Internet Safety Interview: "Doing"

~I talked to a very close family friend of mine who is my little sisters best friend. She is 14 years old and in 8th grade.

~ We discussed some of the things that she liked to do online. She said she usually goes on AIM and checks her brothers facebook. I asked if she went into chat rooms as she said she did at times, but did not talk to anyone she did not know. I shared with her some information I learned about the dangers of going into chat rooms online as well as the terrible effects of cyberbullying. She shared with me something she had read in a magazine about a girl committing suicide after being cyber bullied. I talked with her about how hurtful cyberbullying can be (explainging a story about my friend who's little sister is moving to a different school because of being a victim of cyberbullying), and how important it is to make sure never to get involved in any type of gossip about others, especially online. I also told her about the importance of staying out of chat rooms and never revealing any type of personal information online to anyone. She understood the dangers and watched the cyberbullying video, " You Can't Take It Back" on nesmartz.com. She took all this information very well, and was shocked by some of the information I had learned of from the class videos about the online predators and bullying. This was a very positive conversation, in which she said she learned a lot of important things that she can also remind her friends about.

What I Learned From the Class Presentations

There were a lot of great examples of how to use technology in the classroom, but I definitely had two favorites:

1). The first was a topic on math and fractions. In this lesson, the student teacher used the digital screens ( I have no idea what it is called), to direct the lessons. On the screen, the kids were able to see her start out with a piece of chocolate bar. Then, she would say that she wanted to take away 1/8 of the chocolate bar. The piece would disappear, but could be filled in again with a different color, representing what fraction of the chocolate bar was taken away. I thought it was a great idea to use this board because all the kids could see the example and could visually see how the piece is taken away and the fraction that is left over. After that, they worked on their own, doing fractions.

2). The second idea was amazing as well. This student teacher had been asked to read a St. Patrick's Day book the day before the big day. Unfortunately, the teacher told her only a few days before the assignment, and all the St. Patrick's day books were gone in the library. She got creative and decided to make her own St. Patrick's day book about. Leprechaun. She found pictures for the " book" online and made a photo story book, with music and text, about the Leprechauns on St. Patrick's day. She made the story move slow enough so that the kids could read the story aloud with her. After that, she said they did an activity about this special day. She said that even the ELL were asking her more about Leprechauns; they wanted to know everything. They completely understood what a Leprechaun was and what it looked like. She was very impressed with their interest and understanding. I loved her idea. She took an unlucky situation and turned it into something magical for the kids!.

Online Article about the Internet: #4

1.What article did you choose to read for your fourth article?
The ariticle that I chose to read for my fourth article is titled " Fighting Internet Filth" by Mario Hipol.

2.What were the most important things you learned from the readings? Th most important things I learned in this article was to put the computer in a high traffic area and check the history often to see what sights have been entered. By setting a specific day, maybe once a week, where you check and delete history, you can keep track of your families viewing material and also will recognize if deleted history occurs before you have done it yourself. This would be cause for possible concern.Putting the computer in a high traffic area makes it easier for family members to not be tempted to look at inappropriate material online. The screen should be visable for anyone walking by to see.

3.How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth? This article helps me as a future parent to recognize the many things I can do to prevent inappropriate material to enter my home via the internet. It helps me to know of the importance of monitoring my children's viewing to keep them safe from the many terrible things that can be viewed, even by accident.

4.How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?I think by implimenting these precautions in my future home, my family will be more aware and better protected from potential internet danger. I realize that I will have to continue to keep up on new technology considering how quickly our youth learn to use technology. We should never think that they don't understand or know how to use technology. They will find a way to learn from friends, at school, etc, and could end up viewing bad material if we don't teach them how to protect themselves and take precautions against it.

What I learned about using Technology

On Krysten's technology presentation, I learned that technology should be used in conjunction with hands on learning. I think this is an important thing to remember because simply allowing kids to hop on the computers and play with some of the computer activities in not facilitating learning. We need to first teach them concepts and give them hands on examples. The computer should be used as an additional tool to explain or emphasize what was already taught.