a safe place for this students to get to know and except each other for who they are, making more friedns.
Despite concerns, full tweet ahead
-In the begining of this process many parents were concerned about how their students safety is at risk. The teachers responded with the fact that she is managing the twitter site every night, and how it is connected to her email, so that she is getting constant notifications as to who is trying to follow and what not.