This class helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses within the realm of educational technology. First of all, I learned that fearlessness is both a strength and a weakness. On one hand, I am not afraid to “jump into” a new software or activity. I learn how things work by messing around with them instead of waiting for someone else to teach me. On the other hand, it is not good for me to be so willing to “jump in” without looking at possible risks. As a teacher, I need to be sure of the safety and security of a website or application before allowing it into my classroom. Another strength I have is a good set of leadership skills. I am more than willing to take charge and organize group endeavors. One of my weaknesses is inexperience with troubleshooting. If I experience a technical difficulty, I am nearly always dependent on someone else to solve it. If I am teaching in a classroom, I will not often have time to call for help when I cannot get things to work as I please. Hopefully as I spend more time working with education related technology, I will figure out how to fix problems on my own.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Course Reflection
IT 365 has been one of my most useful classes this semester. I really think that in my career as a teacher I will make use of the skills that I learned in this class. I learned how to collaborate efficiently with others using Google Groups, how to maintain a website and a blog, and how to create concept maps, movies, and online quizzes. Most importantly, I learned not to be afraid of incorporating technology into my classroom. In the future, I will definitely create and maintain a website for my students and their parents to keep up with. I will also probably create online quizzes for my students and allow them to play computer games that are related to the learning material. In addition, I will find age appropriate educational videos that help students connect lessons to real life.
One of the main things we did this semester was keep a blog portfolio of all our assignments and reflections. Looking back at it is a good reminder of all the things I learned from this class. It is my hope that when I start teaching, it will remind me of useful or convenient websites, apps, and software that I got experience with this year. In the same way, I can look at other teacher’s blogs for even more ideas and reviews of other, new lesson ideas. Blogs are truly a fantastic way to network and share information among teachers. I look forward to keeping one, as well as “following” my friends and colleagues when we start actually teaching.
Assignment Reflections
Intro Video
Making an introduction video was intimidating to say the least. I felt extremely unprepared and inexperienced with video. I learned that while it is fast and easy to shoot and post a video, it should take quite a bit of preparation to do it right. I learned that you should probably write down what you plan to say and practice it a few times. You should try filming from different angles in order to look your best. My partner and I tried from several different places because either the light was wrong or the angle gave me a double chin. It also sounds funny because I did not have enough words prepared to fill the time limit. My video would not post correctly and ended up sideways on my website. I do not know how to fix that, so it remains sideways. Even though my video turned out terribly, I think it was very good practice. Most schools today require teachers to have a website on which they post assignments and other important class information. These websites nearly always need an introduction to the teacher, and I think a video is a wonderful way to accomplish that. That being said, thanks to this assignment I will be able to create an impressive and professional introduction video when the time comes for me to have my own students. This assignment aligns with NETS 3 and 5 which are, “Model digital age work and learning” and “Engage in professional growth and leadership.” These goals were fulfilled because making a video with partners and displaying it on the blog constitutes modeling digital age work and introducing myself on film developed my skills as a professional.
Concept Map
I really enjoyed doing the concept map assignment. The software was fun to work with, and this assignment gave me a chance to prepare part of a lesson I could actually use in teaching. I made a concept map about different types of transportation. I designed this lesson for a kindergarten class and filled it with pictures and bright colors. I even color coded the sections so that it would be very easy to understand. Since kindergartners do not read well, each item had a picture of the vehicle as well as the word. Even if I do not end up using this particular lesson, I at least have more experience creating lessons. I had trouble making my links look like fun and relevant pictures on the concept map, but I solved it by placing the pictures on the map and then adding the links onto the pictures. I then deleted the original, boring links. This assignment aligns with NETS 1, 2, and 3 which are “Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity,” “Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments,” and “Model digital age work and learning.” They align with these standards because colorful concept maps with lots of pictures can easily help students visualize information and learn in a creative way. This was also a good example of designing and modeling a digital learning experience.
