Internet Safety

1. What article did you choose to read for your fourth article?
“Let Our Voices Be Heard” Elder M. Russell Ballard
2. What were the most important things you learned from the readings?
I found it so true when he stated "The choices we make in media can be symbolic of the choices we make in life. Choosing the trendy, the titillating, the tawdry in the TV programs or movies we watch can cause us to end up, if we’re not careful, choosing the same things in the lives we live." We must be careful in what we see. We must remember that we are accountable for our stewardships and that this evil is not on the streets, its coming into our homes. The media can devastate our families.
3. How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth? Elder Ballard stated, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I plan to teach my children and students about safety in the media. I will not tolerate evil. My family will be very careful about what we view. He also stated, "We need to raise our voices with other concerned citizens throughout the world in opposition to current trends." This can be done through talking to people, blog posts, emails, etc.
4. How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?
I will not allow the media to corrupt my family and friends. I will tell them what I have learned and we will be careful about what we allow into our lives so that we will not be hurt down the road.

Internet Safety

For this assignment I chose to discuss Cyber Bullying with my 15 year old cousin. At first she has no idea what it was. I talked to her about how it applies to her. She has a facebook and so we talked about what it might look like there. We discussed that this bullying could be to do anything to make someone look/feel bad. This can mean posting mean pictures or them or writing something rude or inappropriate on someone's wall. Our conversation was very positive. I just wanted to inform her about it and she learned about how to avoid this problem.

Practicum Assignment

7 Natural Wonders Virtual Tour

View more presentations from Melissq.

Week 11

I will be doing a virtual tour. In this tour we are going to visit the different continents. Each continent will show pictures of endangered animals. I will show this on Friday in the Kiva area of the school.

Technology Enhanced Lesson

In my 2nd grade class we have been learning a lot about endangered species. We talk about where the animals once lived and where they live now. The students have a hard time comprehending what the different places are. I think that it would be cool to make a virtual tour of where they have lived and now live. This will help students gain a better grasp of what we are talking about.

Inventory

I was a little surprised about how little technology there is in in my classroom. The teacher has one desktop computer in our classroom. Although there is only one computer in the classroom, there are two computer labs in the school. You can schedule a time to use these labs.

In my classroom we also have a Smart Board. Even though we have this, it is rarely used. I don't know how beneficial it is in a second grade classroom. Technology is not used very much in my classroom.

Virtual Tour

I finished my virtual tour! Have fun with it!

• What is the content you’ll be using in your lesson?

4th Grade Social Studies
Standard 1
Objective 2: Analyze how physical geography affects human life in Utah
Part C: compare the development of industry and business in Utah as it relates to it's physical geography (eg minding, oil, agriculture, tourism).

Students will be able to explore the State through Google Earth.

• What is the pedagogy you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content?

Using Google Earth, students will work individually on this assignment. They will use/develop their critical thinking skills to answer the questions. If students have questions they will be able to ask questions to other students and myself. I will be able to see where students are strong and what we need to work on.

• What is the technology you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?

We will be using Google Earth for this assignment. It is a good fit because students will be able to discover and visit various parts of Utah while staying in the classroom. Each students will be able to use it on their own at their own computers.

Location	Activity	Google Earth Content
1. Kennecott Utah Copper Mine	Based on what you see on Google Earth answer the following question: Why would people live here? Learn what Kennecott Utah Copper Mine is.	Wikipedia Tool, Panoramio Tool, Populated Places, Terrain
2. Park City	Based on what you see on Google Earth answer the following questions: Why would people visit this area? Why are businesses strong here?	Wikipedia Tool, Panoramio Tool, Populated Places, Terrain
3. Utah Desert	Based on what you see on Google Earth answer the following question: Why do you think there is little business and small populations in this area?	Wikipedia Tool, Panoramio Tool, Populated Places, Terrain
4. Salt Lake City	Based on Google Earth answer the following question: Why would this be the state capitol? Consider Salt Lake's physical geography.	Wikipedia Tool, Panoramio Tool, Populated Places, Terrain
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:	The polygon tool will be used to outline these places in Utah.

