Cyberbullying has become one of the biggest problems for people over the past few years. It happens in every age group, from early teens to adulthood, people are constantly being cyberstalked or bullied online. The tragedy of cyberbullying, is that too frequently it leads to teenagers committing suicide, and the victims parents usually don't have a clue of what led to such a drastic act (Jessica 2013). Social media has come a long way over the past ten years, especially with Facebook expanding exponentially every year, and with its growth comes more cases of cyberbullying. The main question is how do teachers and adults put a stop to it? How do we stop cyberbullying? I remember several years ago, when I was still living in New Jersey, there was a young man who was eighteen years old at the time, who was a very shy person. He indulged himself in music, and was actually the top violinist in the state at the time. I don't remember what college he was attending at the time, but he was constantly bullied online about his homosexuality. Eventually he committed suicide by jumping off the Tappan Zee Bridge. It was a very sad case, because he had a great relationship with his parents, who supported him in everything he pursued. Bullying has always been an issue inside schools ever since they were first created. The difference now, is that there is very little a person can do to fight back against cyberbullying. Many law enforcement agencies are starting to press criminal charges on people who harass others online, but again there's little they can do about it, because not all cyberbullying cases are immediately reported (Jessica 2013). School children have very easy access to all forms of technology, and educators have difficulty regulating the way they are used. I don't know of any cyberbullying cases in my school district, but I do know that Dare County has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bullying of any sort. Being bullied physically by someone at school can usually be put to a stop, either by telling a teacher about it, or (I do agree with this to an extent) by fighting back. A person who is bullied online can't fight back or stand-up for themselves when there's little they can do to prevent the bully from harassing them. They can block them from accessing their social media account, ignore them or they can call the authorities. It is definitely an issue that has become more and more pronounced as technology has advanced. Technology has gotten to the point where has surpassed our culture and society in advancement, because there are many people in the world who do not know how to use technology responsibly.
Bibliography:
Jessica, "The Frightening Phenomenon of Cyberbullying" November 18, 2013. retrieved from: http://www.i-lawsuit.com/cyberbullying/
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Instruments I play.
As the title states this is more on instruments I play, and no I'm not trying to be smug or self-centered. This is more to show what can be done with these instruments. I've been playing bass guitar for about 4 years now, and I taught myself. I'm not the greatest at it, but I have a lot of fun with it. To me, a musician can do just about anything with a bass guitar from simply strumming a basic rhythm or to a more complex slap line. My favorite bassists range from Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, John Entwistle of The Who, Cliff Burton of Metallica and Les Claypool of Primus. They each have their own methods, but they're all extremely talented. The other instrument I play is the harmonica, been playing this since I was about seven. I still fiddle around with it, because it's easy to carry around and it doesn't take much to create a simple harp tune. John Popper of Blues Traveler is like the Jimi Hendrix of the harmonica. Here's a couple clips. Enjoy!!!
Primus-Lacquer Head
The Who-My Generation
Blues Traveler-Devil Went Down to Georgia
Primus-Lacquer Head
The Who-My Generation
Blues Traveler-Devil Went Down to Georgia
Chapter 12 Reflections
How would I go about getting the computers or technology ready for the students to use in a lesson plan? Obviously the first step would be to reserve either the computer lab or laptops if the school has them. I would first setup how the students are to back-up and save their work, either using an online source like Google Docs or even using a flash drive in case they don't have a reliable internet connection (Morrison and Lowther 2010). Also I would make sure that they name the file or document that would be easy for them to locate and remember, such as Metcalf Social Studies Project. Another step I would use significantly would be to bookmark specific Internet sites, which will help the students be able to locate sources much faster and more efficiently. I'd do this by posting the websites on the class Wiki or the class website for them to access.
The "computer part" of the lesson comes after I do a lecture on the topic and then explain the task or project that they are to complete using the computers. Secondly, I explain how they are to use the computers to complete their assignments. After these first two steps, I then allow the students to access the computers. Basically, I go over the topic, then state the objective of the assignment and explain how they are to use the computers. This is when computers become a part of a lesson I am teaching.
If my class only had access to three computers, it would be difficult to make sure that every student had equal access to them. Say for arguments sake the class size was twenty-one students, I would divide them into groups of three that way nine students are using the computers at one time. I would place time limits on these groups, so each group is able to have equal access on the computers. So in a class that's an hour long, the groups would have a twenty minute time limit for computer use. As for the students who aren't currently using the computers, I would give them other tasks related to the assignment. Such as researching various quotes from books or even provide worksheets for them to complete (Morrison and Lowther 2010).
