Bullying is cruel so don't act like a fool

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Sawatdee Kaa (Hello in Thai)

John Finch came into our class to talk about cyber bullying, informed consent and creative commons. I appreciate the fact that John took time to come talk to our class after he had come off a very long flight from Thailand. I completed my third placement in Thailand and I know first hand how long that flight was.

John talked about how cyber bullying may be blown out of porportion. The media has taken recent events and made them seem like cyber bullying is becoming the most common form of bullying. I found out that it is actully the lowest percent of bullying. This statistic was formed through an online survey from different schools called "Tell them from me". I can honestly say that since the media attention to cyber bullying I thought most kids would be bullied online. However, it is only 8-12 percent who say they have been cyber bullied. The media has a tendency to take something small and turn it into something big. I am not saying cyber bullying is not a problem. I am saying that other forms of bullying (social/ emotional/ verbal/ physical) are more prevalent.

Bullying  is a major problem in school but it is not just in school. Bullying can affect you on the street, workplace, home and many other places. Bullies come in all shapes and sizes, the big issue is how do we put a stop to it? I am currently taking Education and Law with Tom Skinner and he told us about a teacher who had made a couple of students in her class wear a hockey helmet saying I am a bully. Professor Skinner said that he was surprised that there was no legal action taken against the teacher. He regarded this as cruel and unusual punishment and infringed on the students rights. I am wondering what people think of this form of punishment? What would you do if you had a major bullying problem in your class? I am unsure how I would deal with the situation because I am a student teacher. I don't have the experience that other teachers would have.
Links to article on bullies and helmets
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2005/03/16/teacher-bully-050316.html
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/bullying/

In regards to the cyber bulling I think we have to educate our students on their digital footprint. We need to show them that what they put/ say on the internet can impact their lives. What they say/post/write can effect themselves or other people. I think students lose that perspective because they are not face to face with people. They are staring at a screen and they are also not aware of social media policies or terms of agreement. Another big part of cyber bullying has been sexting. Kids sending inappropriate pictures of themselves to other people. In the states some kids have gotten charged with solicitation and distribution of porn. It may have started out innocent but these charges can stick with for a very long time. We need to be aware of how we are representing ourselves digitally.

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John also put a lot of emphasis on social media policy. He thinks every school should have a policy and implement it immediately. Social media is a huge part of our generation and how we use it in school greatly affects the school division, our students, and ourselves. If a policy is in place, as teachers we will know what we can and cannot do. Some school may have a policy of no Facebook. Therefore, as a teacher I wouldn't be able to create a facebook homepage for my class. If we have a class blog or do class videos we need to know what we all need from the students/ parents to post it online. I believe that social media policy is needed within a school because our generation is based in the social media dimension.

Thank you

Jen Falk

"Teach long and prosper"- Star Trek

I am Connected Today

This is my PLN and how I am connected. I am sure there is more ways I am connected but for now this is how I am connected. 

On Tuesday January 23 Alec Couros was skyped into my class to talk about the digital age and ways to use technology in the classroom. He is an excellent presenter and it was really cool that he was skyped in through Adobe. Through this program we could log on and chat with him during his presentation. 

Alec talked about the new possibilities that technology is creating and ways we can remix, connect to learning, and activate the students. He talked about how memes can be used to convey a powerful message or help students understand difficult concepts. I never really thought of memes as a tool for learning. I thought of it as a tool for humor. Memes take a picture and add a comment to the picture. 

Here are some of my favorite education based memes

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I was really intrigued by the fact that a 9 yr old creating a lot of change by blogging. Alec referred to this as activism in blogging. She created so much change just by blogging. I want to do the same but what I have learned in this class is a change can be just one person. Therefore, if I blog my ideas and change on person's view I have created a change.

One quote that stuck with me during Alec's presentation was, Confucius's once said, "When you breathe, you inspire, and when you do not breathe, you expire." This was great because it made me think of blogging and my obvious ideas. That if I don't share my obvious ideas I have no way to inspire change.

Sincerely,

Jen Falk

"Teach long and prosper"- Star Trek

PLN

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PLN

A PLN is a Professional Learning Network which allows people to be connected. This is great for education because we have information, resources, ideas, lesson plans and much more at our finger tips. I love searching the web for lesson plan ideas, activities, labs and assessment tools. The PLN has helped me grow as a teacher and enhanced student learning.

My goal is for every 3 things I find online I want to post 1 of my ideas. This way I am contributing to the PLN and maybe someone will be able to use my ideas to better enhance their teaching. So to start my contribution here are lists of websites that I like to use and hopefully you will to

Name of Website	URL	Fxn
Khan Academy	http://www.khanacademy.org/	Show great how to lectures for many different math and science subjects
BIODIDAC	http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/	Great images for bacteria/ fungi etc
Brain Pop	http://www.brainpop.com/	Great animated video clips/ quizzes/ labs etc
U of M CRYSTAL	http://umanitoba.ca/outreach/crystal/resources.html	Great PowerPoint and lesson ideas
Crocus Plains Biology	http://www2.brandonsd.mb.ca/crocus/?page_id=759	Great PowerPoint/ labs
Biology Junction	http://www.biologyjunction.com/	Great PowerPoint/ Labs/ Lesson Plans
Wordle	http://www.wordle.net/	Creates word splashes
Tagxedo	http://www.tagxedo.com/	Creates word splashes also able to create your own shapes (ex: faces/images)
Animoto	http://animoto.com/intro/animoto/m1?gclid=CJq587Xm7awCFUx_5Qod4guANg	Creates picture slideshows
Inspiration	A program	Mind mapping
Cybrbary Man	http://www.cybraryman.com/	List of educational websites for teachers
Bubbl.us	https://bubbl.us/	Creates mind maps
Mind Mister	http://www.mindmeister.com/	Creates mind maps

This is just the start of my list please fill out more on the chart

 

Help Please!

