Security and Online Communication Tools

Reflection of Online Communication Tools

I have enjoyed learning about and discovering benefits of online communication tools. As technology continues to expand in our lives it's important for us to embrace the capabilities available. Some of us do not want to adapt to the changes that are happening around us and whether we like it or not those changes are what our students and children are growing up with. There are many benefits that we need to be aware of by using online communication tools.

One benefit of online communication tools that I like is the ability to share the student’s grades with their parents. Parents are able to use a computer at any location and check their student’s grades. Teacher can also talk with parents online without having to leave the house or have meetings at school (unless absolutely necessary). One program that we are able to do this with is Infinite Campus. Teachers are able to post grades on here, look at student information, add attendance, etc.

We have worked with a few online communication tools in this class and the one that I enjoyed the most was the webquest. Webquest are amazing in the fact of the creativity that can be involved. There are also many webquest lessons available online that teachers can use to suit their many lessons. Teachers can also create their own style of webquest that they can use and share.

Computer Security

At our school we have computer technicians who take care of our computers and monitor online activity. These computer technicians add anti-virus software to our computers and monitor our emails so that we will not get infected with viruses. Most of viruses at businesses and schools I believe start from infected emails.
Another way that our computers and students are protects is by teacher observation. Students are not allowed to visit any sites with explicit materials and are asked not download anything unless it is approved. We have 3 computer labs at our school and at any time when students are in those, there is always a teacher with them.

On the computer that I personally use at school I am not allowed to download anything without administrator permission. If I have updates that need to be on my computer I always have to call on the computer technicians and have them to fix this for me. Sometimes this can be annoying because I may have to wait a couple of days. If it is something important that I would like immediately I usually wait until I get home and get it from my computer. There have also been days when I have taken my laptop and used it at school.

Everything is PASSWORD Protected. This sometimes encourages students to try their best to break this protection and sometimes they are successful. There are times when you have a student who can hack your personal online information. Facebook and Myspace are a couple of sites that students like to hack.

Here is a video from youtube that shows you how easy it can be to get around password protection.
 

 Resources

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l5huB0g4nc
virtualassistantchick.com
marketing.blogs.ie.edu

extremetrix.com
technoramblings.info

53302_Hibbard_Software in the Classroom

A. Pick one piece of software to use in the classroom. Identify the software and the instructional objectives and goals you will meet.

One piece of software that I use in the classroom is called Mypyramidtracker. Mypyramidtracker is a program that you can find on www.mypyramid.gov. Mypyramid.gov was developed by "The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion" this is an organization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The center was established in 1994 to improve the nutrition and well-being of Americans. The center focuses its efforts on two primary objectives:

1. Advance and promote dietary guidance for all Americans
2. Conduct applied research and analysis and nutrition and consumer economics.

The reason this was created is to develop a dietary guideline for Americans, a MyPyramid food guidance system, a healthy eating index, U.S. food plans, nutrient content of the U.S. food supply, and expenditures on children by families.

My instructional objectives for this software are to help students learn the importance of the dietary guidelines and physical activity that will help them maintain a healthy lifestyle. I want to guide the students through this website and teach them how to use it.

The portion of the website that I will focus on the most is the MyPyramidtracker software. MyPyramidtracker is an online assessment tool that students can use to track their daily food intake and daily physical activity.

The way we use the daily food intake portion is by entering the food that you ate. When you enter the food it brings up a variety of options that you can enter. This can include: a Mcdonald's biscuit that you ate that morning, fresh fruits and vegetables, or a Burger King Whopper. After you choose what you ate you have to enter the total servings that you ate. When you are finished entering your food servings click save and analyze and you will be able to calculate the amount of servings that you ate that would fulfill your dietary guidelines. This will also show your nutrients intake and give you recommendations on what you need to add or take away.

The way we use the physical activity intake is entering your daily amount of activity for the day. When you are finished you click save and analyze and this will give you an analysis of your energy expenditure. This will provide you with information about what you need to do to maintain your weight or if you want to lose weight. This can also help you develop a daily plan to lose or maintain your weight.

B. After using the software with your students, discuss what went well and what challenges you faced. What would you do differently if you were to use the software again?

The biggest challenge that I faced was with the site loading. When all the students were trying to access the site some of them had to wait a long time on the site to load. This was difficult because it was hard to keep everyone of the same page. I started teaching different sections of students who had the site loaded. I had the other students to research a fitness plan that they could use to help them stay physically fit.
When I teach the lesson again I will teach the lesson in sections. I will have half the class working on mypyramid and half the class researching fitness plans and diet plans.

