Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Cyber-bullying

Picture courtesy of airissophia.blogspot.com

I recently attended a Parent Safety Night at my 4th Grade daughter's elementary school.  The subject of the meeting was cyber-bullying and online predators.  It was of particular interest to me not only because I have young children, but because I am going to be an educator that will need to be aware of these problems in the classroom.
The principal and counselor briefly explained what the school district and administrators are doing to combat bullying.  Then there was a presentation from Investigator Stacy Hesse from the Waterloo Police Department.  She specializes in internet crime, including online harassment and adults who prey on minors.
Officer Hesse explained how some young people are using the internet to bully others.  This includes them setting up fake profiles or stealing the passwords of other children on online chat rooms, Facebook, Twitter, etc. and using it to spread false or mean information about them.  They also use the internet as an "anonymous" way to harass others without doing it to their face.
Officer Hesse stated that there is always an electronic trail that children may not be aware of.  Even after things are deleted there is still evidence that it was there.  Children as young as 7 can, and have, been arrested because of online harassment, and can be charged with harassment, assault, and disorderly conduct.  Children need to be aware of the consequences of their actions.  The following You-Tube video shows how children are unaware of their actions online and through texting because of the "anonymity" of the technology they are using.

Officer Hesse gave some good tips for parents and educators in helping combat online bullying.  If you, a parent, guardian, or educator, notice that a child is suffering from depression, withdrawn behavior, or aggressive behavior they may be the victim of harassment.  We need to enforce some rules and educate them about safe computer usage.  They should be taught to not respond to harassing messages, to keep the message, or set up a new account if theirs has been compromised.  They should also be told that they should find a trusted adult that they can confide in, as they should not have to deal with it on their own.  The parents and schools need to take the harassment seriously and reach out for help if they are unable to stop it.
Officer Hesse shared some invaluable online resources to help combat online harassment.  Netsmartz.org is a website from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.  It has resources for children to learn more about being safe online.  It is geared toward younger children and includes videos, games, and other resources.  NSteens.org is another website from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.  It is geared for older children and teens.  It also has a lot of resources to help children make responsible decisions while online.  Another really great resource educators is StopBullying.org. It includes lesson plans and activities for your classroom to help educate your students about bullying.
We need to protect our children from online harassment.  This means being aware of what may be going on where we can't see it happening.  Children used to bully face-to-face and it was easy to step in to stop it.  Children could escape bullying by going home where it was safe.  Now, children are bullying online and by text message, so it is much harder to regulate.  Children are no longer safe from bullying when they go home because as soon as they go online or check their phone they are harassed.  We need to be aware, reach out to further educate ourselves, and keep our children safe.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Online Usage in the Modern Language Classroom

Wordle - lindiop's bookmarks
Wordle courtesy of LindaH from Flickr

I am very excited about some online resources that I have discovered for use in my Spanish classroom.  YouTube videos and Skype make it possible for students to listen to native speakers when there are none available in the classroom.  There are millions of articles, newspapers, and blogs written in Spanish that students can use to strengthen their reading skills.  There are online games and activities that can be used to expand on their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.  Online technology has opened many doors to learning in the Modern Language classroom.

I recently read the article Constructing a Roadmap to More Systematic and Successful Online Reading and Vocabulary Acquisition by John Paul Loucky.  He stresses the importance of vocabulary learning in Modern Language study and the use of online resources to reinforce this learning.  He also gives countless examples of websites that are instrumental in strengthening vocabulary retention.  He gives examples for all levels of learners, from Beginning through Advanced.  A few examples that I found to be helpful from the article are:
Word Champ, leTutor, ESL Gold, and CALL 4 ALL

This YouTube video shows how to use GoogleEarth video games in the classroom.  I think this would be a very fun activity for students to do!
All you need to do is search Spanish (or German, French, Arabic, etc.) in Google and you will find countless lesson plans, activities, games, authentic material, etc.  that can be used to reinforce the units that you are teaching.  Online technology has allowed for millions of resources and ideas for the Modern Language Teacher, things that weren't available to us before.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Digital Natives, Or Digital Citizens?

Students working on class assignment in computer lab
Photo courtesy of Extra Ketchup from Flickr
I recently read the article, Digital Natives, Or Digital Citizens? by John Merrow.  He discusses how our younger generations, the Digital Natives, are surrounded by technological information constantly throughout their days.  He suggests that instead of allowing children to live in this land of technology by themselves adults should take the responsibility of becoming Digital Citizens along with them. 

This is especially important in school, as the article states.  He stresses the importance of teachers learning how to use the technology and utilizing it in their classrooms.  This allows students to use a medium that they are familiar with.  It is important for teachers to instruct and guide students. Because students are constantly bombarded with information through the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc., teachers need to guide them in using the information to their advantage.  It helps the students become users of the information instead of just consumers of information.  Students should be allowed the opportunity to use information to research, create, and design.  The following video suggests some ways to make sure that you as a teacher are making responsible decisions about using technology in the classroom.