Website
The website assignment was much more difficult than I expected it to be. I made my website as if I was a second grade teacher getting to know my students at the beginning of the year. I had trouble at the beginning trying to figure out the formatting tools of the website maker. Finally I learned that I could insert a horizontal line under the columns so that I could put more information underneath them. I never figured out how to insert a link to my email on the website, so I just put my email address on the bottom of each page. This was a very important assignment for me since I will likely be required to maintain a website for my class when I become a teacher. I will need to be able to produce a website that keeps students and their parents up to date with all assignments and news from my classroom. I feel that now I am able to do that well. It was very helpful to learn how to insert a Google calendar into a website. This assignment aligns with NETS 2, 4, and 5 which are “Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments,” “Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility,” and “Engage in professional growth and leadership.” These goals are accomplished by this assignment because the website is a digital age learning experience, an example of digital citizenship, and a reflection on my professional growth.
Movie
The movie was probably my favorite assignment of the whole semester. The software was easy to work with, and making a movie was really fun. This assignment allowed for more creativity than most of the other assignments since the movie topic did not have to relate directly to teaching. I had never made a movie before, so this was a new experience for me. I learned how to operate the software and share the video on the internet. One problem I encountered was that my pictures took much more time than my music clip. I corrected this by taking out four pictures and making all the other slides much faster. I also removed any fancy transitions that took longer than I wanted. Finally, my credits rolled just as the song ended. It was perfect. This was a great skill for me to learn. I can make interesting videos for my class in the future. For example, after we go on a field trip, I can create a video that will remind them what happened so that they will not forget what they learned. This assignment aligned with NETS 2 and 3 which are “Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments” and “Model digital age work and learning.” This assignment fulfilled these standards because making a movie is a prime example of designing a digital age learning experience and modeling digital age work.
Turn It In
The Turn It In Assignment was an unusual experience for me. Even though I knew the purpose of the assignment was to see for myself how Turn It In catches plagiarism, I felt guilty copying and pasting from websites to create a report. I have always been told specifically not to do that, and now it was a requirement! To top it all off, I was not even good at plagiarizing! I had to resubmit my copied report because it did not fulfill the requirement for percent plagiarized. I solved the problem by removing my entire works cited page from the report. I did not have any problems with the original report. My report turned out to be 0% plagiarized. I was very proud of that. Now I know what Turn It In counts as plagiarism and what it does not count. Apparently my copied and pasted report was only about 85% plagiarized because I included the web sites from which the words were stolen. That surprised me. As a teacher, I will have to carefully review each paper’s report that tells which lines were taken from which websites. This assignment aligns with NETS 3 and 4 which are “Model digital age work and learning” and “Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility.” This assignment fulfills these standards because writing both plagiarized and original reports on a topic is a good way to model digital age work and learning, and learning more about plagiarism and how to catch it taught me more about digital age citizenship and responsibility.
Web Tools
The web tools assignment was frustrating for me. Trackstar is a good site for teachers to use in their classrooms to allow students to use the internet in a productive and controlled manner. I created a track that students could use if they finished their classwork early. It included educational games from a wide range of subjects and ability levels. I had a little trouble figuring out how to operate the Trackstar website, but I got accustomed to it as I worked more with it. The Rubistar rubric maker is a very helpful tool for teachers. Many times in elementary schools, projects and assignments are graded by rubric. It would be very helpful to be able to create them so easily and quickly online. I am glad that I learned how to do that. The Big Bus Testmaker was not quite such a pleasant experience for me. I created my quiz without a problem, but then I could not figure out how to save it. I had to create it again later and copy and paste it into my blog in order to see if it would work. I may not end up using that particular site in my teaching, but if I decide to, I will know how it works. This assignment aligns with NETS 2 and 3 which are “Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments” and “Model digital age work and learning.” It accomplishes these goals because creating a track of websites is designing, developing, and modeling a digital age learning experience, and making a quiz and a rubric is designing and developing digital age assessments.
Google Group
I was already familiar with Google apps before this assignment, so it was not very difficult. The only problem was that I added someone’s wrong email address to the group, but then I went back and added the correct one. As the group leader, I started the group email, the document, and the presentation. Then we discussed who would do each part, and we completed our tasks together. My group worked well together; there were no slackers among us, which was refreshing. We created a creative and comical story about a man who daydreams about superheroes and villains. We made a presentation about the five senses; it was fun to collaborate about design for that part. I feel like I learned a little more about the Google apps and how to collaborate with people on multiple projects simultaneously. I think these skills will be useful for collaborating with other teachers on lesson plans. Alternatively, I could have students work together on a presentation and save time in class by allowing them to do so at the same time by using the Google Slides. This assignment aligns with NETS 3 and 5 which are “ Model digital age work and learning” and “Engage in professional growth and leadership.” It fulfills these requirements because we utilized the Google technology to make our story and presentation, and we worked together as a team very professionally. 17 - Group Project - Safe Practices for Life Online
This was a group project. My group members were Brittney, Alex, and Ray. Brittney did questions 3, 4, 5, and 6. Alex did questions 7, 8, and 10. I did questions 1, 2, 9, 11, 12, and 13.
