Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Web Presence Progress
http://budnotbuddywinther.weebly.com/index.html
Classroom Internet and Safety Policy
Ms. Winther’s Classroom
Internet and Safety Policy
Introduction
As a student in my classroom, you will be using the Internet as a constant learning tool. The Internet is vast highway of resources for the classroom. The Internet is a powerful tool that is used in the classroom to fuel and promote educational experiences. As an Internet user in my classroom you will be required to follow specific guidelines and rules when using the Internet.
Guidelines/Rules
1. Plagiarism: Obey the rules of copyright. You will not plagiarize (take) work you find on the Internet. Plagiarism is taking the ideas or writings of others and presenting them as if they were one's own. Be sure to always use proper citations.
· Use creative commons to find appropriate sources
· Seek permission if possible
· Example of bad use: Went to a website and copy and pasted information into a project or paper without summarizing or citing.
· Example of good use: Went to a valid website and found appropriate information. Paraphrased and summarized information into own words and then used noodlebib.com to properly create a citation.
2. Personal Use: You are able to use personal email to send information to and from school for educational purposes only. There is no use of facebook, myspace, or other social networking sites. Rule of thumb, when accessing websites do not go over 4 clicks away from the original site.
· Example of bad use: went on facebook, myspace, photobooth, and opened games during class or on any computer during the school day.
· Example of good use: opened up your email to email yourself the report you did not finish in Language Arts class.
3. Appropriate Behavior: when blogging, accessing sites, or collaborating online with classmates, always use appropriate language and behavior (no cyber bullying, vulgar, rude or threatening language).
· Example of bad use: commenting on someone’s blog with inappropriate language, use threatening behavior, commenting in a rude or unprofessional manner. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
· Example of good use: commenting on someone’s blog in a professional manner (good spelling, appropriate language, etc.)
4. Personal Information: Do not give out any personal information when on the Internet (blogs, email, etc.). This would include email address, name, address, school name, school address, etc.
· Example of bad use: went onto a public blog and posted something personal about yourself (email, name, address).
· Example of good use: remained anonymous on the Internet when commenting and reading blogs.
As an Internet User in my classroom you adhere to these rules for our classroom Internet and Safety Policy. By adhering to this, you understand that if you break rule consequences will be enforced.
Student Signature _______________________
Consequences
· Breaking a rule – student conference and follow appropriate consequences outlined in student handbook.
· Further infractions – Students/parents/teacher/administrator conference. Students will lose privileges to accessing certain Internet sites, activities, etc.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Response #4
Think about:
1. how your students will use the Web
2. the Standards (above)
3. your type of Web access
4. your building/district AUP
5. the grade level of your students
The "Internet Safety and Security" policy in my classroom will need to be very specific, easy to follow, and strict. Since I am a 6th grade teacher, in a district that allows access to many internet sites, it will be important to lay out concise guidelines for my students. Through the exploration of this week's online classes, I have learned many things that need to be included in my policy. The first item is something that I feel very strongly about.
#1. EXAMPLES - Included in my policy will be examples of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. It will be important to not only have the policies outlined, but to have an example of what breaking that rule/policy looks like.
#2. Plagiarism - Students must cite sources properly. Students in my classroom have been practicing this using Noodlebib - http://www.noodletools.com/, but this should be something started from the very beginning of the year. This is something very important for middle school students, since many classrooms complete research type projects. The students need to understand what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, and how to properly use other people's information (i.e. cite sources).
#3. Personal Usage - Students will not be allowed to use the internet for personal usage. Students love to go on to photobooth, open games, etc. in middle school. This will not be allowed in my classroom, unless it is for a project. Furthermore, sites like facebook, myspace, etc. will not be allowed to be accessed (I don't think you can get to them anyway). However, personal email will be allowed to be used to email projects, papers, assignments. My students use their emails all the time to email themselves a paper that they are working on. It is very helpful!
#4. Blogging - Since I plan to incorporate blogging into my future lessons and classroom, it will be important for students to understand not to give out personal information and to use appropriate behavior when accessing blogs.
As you can see, my Internet Policy will be designed specifically for my classroom and the usage. Students in middle school can be a tricky bunch that need structure.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Response #3
Topic:
How will you apply the concepts from the NetQuest, Online Research Module/Model, and WebQuest in your final web-based learning experience project for this course?
NetQuests, Online Research Module, and Webquests will all play a part in my final project. I believe my final project will be a Webquest or maybe even a combination of all of them into one. The students will complete it over several days. The main idea from all of the different online learning experiences is making the students answer GOOD questions. This is so important when making a learning experience meaningful for kids and each of these stresses that.