Resources:

http://www.mypyramid.gov
http://www.heartlandnutrition.org/Contents/Child%20Care%20Acitivites.aspx

53302_Hibbard_Webquest

What have you learned about online communication tools?

Online communication tools are a great way to engage students in learning.  The tasks involved have to be creative.  The teacher has to be creative to make the project interesting and connect it to the students.  One webquest that I looked at this week was very interesting, creative, and was linked to real-life situations.  When this happens I believe students want to become more involved.  The webquest was created by Mr. Urich.  The webquest was called “Look Like a Rock Star”.  He related the webquest to music stars who are on MTV.  Some of the key components he wanted the student to explore were:

v  What is health fitness?

v  What are the components of physical fitness?

v  Why are each of these components of a workout important to become and stay physically fit?

v  How often do I need to workout?

v  How long should I workout?

v  What exercises should I perform?

v  How hard should I workout?

I liked this webquest because students will become more involved when it is something that interests them.

Webquest breaks down a project into different sections and allows the students to become involved over a period of time.  The teacher uses the webquest to guide the students through the project.  Students can work on these webquests as an individual or it can be group work.  Webquests are a versatile tool that all teachers should utilize.  The webquest is online so it is easy for both students and parents to view assignments.  I think it would make instruction easier and more fun for both teachers and students

1. Begin this week by visiting the QuestGarden Web site and signing up for a free 30-day account.  Then create a WebQuest for the students in your classroom.  Any educational WebQuest site is acceptable. 

URL: http://questgarden.com/118/90/3/110210072724/

3. Finally, discuss any challenges you faced when putting together the WebQuest on your blog for this week.

There were a few challenges that I faced when putting together this webquest.  One of the challenges was that I had some technical difficulty with the website.  I started putting in information and left the computer for just a minute and a message popped up that it had timed out.  I lost all of that information and had to start again.  What I started doing at this point was putting my information in Microsoft Word and saving it there.  This made my problem easy because I could copy and paste. 

The next challenge was that I wanted to make the webquest look appealing to students.  I believe that with the creativity involved in the making of a webquest teachers will work harder with the tools that are available.  The more appealing and the more it relates to the students lives, the better the engagement and creativity from both teacher and students. 

The webquest takes a little longer to set up for an assignment but the assignment can be setup to last for a long period of time.  This can also be used year after year. 

I enjoyed using these online communication tools.  I hope in the future I can speak with my principal and see if I can incorporate these into my classroom.  The challenge that I will face here is the availability of computers.  Maybe I can work out a schedule with the computer teachers and try to get into the lab on a consistent basis. 

Resources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMHl2riF4oc

http://laspocoyo.blogspot.com/

Online Communication Tools

  As I reflect on my learning this week I have found that I have learned a lot about online communication tools.  I have used email a lot for online communication for specific reasons at whatever job that I was currently active in.  I have also used Facebook and Myspace for online communication with my youth group when I was working as a youth career advisor. 

The specific online communication tool that I have learned the most about has been blogs. Blogs can be used for multiple things. I have learned many uses for blogs in the educational aspect. Blogs can be used for book clubs, posting information about your travels, fitness, news, sports, posting about emergency situations, etc. This online tool is an amazing application that can be used for businesses to post advertisements. This is a great marketing tool for businesses. Blogs are a wonderful multifaceted utilization tool.

1. Have you ever used online communication tools in the classroom before?  If so, detail your experiences.  If not, what has prevented you from using online communication tools?

When I was working as a Youth Career Advisor at KCEOC Community Action Partnership I used Facebook, Email, and Myspace as an online communication tool. My job as their advisor was to schedule workshops such as: ACT preparation, financial aid help, guest speakers from different career and educational backgrounds, community services, etc. I scheduled different career site tours to visit so that the students could experience in person what is required of certain jobs that they had interests in. During the summer I scheduled different job sites for the students to work at and earn money.

I used the online communication sites to provide the times when our events were scheduled, list community events, list job openings, and list informational websites about careers. The kids enjoyed Facebook because they all had one. They all became a fan of our Facebook page and then had access to all of the information.

2. Identify one online communication tool you can use in the classroom and discuss how you will prepare your students for using this communication tool.

I am very interested in using blogs in the classroom. The reason is because of its versatility. This was my choice in my paper that we wrote this week about online communication tools. Blogs are amazing in the fact that students can be creative and have a choice of designing their work to their style.