#1 Social Networking Sites
Facebook
Twitter
Tumblr#2 Consequences of Social Media Misuse
Recently, here at USM, a student posted a threat to other students on a social app called Yik Yak. Yik Yak is supposedly a feed where people can post anonymously to the people in the close vicinity. This student was located by campus police with help from the staff of Yik Yak. He was arrested and charged with a felony offense. This is just one example of possible consequences of posting on social media.
#3 Definitions
sexting - sending (someone) sexually explicit photographs or messages via cell phone.
cramming - the fraudulent practice of adding unauthorized charges to a customer's phone bill.
cookies - a message given to a Web browser by a Web server.
trojan horse - a program designed to breach the security of a computer system while ostensibly performing some innocuous function.
phishing - the activity of defrauding an online account holder of financial information by posing as a legitimate company.
zombie - a computer that a remote attacker has accessed and set up to forward transmissions (including spam and viruses) to other computers on the Internet.
rookit - a set of tools that allow an unauthorised person to take over the use of a computer.
spyware - a program that is downloaded to a person's computer without their consent that retrieves information about that person or their computer use.
#4 Screennames
“Trashmouth,” “IHaveOnePairPants,” “BoogerDude,” and “Pig” are not appropriate screen name choices in general. They are especially not appropriate if you want to be taken seriously in the future as a professional. Your screen name needs to represent you, especially in a professional and tasteful manner. These screen names are inappropriate, unprofessional, and just plain unnecessary.
“Trashmouth,” “IHaveOnePairPants,” “BoogerDude,” and “Pig” are not appropriate screen name choices in general. They are especially not appropriate if you want to be taken seriously in the future as a professional. Your screen name needs to represent you, especially in a professional and tasteful manner. These screen names are inappropriate, unprofessional, and just plain unnecessary.
#5 Screennames
The screen name “InYoFace” might give someone the impression that you think you’re all that and that you feel you are superior to other people, which may make them want to harass you and knock you down a level. The screen name “Badboy2U” might give someone the impression that you think you are untouchable and have the right to act however you want, which may make them want to put you in your place. The screen name “Lookin4Luv” may give people the impression that you’re willing to do anything for love, and they may try to take advantage of you. The screen name “IMAHottie” gives off the vibe that you think you are the hottest thing since sliced bread, and that would make anyone want to knock you down two sizes just to show you that you aren’t as great as you seem to think you are. The screen name “FatMama” may make people think you have children, you’re inappropriate, or all of the above. This doesn’t give off a good impression to anyone, which may lead to harassment. The screen name “suPaFlirt” puts off the vibe that you are willing to flirt with anyone without any standards, which can easily lead to sexual harassment.
The screen name “InYoFace” might give someone the impression that you think you’re all that and that you feel you are superior to other people, which may make them want to harass you and knock you down a level. The screen name “Badboy2U” might give someone the impression that you think you are untouchable and have the right to act however you want, which may make them want to put you in your place. The screen name “Lookin4Luv” may give people the impression that you’re willing to do anything for love, and they may try to take advantage of you. The screen name “IMAHottie” gives off the vibe that you think you are the hottest thing since sliced bread, and that would make anyone want to knock you down two sizes just to show you that you aren’t as great as you seem to think you are. The screen name “FatMama” may make people think you have children, you’re inappropriate, or all of the above. This doesn’t give off a good impression to anyone, which may lead to harassment. The screen name “suPaFlirt” puts off the vibe that you are willing to flirt with anyone without any standards, which can easily lead to sexual harassment.
#6 Screennames
#7 Screennames
Are these appropriate?
i8sushi2 - yes
Soccerstar - yes
Puppygirl1234 - no
KeKe1995 - no
Bookworm - yes
2BorNot2b - yes
Choco-holic - no
CapitlOfens - no
AmrcanIdol2 - yes
BellaIsabella - yes
DarkAngel666 - no
Karla-Love-1996 - no
SimpyMe - yes
gUn4hiRe - no
babyfaceLA - no
Watup? - no
Tom_Evans34 gives away the man’s first and last name, and possibly his age.
