Thursday, June 28, 2012

Family


Vertebrate concept map




Vertebrates

I.       Aves's are vertebrates with feathers. They have a strong skeleton. Aves or birds, have large muscular stomachs.

A.   Penguin

Warm Blooded

B.   eagle

1.   National Bird

II.     Reptilia's are tetrapods (four legs or leg-like appendages). All reptiles have three-chambered hearts except crocodiles, they have four. For reptiles, the eyes are one of the most important sense organs.

Cold Blooded

A.   Alligator

B.   Crocodile

1.   V-shaped mouth

III.    Amphibia's start their life cycle under water and move to land. Generally they are carnivorous while in the water. Many undergo metamorphosis.

A.   Frog

1.   Order Anura (tailless)

Cold Blooded

B.   Salamander

IV.    Fish have gills that they use to breath with. They are aquatic, which means they live in water. They can adjust their body temperature through their external environment.

Cold Blooded

A.   Angel fish

1.   Territorial

B.   Shark

V.     Mammalia's have four hear chambers. They all have hair of some kind. they have three middle ear bones and sweat glands. Their body plan is endothermic.

A.   Chimpanzee

Warm blooded

B.   Koala

1.   Arboreal



Educator's Guide to Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats

This article should be given to every child in school.Children need to be aware of what cyber-bullying and cyber-threats are. is. This is a great resource for teachers, especially for individuals new to the education field.This article covered many aspects of this horrible crime. The article offers advice not only to educators but to others. Like the parent and community outreach. It brings awareness to others about what to look for when they suspect this might be happening. As a future teacher I will definitely use this as a guide for myself and my students.

John Hunter World Peace Game

It is remarkable to see the interaction between the students as they participate in this game.The high level of thinking that these children are using in this game is great. The students actually take on the roles. As the students were speaking, it was clear how intense they are about the game. It is clear to see that they enjoy this type of learning. This gives students the opportunity to understand about different problems in our country. It also provides them with questions that they have to be able to solve. This was a great presentation.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

The Chronicle of Philanthropy

I was not that impressed with this article. I think it is great that universities are providing the type of environments in which students use their thinking skills to create items such as video games. Personally I have never had an interest in this type of technology. I think it is great that many individuals have the capability to create something from their own ideas.

Why Flipped Classrooms are Here to Stay

The Article on flipped classrooms has been my favorite article. I enjoyed it very much. I have been in the education field for many years and have never heard about this type of instruction. This is a win-win situation for students. Every child has the opportunity to be successful.Students who struggle are provided with extra time to work and are able to have more one on one with the instructor.I can see where this type of classroom is here to stay.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Voki

The article, A future Full of Badges, was one that was not interesting to me. It seemed as though you had to be very intelligent to even receive the awards. I guess it would be more interesting if a person had the knowledge about the entire process. As educators, we are aware of the everyday changes throughout the educational field. The badge system may be something that we shold research more.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

'Safe' Social Networking Tailored for K-12 Schools is an article that any teacher would be interested in reading. I wish we had something like this when I was in school. The only technology we had in school were typewriters and over head projectors. Reading the article about how students were giving Thomas Jefferson advice really caught my attention. I truly believe that this social networking would be a great resource when working with students. This is an area that I think students would be very interested in. As educators we have to find ways in which to get our students interested in learning. The idea that a teacher can monitor the students while they are on the computer is very important. I do think students who are not as outgoing as others could benefit from this type of networking. Some individuals may be more comfortable talking into a microphone rather than speaking in person. Students using the online forum that was discussed in the article can help other individuals who may be having difficulties. The part about teachers connecting with students interested me. I think students would be more interested in something like this rather than reading a chapter in a book. It seems that this type of social networking is safe for teachers as well as the students communicating with one another.I would like to find about more information on the social network. My opinion of networking tailored for schools is that it would be a better resource than Face book and YouTube.
Digital Citizenship using Technology Appropriately is a great article. I agree with the full electronic participation in society and I understand that we need this is order to be productive in today's world. The digital commerce can be seen every time you connect to the internet. Any person involved in buying and selling of goods should be aware of the process. Anything you can possible want can be purchased on the internet. Many people do their shopping at home and never have to leave the house. Here again we see some of the negative aspects of technology, some people downloading inappropriate sites as well as different sites with pornography. This is something that has always frightened me. Someone like me with little computer knowledge could possible hit the wrong button and something pop up on the screen that is not only bad but possibly illegal. It is a great idea to teach individuals how to become effective consumers in today's society. Digital communication has become part of everyone's every day life. I can remember when cell phones first came out. We thought it was amazing that you could get on a phone that was not plugged into a wall and carry on a conversation. Today's cell phones are incredible. There are no limits as to what you can do with the phones today. It has not been that long ago that I began using text message. I have internet on my phone but do not really understand much about it. Technology is only going to grow. It is very important that we grow with it. It it a wonderful source of communication. Digital Literacy is the step that is most important to me. I know that there are many people like me who are not very effective with a computer. Many older people tell me that they have no interest in even learning about the technology. I was one of those at one time. When I decided to go back to school so that I could do the thing I always dreamed of, I realized there was no way of getting around it.I have always wanted to work with children. For me to help my students be successful, I have to first learn about the technology and its use. Digital Etiquette is again a step everyone should be taught. Digital law is merely common sense. There are individuals who think they are smart enough to get away with illegal things over the internet. This digital law protects individuals and their property. Health and wellness are very important to an individual. I do not think many people think about this aspect when working with technology. I know many people who spend hours and hours a day on the computer. They later complain of headaches or simply that they are having trouble with their eyes. Although computers are important, people need to use common sense when working with them. I was not aware that there were elements of Digital Citizenship. This article was very informative. I enjoyed reading it.
The Children's Internet Protection Act is one of the best things they ever came out with. Children have previously be exposed to many things that they should have been protected from. With technology today it is so easy to get on the computer and find whatever you are looking for. There has been times when you find things that you are not looking for. I think it is a wonderful idea and I totally agree with the CIPA. They have requirements in place that should make educators more comfortable when having the students work on the computers. It stated, that the bulk of this will fall on the academic side of the school. This is an area that many teachers will need training. School districts will have to be responsible for providing that training for their teachers. As a future teacher, I will have to learn about this program. I think many teachers will probably wonder where they will find the time to teach another skill. It will be interesting to see how this is monitored. I can only imagine how stressful this will be on administrators. They will have to make sure the teachers are implementing this or they could lose funding. For students to be aware of online safety is extremely important. Having the opportunity to learn at a young age can only benefit the students as they get older. In today's world,cyber bullying has been a huge problem. It is wonderful to know that this can be prevented. It will be comforting to parents, instructors, and students to know that many problems can be prevented with the proper teaching strategies. I have eight grandchildren and I will definitely feel better to know that they are protected when having to be on the computer. The programs that were discussed with the i-SAFE were interesting. The article mentioned videos and activity pages that were available to help students understand the idea that is being presented to them. Many professionals will appreciate these. The information provided on the documents will help teachers  understand what they should be teaching in this particular area. According to the article, as long as we are abiding by the requirements and keeping documentation we should be o.k.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

