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As we welcome technology into our classroom, not only is digital citizenship something that we need to teach our students, but how to figure out if information they find true or is it fake. Websites do a fantastic job at making their information websites look creditable when in reality they are filled with tons of misinformation. I think that there are many was that we can ensure that we are reaching the NCTE framework and alot of resources out there to use.
Not only do these sites give us untrue information, they can have viruses attached to them or lead us to pictures or articles that are not appropriate for our students. In the article How do we teach students to identify fake news, they give us 4 main suggestions: move beyond traditional -and often ineffective-information evaluation checklists, prioritize helping students helping students develop investigative techniques, teach students to identify biases, and bring real-world fake news examples that we encounter everyday into the classroom. As students get older it is important for them to figure out on their own if they are on a safe, creditable site and we can help them learn some core basics to look for. They also provided a poster to hang in your classroom, which I thought was a pretty good resource to use when teaching about fake news.
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I was relating this to if I was teaching in a grade 4 classroom and we were doing a science research project about plants and animals and their habitats. Part of their project would be to research a habitat and then be able to tell the animals and plants that could be found in that area. I went to look for some resources and I found articles like the ones that we looked at during class that we looked at, they were different then these ones that you could use with students before starting their research so they are aware that everything you see on the internet isn’t always true. I found this checklist that you could have as a poster in your classroom and it could be printed for each student to have and reference. Before they use information for their research, they would have to go through the checklist and show that they did in order to continue.
I could totally relate to the article posted It’s easier to call a fact a fact when it’s one that you like, I think adults and kids are both guilty of finding facts that we believe are already true to prove our point if they are or not. Or if it says something really interesting that could be on the fence of real or fake, we often retreat to the real side.
I think if we find resources that are fun and exciting to get students attention they will see the importance in it. I like little online quizzes like Can you spot the fake new headline? I am sure there are some that are more age appropriate for the age of your students that would get them engaged. I found this one on CBC kids and if you scroll towards the bottom it has other tools on digital citizenship and other online resources. Kahoot also had a good selection of quizzes about this subject area or you could make up your own on here as well.
As I think about my journey of Reconciliation I have so many words that float through my mind. I decided that the best way to show this is through this picture with all the words that resonate with me on this journey. Some of these words stand out to me a bit more, so I highlighted them or made them bigger. An example of this is “More than an orange shirt,” when Orange Shirt day started I never took the time to learn why we wear orange shirts or really take the time to feel history, I just jumped on the bandwagon and bought orange shirts without fully understanding or properly educating my children on the significance of this movement. I find that I am continually learning and opening my mind and heart.
We use these magnet board for UFLI and they can be used for many other things. These little square magnet letters are super easy to manipulate and you can have quite a few on the boards. Students can easily move letters around to make words and when they move past that step, sentences. Super economical, just some cookie sheets and then the letters. I think this is an essential item to add to my classroom wishlist.
This week I was going to use the tutorial video that the dance club has posted on their website, but unfortunately the link was not working. So I found myself back on you tube searching for new videos to use. I came across this one that was based on making 2 dutch braids so I thought I would use it this week. As at the end I need to be able to have 2 tightly braided dutch braids.
My goal this week was to start the braid at the top of the forehead instead of farther back. I convinced my daughter to be my model again as I found her hair easier to work with than the mannequin last week. I started off by splitting her hair down the middle and working on the right side. I was able to start off more at the top of her forehead was a plus! I didn’t find adding more hair so troublesome this week and then it all went downhill….when I got close to the bottom of her head I took too big of a chunk of her hair and in reality most of it was supposed to be for the other side. This made it look bulky and well to be honest not very good.
Next I moved to the left side, this was my bad side last week and this week it proved to be the same. I couldn’t get it started at the top of her forehead and I actually started more to the side, which made the whole thing a helter skelter mess!! Once I got half way down her head it got way better and I ended off strong, but the damage was already done.
