Starr, Linda (2000) Educations World – The Educator’s Bestfriend. PowerPoint | Creating Classroom Presentations. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech013.shtml
The author from Education World covers the reasons as listed in headings of the article: 1) Why PowerPoint, 2) Terrific Student Presentations, 3) Its Not Just for Kids, 4) Rants and Raves, 5) Use the Tutorial, and 6) Help you Students Create Projects. PowerPoint is a simple yet powerful tool in the classroom for creating engaging presentations. PowerPoint brings students research to life through this simple, yet versatile, software program. The author explains that though it is simple and easy to use for any age, it makes it possible to implement technology tools such as videos, art, graphics, and sound bites into the presentation. Initially the instructor creates engaging presentation through PowerPoint. Then to follow at a later time, the students can create their own PowerPoint presentation demonstrating what they learned from their research. PowerPoint brings learning to the whole class for spreading the information to the whole class through engaging visual presentations created by the students themselves.
Homes, Susan (2011). Collinsville Unit 10: Internet Safety: Helping our Kids Stay Safe Online. Retrieved November 19, 2011, from http://www.unitten.org/safeweb/
ReplyDeleteTo include social networking as a resource for bridging the achievement gap, we need to cover some basic areas with our students before beginning the social networking in the classroom. This initial step stems around internet safety. This article covers research on what students (digital citizen) use the internet for, their knowledge of internet safety, where computers are located in their house, being cyber bullied, what constitutes cyber bullying, and type of monitoring by parents to name a few concerns. This article was broken down to age appropriate safety categories and resources, resources for lessons for the class on internet safety education, quantitative research statistics figures. Some of the statistics from the survey results are:
• In child’s bedroom – 75%
• In basement – 46%
• Internet access at home – 91%
• Ask parent permission to use internet – at least 41% of students don’t ask permission first.
• Have filtering software – 33% do, 9% up do not, 34% and up do not know
• Parents search child’s internet use history, 35% and up parents do not search history.
• Hours of computer use at home
• What computer is used for, etc.
The research results apply to all areas of computer use and are based on three schools in Illinois. The statistic was surprising, yet shows the crucial need for educating our students of all ages on internet safety. The resources are listed and broken down based on age and categories. After reading this, I was surprised as strict as I am on internet safety for my children that I still need to implement more stringent safety strategies for my children. I would use this information in a classroom for the students of all ages prior to allowing social networking of any sort in the classroom.
Yang Su, Eleanor (2011) California Watch, Daily Report. Social networking helps students perform better, professor says. Retrieved November 19, 2011, from http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/social-networking-helps-students-perform-better-professor-says-12292
ReplyDeleteMuch of the research and reports on social networking says it can help students bridge the achievement gap. This article talks about the idea that social networking makes students feel more connected with friends. Students that may have been loners now have a way to communicate with others and still feel anonymous. Students that are loners (so to speak) often struggle with face to face communication because peers can be clueless about what they say and how it may affect others (bullying). So, students may feel more comfortable on social networks and feel more accepted.
However, this article still mentions that this also can open the door for another form of bullying (cyber bullying). This is where educating students (I have covered this in week 4 journal blog) done out of order. By educating students on proper internet safety, what constitutes cyber bullying, at risk internet behavior, how to be safe on the internet can overtime guide students to learn to make safe internet choices as well as how their verbal and internet actions can impact their own life as well as the safety of those around them. There are many programs in place to teach children how to treat other (Character Counts is one). Schools are now adding internet safety to the character building curriculum. These two avenues need to be merged for social networking to be fully safe an effective as a classroom teaching tool. This is because if the bounds that students are developing are damaged from cyber bullying, internet at risk behavior we then fall one step forward and two steps back. So, as this article talks about social networking is a tool for students developing communication skills while learning new technology that will better prepare them for a career that will utilize technology. In addition, it makes students more engaged in their lessons. As quoted in the 21st century PowerPoint Entertainment is short lived but engagement in lessons stays around.
Roberts, Kevin, et al, ASB Unplugged Conference (2010) Mumbai, India Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmskHM0V2Ig&feature=related. Students do not need to be entertained, they need to be engaged. Entertainment is not the same as engagement. Entertainment is passive, Entertainment is for enjoyment, Entertainment is short-lived, entertainment doesn’t require relevance, entertainment allows escape from reality, entertainment is using creativity of others. Engagement is active, engagement is for learning, engagement has long term results, engagement is meaningful and applicable, engagement is solving problems, engagement is using the creativity of the participant, engagement can and should be fun and creative.