The way that I would prepare my students for using blogs would be to design lessons in a step-by-step guide on how to create and design a blog. Students are technologically savy this will not be a problem for them at all. I believe that the students would talk about their work to their friends and have them check out their designs. I believe that having the ability to add music and other media that the students would be excited to get started. A few problems that I would run into would be the use of the computer lab. If I try to get them to work on them at home some students may not have access to a computer.

Online communication tools are the future of education. This tool is gaining popularity in the college atmosphere because of its accessibility. People who are not near a college they would like to attend can get online and take courses. If gas continues to rise I think high schools may eventually use this method.

53302_Hibbard_Blog04Powerpoint

One thing that I learned from this week’s lesson is that PowerPoint presentations can be converted in to web pages for students to view.  You just have to save the PowerPoint as HTML. 

Another thing that I learned is that some schools have been purchasing lesser-known presentation programs because they are cheaper.  Microsoft gives academic institutions discounts for using their products.  This usually makes the package as cheap as the others.

1. What was the PowerPoint presentation about and to whom did you present it?


The PowerPoint presentation that I created was about stress management.  This presentation was created for my eighth grade class.  In my presentations I highlight the information that will be presented in their assessment.  For my “individual education plan” students I print out the handout version of the PowerPoint presentation and have those students highlight the important information.  
Information that was in this PowerPoint presentation included: chapter presentations, images, bell ringers, and quotes about characters.  I do not have a smart board in my classroom or a projector screen.  I am currently using a white wall to present my information.  One issue that I ran into at the beginning of the year was the color of my text.  Red does not show up well on the wall.  The information that I highlighted I changed to yellow and all other text is in black. 
Next year I am supposed to be getting a smart board in my classroom.  This would be a great addition because I can spice up the PowerPoint presentation because of getting the students more involved with using the board. With the smart board you can touch the screen or use a pen that is included to control your computer. 

2. Of which item in your presentation are you the most proud?


The items that I am most proud of in the PowerPoint presentation are the design, pictures, tables, and graphs in the presentation.  I feel that students are more engaged into the lesson when you add media to the presentation.  At the end I add the pictures and graphs again so that they are easily accessed if I need to reiterate any information. 
The design included a background that was blue and green with a yellow boarder. The lesson title and chapter title are always at the top.  The tables that were included are: common stressors for teens, major life changes that can cause serious stress, long term effects of stress on the body, and common stress of distress.
Table one, common stressors for teens included information that let the students know of things that they deal with everyday in life.  Some students may not realize how some simple things can cause stress.  Some of the stressors in this table included: arguing with your brother or sister, moving to a new home, getting glasses or braces, and trying out for a sports team. 
Some of the other tables included information about how stress can cause the body harm and that you could develop diseases if you do not do something that will help you relax. 

3. What might you do differently if you could create the presentation again?


Something that I would like to do differently with this presentation is include some videos about stress and what to do if you become stressed out.  Some PowerPoint presentations that I have done in the past have included videos and the reaction was great.  Adding something different always helps grasp a student’s attention. 

4. How did your students respond to the presentation?


The students responded well to information included in the graphs, tables and pictures.  When I was describing the information in the tables about the causes of stress and how stress can affect the body.  The students asked more questions and became more involved.  I have also learned that if you include personal stories about events that have affected you, the students become more involved. 
In the presentation I included a picture about what happens to you if you were lost in the woods and a bear tried to attack you.  Beside the picture were steps of how your body responds when it becomes stressed.   The students enjoyed this pictures and had lots of comments. 

53302_Hibbard_Blog3

Reflect on your learning in week 3

After watching some of the videos I learned about an interesting feature in Microsoft word.  The feature is called auto summarize.  Auto summarize allows you to summarize a document to a certain percent and you can change the percent if you feel like you need to read more or less of the document.  This option highlights the main points in the document. 

The benefits of this option are first if you are crunched for time you will be able to read the main topics of what the auto summarize feature highlighted.  If you have a document that is about 50 pages long and you use this feature it can help you read the main points in a shorter amount of time.  Also, if you hate to read this feature can shorten the document for you and it won’t feel so burdensome.
I think this is a great feature for students who have trouble reading a comprehending the information.  This would help them feel like they could complete are reading without feeling overwhelmed.  This would make it easier to take notes and highlight important information.  The information that is high lighted can then be printed out so that it would be easier to study.

A disadvantage this feature would cause is if you didn’t add enough percentage of the summary to read.  This could cause you to miss something you may need to learn.  