Today was not such a success, and the end result is definitely not stage worthy. I am running out of time to perfect this braid as class is running out. I was hoping to have more success stories to write about, but that hasn’t been the case. This experience is teaching me to persevere when things are hard-which is not like me, I often throw in the towel and give up. You’ll have to check back in next week to see if I have success again.
Social media platforms have exploded over the years and I can admit that I am an oversharer on both Facebook and Instagram. My Facebook account is private, but I do allow more people from my life onto this platform. I often share pictures of my family and accomplishments that my kids have. On the other hand I have tried to keep my Instagram more for people that I actually have regular contact with, but often share the same information on both platforms. I can totally relate to the article about having multiple identities online, as my daughter has two Instagram accounts, one for everyone and one that she chooses people on it more wisely. My children also utilize the “private story” option on snapchat, where you can chose who has rights to viewing these snapchats.
As a parent I often hear “I’m not a Pinterest mom”, it saddens me to think that along with the pressures of being a parent we are also concerned at how other parents are judging us and how we do things. I often made Pinterest inspired Valentine’s and birthday party ideas for my kids when they were younger, which eventually dwindled away for my third child, but I never felt like I was doing it to keep up to anyone else or to be a Pinterest mom, I had fun doing it. We need to start being less judgmental and show compassion as these are all things that take a mental toll on all of us.
It is so easy to get wrapped up in what people post on their social media sites and believing that they have the perfect life or that they try to portray something that they are not. I have personally struggled with this throughout the last couple years of my life. I found as a family relationship began to break down I felt like I was being consistently slapped with things posted on their social media. It really started to take a toll on both my physical and mental health, which lead to me being quite ill, it was at this point that I decided to mute this person on my social media, I knew deleting them would create a bigger mess so I went through this avenue, and man did it help make a difference. Although this person insisted on liking/loving my posts which I still feel is their way to getting to me, so I have had to learn to ignore and let it be. Through all of this I can see how teenagers and young adults that are not ready for these types of decisions struggle and get caught up in it all. It is so important to talk to our people if we see something different happening in their everyday lives.
Another case of cyber shaming happened to a family friend in the school system a couple years ago. This teacher posted on their school sign with their students about how Farming chemicals negatively affects habitats. Although this is a part of our school curriculum and is a unit that they discuss, the farming community of this small town and surrounding communities was up in arms. Just a simple google search right now brought up a list of news outlets that were involved in this sign business. I watched as this teacher and their family were put through the ringer online, and how much it affected them. This teacher eventually left their job at this school and relocated with their young family as the public shaming became too much and took a huge mental health toll on them. This is just another case of people blowing up a mistake and creating chaos in an individuals life. But is it really a mistake when it’s something that we are supposed to teach? As educators these are going to be hurdles that we are going to have to deal with ourselves-everyone is watching our choices and you never know when someone is going to use them against us. I don’t say this this to scare anyone, but I believe that it is something that needs to be said so we are prepared.
This is a problem that isn’t going away so we all need to be aware and educate ourselves and our future generations to maybe take a step in the right direction towards seeing change.
https://www.pexels.com/search/cellphone/
My first field experience was so fun! It felt really good to look at the classroom with a teacher hat on instead of an EA hat. It was tricky for me at first as my first instinct is to help, but once I got settled into the role of observing the teacher I really enjoyed it. Click on the link below to view my observations.
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One of my field placement days fell on Halloween-I was nervous grade 1 on the afternoon of Halloween? This teacher had some cool things planned which made the afternoon fun and fly by! She started off by reading the book Boo, by Robert Munsch. After reading the story the students made a pretty cool Crazy Hair Art project.
These turned out so awesome, it was something that I didn’t want to forget about so I thought I would stick it in my resources page. I have also included pictures of the kids creations.
I finally feel like I have had some success on this braiding journey. I switched things up this time and I braided my daughters head instead of my mannequin head, I will say it was much easier to manipulate. I may have to convince her to sit down and let me do it more often during this learning process. I also switched up what platform I used this week, I found a blog that had a step by step tutorial. I liked this method, as I found last week it was easier for me to learn from pictures instead of videos.