Missy-13 gives away the fact that this is a 13 year old girl.
AndyKarateKid gives away the child’s first name and a hobby of his. Anyone, if they know the location of this child, could find out where he does karate at.
ViolinGurl gives away that this girl plays the violin and potentially plays in the band. This can make her easily accessible to predators.
restlinmatch gives away that this boy is into wrestling and probably plays for his school.#7 Screennames
Are these appropriate?
i8sushi2 - yes
Soccerstar - yes
Puppygirl1234 - no
KeKe1995 - no
Bookworm - yes
2BorNot2b - yes
Choco-holic - no
CapitlOfens - no
AmrcanIdol2 - yes
BellaIsabella - yes
DarkAngel666 - no
Karla-Love-1996 - no
SimpyMe - yes
gUn4hiRe - no
babyfaceLA - no
Watup? - no
Although many of these screen names are not professional, they are still appropriate. It would depend on the situation and the person who is using this screen name. The screen names that I said “yes” to being appropriate to were unlikely to attract negative attention, were free of bad language, don’t reveal too personal of information, and don’t reveal a name, age, location, or gender.
#8 Appropriate Screennames
# 9 Password score#8 Appropriate Screennames
schoolteacher101
ilovemydog576
deltaairlines01+2 (a fairly good password, but not great)
#10 Common and Uncommon Reasons Students have their Accounts Broken Into
Most Common - Students give their password to their friends, who then decide to use it or give it to other who use it.
Least Common - A password cracking software is used to crack their password.
Most Common - Students give their password to their friends, who then decide to use it or give it to other who use it.
Least Common - A password cracking software is used to crack their password.
#11 Drive by Downloads
Drive by download is a funny name for a serious problem. People can insert coding into seemingly innocent web pages that download malware to your computer without you even noticing. A lot of times, it shows up later claiming to be security software that needs you to pay a subscription fee in order to fix your problem. Even if you pay for the fake security, it does not fix your computer, so you still have the malware problems.
This is one reason that you should always keep your security software up to date. Most modern security software can keep drive by downloads from happening to your computer. It is also important to know what kind of software is on your computer so that you notice when something unfamiliar pops up. I think it is especially important to keep your computer safe in today’s world of technology driven society. In today’s world, if your computer is jeopardized, you have a serious problem. You may not be able to work or socialize properly until the problem is fixed.
The article at http://www.ic3.gov/media/2014/141114.aspx describes how recently criminals have been fraudulently “selling” large items such as boats and automobiles over the internet. They post an ad with a picture and a contact number. Then someone sees it and calls. The scammer asks for their email address and tells them why they need to sell their item so quickly (divorce settlement, moving across the country, etc). After they negotiate a price, the scammer sends the customer an email that appears to be from a safe site like ebay, but is really a fake. The customer pays for their nonexistent boat, and then the scammer sends them another “ebay” email with a payment confirmation and anticipated shipping date. The scammer gets the money, but the customer never gets a boat.
#12 Internet Safety Tests
Are You Protecting Your Identity? – mid-level risk
Are You Safe From Financial Fraud Opportunities – low risk
Are You the Lucky Winner of a Sweepstakes or Lottery? – low risk
#13 Article summary
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
16 - Outline of Internet Information
1. From Safe
Practices for Life Online: A Guide for Middle and High School (2008) - D.
Fodeman & M. Monroe
a.
Lookstoogoodtobetrue.com
risk tests
b.
Chapter
2 Protecting Your Privacy Online
i.
Pop
ups and Banner Ads - an ad that displays in a new browser window
(MarketingTerms.org)
ii.
Spyware
- any technology, such as tracking software, that aids in gathering information
about a person or organization without their knowledge (TechTarget.com)
iii.
Zombies
and Botnets - a number of internet computers that, although their owners are
unaware of it, have been set up to forward spam to other computers.
(TechTarget.com)
iv.
Cookies
- information stored on a user's computer by a Web site so preferences are
remembered on future requests (MarketingTerms.org)
v.
Drive-by-Downloads
- programs that are automatically downloaded to your computer without your
consent or knowledge (TechTarget.com)
vi.
