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Digital Safety

We are all aware that technology is significantly advancing. As an educator, we need to take advantage of the use of technology tools that are accessible and incorporate it into our lesson plans. Unfortunately, not everything or everyone on the Internet can be trusted. According to commonsensemedia.org, learning to protect personal information is crucial to the safety and security of the digital devices kids use. It is extremely important that students as well as their parents are well educated on digital safety.

The digital safety assignment was very informative and enlightening for me. To be completely honest, I did not know many things about digital safety, until the assignment. I was unaware of the terms, such “pharming and phishing.” I now fully understand how copyright infringement works thanks to this assignment. As an aspiring teacher, I will be using and sharing a lot of information, and now I know how to share the right way so I do not violate any copyright laws. It is very helpful information to guide you in your teaching career. I believe that each of the five topics that were assigned all connects with each other. They all deal with digital safety, and how to be safe when you are online.

When I begin teaching, I will inform my students about digital safety, considering that mostly everything deals with technology now. It would be really useful. I would first start off with cyber bullying. They should know that cyber bullying is not and never will be “ok”. I will try to encourage them to act out a few scenarios about what they think cyber bullying is, that way they would have a better understanding of it.  

In our group assignment, we all had our individual things that we needed to get done. Although getting it the right information was no problem, but meeting together and collaborating everything was a bit difficult. We all have different schedules, and every time would we try to meet; it would already be late at night. It was a bit stressful, but with the help with Wiggio, we were able to get things done. We used Wiggio as our online communication with one another. We were able to share files and so much more. We were able to talk to one another, whenever we had time. It was incredibly handy. It would have been so difficult, if we did not use this online tool.

Knorr, C. (n.d.). Help Your Kids Stay Safe and Secure in a 24/7 Digital World | Common Sense Media. Reviews and Ratings for Family Movies, TV Shows, Websites, Video Games, Books and Music. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from http://www.commonsensemedia.org/advice-for-parents/help-your-kids-stay-safe-and-secure-247-digital-world

Wiggio - Makes it easy to work in groups.. (n.d.). Wiggio - Makes it easy to work in groups.. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from http://wiggio.com

Technology Tools Assessment

Technology Tools Assessment

Here are a few online tools I have used during my Technology Applications class. With the point scale I’ve created, I have rated each online tool, with a review of my own. I based it on how efficient it was for me, and how it benefits me, as a student and an aspiring teacher.   I would like give a big thank you to Dr. Cyrus for introducing me to most of these tools.

Point Scale 

✰--No way, Jose!

✰✰-- It’s okay, but needs improvement.

✰✰✰--Frosted Flakes, they’re greeeeaat!

 

Moodle Rating:✰✰

I think Moodle is okay. I like how I can check my assignments whenever I want to, whether I am behind or want to get ahead. It even shows when the assignments are due. It’s very convenient. Although, I do wish that it would be more exciting. I think it lacks color and pictures. I think students also should have the option to design their own profile. Other than that, I would definitely use Moodle when I begin my teaching career.

Firefox Rating: ✰✰

I have nothing against Firefox. I think that it is a good web browser, but I am comfortable with Safari. I don’t think I would be switching browser anytime soon. They are all pretty much the same. They have similar features, and style. Though, sometimes Firefox takes awhile to load. So, Safari has proved to be the one that I rely on the most.

Google Apps Rating: ✰✰✰

To be completely honest, this is one of the greatest inventions! I enjoy using Google Apps! It’s comes in handy when you want to store and share information. Also, it let’s you communicate with others! How great is that?! This is one of the most used applications when I started my college career, and so far, it hasn’t let me down! It’s also free to use. It doesn’t get much better than that! I would definitely recommend this to aspiring teachers and my future students!

LiveBinders Rating: ✰✰

I think LiveBinders is a easy way to gather and store information and share them with other students. I like how you have the option to make your binder private or public. You can also look at other student binders for more resources. Although, I wish that it would give you more options to customize your binder. For me, I like to decorate things and express my creative side, but Livebinder does not offer that service. I do recommend using Livebinder though, because like I said, it is easy to use.  

Go! Animate Rating: ✰✰✰

I like Go! Animate. I think it is a good way to catch the eye of a younger audience. It is so cheesy, which makes it very interesting to watch. You can either type what you want to say, and there are multiple voices that you can use, in many different accents, or you can record your own voice. It is really cool and fun. I would definitely use this when I teach my little kindergarteners one day.

   Wix Rating: ✰✰✰

Wix is great! The whole concept of creating a website still thrills me. At first I thought, creating a website would be extremely difficult, but Wix has proved me wrong. “It’s so easy, a caveman can do it”. I like how everything is easy to understand and there are many templates for you to choose from. You can pick your own design, and change the color if you want. It gives you a variety of options for you to choose from. I would definitely use Wix for future assignments and personal fun.

Wiggio Rating: ✰✰✰

Wiggio is awesome! It is a great way to communicate with others. You can even sort them into groups! I would say that my group for ED271, Group Alpha, uses this frequently to communicate with each other. It really comes in handy when we are not able to meet in person. There are many things you can do. For example, you can share files, schedule a virtual meeting or chat room, create a document, spreadsheet, survey, or to-do list. What amazes me is that you can send a text message or voice message. This is just way to cool and high tech.

Prezi Rating: ✰✰✰

Prezi is a great way to present presentations. I like you can present, view, and share the presentation online. Say goodbye to floppy disks and thumb drives! You won’t need any of that! Although, it is a bit challenging if you are using prezi for the first time, but once you get that hang of it, it is so easy! Be creative, and start with this!

Reflection: Online Educational Game

Dog's Letter Pit

I believe that my group members and I did a really good job, informing our other classmates about the game we chose. Although there was a couple of technical difficulties when were were presenting, such as not all students were able to get to the site on time, the voki Monet made did not load fast enough, the game did not show on the "big screen", and the video we tried to show from YouTube was lagging. However, with all those delays, we managed to get through it and present a good presentation. For creating the rubric for Dog's Letter Pit, we came across a challenge where there was multiple question to ask. We had a lot of questions as to why this was a good online game, or not. It was difficult, trying to narrow it down, so it would be easier to understand. Although this particular game is meant for elementary students, which is what my content area is, anyone is able to play this game. It helps students practice their spelling and sounds. It also helps them identify if they have gotten the letter correct, or not. This game would be a good way to teach my elementary students one day. When I decide to use an online educational game assignment in my teaching, I would change my assignments by emphasizing that the game has to be usable or if not played by all students, that would include students with disabilities. I would not want to single anyone out, and make them feel that they do not belong. This is one of my many concerns of becoming a teacher. I would want to make all my teaching lessons suitable to every single students' needs. For the group project, I believe Wiggio was a big help. We were able to contact with each other fast, use video call, and share information, such as passwords, photos, and videos in the chat room. I would definitely use Wiggio again as a site for group meetings in the future.



Retrieved 12 March 2013 from Voki Home Website: http:/www.voki.com
Retrieved 12 March 2013 from Wix Home Website: http:/www.wix.com