Desert Animals

Tortoise

Snake

Lizard

Rabbit

Rodents

Roadrunner

Tasks Completed

I completed numbers 2-4 for the Week 14 PLE posting.

Internet Safety Reflection

Article of Choice

For my article of choice, I chose to read the article entitled Leave it Alone by H. Burke Peterson. This article can be found in the January 1995 New Era. This article discusses the tragedy many Latter-day Saints are facing as they watch and listen to unclean entertainment. Brother Peterson explains that many members of the church become involved in this so-called entertainment only casually at first, believing that they are spiritually strong and will be immune to its influence. However, Satan slowly lures them in and traps these innocent people before they even realize they have been trapped. Many feel that this entertainment serves as a relief from their troubles, when really it is only relieving them of their spirituality. The consequences of having an appetite for this type entertainment will lead to eternal penalties.

Internet Safety Videos Viewed

§ FauxPaw the Techno Cat, Adventures in the Internet: Guidelines to internet safety include never meeting with anyone you’ve found online, never giving your name, address, phone number, or the name of your school to anyone online, and if you feel uncomfortable about anything seen on the computer, immediately tell an adult.

§ Frontline Cyberbullying: The Internet amplified and accelerated the pain that led Ryan to commit suicide.

§ Frontline The Child Predator Fear: The mother in this video does not fear that she has bad kids but rather that her good kids will make a bad decision online. To help protect her children, the computer is stationed in the kitchen where the mother can keep an eye on her kids while they are online. There are predators on the internet that are more vicious than those who lurk in parks. Most kids know to ignore unwanted solicitations on the internet. We need to start looking at kids less as victims and more as participants.

§ Frontline A Revolution in Classrooms and Social Life: The strong focus of students on the media makes it critical for teachers to use technology in the classroom. The internet has made cheating more simple as students have easy access to websites such as Sparknotes that help them quickly read and complete their writing assignments. The students claim that they do not have enough time to do all of the work and the internet resources help them overcome this problem. Some teachers have started using Turnitin.com, a program that checks for plagiarism and familiar phrases found online.

Kids are far more public with personal information than they used to be.

§ NetSmartz Workshop

§ Cyberbullying: You Can’t Take it Back: Once you post something online, you lose control of it and you can never take it back. People can manipulate and use the things you post against you.

§ Cyberbullying: Broken Friendship: A young girls thought it was safe to share her password with her best friend. Somehow other students got ahold of it and posted inappropriate pictures and comments on her webpage.

§ Julie’s Journey: Julie, 13, began talking to a 56 year old convicted murderer online. They would IM three to six hours a day. She trusted him more than anyone else. Eventually, Julie ran away from home for three weeks with this man. Someone reported her and he was sent to jail for 25 years. He claimed that he would kill her when he got out of jail.

§ Amy’s Choice: A 15-year-old girl met someone online in private chatroom who claimed he would take care of her. Amy told this man things she would never tell her friends because he was a stranger and she thought they would never meet. One day he came to her house and she ran away with him. They were gone for two days before they were caught. He was charged and taken to prison. He knows all her personal information so when he gets out of prison, he could come back.

§ Katie’s Story: Katie, a 15-year-old insecure teenager, began chatting online with a 22-year-old male named John. They begin talking on the phone and then he moved to California to be closer to her. Katie’s parents were concerned. To address the problem, they played ‘The Missing Game’ with Katie. While playing the game, Katie began to recognize many red flags about John. The game gave Katie’s parents a tool to open up the communication with her about John.

§ A variety of iSafe videos and internet safety training videos

Important Take-Aways

My most important ‘take-aways’ from the readings and videos were first, the internet is a necessary and inescapable part of society. When used appropriately, it can provide effective learning benefits and act as an uplifting resource. However, despite the good that can come from the internet and media, its programs can be dangerous and degrading. Cyberspace bullying and stocking as well as inappropriate and pornographic sites fill the media and internet. If precautions are not taken, children and adults will be faced with the dangers that can result from this immorality, deceit, and filth. Parents need to be informed about the programs and television shows their children are involved in. They also need to learn how to set internet filters and teach their children how to safely access quality internet sites. The computer should be placed in a high traffic area and the time spent on the computer or in front of the television should be limited. We must choose wisely what we listen to and what we watch so that we are not trapped by Satan’s power and do not face eternal penalties for our wrong actions.

