Week Eight

In week eight we focused on ethical and social issues in the implementation of technology; including, ethical concerns of technology in education, copyright laws pertaining to the use of technology, having equitable access to technology for all students, Internet etiquette and methods for setting up appropriate security measures on a computer.  Despite all of these issues the benefits of online communication tools far outweigh any negative aspects that may come along with them.  Blogs, email, chat, wikis, VoIPs, microblogging, virtual worlds, and webquests are all methods of online communication that we learned about over the past eight weeks.

It is possible to use blogs, email, chat, wikis, VoIPs, microblogging, virtual worlds, and webquests as online communication tools to meet the technology standards set by the International Society for Technology in Education in 2008.  These standards are: (1) Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity, (2) Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments, (3) Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, (4) Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility and (5) Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.  Each of these standards has 4 sub-items listed, A-D that describes each standard more thoroughly.

Since I am not currently teaching, I have not been in or used a computer lab of any kind since I was a senior in high school in 2000-2001.  The computer lab that we used then is pretty vague in my memory but I do remember that there were certain websites that we were unable to visit due to restrictions that had been placed on the computers as a security measure; I imagine both for the safety of students as well as to help prevent viruses.  However, these restrictions were pretty easy to get around with just a little bit of creative thinking.  Due to the fact that this was over a decade ago it is my hope that with current security measures websites that are meant to be inaccessible really are in fact inaccessible and that the computers are better protected with the use of anti-virus software that is continually updated and managed.

Week Seven - Learning Software and File Management

In week seven we mainly focused on software and file management.  Software can be defined simply as, the programs and other operating information used by a computer or organized collections of computer data and instructions.  File management is important because you must know what kind of program created a file in order to open it and keeping files organized is essential for productivity. 

I had a hard time choosing a piece of software to use in the classroom because I’m not yet teaching and it has been so long since I was in a classroom that used any type of learning software.  The options are overwhelming but I did a search for top-rated educational software and a few different ones kept popping up.  Imagine my surprise when one of them was The Oregon Trail by The Learning Company, this is actually a software program that I have some familiarity with, since it was one of the only programs in the computer lab when I was in elementary school in the early 1990s. 

I did choose The Oregon Trail as the software that I would use in the classroom due in part to that familiarity but also because of the top ratings it continues to receive even though the program was first designed in the 1970s.  The newest version of The Oregon Trail, the fifth edition was first available for sale on Amazon.com on January 1, 2000.  Primarily a simulation software, The Oregon Trail could be used during a unit on The Oregon Trail to illustrate the potential hazards and hardships the emigrants faced on their journey, the need for proper budgeting of food and other resources, the geography of The Oregon Trail and also reading and problem solving skills.

Because I don’t have a classroom to use the software in yet I downloaded a version for my iPhone to see what an updated version had to offer for students.  I have to admit that I was soon hooked, the game is fun and challenging but I think that the biggest issue when using it in the classroom would be in eking out the historical aspects and things that you really want students to learn about.  Although the game provides interesting tidbits of historical information and presents real challenges that emigrants faced it is extremely easy to get caught up in trying to beat a previous high score and forget that there is actual learning to be done.  I still think that The Oregon Trail software could be a valuable supplement to teaching a unit of The Oregon Trail as long as it is used as just that, a supplement.  I would make sure that the lesson plans included plenty of other activities and assignments that would bring The Oregon Trail to life for students.

Week Six - WebQuest

In week six we learned about an online teaching tool called WebQuests. A WebQuest, according to WebQuest.org, is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. A WebQuest format usually consists of seven parts; introduction, task, process, evaluation, conclusion, credits and a teacher page.

As part of our lesson we were required to create our own WebQuest; this seemed overwhelming and a little bit scary at first! Just looking at examples of WebQuests online gave me the impression that creating one of my own would be a daunting task.  However, with the help of two websites http://questgarden.com and http://angelfire.com I was able to create a WebQuest that I am proud of.  Questgarden.com provided a template for the WebQuest along with hints and ideas for some of the sections. Angelfire.com is a site where you can create website that are free as long as they stay under a certain size. I used Angelfire.com in conjunction with Questgarden.com in order to have my WebQuest a little bit better organized than what the options from Questgarden.com provided by themselves.  The most helpful thing for me was to create an outline before I started any actual work on the WebQuest itself.

My WebQuest, A Friend for Rocketman, is based on the assumption that I will take my pet turtle to my classroom when I start teaching but it could be easily modified for “Rocketman” to just be a fictional character.  My WebQuest, geared toward early elementary students, starts out by explaining that Rocketman is lonely and in need of a friend, it is the students’ job to research specific questions about turtles and to decide which kind of turtle would make the best possible friend for Rocketman.  

My WebQuest process is divided into six questions; (1) About how many different species of turtles are there? (2) What are the two major groups of turtles? (3) What do turtles eat? (4) Are there any species of turtles that are endangered species? (5) Where do turtles live? And (6) How do turtles keep warm or cool? Under each question I provided a link to a reputable online resource that is geared towards kids in order to help them answer whichever question they are on at the time.  In order to incorporate subjects other than just science I included worksheets on questions 2-5 that addressed the subject areas of math, writing, reading and to a lesser extent art. Part of question six requires students to write a letter to Rocketman explaining their choice of friend for him; this obviously incorporates writing into the lesson.

My main issues centered on finding graphics that I felt were fitting and struggling with whether or not I was adding in assignments and questions that were grade/age appropriate.  Overall, I feel that I worked through the issues that I did have and was able to complete a thorough, interesting WebQuest that elementary age children could enjoy and learn from.

A Friend for Rocketman Link