The first step was to separate the hair in half, my kids don’t have a normal middle part so it gets a bit wavy looking when you look closely. My hairdresser gave me a tip this week: to hold my hands close together when braiding, so I tried really hard to follow that tip. I started on the right side of her head. I really struggled with this side and she eventually asked me to try the other side because her head hurt, lol.
I moved onto her left side, it went better but, still not very good, I didn’t do well with gathering hair from the sides which has been a struggle from the beginning. I had a couple restart times, but I didn’t want to redo it again so I left it looking a bit wonky and not the best.
I went back to her right side as I felt like I was a bit on a roll and I might actually be somewhat successful. This side went so much better! There were still some spots that I struggled to get hair gathered from the sides and middle, but overall its probably the best braid that I have done yet!
Next’s week mission to try to get to be a tighter braid and started more at the front of her head. Stay tuned to see if I have another successful try. Last picture is of a person who is super pumped that she finally had a successful post to write.
If we agree or not, let’s face it technology is becoming the new era of our classrooms and schools. Technology definitely has it perks and is a wonderful tool for educators to use, but how can we teach our students to use it purposely in our classrooms?
In Ohler’s article he questions if technology should completely taken out of our classrooms and become an out of school thing only. I do not agree with this-if we take it ban it completely the “want” to be on technology will take over children’s lives when they aren’t in school. I do think that this needs to be a collective understanding between school, student and families-we all have a responsibility when it comes to technology. Education and rules cannot only be set at school, parents need to do their part also to reinforce expectations. Open and honest communication is key, doing so will help students realize that they also need to be honest in what they are doing on technology instead of hiding their online activity.
I think there are many strategies we can use in relation to the nine elements of digital citizenship in our classrooms. I believe that every student should have the same opportunity to have technology in the classroom, as long as they can handle it. Some students really struggle with getting off of their iPad when “tech time” is over, this can then create undesired behaviours. I think that this when I would use a plan in my classroom so that both the student and staff know what the expectation of tech time is and what will happen if it continues. It is important to have both parties a part of this plan so that both students and teachers can have a say in the plan and agree on it together.
I really agree with Jurgenson when he talks how people are too connected to the “computer” in their pocket. I have been trying really hard to get better at not feeling like I need to be on my phone the minute there isn’t something going on, an example waiting at a Dr.’s office or standing in line at the grocery store. This has proven to be a difficult task as I have been so accustomed to having the world at my fingertips. If you look around a restaurant the next time you go out, how many people do you see on their phone? If you see me there I can guarantee that I am on mine-guilty as charged. We are losing the act of conversation with our family and friends. How does this relate to our classroom? We need to set the example in our classrooms, we need to stay off our devices during our school day-our students are watching us and they will follow along if we are proactive and monitor our own tech use.
Technology can be extremely useful in our classrooms to share resources and mixed work. We can set up safe and proper programs online to share missed assignments and notes for our students, such as Microsoft teams or google classrooms. Parents can also be added to these platforms and we can all work together to ensure we use these programs effectively and properly.
My biggest concern with an excess of tech time is the psychological effects that it has on both us as educators and students. Personally my son turns into a nightmare if he spends too much time on his devices, his listening skills lessen and he seems to be completely dazed. I feel like there are many other children like that out there and this can lead to other academic and social concerns in our classrooms. I think there can be a happy medium if we educate students on safe technology use.
I look forward to using all the wonderful apps and online platforms within my classroom. My hope is to create a digital citizenship agreement that would be signed by all involved parties: parents, students and staff to create an open technology relationship. I also hope that I am able to properly educate students so that they learn how to have an effective “combined technology world, not two separate worlds”. Technology isn’t going anywhere-in fact its blowing up in this new era and we need to jump on the train and help our children be safe and responsible citizens.
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