 I have this idea for a lab in Biology 30S but I need help figuring out the details. I want to create a lab called the hunger games. I would split the class up into teams and they would face off with one another in a digestion/ nutrition based challenge. The students would have to complete tasks as team such as; label the digestive system/ show how long the sm intestine is with materials in the room/ pick the best fast food dish/ etc. There would be a point system for 1st, 2nd, 3rd in the events. If there was a tie they would have to complete a plank test, burpee challenge, cracker challenge (with 3 crackers in your mouth complete the process of digestion from the mouth). So my question on forming this lab is will it help enhance student learning and how do I get everyone to participate? Also does this sound like a good idea or am I setting myself up for an unsuccessful lab?

Thank you

Jen Falk

"Teach long and prosper"- Star Trek

Dean Shareski Obvious Ideas

On Tuesday January 16, 2013 Dean Shareski was skyped into our classroom to talk about his work and ideas on ICT literacy. I have heard Dean speak before in one of my methods courses. He is a very engaging speaker and you can tell he has a lot of passion for what he does. As an introduction Dean gave his statistics on how many tweets he has made and blog postings. This was an incredible amount of postings and tweets. He even said he will read all of his former students blogs and try and make comments. I can't imagine the amount of time Dean spends online and the amount of typing he does each day.

Dean started blogging in 2005 and an important thing he learned was when people post it creates magic that transfers on to other people who read it. This started me thinking because I feel like my ideas aren't blog worthy or people will judge them. However, he helped me understand that an obvious idea to me may not be obvious to someone else. I shouldn't be afraid to share my ideas because it may end up helping someone else who never looked at it in that way. Therefore, my goal in this course is to post my ideas and see the comments on the post as positive feedback.

I really enjoyed Dean's videos and visual aids during his presentation. I feel like pictures, videos, and quotes really help create a better understanding. One quote that I liked was "We're all grade fours on a playground". This quote meant that technology and ICT literacy is still very new to us, there are lots of things we need to explore. I am still exploring all the things I can do with my Mac Book and I have had it for 2 years.

Sharing information and helping educators and students become media literate is a major goal in today's education. Dean said that even if a students can read and write it doesn't make them literate. Technology is a major part of our society and today's students are constantly using technology to communicate. That is why as educators we need to learn how to use media well so we can teach students to do the same. One way I am learning how to use media well is through this course and the guest speakers that come to share their ideas.

Jen Falk

"Teach long and prosper" - Star Trek

John Evans- Guest Speaker 01/10/13

I loved John Evans presentation last Thursday. Unfortunately, I was unable to stay for the whole presentation. For the part I was there I could tell he has a lot of passion for what he does. Technology has become an integral part of our society. I don't think I would be able to go a day without my cell phone or two days without using the internet. Today's student is much different than a student from three to four years ago. The use of technology has become a way to share ideas, create, inspire and cultivate new ways of thinking.

John shared many websites that will be helpful in my future career as a teacher. I am a big believer in using iPads in the classroom. Scoop it! is a great place to search ideas, solve problems and have discussions on the use of iPads for education.

Literacy with ICT is a new wave of thinking that fits with today's students. John shared many sites that help educators better understand what literacy with ICT means. Wiki pages, Maple, Education blogs, and Diigo are great ways to share ideas on how to develop literacy with ICT.

One statement that John said during his presentation really stuck with me "The PLN used to be the staff room now it is a global staff room". In the past the only way to share ideas was in the staff room. Today we share ideas, thoughts, strategies and have discussions with people who live in different time zones and continents. PLN is a way to enhance learning through collaboration. This opens the door for many different opportunities. Maple creates a place where I can find relevant information and chat with people who are teaching the same specific outcomes as I am. If I don't know how to approach the outcome or if students are not grasping the concept, I can post my problem on the discussion and wait for help.

In my opinion a PLN is all about improving the craft. Teaching is a never ending learning process and who wants to be stuck in a staff room that's only open during school hours. Today's PLN allow for 24 hour access and unlimited resources at the tips of my fingers

Jen Falk

"Teach long and prosper"- Star Trek

What I am about

This blog is about ways to use internet in the classroom and what it means to me. This is my personal view on digital responsibility, thoughts on guest speakers, ways to use iPads, how to use internet in a rural class, the effects of cyber bullying, and how to inspire other educators to use technology.

I took this course to learn more about technology and gain knowledge from other classmates who post on my blog, guest speakers and in-class discussions. This is my first ever blog and I am excited to get started and commenting on my classmates blog.

Sincerely 

Jen Falk

"Teach long and Prosper" Star Trek