John Hunter's World Peace Game

John Hunter created the World Peace game for his fourth grade students to solve problems of the world. I think that this would be a great game to allow students to play in classrooms. The world peace game allows students to interact while using critical thinking skills. Students are using problem solving while thinking about the consequences of their actions in the game. Many times students are taught the tools for facing problems. However, they are not taught how to use them. I think the world peace game would be a great way to teach students how to apply the tools they are being taught in class.

Voki

Animals- Concept map

Animals

I. Mammals

There are over 4000 species of mammals. All mammals are vertebrates. They are also warm blooded. Mammals have hair on their body, and they give live birth. They also produce milk to feed their young.

A. Horses

B. Dogs

1. Labrador

2. Poodle

II.  Reptiles

Reptiles are covered in scales or scutes. There are four types of reptiles: turtles and tortoises, snakes and lizards, alligators and crocodiles, and the tuatara. Reptiles are found in most environments excluding icy regions and tundra. Many reptiles spend a great deal of time on land, while others spend time in water..

A. Snakes

B.  Crocodiles

III. Birds

Birds are feathered animals. They have wings. Birds lay eggs. Their eggs have a hard,waterproof shell.

A. Hummingbird

B. Penguin

IV. Amphibians

There are three different types of Amphibians. The three groups include Frogs, Salamanders, and Caecilians. Amphibians like to live in wet climates.

A. Salamander

B. Frog

V. Insects

Insects are broken into two groups, insects with wings and insects without wings. All insects are invertebrates. They have three body regions the head, thorax, and abdomen. All insects have six legs.

A. Lady Bug

B. Grasshopper

Digital Citizenship- Using Technology Appropriately

After reading the article, I realize people need to be familiar with the nine themes of digital citizenship. Digital citizenship is defined as the norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use according to the article. Theme one deals with digital access. It basically means that in order to become productive citizens, we need to be committed to equal digital access. Theme two is digital commerce. Digital commerce deals with the electronic buying and selling of goods and products. Theme three is about digital communication, which is the electronic exchange of information. It also tells about the expanding communication options. Digital literacy is discussed in theme four. It deals with the teaching and learning about technology, as well as the use of technology. Digital etiquette is theme five which discusses the electronic standards of what is appropriate in the digital world. The sixth theme is digital law which deal with the fact that people are responsible for their actions and what they say digitally. Digital Rights and Responsibilities is the seventh theme. It deals with the freedoms that are extended to everyone in the digital world.  There is a basic set of rights to everyone in the digital world. Theme eight is digital health and wellness. It deals with educating and training people on how to protect themselves from the physical and psychological dangers that can come from technology. The last theme, theme nine, is digital security. It deals with the electronic precautions to guarantee safety in the digital world.

Furthermore, I think is is extremely important that educators become familiar with these nine themes of digital citizenship. It is also important to educate students on these themes to ensure digital safety. A good way of teaching the themes of digital citizenship is REPs, it stands for Respect, Educate, and Protect. REP one is respect yourself and others. This is where digital etiquette, access, and law would be taught. REP two is educate yourself and connect with others. This is where communication, literacy, and commerce would be discussed. REP three is protect yourself and others. This is where rights and responsibly, safety, and health and welfare would be discussed. I think REPs is a great concept for teaching digital citizenship to ensure digital safety and appropriate technology use. 

'Safe' Social Networking Tailored for K-12 Schools

After reading this article, I believe that educational social media sites like Edmodo, ePals, and eChalk can be highly beneficial to student learning.These sites have been designed in a way that the teacher leads discussion. Teachers can also monitor the discussions and control who students talk to. These sites provide great security,which makes many teachers more comfortable using them. We live in a society where social networking is very common, so why not allow students access to use these sites to expand education. The use of these types of educational social media sites allows students to connect and communicate with classmates on assignments. In my opinion, the use of these sites allow students to think and organize their thoughts before having to share them with other peers. I also think that these sites make students put more effort into work, because it will be read by other peers. If monitored by the teacher correctly, these sites can beneficial for classroom use and students.