I think gamification is a wonderful idea. As educators is our responsibility to find ways to keep our students interested in learning. Anything that can help to motivate and engage individuals is learning is vital to teachers. Gamification is  a tool used to encourage individuals to research and explore when working toward a particular goal. As educators we are aware of the many students who have a hard time getting motivated. If we can help them get interested by simply using elements of games then we have helped them to become more successful. Gamification fosters teamwork. Individuals who are not as outgoing as others might feel better with working as a team rather than alone. Some students may not understand the task at hand. Working with others who have more knowledge about the subject could be of great help to the student who may struggle in that area.
In the article, it did mention the downside of gramification. As with everything else, there is always a positive and a negative side. As educators it is for us to utilize this as a way in which our students will  achieve their goal and be successful. Teamwork is so important. Gamification allows opportunities for individuals to understand each others learning styles. I feel that using elements of games in our class for motivation purposes and as a way to engage students is very important. I think the younger the child is exposed to this process the better. Individuals are always excited when they are given some type of recognition such as a reward when they have achieved a specific goal.
The article "The-Virtues-of-Blogging" was a difficult to read in the beginning. When they were talking about creating a video, podcast, blog post, and slide cast I had no idea what they were referring to. As an educator it was interesting to see how teachers have access to information and different forms of content that are available to them through blogging. The fact that it is free is also a positive aspect. As mentioned in the article, in the past resources were more difficult to find and possible quiet expensive. There was an individual who I thought did not agree with many of the other bloggers, (if that is what they are called). He did however make an important point. He stated that individuals have to be educated on how to work this process and to understand the importance of it. I do believe the author of the article, when he mentioned that the positive aspects of blogging outweigh the negative. One thing I find fascinating is that how a blog post gets immediate feedback.
It is exciting for me to see the benefits of blogging. I have asked several people if they know what blogging is and I realized I was not the only one who did not have a clear understanding of the process. I would like to learn more about how to work with technology so that I can help my students be successful throughout their education years. I enjoyed reading the different blogs from all of the individuals who posted. It is evident that blogging is essential to many scholars.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

"A Vision of K-12 Students Today - 2011 was very insightful. The statistics were very interesting. Most young children today spend the majority of a day on some type of technology. This was proved in the segment. I was not aware of all the countries that are so much more advanced than the U.S. I knew we were behind but I did not know exactly how far. We live in a technology world and we should be exposed to as much of today's technology as possible. I realize that I am from the "Old School". We did not have access to technology the way students have today. I know that as a teacher, I will have to teach my students how to utilize the web technology. I am one of the teachers who do not utilize group e-mails and blogs.  I never thought I would be interested in computers. I have never had a desire to work on computers, until recently. I know that when working in a school setting, you have to know as much about technology as possible. It has only been recently that I realized I can use a computer without wiping everything out. I am getting excited about working more with computers now that I have had more exposure to them.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

After reading the articles about Zac, I think I would have done the same thing as he did. I agree that with the technology world we live in today, everyone should have the capability of understanding and utilizing the computer. I personally am not very comfortable with a computer. I have in fact taken several classes on line. I do get excited when I am able to figure something out when working on the computer. Until class last week, I did not know that the symbol meant a personal webpage.
There were many terms throughout the article that I was not familiar with. I am interested in finding more information about these terms. For instance, tags, hashtag and diligo. I had even asked my twenty-five year old daughter about these two words and she did not know about them. I like other students know how to type in google to get information. It is interesting to see that there are other ways to research and find information that one might be acquiring about.
I  believe there are many teachers who do not have the knowledge needed to teach these skills. Myself being one of them. I get very nervous when working with computes. I now feel more comfortable than previously. I am determined to learn all that I can about using the computer. I want to be able to teach my students how to utilize the web so that they con be productive in their studies. I was excited to read about the Common Core state standards requiring students to be able to manage web-based materials. I know that I have a lot of work to do so that I can be a teacher who posses the skills to teach children about our technology today.