Assignment for February 21 (Week 6)

Dr. Christie's Presentation on the pitfall, perils, and POTENTIALS of using the Internet in K-12 education in a Web 2.0 world, was great! I have been reading for 6 weeks now, about how wonderful technology and the use of the Internet is for our children, and finally someone addresses the issue of Internet safety. Although technology is a valuable tool, educators cannot be naive to think that it is only used for "the good" of our students/children.

I would love to see the Netsmartz program implemented in schools around our area. We may teaching our children how to use technology, but are we teaching our children technology safety? It is scary (yet understandable) that many parents do not know the lingo that many of the children use today when texting, etc. I like the "Challenge" steps that Dr. Christie used. The easiest step perhaps to me is "Be Observant". Our children may think we are overprotective....maybe, but parents need to keep their eyes and ears open. We need to listen to our children!
iTunes University has a wealth of information that would offer insight into topics that students from elementary school through college. The links are easy to assess and follow. My students are allowed (usually) two Internet sources for their research projects. iTunes University would be a great asset in the classroom and beyond. It is estimated that over 100 millions iPods, iTouch, etc. have been sold worldwide.

I was amazed to discover that universities across the world are connected to iTunes University. iTunes University has thousands and thousands of topics featured on the website and the topics are ever changing. The thought that there is no limit to the topics is true. The various perspectives that are offered can provide great debate for students. I consider iTunes University to be a very valuable tool as a student and a teacher.

Duke University's introduction of the Duke Digital Initiative (DDI) is cutting edge in incorporating technology into instructional methods. The fact that the DDI had quadrupled in 2 years is fabulous. Wow, they actually gave free iPods to first year students in 2004! I wonder how many students actually took the iPod. The figure offered by the Kaiser Family Fund Foundation in the post, Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds found that of all 8-18 year olds, 76% own an iPod or other MP3 player.

In the post,Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts, the narrator states that Ms. Davis uses every kind of technology in her classroom. I agree with Ms. Davis that if a teacher uses only paper and pencil in the classroom then only certain types of students will succeed. Teachers need to reach students who use many and varied learning processes.

I admire Ms. Cassidy's approach to using the Nintendo DS to iPods to Skype in her classroom of First Graders. As stated in one of my earlier posts, I am still trying to devise a plan to use my students' Nintendo DS' in my classroom. The biggest hurdle is convincing my administrators and my parents!


Comments for Kids
This week for Comments for Kids I was connected to Room 8 at Pt England School. I had the chance to hear about Toma and why he is a good brother. I also had the chance to view Toma's artwork titled, Snap! Snap! The wicked witch snapped off Rapunzel’s long hair. By Toma It was a wonderful piece of art. I think Toma did a great job!