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I really enjoyed this class. I learned a lot more than I thought I would. Not only did I learn, but I learned useful skills that I am sure to use in the future. Thanks!

Surveys

I have completed both the class rating on route Y and the course survey.  

Safety talk with Mom

I had a nice chat with my mom about internet safety. Particularly what safety precautions she makes for herself and for her family. My mom claimed she didn't know much about internet safety, but the more I talked to her, the more "safety rules" i noticed she was actually implementing. She said she doesn't like giving out her personal info, doesn't open messages if they are received from an unknown sender, and doesn't even join facebook groups because she's a bit worried about it all. A precautions she and my dad have made for the family is keeping the computer in the kitchen, a very public area, facing out so it can be viewed easily. This has gotten complicated with the introduction of laptops into the house. My mom worries about the time my sister spends on the computer. Not that she's worried about inappropriate things, but just that it is addicting. We had a nice discussion about what I learned from Elder Bednar's talk. I also referred to some of the videos I had watched and what I learned from them. One thing I had to offer was the bit I learned about being open with your children about the internet. I told her why I thought that was so important and it brought up some more interesting discussions. It was a neat thing to discuss this prevalent topic.

Safety Videos

http://www.netsmartz.org/resources/reallife.htm

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5400750511962500872
This one is just a google video, not an actual website, but it is really good at portraying how careful we really need to be with the internet. It is very important to know what you should and shouldn't do on the internet. The students in my classes will be junior high and high school aged kids. This is an age where kids get into things they don't understand. It will be important to teach my students some of the rules involved with the internet. Students are easily preyed on if they don't have their heads about them. There have been too many victims to stand by and not teach your students what to do and how to be smart

Internet Safety Readings

1. What article did you choose to read for your #5 article?
1. Overpowering the Goliaths in Our Lives By President Gordon B. Hinckley
2. What were the most important things you learned from the readings?
1. I really enjoyed the list of things that can be done to facilitate internet safety in the home. Such practical advice is rarely given. I have often heard about the importance of using the internet wisely and especially guarding yourself against the addiction of pornography. Reading more on this subject was also helpful, but it was refreshing to have a list of things that can be done. I also was interested in the talk by Elder Bednar who focused on the reality and value of physical experience instead of living in a virtual reality. We were given a body for a reason. Use it.
3. How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?
1. There were a couple of new ideas that I haven't really focused on before. Things that i'm sure were mentioned at some point, but that interested me while reading and that i think would be useful as a parent or teacher. Having a comfortable, open atmosphere where things can be discussed, such as the danger of pornography or other addictions. Openness that will inspire children to report if an inappropriate site came up on the screen. Curiosity can be detrimental in some cases. Talk freely with youth about things they've heard about or are curious about.
4. How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?
1. Knowledge is a powerful tool. Just knowing what is out there and how to use the internet in a safe manner can limit chances for mess ups. As I discussed above, sharing this knowledge openly is a great tool to helping others be more aware as well. Warning others about the dangers, not only of pornography but also virtual realities and the ever increasing lack of personal communication will help others take a step back and think about their involvement as I have done while reading.

The TPACK of the Project

One of my favorite things about this project is that students will have to do learning on their own. Instead of just sitting in class listening to me lecture, they will have a hands-on tool to discover the content. I believe that this is one of the best ways to learn and the goal of teaching. The technology project will really help with this pedagogy. The content encompassed in the project is not only important for the students, but fascinating to most people. Who wouldn't want to explore more about the heavens? This program "Stellarium" will really help the students explore as much or as little as they want, giving those students who are really interested in the subject an opportunity to learn. There isn't a whole lot of room for that in the curriculum, so it's nice to give them that option.

Link to project

http://docs.google.com/View?id=d9xv3c4_44dvns6cc3

Students will be required to go to this site where they will view the assignment. They will find a link to the course website there where the resources are available in order for them to complete the assignment. We will have gone over in class how to take screen shots and some other technological details necessary for the assignment. Each student will have a blog for the class where they can post their assignments.

