Thought for the day.

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt

Thought for the day.

"True friends are those who really know you but love you anyway." Edna Buchanan

Thought for the day.

"Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them. But do not let them master you." Hellen Keller

Thought for the day.

"A teacher is a person who never says anything nce." Howard Nemeron

Thought for the day.

"The things you own end up owning you." Chuck Palahniuk

Web 2.0 Impact on Education

I would like to start this off by saying that I do not expect to use the technology we are learning about in this class. I do see where it can be very beneficial for educators and students alike. However, I am in a precarious situation where I am currently working at a school district that does not use technology or have access to what we are learning. The district is a very poor one and has poverty level students that do not have computers, cell phones, or I-Pods. I myself do not own a computer and only have a cell phone used for making calls and nothing else. I also plan on working for a Title 1 school district because I enjoy helping the underdog overcome and achieve. Now with that out of the way. If I had the ability to use a wiki or a blog, I would choose a blog because it would allow me to share information with my students and parents. I would post the class schedule of homework, quizzes, test and extra credit information. I would also link helpful websites where the students could get some extra help and practice in. This would allow the students and parents to know what was going on and when. It would keep the parents informed and involved. This forum would also allow the parents access to me at their convenience and in an informal setting, which would allow them to be more comfortable talking about their child, and the problems they may be having.

I do not see the purpose or benefit for socialbookmarking. If there are websites that I would like for my students to explore, I would simply share those sites with them in a handout or link them on my blog. So many sites are blocked by the schools IT department that there is very little opportunity for students to search the web at school. This situation would require me to get approval for sites to be viewed while at school. For example I cannot watch the video about socialbookmarking at the school I work at because it is tagged as R-Rated. Do not ask me how. I was able to watch the other videos without any issues. As far as a Voicethread goes this is very intriguing but again it was over my head. I did enjoy the video about the women but it was hard sometimes to understand what the children were saying. The greatest thing I thought was the fact that these classrooms were sharing information back and forth as if they were actually in class together. This is the use of technology in education at it’s finest.

This weeks activities were very educational and made me realize just how far behind I am technologically. Most of this information I had never heard of and it was fascinating to discover how it works and how it could be used to better educate the students. What is lost in this class I believe is the fact that not everyone is ready or has access to the advances that have been made. I know that I sound like I stick in the mud and I do want to learn how to use the technology that is out there, but I cannot use it where I currently am. I have no intentions of leaving this school because I know that I am making a difference and that is why I am teaching. The most useful thing that I have learned so far is the use of a blog. I cannot believe that I have made this statement because of the negative connotation that was attached to blogs, but I now see where they can be very useful for teachers. “The purpose and function of blogs has evolved, however, with many being interactive spaces” (Jonassen, Howland, Marra, & Crismond,112). The fact that students and parents can chat with you or visit helpful websites is a good use of a blog. Blogs can keep parents involved and up to date with their kids and their schoolwork and we all know having the parents involved is what is best for the students.


Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R.M., Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful Learning With Technology. Upper Saddle River: New Jersey. Pearson Prentice Hall.

Thought for the day.

"The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power." Hugh White

Thought for the day.

Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period.
-- Lou Holtz

Thought for the day.

"Difficulties in life are intended to make us better, not bitter." Dan Reeves

Thought for the day.

Friends are like stars; you cannot always see them but you know they are always there.

Thought for the day

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." Lou Holtz

Thought for the day.

"May you live every day of your life." Jonathan Swift

Copyright, Fair Use and Online Safety

Copyright and fair use are subjects that educators have to deal with almost every day. While copyright laws exist to protect the intellectual property of people, educators need access to this material in order to do their jobs. “US copyright law was not created to make individuals or companies rich: it was conceived by the framers of the United States Constitution as a way to promote and protect innovation for a short, fixed amount of time” (http://www.wtvi.com/TEKS/02_03_articles/copyright.html). Copyright laws exist to help keep creativity and innovation alive. If these laws did not there would be no incentive for people to publish or display their work. Educators use printouts and books to teach their students and now they use the Internet and computer software to help them in their endeavor to educate the young people of the world. In order for them to be able use the information that is so readily available the fair use rule was put in place. Teachers are not trying to take advantage of any one, they are simply trying to keep current and provide the best education they can to their students. As an educator it is my/our responsibility to educate the students of these laws and how they apply. The lesson would be covered at the same time you would discuss citing some one else’s work. You would want to make sure that the students under that they need to get permission to use some one’s work and that they need to give credit to the person that created it. This would make a great language arts lesson involving citations and plagiarism.

Online safety and cyber bullying are different yet they are the same. Online safety involves protecting your identity from others while cyber bullying is an attack on you as a person through the use of cyber technology. As educators it is our responsibility to teach and protect the students while they are under our watch. We must teach them the proper and safe way to use technology; what to share and what not to share, which websites are acceptable and which ones are not. Schools generally have filtering and blocks in place to prevent students from accessing sites that are deemed unsuitable or questionable. We know though that this are not in place at home and that most of the time students are using the net unsupervised. We need to educate the students so that they will use the same skills at home that they use at school. Again they need to know not to share any personal information with anyone online and if they suspect something or are being bullied that they need to tell someone that they trusts what is happening. As much as we want to provide protection for our students all the time we must rely upon the parents being the most influential people in our students’ lives.

This week’s activities was very educational. I thought I knew enough about copyright laws that I was not infringing upon anyone’s rights, but now I have to question some of the things I have done I the past. The copyright quiz that I took was a lot tougher than I anticipated. I scored a lowly 47 on the quiz, I could not believe it. I will definitely be more careful in the future and keep close at hand the Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers (http://www.techlearning.com/techlearning/pdf/db area/archives/TL/2002/10/copyright chart.pdf). This is a very useful tool and I think all educators should have this on their desk.

References.

Fryer, Wesley A., (2002). Copyright 101 for Educators: Winter 2003. Retrieved from http://www.wtvi.com/TEKS/02_03_articles/copyright.html

Techlearning.com., (2002). Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/techlearning/pdf/db area/archives/TL/2002/10/copyright chart.pdf

Thought for the day.

"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." Will Rogers

Thought for the day.

"Others can stop you temporarily -- you are the only one who can do it permanently." Zig Ziglar

Thought for the day

"The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital." Joe Paterno

Thought for the day.

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination." Tommy Lasorda

A new day

A new day has dawned and new adventures await. Another day at the elementary school is unlike any other because you never know what is going to happen. The first thing this morning one of the kids walks up and gives me a valentine. I can not remember the last time I received a valentine card. It absolutely made my day.
Tonight we have senior night for our girls basketball team. It will be their last game before the playoffs start.

Have a blessed day and may God go with you.

Greetings

OK, here goes. This is my first venture into the blogging world. I have always considered blogs as a waste of time because they are written by individuals who are spouting off about something. This is going to interesting because it goes against my better judgement, however our instructor says we must do this to pass the class. See this just proves my point about people using blogs to complain about something.

Good luck to all of you fellow ETECers.