‘Doing’ Experience

For this part of the assignment, I discussed internet safety with my 12-year-old sister. I began by asking my little sister what she already knew about posting or giving out personal information on the internet. She explained that she knew she should not give her name, address, or phone number to anyone she did not know online. She also explained that when she receives any emails, instant messages, or facebook friend requests from strangers, she ignores these requests and does not respond. When I asked her why she did not give away personal information, she simply paused and explained that it was not safe. I explained to my sister that internet stockers and bullying can easily occur online and that she was right that it is not safe to share personal information with strangers. I also shared the experience from the video where the girl simply gave her best friend her password which led to a huge problem. I explained that even providing information with friends online can lead to potential problems. We then discussed the importance of letting an adult know if anything troubling comes onto the screen or if she or anyone she knows were to get involved in chatting with a stranger or cyberbullying.

One other topic my sister and I discussed was about the television shows she watches and the internet sites she visits. Because my parents have set high expectations and are very informed about the web activity and media viewing of my siblings, my little sister has been very careful with the things she views online and the shows she watches. However, I discussed the importance of turning off media programs and videos that ‘only have one bad part’. We talked about how Satan can slyly trap us little by little without us even knowing and how important it is for us to stand strong and not give in at all. I shared the article Leave it Alone by H. Burke Peterson with her concerning this topic. My sister was very open to the things I shared with her and explained that she is going to try to be careful about the information and pictures she posts online as well as the programs she views and the sites she visits online. She also expressed her willingness to share with a parent or myself anything discomforting or inappropriate that may occur while she is online. I was surprised at how open she was to my recommendations and feel that she is really going to try to use the internet and media more wisely and cautiously in the future.

TPACK Project Report

TPACK Lesson Plans

1. TPACK Language Arts Lesson Plan
2. TPACK Math Lesson Plan
3. TPACK Science Lesson Plan

Video Response

From these videos about using technology with young children, I learned that it is so important to implement a variety of technological activities and materials into the curriculum in order to make learning more engaging for the learner. Although they were young and may have needed some assistance, for the most part the children were fully capable and engaged in using the technology to make discoveries, convey information, and communicate with other children across the country about a particular subject. By exposing the students to a range of different technology tools, the students were able to inquire and learn using many different and effective methods. The videos also showed that technology can be implemented into any subject—from math to science to literature and so forth. Tools as simple as cameras and other more complex tools such as PowerPoint presentations can greatly contribute to making a lesson effective for the children. The teacher should not only use the technology in presenting the content, but the students should also be given opportunities to get involved in handling and using the technology because of its importance in their lives. Technology of all types can be so effective in the classroom and should be used often to provide all students with an optimal learning experience.

Classroom Technology Observations

The teacher I am working with during the practicum seems to have a good amount of technology available to her. Within the classroom are five student PC computers which each contain Microsoft Office, Internet access, and a few science, literacy, and math games. A television and DVD player are also kept within the classroom. Each teacher in the school has their own microphone which they wear around their neck while teaching. A student microphone is also passed around often to allow students to share their ideas into the microphone. These microphones, when used often, have been very effective tools for improving student learning. The teacher also has a cd player and a personal digital camera and video camera for use in the classroom. Outside of the classroom, there are two school computer labs which each contain about 30 PC computers. In one of these labs there are special headphones and English language games to help the ESL students improve their abilities to speak and understand English. In addition to these computer labs, a cart containing ten mini laptops can be checked out for classroom use. *Along with the classroom technology inventory, I have completed both the midcourse evaluation and consent form.