WEEK+6


 * __ WEEK 6 - Monday, February 22, 2010​ __**

Question: Should we establish national web filtering guidelines?
 * __//Reading: "Leading & Learning with Technology"//__**

On one side: YES -** We should teach minors to properly choose what to view/ **they need to understand the type of information available on the Internet in addition to how dangerous it can be** - There are hundreds of thousands of excellent online resources that can be used for all kinds of research - The Internet is filled with hate pages, web sites promoting anorexia (a researcher found close to 500 web sites that were pro anorexia in 2003 - it is expected that this number has increased dramatically), pages used by illegal organizations to colelcts funds by passing themselves off a charitable organizations, and more - **Should be a priority to teach students about Internet safety** - Blocking or filtering sites based on political, religious, or racial grounds should not be considered - If information has been proven to be detrimental to the health of minors, or can, by any means, be considered to place kids' integrity at risk, it should be treated at least in the same way as alcohol and pornography
 * __Summarized from the article__

- The purpose of filtering is to keep students for accessing inappropriate material - We need to teach students the 21st century skills they need to safely and ethically access information - The Internet is an excellent source of primary resources and a way for students to form meaningful social connections with friends and experts around the world - **We do not need guidelines for filtering student access to materials. Instead, we need a nation-wide educational policy that calls for the preparation of teaching professionals who understand the intricacies and responsibilities of being a digital citizen and their roels in leading our students to become good digital citizens** - To prepare out students to thrive in a digital world, we must teach them how to use information the safe way/ we must teach students what to do when they find material that is questionable or objectionable - We must create initial teacher preparation and professional development that provides instruction in how to model safe use of the Internet / we need to work with parents to help them locate resources to expand these lessons to the home - **We need to develop a scaffolded approach that teaches students how to be good digital citizens; starting with protected environments in the early grades and then develop a phased approach in which students increasingly demonstrate that they understand how to keep themselves safe in this rich, but potentially dangerous environment**
 * On the other side: NO**

__**Reflection**__

- I believe that we need to educate students about what is appropriate to view on the Internet and what is not from a young age. There is obviously a level of interest from students to look at a variety of web sites because we are all curious by nature, however, students need to be aware that there are web sites that send out messages that are detrimental the health and well being of individuals and that promote actions that are not accepted/valued by society. After reading both sides of this article, I don't know where I stand. I am of the opinion that we need to educate, educate, and educate some more about how to be safe when using the Internet. I think that parents and teachers need to teach and model Internet safety because we play a role in shaping the minds of students. If Internet safety is being instructed in schools, I think the parents need to be informed as well so they can stress the same or similar principles at home. I never really had any information about Internet safety when I was growing up as I had, and still have, my few favourite websites that I visit daily and I don't venture to far from that. However, there are others who visit all sorts of websites that may or may not be appropriate, that may send positive or negative messages. We need to equip students with the tools to be smart when using the Internet and accessing different websites. We have provide them with the tools to make appropriate decisions about what to view and what to avoid and or report. I also think that we need to teach teachers about how to teach Internet safety since many teachers are incorporating online research into their courses.

Therefore, I believe it is imperative that we teach students about Internet saftey and how to make responsible choices when on the Internet.

//__**Technology-driven student-centered presentations**__//

- Grade 10 History, presentation about Great Canadians - Create a wiki and podcast about one Great Canadian icon - Conduct research online to learn as much about the icon as possible - This group provided an excellent tutorial on how to do research using the Internet - This group provided a reference which will help create reference lists: www.bibme.org
 * Presentation 1**

- Lesson was on poerty - Access information about this lesson on Shannon's wiki - Listen to the song, pick photos that resonate with you and words in the song & explain the meaning/significance
 * Presentation 2**

- Grade 11 World Religion - Aboriginal Spirtuality - Used a program called Prezi, which is similar to that of PowerPoint - More information about this presentation is found on Luca's wiki
 * Presentation 3**

- Grade 10 Physics, optics unit - This group had an excellent introductory video about reflection and refraction using telescopes
 * Presentation 4**

- Grade 10 Science, Space Exploration Unit - Used a program called Celestia - I found this program to be interesting and engaging - It would have been good for the students to use this program on our computers to learn how to use it instead of watching the instructors show us how to use it
 * Presentation 5**

- This lesson focused on Gospel Values - Use movie maker
 * Presentation 6**

I found many of the lessons today to be quite informative; however, I would have liked a more hands-on, interactive approach so that I could learn how to use programs such as Prezi & Celestia. Also, I should have taken more detailed notes about each of the presentatons, including taking down the grade and unit of the lesson, and the wiki address if provided. For the lesson I am doing with Laura, I want students to learn how to use a program that has relevance to the course/topic.
 * __Reflection__**

//__**Ontario Educational Resource Bank**__// **-** Teachers can access unit plans, lesson plans, activities, multimedia resources and interactive learning resources - Created by teachers for teachers to share resources - Students from Kindergarten to grade 12, can use these resources as well - All resources are aligned with the Ontario Ministry of Education curriculum, are easy to access and download, and can be modified for future use & to meet teaching style - Teachers can use the OERB to assist with differentiating instruction to meet the diverse needs of the learners in their classroom, to learn from the knowledge and expertise of other teachers, and engage students by using interactive multimedia resources

__//**Creative Commons**//__ - A non-profit organization that provides free licences which makes it easier to share creative work and to build on the work of others - Want to increase the amount of creativity – educational, cultural, and scientific – available to the public - Creative Commons work alongside Copyright, therefore, the copyright terms can be modified to suit the users needs

__//**Ontario Software Acquisition Program Advisory Committee (OSAPAC)**//__
 * -** This resource is absolutely AMAZING!! When the OSAPAC website was introduced in class, I skimmed to see if I recognized any of the software and to start becoming familiar with the software I could use in my classroom to assist students. At this time, I was working on a project for the exceptional students course, in which I had to differentiate a unit outline. One requirement was to indicate the types of accommodations I would use for students who could not, for example, write, decode, calculate, etc. I included the following software, which I found on the OSAPAC website in my assignment:
 * **Cannot Decode**: Use assistive technology, such as Kurzweil Educational Systems
 * **Cannot Calculate: Use** //Mathematics Gizmos// **(grades 7-12) and** //Geometer’s Sketchpad 4// as a form of assistive technology. Use assistive technology, such as a calculator that has the ability to perform a wide range of capabilities, a talking calculator that can vocalize data and results, and more
 * **Environmental Accommodations**: Provide a workspace in which the student has access to assistive technology, such as laptops or desktops (have a set of headphones nearby), a variety of software programs, and a SmartBoard
 * **Cannot Write:** Use assistive technology, such as //Dragon Naturally Speaking 10.1//**,** which is a speech to text program([]); //Reading and Writing Achievement 4.1 // and //Write:Outloud Solo// is another form of assistive technology; Also, students can benefit from a variety of software including word prediction, planning and organizing, specialized spell check, and speech recognition can be used