Another important aspect of teacher-led technological activities is that students are using technology in productive ways instead of using it playing games or cyber-bullying.  I don't believe that this alone will stop kids from cyber-bullying, but it gives them the chance to feed their technological hunger while keeping them busy with productive endeavors.  It also shows students how technology can be used beyond the classroom now and in their futures.

There are advantages to the teacher that implements these types of activities, also.  Teachers need to stay current with technology in order to make their lessons meaningful and relevant to students.  They also need to be aware of how the technology works so that they can ensure that the students are using it properly and productively.  Technology opens up so many opportunities for projects, activities, and lessons, why wouldn't teachers want to take advantage of all that they have available to them?  It allows for endless possibilities in the classroom!

The following video stresses the importance of integrating technology in the classroom:


In addition to the tips listed in the article Digital Natives, Digital Citizens? to integrating technology into the classroom, this video gives some additional activity and project suggestions for teachers. 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

'Cuz the Schools, They are A-Changing....

Photo Courtesy of Pics4Learning

There has been much recent discussion of closing Malcolm Price Laboratory School in Cedar Falls, Iowa, which facilitates, among other things, the Level II field experiences for education majors at the University of Northern Iowa.   At this time there have been no concrete answers to the question of where Level II experiences will occur, but I had heard a rumor about replacing the hands-on Price Lab teacher preparation program with a "virtual classroom" scenario.  I had an amazing experience during my Level II and immediately thought the rumored "virtual classroom" could never be as instrumental in teaching teachers as the hands-on model I experienced at Price Lab.

This rumor, along with topics discussed in my Educational Technology and Design class, made me think a lot about the future of classrooms in regards to our increasing use of technology.  Following are some of my questions and speculations for the future of classrooms and the implications for the students therein.

The "virtual classroom" idea may not be too far removed from reality in the near future.  The following article, Are Schools Prepared for the Digital Classroom, goes into more detail about how close we are to fully integrating technology into the classroom.  The "virtual classroom" model is coming closer to realization with the improvement and implementation of technology.  Online classes are already prevalent at universities.  It's possible to take an entire course without ever meeting the other students or the instructor face-to-face.  Some high schools also allow their students to also take such classes.  Eventually this practice will become more widespread.  Will there come a time when there is no need for face time with a teacher in an actual classroom?  Is it possible that the brick-and-mortar high school will be replaced with a computer and internet connection? It allows for flexibility for the students, and would save money and other resources for the administration.  I think that this is a plausible idea for the future of education.

Why would students want to go to school if they could learn everything on their own time and at their own pace? What will students be missing out on if they are not required to attend a traditional school everyday?  I think the most important thing that students would miss out on is time spent with peers.  This could affect their social growth, both within interpersonal realms and within global realms.  Students are exposed to people of different religions, races, ideologies, cultural backgrounds, and sexual orientations when they attend school.  Without that interaction, some children would have a limited exposure to the diversity in society.  The following YouTube video touches on the ramifications of the increased use of technology versus peer interactions.
I believe that a "virtual classroom" has its positive attributes, such as efficiency, flexibility, and potential for learning.  On the other hand, I believe that face-to-face peer interaction is very important for children's development.  Many children have limited exposure to diversity, and schools give them that opportunity.  I personally believe that access to diversity is very important, and is the main reason I chose to be a Spanish teacher.  If children are lacking in the understanding and acceptance of different cultures, religions, lifestyles, etc., they suffer socially and intellectually.  If we can find a way for children to experience these interactions while attending a "virtual classroom" I am all for it.  I just don't want to see our children's social skills suffer because of the advancement of technology.


Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Spanish Blog Activity

Photo courtesy of Pics4Learning
I recently had to do a writing assignment for my Teaching of Foreign Languages class. I decided to design a blog for the Level IV students.  Although this activity is specifically geared towards Level IV learners, I plan to implement varieties of this activity in my classroom to target all learning levels.

I will write a blog post at the beginning of the week about information that is being covered in class, a recent holiday or news event, various questions about the students' interests and activities, family life, cultural elements, etc. The post will include questions that will start a discussion between the students and teacher. They will be required to write at least one comment on the post at some point before the end of the week. They will also have the opportunity to begin a dialogue with myself and the other students by voicing their thoughts and opinions. The students will be evaluated on their use of the language and the relevance of their comments to the topic.

I believe that this activity would be an instrumental way to introduce technology into the classroom and reinforce the students' writing skills. It would be an opportunity for the students to write about things that interest them and to compare and contrast their thoughts and opinions.  It will be an interactive activity that involves a medium that they are familiar with, the internet, and a skill they are learning, the Spanish language.  It is a great opportunity for the students to use Spanish outside of the classroom setting.  It also covers many of the ACTFL Standards for the teaching of Spanish. The following standards (and corresponding objectives) will be fulfilled with the use of the blog as an extension of classroom learning:

  • Standard 1.1 Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
    • 1.1 Objective:  Level IV students will write a comment (an opinion or additional information) on a blog post or another student’s comment that is 100% relevant to the information given.
  • Standard 1.2 Students understand and interpret written and spoken Spanish on a variety of topics. 
    • 1.2 Objective:  Level IV students will read the blog posts or listen to accompanying videos and understand the various topics presented with 90% accuracy to content.
  • Standard 1.3 Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics in Spanish.
    • 1.3 Level IV students will post written information, ideas, opinions, etc. on the blog to share with other students in the class with 100% accuracy to relevance.  
  • Standard 3.1 Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciples through Spanish.
    • 3.1 Objective:  Level IV students will read blog posts that are relevant to other disciplines such as history, geography, and literature and write posts that contribute to the topic given with 100% relevance.
  • Standard 3.2 Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are available only through the Spanish language and its many cultures.
    • 3.2 Objective:  Level IV students will read blog posts about Dia de los Muertos and write comments about the importance of the holiday to Hispanic people with 85% accuracy to content.
  • Standard 4.2 Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons between the cultures studied and their own. 
    • 4.2 Objective:  Level IV students will write blog comments that compare the Popul Vuh to creation stories in other cultures after watching the Popul Vuh video on the blog with 85% accuracy to content. 
  • Standard 5.1 Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting. 
    • 5.1 Objective:  Level IV students will write blog comments outside of the classroom and exchange opinions and information with other classmates with 85% accuracy to relevance to original blog post.   

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Way Things Used to Be

Photo courtesy of brandon king on Flickr.com
My husband and I had an interesting conversation the other day.  We had just bought a new net book and were talking about how we "needed" it so that everyone in the house had a laptop (in addition to our desktop computer and 2 smartphones).  The conversation then shifted to our children and how their technological lives are different than our own were.  We realized that some of the skills that we held to importance had been compromised in our children because of technology.  The dialogue continued as we thought of things that may become extinct in our lifetimes because of technology:

  1. Phone books.  Everyone has a smartphone.  It's much easier to look up a phone number on your phone than it is to thumb through a phone book.  My younger children would have no idea how to use a phone book.
  2. Land lines.  Everyone has a cell phone.  6-year-old children have cell phones.  Who pays extra money to have a land line if they don't need one?  And cell phone numbers aren't published, leading to an even faster demise of the phone book (see #1). 
  3. Encyclopedias.  Do they even print those anymore?  Encyclopedia Britannica has recently stopped printing their encyclopedias after publishing them for over 200 years.  I think that the internet has pretty much destroyed the need for printing these cumbersome volumes of information. 
  4. Paper dictionaries.  With dictionary apps and Google, who would need to own a dictionary?  One certainly doesn't need a dictionary to find the proper way to spell a word.  With spell check and T9 it's useless.  And without the need for a dictionary why even learn alphabetization?  Other than learning to read, learning the ABC's does little more than help someone find words in a dictionary (or names in a phone book).  Alphabetization is of little use to someone who is just typing a word into a search engine.
  5. Books.  The Kindle, Nook, etc. will make paper books seem antiquated.  Why have hundreds of books cluttering shelves and lug around a heavy book when a slim tablet will suffice?
  6. Libraries.  Libraries as we know them will be replaced with technology.  The rows of shelved volumes will become rows of computers and other technological aids. 
  7. Newspapers.  They are already on the way out.  Readership across the board for newspapers is way down.  It's hard to find a newspaper in America that is actually making money distributing paper copies of the news.  Here is an interesting article about how Online News Readership Overtakes Newspapers from Technolog on msnbc.com.
  8. The United States Postal Service.  Email has already tightened the belt on the USPS.  But why wait for something to be sent to you when you can have it RIGHT NOW?  Along with this will be the loss of legible penmanship.  When it is faster and more convenient to type something, why would you ever sit down with a pen and paper to communicate with someone?
There are so many more things that I could list that will meet their demise, but I think you get the point.  With that said, I would like to inform you that I love technology.  I get very excited about the opportunities that it opens for all of humanity.  I also am very nostalgic about things, so I meet this with bittersweet feelings.  I learned to type on an old clackety-clack typewriter, played music on a record player, watched movies on VHS, and called my friends on a rotary phone.  My bubbling excitement for all these new technological advancements is weighted with my sadness for "the ways things used to be."

How will these advancements and opportunities through technology affect my children and the students in my classroom?  I have to stay versed on new technology in order to keep up with them.  I also have open my mind to these things so that I can further understand how the younger generations learn.  I have to remember that they were raised amidst instantaneous information, the knowledge of the world at their fingertips.  They are tuned into a "community in the cloud".  They need to multitask and be entertained.  If I can't keep up with that I surely will not be the most effective teacher that I can be.

This YouTube video is a short discussion about some of the skills that kids are losing and gaining because of technology.  I touched on some of them, and added additional ones in this post. I think that both sides have some interesting points about how children are changing.  I initially thought that it is terrible that kids are losing some of these skills.  The more I thought about it, though, I realized that children these days may not have the skills that older generations held to importance, but they have so many other skills that we never had the opportunity to develop.  With technology children are allowed to do things so much more efficiently than we ever did.  The possibilities for these younger generations are endless because of the tools they have available to them.
 
Video courtesy of YouTube