Video

This Video is a poetry interpretation.

Storyboard TPACK

Content:

Language Art's Core Curriculum Standard 1 Objective 2: "develop language through viewing media and presenting" and Standard 7 Objective 2(c) "form mental pictures to aid understanding of text".

Pedagogy:

Students do not learn most effectively through reading. For this reason we will start out reading. Then however, we will dig deeper. We will discuss the poem. Next, we will visualize the poem by watching a movie of the poem. The pictures will make the poem and its meaning come to life.

Technology:

To make the movie I will use PhotoStory. This is an easy way to teach the content in an understandable manner. Students will be able to visualize the poem while hearing it.

Storyboard!

TPACK

1. Content:

The content for my lesson is taken from the Utah 4th grade Standard 5 Objective 1. It states that students will be able to "describe the physical characteristics of Utah's wetlands, forests, and deserts."

2. Pedagogy:

In my lesson we worked as a class and in small groups. This was interactive. Students learn from each other and their experiences. They also learn through teaching what they know.

3. Technology:

The technology I used was Google Earth. This fit what I was teaching because my students were able to stay engaged. They were able to see parts of Utah without leaving the classroom.

The Tech Savvy Teacher

Technology has become a driving force in our society. Every day we spend a lot of time using technology. This is not different for our students. They have grown up using computers, the internet, and other technology. Because of this, it takes more than lecture to stimulate children. Technology must be used in our classrooms.

We have been learning about the physical environment of Utah in my 4th grade class. Standard 5 Objective 1 states that students will "describe the physical characteristics of Utah's wetlands, forests, and deserts." This is the objective we worked with in this lesson.

We began our lesson with a class discussion about Utah. Students described parts of Utah that they have been to. They named the wetlands, forest, and deserts. The descriptions they give were all verbal.

After my students shared where they had been, we looked at pictures of these areas on Google Earth. Students were able to really visualize what these areas look like because they saw pictures. Rather than students picturing what the state looks like in their mind, this helped students get to know their state visually. Using this technology kept the students involved and stimulated.


Wasatch Mountain Forest
image found at: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4842708

The Great Salt Lake Desert
image found at: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4842708

Big Mountain Forest
image found at: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4583674

The Great Salt Lake
image found at: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/1388854

The Great Salt Lake
image found at: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/61649

TPACK

TPACK stand for Technology Pedagogical And Content Knowledge. Basically TPACK is when teachers know how to used technology to enhance their lessons. I found the videos interesting because it shows that this is really possible. I don't really remember using technology to learn math and science in elementary school. However, I am excited to implement it in my lessons because I know that many students learn from doing things hands-on. For this reason, I think that it is necessary for teachers to have TPACK.
I explored Google Sky http://www.google.com/sky/. This website is AMAZING. From it you can explore many parts of the solar system. For instance, I clicked on Infrared Showcase. After clicking on that it came up with 20 pictures of this at the bottom of the screen. You can click on one and it gives you information about what you are looking at. You can zoom in and out and look at it from different parts of the sky. Amazing. Google Sky will be great to use in a classroom. Students will come to know and understand the solar system.

Web 2.0 & RSS

Before this lesson I had no idea what Web 2.0 is. I now realize why it is important. I look forward to implementing it into my future classrooms. I think that my GoodReads account will be useful. I already have seen books that my friends have read and I now want to read them. I'm excited about GoodReads and think that it will be helpful in finding good books for my students. The delicious account is cool because it is quick and easy to use. Also, before this lesson I had no idea for RSS is. RSS stands for "Real Simple Syndication." It is great because it saves a lot of time. It's super helpful.

Technology Background

My technology background is not super extensive.  I learned how to use computers in school.  I'm pretty good at Word, email, internet, paint, accounting programs for work, and gchat.