What makes the item visually appealing?  What distracts from the message you are trying to communicate?

I sent out a letter to the parents at the beginning of the year.  The letter explained the expectations of the class.  The document wasn’t visually appealing it was a plain basic document.  I used Microsoft Office complete the document without adding pictures, clip art, or other media.  This document was very boring and with the lack of color and design some parents may not have read it.  The students may have thrown it away before it got home.  If I had added more design to the document and made it more colorful I think the students would also enjoy it more.   

I don’t think there are any distractions from the message.  One thing I could have done was to make it more appealing and fun to read.  The only distraction that could have been is not to pay attention to it because of lack of design. 

Here is the document after using Microsoft Publisher. Microsoft Publisher is easier to use to create polished and well designed documents.  Publisher offers many templates that add lots of color and fun to the documents. 

53302_Hibbard_Blog2_SpreadsheetandDatabase

Provide a URL of one Web site that discusses spreadsheet and/or database use in the classroom.
http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow4/may99/spreadsheet.html.  
There are a few different ways that they used spreadsheets and databases in the classroom on this website.  One of my favorites is the "Civil War and More Simple Graphing".  The way this teacher introduced her 5th grade to spreadsheets was by using the Civil War.  This teacher used American Civil War Battles by State.  The teacher would ask the students questions like:  Which state had the most civil war battles?  Do they know how many a certain state had?  Do they know what percent the states battles represent compared to the entire war?  This was great because it not only got the kids involved with spreadsheets but also got them learning about the states and the civil war. 

Describe something you found that surprised you about how databases or spreadsheets can be utilized in the classroom.  
The thing that surprised me the most is that you can make spreadsheets fun to use and strike up the imagination of kids by using them.  Another website that I visited was http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/techknowpark/FreeFall/ShoppingSpree.html.  This activity was called “Most Wanted Toys with Dead Batteries or Live!.  The activity was to pretend that you entered a contest at the local mall to win a $1000.00 shopping spree at a toy store of your choice.  The catch was that you had to spend between exactly $995 and $1000 if you went over you lost all the money.  If you spent exactly $1000 tax included you won an additional $500.
I thought this was a great activity because this would get the kids excited and ready to learn how to use a spreadsheet to accomplish the task at hand. 

Discuss how you have used spreadsheets and databases in the past.
The way that I have used spreadsheets and databases in the past are for budgeting, keeping up with my grades when teaching, and I have also used them for classes.

Include ways you have used them with your students or ways you have used them as an educator.

When I was a youth career advisor at KCEOC we required our students to use a spreadsheet to setup budgets and also provided a budgeting workshop for our students to take.  I also had to used a database called EKOS to do monthly reports.  These reports included things like:  

How many student graduated? 

How many became employed? 

How many attended workshops?

How many attended college? 

53302_Hibbard_Blog1_Technology

What did you learn this week that you will use immediately in your classroom?

After completing the "Technological Literacy Worksheet" I discovered some areas that I need to become more competent in.  Areas that I need to become more competent in are  developing web pages, creating and using databases, and becoming more familiar with desktop publishing programs such as Microsoft Office Publisher.  Have we taken the time to stop and ask our students about technologies that they are competent in? I think it's a good idea that we need to ask our students periodically if they are having trouble in certain technological areas.  The reason we need to do this is because of how fast technology develops and how fast it needs to become implemented. 

What steps will you take to implement this in your classroom?

The steps that I am going to take to implement this in my classroom is to first print a copy of the technological literacy worksheet and give these to the students.  I will then look over these to see what the students are less confident in and then speak with other teachers at our school to see if we can get these areas implemented in the classroom. This not only needs to be implemented in my classroom but also the entire school.  I will need to speak with other teachers and probably the principal to get this going. 

What challenge(s) will you face when using this in your classroom?  

The greatest challenge when using anything in your classroom is having enough time to implement any activities.  You have to be able to teach your core content first and then everything else.  I am not sure what the computer teachers core content areas are, she may already be teaching all of these areas. Another challenge maybe that other teachers may not want to take the time to do this.  This is very hard especially when you are trying to get your students ready for testing.

What will you do to overcome the challenge(s)? 

A way to overcome this challenge is to try to make time to teach some lessons in these areas.  Another way is to provide some help for the computer teacher to be able to get all the necessary information and knowledge to the students.  I could also ask about professional development workshops that I could attend that could make me more familiar with areas my students need help in.