Incorporating Internet Safety

Internet safety is extremely important for all students. I was fortunate to grow up in a home with a very involved mother and father who always emphasized the importance of internet safety. They were very strict about me using MySpace and Facebook (Ugh, I was like THE last person in the whole entire school to get a MySpace). Looking back, I appreciate my parents' concern for my safety as I used the internet. I realize that not all parents are as involved as mine were and students do not always know how to use safe internet practices. I do think that it is important for students to know how to use the internet safely and that teacher's should be responsible for addressing safety issues, especially when the internet will be used in class or for an assignment.

One way that internet safety can be incorporated into the classroom is by providing students with the school rules for computer/internet use whenever students go into the computer lab or use the computers during class for an assignment.  For example, in Science class, students may be required to create a lab report or research a specific topic. I would go over different SAFE resources to begin an internet search. I would also show students how to search for topics safely. I would also direct students to the school's online library resources or online encyclopedia's for the majority of their research. I could stress that not every resource is reliable. I could emphasize this by comparing 2 different websites that have information on a topic we have learned about. I would have an example and a non-example of good and bad resources. I would have students point out the differences and show them that the bad example has inaccurate information. In addition, I would make a point to students that they should have a bibliography. I would talk about plagiarism and proper resource citing. The bibliography and reputable sources would be part of the rubric. I think that it would also be wise to have a school librarian come in to discuss different research methods and resource citing.

I think it would be harder to incorporate internet safety into the classroom if I was teaching math. I would do something similar to science if I had students do a math research project. In addition, if students were learning to collect data, I would like to use the internet and I could incorporate safety into that project.


http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/safety_crisis_management/internet_safety/ideas_integrating.pdf

How Would I Assess?

In a perfect world, I would assess my students on their effort, the progress they make in the classroom, and the way they treat their peers and teachers. I think that there are so many other things that are more important than just being book smart. Just because someone is book smart doesn't mean they will make a positive contribution to the community. Someone who is kind to others, gives 100% all the time, and makes progress through the year would get an A in my class. Of course, if someone is doing their best all of the time, they should be making progress. 

The SOL's are great because they provide a standard that every student must meet in order to move on to the next grade. It makes life easier for everyone involved, the student passes the test, then great they get to go to the next grade. If they don't, then we have to do remediation and possibly hold them back. The SOLs are great because they determine if a teacher is doing a good job or not. If the students all pass, then the teacher is good and can keep getting paid and not lose their job. If the students don't pass, then the teacher should not get paid as much and be watched more closely to make sure they are doing their job. 

But really, the SOL's aren't that great. I grew up going to a small Catholic school in Tennessee and I had never heard of the SOL until I moved to Virginia. We had a few standardized tests that we took toward the end of the year that ranked us nationally, but it really did not mean anything. I think the SOL's put too much pressure on teachers and take away from their ability to teach. I understand that there should be goals in place for students to reach, but when a teacher is so worried about their job or their pay based on how their students perform at the end of the year, it definitely reflects their teaching. They want to get it all done on their set schedule. And what about snow days? Shoot, that really could mess a teacher up that needs to make sure she stays on track for the SOL's. Sure they have some built in make up days, but what about when you have so many snow days that they have to tack on at the end of the year? That isn't going to help a teacher because the SOLs are at the beginning of May! 

I don't think that SOLs are the best choice for testing our students and making sure every student is on track. However, at this point, I really don't have a better suggestion or idea. I just know that I believe that you can get a lot further in life and be a more positive influence in the world by being kind, putting effort into your work, and continually making progress in everything you do. 

www.buzzmath.com is a really awesome website for students, parents, and teachers. There are different realms of the website for students, teachers, and parents. The student mode gives students several sets of interactive practice problems. There are many different lesson topics on this website. They are related to the Common Core Standards. In addition, there are problem sets that are outside of the Common Core. I love that this website doesn't just worry about "the test". There is a free version of this website, but you do have to join or subscribe for parent or family mode. You have to create an account for teacher mode but the basic version is free. If students just want to practice math, they can sign in as a visitor. 

Teachers can actually assign work from the website and it will grade the assignments students complete. I think this is also a really cool way for teachers to differentiate instruction for students discretely. Most of the activities have Levels 1-3 and Enrichment activities. Teachers can assign students homework in the different levels or enrichment activity based on how they are doing in class. Another cool way that this could be incorporated in class is by having the students complete level 1 or 2 prior to learning a new topic or concept. Teachers could see where students are in their understanding before or after a lesson without taking valuable class time to do these activities. However, it is important for the teacher to go over some of these problems with the student to address concepts that students did or didn't understand completely. 

In addition to helping teachers differentiate instruction, it provides more options for students to practice. Not only does it give students more practice problems, it is interactive and students can immediately see how they did on a problem. It also provides students guidance on how to complete problems, so that would be nice for homework if students get a little confused. 

How Technology Will Be Used in My Classroom

I believe that including technology has played a very positive role in the classroom. Some changes that have occurred due to an increase in technology is a change in teacher/student roles, increased motivation and self esteem, and collaboration with others.

Since technology has become more present in the classroom (and used properly), the role of teachers and students have started to change. One way that the role changes for a teacher is that they become more of a facilitator in the classroom as opposed to the expert full of information. The teacher can make sure that the students are on task and thinking critically, but the teacher has stepped aside and let the students guide their own education. Along with that, the role of the student changes. The students become more actively engaged in the classroom, as opposed to passively listening. One way that I see myself using technology positively in the classroom is by having students researching topics. I really like the idea of jigsaw type learning or expert groups. I love having students research their own topics and make sense of an idea or problem for themselves and share how they reached a conclusion with other classmates. This is so applicable in both the math and science class. 

I believe that students' motivation and self-esteem grows with the use of technology. Using technology like blog posts and anonymous answering for topics allows every student to get their ideas and thoughts out. Some students are really shy and do not like to talk in class, but allowing them to comment outside of class will hopefully make them more motivated to participate. Through technology, these students are able to make their ideas known without worrying what other students might think of them.  I definitely want to implement blog posts and discussion boards so students can have the opportunity to participate in classroom discussions without feeling left out. This is so especially important in the middle school classrooms when students are struggling with their self-esteem and changes to begin with. 

Finally, I think collaboration skills are so necessary for life inside and outside of the classroom. This point goes right along with the role of students and teachers changing. Having students work in groups to learn. With the teacher being more of a facilitator than information deliverer, students have to work together and with the teacher to make sense of the information and concepts. 

I think the use of technology in the classroom allows the classroom to be more inquiry based and student-centered, which has been proven to be a more effective way for students to learn and learn well. I think that there is a sweet spot of including the use and non use of technology in the classroom. I think that the majority of class time should be inquiry and student based, but it is often necessary to have teacher "lecture" and giving the students information. There is no one perfect classroom for each student and teacher. It is very much a case-by-case, or year-by-year change for each and every person.

Sources: http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html