NetQuest: I liked how the article on NetQuests had a series of questions that needed to be answered by the teacher and by the students. I think the teacher-centered questions really help the teacher make sure he/she is accomplishing the right goal for his/her students. I will be sure to have these questions answered in my lesson. I also really like the student-centered I think it is important for students to remember why they are completing the assignment. Too often, students get lost in the assignment and in the end forget what the goal was.
WebQuests: After viewing several WebQuests and reading about what they are, I have decided that many elements will be incorporated into my web-based learning experience project. I particularly like the format and setup of the WebQuest. I think the format: introduction, task, process, evaluation, and conclusion is an easy format for students to follow as they complete their learning experience.
Is it possible to have a combination of everything in your final project? I really like what each offers and I would like to take the good in each part to combine it into one thing.
What content area are you thinking about using? You might have a unit that needs some "sprucing up".
I have been thinking for a long time about what content area (Language Arts also cross- curricular - social studies) I want do my final project on. I have decided that the most beneficial lesson I could plan, would be for a novel that the 6th graders are required to read. Not only would I use this, but all 6th grade teachers in my school could also use this. The novel is Bud, Not Buddy and is about a young African American boy growing up during the Great Depression. Throughout the book there are many themes. My lesson will be cross-curricular and focus on:
- The Great Depression
- Jazz during The Great Depression
- Racism during The Great Depression
Students will need to use:
- Writing skills
- Research skills
- Blogging
- Good search skills
What websites have you found so far that you would like to use? Share an online learning experience that you found that you feel could support your curriculum (post the URL).
- http://www.pbs.org/jazz/time/time_depression.htm
- http://pbskids.org/jazz/time/1930.html
- http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/glossary/great-depression.htm
- http://museumca.org/picturethis/3_7.html
- WebQuest:
- http://www.todaysteacher.com/TheGreatDepressionWebQuest/Introduction.htm
There will be more to come soon. I am still trying to come up with a final product besides the online journal that the kids need to complete. Maybe something that is a collaborative group thing.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Response #2
As teachers it is our job to not only be sure that we teach our students the curriculum, but we also need to instruct our students to be good investigators and researchers, especially with the internet. Children do not enter into school with the knowledge of how to search on the internet for information, which is why it is imperative for us to teach this within the walls of our classroom.
My plan...
Step 1.
In order for student to understand that information is not always valid on the internet, it is important for them to see examples where information is not true and valid. The first step to my lesson would be to have students visit the website: Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus Site. At the sites students would need to look for information to support if this is a valid site or not. As a group we would visit:
- Forward links
- Back links
- Implement Real:
- R- read the URL
- E - examine the content
- A – ask about the author and owner
- L – check out the links
Step 2.
After the group has decided how they feel about the validity of the site, we will then take a look at 2 different websites that describe several questions to ask and things to consider when deciding if the website is good to use or not:
Step 3.
At this point students should be at the point to be introduced to evaluating websites on their own. To help them along the way, they will have a worksheet with questions to answer while they are there.
Evaluating Websites
How do we make sure a website is a good one?
There are some steps to always follow…
R- read the URL
E - examine the content
A – ask about the author and owner
L – check out the links
REAL
Always use a…CRITICAL EYE
Directions: It is important to look for valid information when looking on websites. In order to do that we must ask ourselves some questions when we are there. Take a minute to answer the questions to see if this is a valid site.
- What is the URL? __________________________________
- Who is the author of the site? _________________________
- What is the title of the site? __________________________
- What institute sponsers this site? _____________________
- When was the site last updated? ______________________
Answer yes or no to the following questions (circle your choice). You should be able to get an idea if the information is valid or not for your topic if you have more yes(s) or no(s).
- Is the reading level good for me? Yes No
- Is the page easy to navigate (go through)? Yes No
- Are the pictures clear? Yes No
- Is the page organized and well set up? Yes No
- Are there headings/titles on the site? Yes No
- Are there links on the site? Yes No
- If so, list where they go (2 examples)…
- Can you get back to the main site? Yes No
- Is the information on the page useful? Yes No
- Are the facts true? Yes No (See if you can validate on another site or book)
- Is the author biased about the information? Yes No
(Watch this one. If it is a yes then that is
not necessarily good.)
Total: _____(yes) _____(no)
Now…
- What do your totals tell you about the website?
- Go to altavista.com
- Type in Link:(add your url here)
- This will tell you what websites LINK to this page.
- What does this information tell you about your page that you are on?
- After completing your evaluation sheet, do you think this website is valid? Why or why not?