Cramming
- the addition of unauthorized or unexpected charges to a bill for landline or
mobile telephone services (TechTarget.com)
vii.
Trojan
Horse- a program in which malicious or harmful code is contained within
seemingly harmless data or programming in such a way that it can get control
and do damage. (TechTarget.com)
2. From Transforming
Learning with New Technologies (2011)- R. Malloy, R. E. Verock-O'Loughlin, S.
A. Edwards, &B. P. Woolf
a.
Take Pew Internet & American Life
Project “What Kind of Tech
User Are You?” quiz. - I scored better than 95.3% of the public, below 1.3%,
and the same as 3.4%.
b.
Uniform
Resource Locator (URL) aka Web Address – What is the purpose of the following
URL designations?
i.
.com
ii.
.org
iii.
.gov
iv.
.net
v.
.edu
vi.
.mil
c.
Specialized
Search Resources for Teachers
·
Criteria
for Evaluating Web Resources
a. Accuracy – reliability of the information
on the site by providing a description of who authored the site and for what
purposes
b. Authority – credentials of the author or
authors as well as the nature of the site itself – commercial or not for profit
c. Objectivity – tests whether the
information on the site is fair and non-biased, and free of advertising
d. Currency – up to date with recent
information and updates that are clearly indicated
e. Coverage – information on the site can be
viewed easily without difficulties or commercial messages
i.
Internet
Public Library
ii.
Voice
of the Shuttle
iii.
Technorati
iv.
Webopedia
v.
Artcyclopedia
vi.
Encyclopedia
of Educational Technology
vii.
California
Learning Resource Network
viii.
Library
of Congress American Memory
ix.
University
of Texas at Austin Perry – Castaneda Library Map Collection
x.
Newslink
xi.
Good
Search
xii.
Score
(Schools of California Online Resources for Educators)
xiii.
Search
Engines 2
xiv.
Wayback
Machine
xv.
Open
Library
xvi.
Viewzi.com
xvii.
VueToo.com
xviii.
LibriVox
d.
Internet
Search Tools for Students
i.
KidsClick!
ii.
Ask
for Kids
iii.
Search
22
iv.
Clusty
v.
Yahoo!Kids
vi.
QUintura
vii.
FirstGov
for Kids
viii.
NASA
Kids Club
ix.
The
Why Files: The Science behind the News
x.
U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office Kids’ Pages
xi.
Time
for Kids
xii.
Smithsonian
Education
e.
Questions
i.
What
is the meaning of information literacy for teachers and students?
ii.
What
are search engines and how do they work?
iii.
What
pieces of information do students need to know about Internet searching?
AND - All the terms joined by "AND" must appear in
the pages or documents. Some search engines substitute the operator
"+" for the word AND.
OR - At least one of the terms joined by "OR" must
appear in the pages or documents.
NOT - The term or terms following "NOT" must not
appear in the pages or documents. Some search engines substitute the operator
"-" for the word NOT.
FOLLOWED BY - One of the terms must be directly followed by the other.
NEAR - One of the terms must be within a specified number of
words of the other.
Quotation Marks - The words between the quotation marks
are treated as a phrase, and that phrase must be found within the document or
file. (HowStuffWorks.com)
iv.
How
can teachers and students thoughtfully evaluate online information resources,
including the online encyclopedia Wikipedia?
v.
How
can teachers respond to problems of plagiarism when students use online
sources?
·
Give students a clear and explicit definition of plagiarism
at the beginning of the semester, preferably on the syllabus.
·
Make a clear distinction between acceptable collaboration and
plagiarism, preferably on the syllabus. Because this distinction can vary from
discipline to discipline or from department to department, students can become
confused unless the distinction is spelled out explicitly for each class.
·
Create assignments that encourage originality and discourage
plagiarism.
·
Create assignments that are unusual or that take a different
slant on the material, thus eliminating "canned papers" that can be
easily purchased or even found for free on the Web.
·
Create writing assignments that have several parts (e.g., a
proposal, an annotated bibliography, a first draft, a second draft).
·
Request photocopies of all sources used in a paper.
·
Have students email you a copy of their essays as well as
hand in a hard copy. The email version will be easier to submit to a plagiarism
search engine, and the very fact that you make this request might be enough to
deter some students from plagiarizing. (CMSW.MIT.edu)
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