Technology Assignment Explained

As part of the core curriculum for secondary science classes, students muss learn classifications of structures. One focus will be the stars and planets. In order for our students to learn about these structures we have come up with a technology project these students can do on their own. We decided to have the students learn to use an online resource called "Stellarium". We created an assignment that helps them to familiarize themselves with the program and to explore a bit to help them understand more about these celestial structures. We took some screen videos showing how to do some of the steps for the assignment as a resource for the students. We posted these onto our course website so the students could access them and provided a link to a google document so that the students could have a template for their assignment. The students will answer the questions in the document by using "Stellarium" and take some screen shots. They will be required to post all answers and screen shots on their blog.

Stellarium Assignment

http://docs.google.com/View?id=d9xv3c4_44dvns6cc3

4. October 9, 2009 at 15:27:36
5. Moon will get to +26 degrees Lat tomorrow
7. I chose to watch the script about the lunar eclipse. It was so cool to see how it really works! Especially with the time sped up. I chose to watch this script because it has always fascinated me that the moon can turn red and I've wondered how it really happens. While I was watching the script I was wondering why you could see all the lines go across the moon before it was completely covered up by the earth. I think it has to do with the atmosphere of the earth and how the light interacts with our atmosphere. I'm excited to learn more about it.

screen shots:

PLE week 5

The TPCAK framework includes 3 different types of knowledge: Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge. Technological knowledge is that knowledge that allows you to understand and use different types of technological tools. Pedagogical knowledge is the knowledge associated with teaching in general. Content knowledge is the knowledge of the facts and processes found in a particular field of knowledge.
Let's look at the differences between TPACK and TPK. TPK is an integration of TK and PK. It is having the knowledge and understanding of different technological tools as well as knowing how to best use these tools in order to help the students learn. TPACK is an integration of all 3 knowledge types. It is an understanding of technological tools used for content-specific material that will best be used to help the students learn the material.





I enjoyed using skype much more than using the facebook video message tool. There are many different reasons. For one, Synchronous communication is so much better than Asynchronous communication. Also, skype was much easier to use and it allowed you to work on other things at the same time. Both are incredible technologies though and could really help in the classroom. It would be a great tool for students to use if they have questions. Sometimes it is much easier to explain your questions in person...maybe with a diagram or some visual instead of having to type everything. Students would be able to submit video questions to the teachers. Could be great!

Web Tools

I have never had a good grasp on how to use all of the neat tools available on the web. This week we worked on making ourselves familiar with all of these tools. We learned how to create a web page, how to use the internet to edit a photo, and how to use video communication on the web. One of the most difficult was the photo editing task. There are just so many different possibilities there that it is hard to familiarize yourself with it all. I don't know if i will be using the photo editor very much because i am fairly familiar with photoshop and iphoto. I am very glad that I learned how to create a web page. I think i will be using that skill a lot in my future, both in my teaching endeavors and my personal life as well. Good skills to have!

Storyboard

Here are our plans for the video.

Newton is Amazing!

Probably one of the funniest portrayals of Newton's Law you will ever see!
Fun, and informative.

Video in the works

Carla and I will be making a fabulous film demonstrating Newton's first law. Carla had this great idea as she was watching While You Were Sleeping and saw a poor little newspaper boy totally biff it on his bike because of the ice on the road. We discussed the phenomenon and decided it would be a great way to demonstrate the idea of "an object in motion stays in motion". We are going to expand upon this idea by using other similar clips that portray the principles in Newton's first law. We're hoping to put it all to a beautiful song from the nutcracker. We think it will be great.

My experience in technology...or lack of

I don't feel like I am very technologically literate. I know that I have grown up in a technological world, and yet I feel a little out of touch with it. Until recently I have been afraid of the internet. I never had very good experiences trying to find the information that I needed. I always seemed to be led to something completely off topic and frankly I was frustrated with computers and technology. I have become a lot more familiar with computers lately and have found that they can be very helpful. In my classes growing up I have been introduced to many different programs. I even remember in Junior High that we had a tool that let us type by speaking into a headset. I am becoming more interested in technology and am excited to learn more about how to incorporate technology into my teaching. I want to feel more comfortable with modern technology.