CIPA

The Children's Internet Protection Act is a federal law that is enacted by Congress. The CIPA addresses concerns about offensive content that can be viewed over the Internet using school and library computers. CIPA imposes many requirements for schools and libraries that receive funding through the E-rate program. The deadline to meet the CIPA's  new requirements is July 1. There will be new regulations that schools must adhere to, or they could risk losing discounts and funds. The new addition is that all students' K-12 be educated on cyberbullying and online behavior and safety.  Schools and districts must have a plan written up by the deadline that includes instruction on Internet safety and cyberbullying in the curriculum. However, the CIPA does not include requirements on how the materials should be included in the curriculum., which I think will cause the most problems with school districts. Furthermore, I do think that educating students on Internet safety and cyberbullying can be beneficial, once it is decided on how to implement it into the curriculum.

The Chronicle- A Future Full of Badges

Universities are looking at a technological badge system that changes the way higher learning is validated. The badge system was created my Mozilla , the non-profit organization that created Firefox. The badge system can change the way that academic standing is displayed. The badges are a validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality, and interest. In a way, the badges are like Girl Scout badges.  They are indicators of the accomplishments that can be seen. The badge system would display students accomplishments in other ways besides a letter grade on a transcript. The badges would show achievement of  tasks that were accomplished and learned. In my opinion, the badge system could be a beneficial system to use in education. I think that it could impact a students learning. The badge system would allow students to be responsible for their learning. There are definitely concerns with the badge system. However, I think if used correctly the badge system can be beneficial to education.

Gamification

I found many interesting facts about gamification after reading this article. The information I obtained from the article can be beneficial for me in my future as an elementary education teacher. Gamification can be used in the classroom to engage students’ interest.  It can also be used to create a more effective and enjoyable learning experience.  I hope to use this method for subjects or topics that students have trouble understanding. I also hope to use it as a way of grasping new materials or reviewing previously learned materials. The article suggested that gamification can present coursework more as a challenge than a chore, and I completely agree.  Therefore, I will definitely try to incorporate this into my future classrooms. 

The Virtues of Blogging as Scholarly Activity

After reading the article, I completely agree that existing and new technology has the potential to change academic practice. Technology has changed the way materials are brought about in the classrooms. Teachers are now granted access to free and abundant resources. In the past, resources were extremely expensive.  The article was also about whether or not these new types of activities for research were scholarly. In my opinion, the topic for research should help decide whether are not the certain activity is scholarly. However, it also discussed if the activities were scholarly how to locate and recognize them.  The author of the article preferred blogging and had good reasoning for her preference.  She suggests that blogging keeps research topics from being limited to a paper, journal article, or even a book. Blogging allows for one to reference many ideas in one place. Blogging also gets immediate response from individuals and then can be used for creating presentations, etc.  I agree that blogging can be a great choice if used in the correct manner. I had never blogged until this class, and I can already see that blogging can be a great way to express feelings or findings and connect with others.  

Vision of a K-12 Student

Technology jobs are increasing.Students in many countries are becoming more efficient in technology based occupations. Young students enjoy the use of technology. China is a larger location speaking English than India. We were beat in literacy by 11 countries.  Sixteen countries beat the U.S. in Science literacy. From 2006-2016 technology based jobs will increase 44%. 75 % of students graduate in the U.S.

eSchool News Article Views

Before reading the articles in the handout, I thought I was web literate.  However, I realize now how little I actually know and understand about the web. I had no idea that the "~" meant that a webpage was a personal site.  I would have assumed that the site was a part of the northwestern.edu site had the article not indicated otherwise.  I find that the information in the articles will be useful. I agree that it is important to teach students how to research effectively. I believe students need to understand and interpret the things they read on the web and determine if the information is from a credible source.  These articles affect me as a future elementary educator because technology and the web  play an important role in day to day life.  I need to be able teach my students how to be web literate. However, I will have to become more web literate myself.  I also will need to show examples to my future students of how reliable sites may not be the most reliable and credible sources of information, for example, the ear mouse.  I was shocked by all of the information in these articles and surprised at how I am completely web illiterate. I feel that after reading these articles, I still have a great bit of information I need to learn about the web, before I can adequately teach my future students how to become web literate.