PLE Reflection

The most valuable aspect of creating a PLE for me would have to be the convenience of not having to turn in paper reflections. Having a specific place for our reflections to go was a good idea for this class.
However, the one thing I didn't like so much about it was that we were using both a PLE and facebook. I understand that one of the purposes of creating a PLE was to introduce us to creating a blog and enhance the likelihood of using such a thing when we teach, but it was just a little tedious having to use both.
Honestly, the chances of me using my PLE for educational purposes is slim. I might change it to make it more of a personal blog, but not so much for educational purposes. Again it was a good idea for this class and it did teach me how to use a blog, but the only chances of me using it would be for personal use.

Watching Reflection

The most important thing I learned is to protect your children. The cyberbullying video really made me think. I mostly think about all the terrible things that can happen to children sexually through the internet. I don't really think I have ever thought about how cyberbullying can be just as terrible. It really confirmed my decision that none of my children will have computers in their room and that the main family computer will be in a heavy traffic area.
The ikeepsafe Faux Paws video is so appropriate for children. I love how it is centered to children at their level. The rest of the website has great printouts, games, and things to read that children would love. Its interactive and children love things they can interact with online. I think the video really displays reality but not in a scary way. I would definately use this in my classroom and even at home with my own children. They might think it was just something fun, but even though that is true they will also be taught why something like this website exists.

Reading Reflection

The fourth article I choose to read was called Setting Family Standards for Entertainment by Carla Dalton.
I was really surprised with these readings. I thought they were going to just be a bunch of random articles about technology, but they were church articles related to the media and the Internet. All of these articles were full of important things. One of the most important things I found was in Elder Ballard's article Let Our Voices Be Heard. He was so straight forward when he was talking about the media and how destructive it can be, but I also like how he emphasized the good things that come from the media and the Internet. Something else that I thought was important was when they said that the computer needs to be in "high- traffic areas of the home." I do not feel that it is very smart at all to allow children or teenagers to have computers in their bedrooms. A good place for a computer is in the kitchen or living room; just some place where there is always someone walking through. Another important factor is to sit down as a family and set family media and Internet standards. Talking about our beliefs when it comes to media and Internet are essential. Talking about these things can really eliminate confusion and/or question about what we believe is okay.
My husband and I have already talked about how we are going to monitor our children's media and Internet use. Our children will not have computers or TV's in their bedrooms. Their TV use will be limited along with their computer use. Especially with the Internet, we plan on teaching our children that it is a great tool and can be very useful but just getting on the Internet just to "play" around can lead to trouble. I know that more technology issues will come up the longer we are parents, but right now I feel these are the most important.
I believe that one of the best ways to have a positive influence on family and friends and through example. If I talk about never seeing PG-13 movies and then I go and see one, I am being a hypocrite. If I say I am not going to do something, then I shouldn't do it. We are always being watched, whether it be our family, friends, or our own children. I know I want to set the best example for my children as possible. I want them to know that their mother and father follow the standards of the church. This is something that is very important to me.

Week 4

Well this was our last official week in the classroom (we stiff have one day left though. It has been a great week but both me and the kids are starting to get a little sad that I am leaving. We have had a great time these past 4 weeks and I have learned a lot and they have had to adjust to a lot. It has also been very difficult for me during this time with me new pregnancy. I know that I have not been able to reach my fullest potential because I have been so sick. I have just done my best. I was very lucky to have a mentor teacher who completely understood what it was like to be pregnant, sick, and teaching. It's not easy.
I really feel like I am being redundant when when I post reflections on here because nothing ever changes when it comes to technology. Technology was not used in the classroom, except for my little technology lesson done on Friday. I did not gain any new ideas for using technology in the classroom.
I can talk about my technology lesson though. I have been thinking for a while on the kind of technology I could use in the classroom and everything I thought of just wouldn't have worked. I wanted to use that newer version of an overhead, but that wouldn't have worked with the set up of the classroom. I also had a thought to teach the students a couple cool things the could do in WORD but I couldn't do that because the school didn't have any computers to do that (the were all stolen). Therefore, I decided to do a PowerPoint about myself to introduce the students to something cool they can eventually do on a computer. It was just a short lesson where I asked them questions about everything I had with me, what they knew about computers, and also what they have done with computers themselves. They really liked being able to see pictures and learn more about Mrs. McDaniel and they also liked the sound effects I put at the end.

Week 1 and Week 3 Reflection

Well week three has come and gone and it is hard to believe that the practicum is almost over. I know that we are supposed to talk and reflect about the use of technology in the classroom, but nothing has changed. I feel like I am being redundant when I try to answer the self report quiz questions because my teacher simply does not use technology in the classroom. Having no technology in the classroom makes trying to come up with an idea for our assignment a little difficult and frustrating. We talked to our facilitator at the school and she gave us some suggestions we could do if we were student teaching or interning but it is just hard to come up with something when you are only in the classroom for 4 weeks and do not know all the "in's and out's" of the school. Therefore, I have not used technology in the classroom besides listening to a book on tape using the CD player. The only idea I have for using technology is still the same. I plan on using the newer form of a projector this coming week to do a read aloud or something related. When it comes to using technology in the classroom, I feel a little left out because we have had basically no exposure to it in my classroom.

I also realized from an email from Dr. Graham that we were supposed to post weekly reflections on our PLE which included week 1. So here is my reflection for that week...Week 1 was a great experience. I got to interact with new students, who warmed up to me faster than I though. Again I did not see any technology used in the classroom except for what I have already mentioned. Week 1 was more of an observation week for all of us.

Technology in First Grade

Well to be completely honest, my classroom does not use technology hardly at all. Like I said in my survey, the only computer in the classroom is the teachers laptop and that is not accessible to the students. My teacher does use a CD player everyday. She uses it to call the students over to the rug for literacy or math lessons. She also uses it to sing with the students. They sing songs about the days of the week and months of the year. The students really like doing this and they even have little hand motions that they do with the songs. She also uses it to teach the students new songs and the kids really like this. When they come back from art, the teacher turns off the lights and they are just to listen to the music or they can sing to it. I really like they way my teacher uses the CD player because the kids think they are just having fun, but she is really teaching many things just through music. I really have not seen any negative use of technology in her classroom, mainly because it is basically never used. One way that I have used technology in the classroom, talking about the CD player, is when I played a book on tape for the kids while they looked at the pictures in a book I was holding. This was really fun for me because all I did was hold the book and the tape read it for me and I also go to see the expressions on the kids faces while they listened.
The only idea I have for using technology in the classroom in a lesson that has been taught this week has been using the newer form of an overhead projector when doing a read aloud or explaining something from a worksheet. I am not sure what these things are called but I have seen them used in my classes at BYU and they are very useful tools. I actually plan on using one in a lesson I have been thinking of because the school has one available for teachers to check out. But other than than, because the students are so young, I do not really have any other ideas than that.

Underground Railroad Virtual Tour

After a few long hours I was finally able to complete this assignment. After looking at others virtual tours, I noticed that they were able to do things that tried to do and couldn't. I noticed that there were a few who were able to get a picture to upload in with their description, which is a real nice effect. I was also really impressed with all the ideas everyone came up with.
I believe I used a 4th grade Social Studies/History curriculum (St.1 Ob. 2)on this assignment.
To be honest, I did not really like this assignment as much as the others. I felt that it took entirely too long to do and even though it could be used in the classroom, I personally would find other ways to teach this subject and others.