Bibliography:
Morrison, G. and Lowther, D. Integrating Computer Technology into the Classroom Skills for the 21st Century. Pearson Education 2010. Boston, MA.
The "computer part" of the lesson comes after I do a lecture on the topic and then explain the task or project that they are to complete using the computers. Secondly, I explain how they are to use the computers to complete their assignments. After these first two steps, I then allow the students to access the computers. Basically, I go over the topic, then state the objective of the assignment and explain how they are to use the computers. This is when computers become a part of a lesson I am teaching.
If my class only had access to three computers, it would be difficult to make sure that every student had equal access to them. Say for arguments sake the class size was twenty-one students, I would divide them into groups of three that way nine students are using the computers at one time. I would place time limits on these groups, so each group is able to have equal access on the computers. So in a class that's an hour long, the groups would have a twenty minute time limit for computer use. As for the students who aren't currently using the computers, I would give them other tasks related to the assignment. Such as researching various quotes from books or even provide worksheets for them to complete (Morrison and Lowther 2010).
Bibliography:
Morrison, G. and Lowther, D. Integrating Computer Technology into the Classroom Skills for the 21st Century. Pearson Education 2010. Boston, MA.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Chapter 10 Reflections
When presenting material to a class, how do I know if they understand it? First off, my method of instruction does not in any way involve reading the lines from a textbook or reciting key concepts, I may as well put on a Phillip Glass album. Today I subbed for a fourth grade class who are currently reading the book My Side of the Mountain and the lesson today was being able to understand action verbs and key adjectives that are based on the main character's emotions. They had to create T-charts and write down proper words for each column. The way I would have integrated technology into this lesson would have been to have them create a chart on the computers in the lab, and then come up with a visual presentation demonstrating the various action verbs or emotional adjectives they listed. A useful program for this would have been Bubbl.us where they could create mind maps instead of T-charts. Visualizing the terms they listed will allow them to apply what they have learned and be able to remember it much easier as opposed to just simply memorizing it.
The way I can tell that students have misconceptions on key terms is by observing their application of the material learned whilst doing a project. Especially if it involves creating a proper visual of the lesson that was taught. Like in the class mentioned above, some of the students in the class didn't quite understand the concept of the main character running away from and trying to get on by himself. Now this isn't something that's applied everyday, my point is trying to understand the key concepts of the book. Why did he run away from home and how can they manage these thoughts with a graphic organizer? The book has so many different emotions going through the main characters head, he was very three dimensional, and it can be difficult for some kids to understand why these emotions are important. So with a graphic organizer they can list the various emotional adjectives in the book that are going through the main characters head and list them and try to visualize how and why these are important (Inspiration Software 2014).
Transcribing thoughts and brainstorming into written words can be difficult for some students, because many students nowadays are visual learners (Teacher Tap 2007). Therefore it is the duty of the educator to adapt to the way a student is able to learn, retain and apply information. Some people/students have an easier time typing out there thoughts on a computer screen, whereas some, like me, feel more comfortable with a pen and paper. There's nothing wrong with either method. In a student based classroom, the teacher needs to learn and adapt to a child's needs. All children are able to grasp the knowledge and material that is presented in the classroom, the best teachers are the ones who are able to figure out how to assist the students in being able to retain that information.
Bibliography:
Johnson, L. and Lamb, A. "Graphic Organizers" updated June 2007 on Teacher Tap. retrieved from: http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic73.htm
Inspiration Software "Teaching and Learning with Graphic Organizers" 2014. retrieved from: http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic73.htm
The way I can tell that students have misconceptions on key terms is by observing their application of the material learned whilst doing a project. Especially if it involves creating a proper visual of the lesson that was taught. Like in the class mentioned above, some of the students in the class didn't quite understand the concept of the main character running away from and trying to get on by himself. Now this isn't something that's applied everyday, my point is trying to understand the key concepts of the book. Why did he run away from home and how can they manage these thoughts with a graphic organizer? The book has so many different emotions going through the main characters head, he was very three dimensional, and it can be difficult for some kids to understand why these emotions are important. So with a graphic organizer they can list the various emotional adjectives in the book that are going through the main characters head and list them and try to visualize how and why these are important (Inspiration Software 2014).
Transcribing thoughts and brainstorming into written words can be difficult for some students, because many students nowadays are visual learners (Teacher Tap 2007). Therefore it is the duty of the educator to adapt to the way a student is able to learn, retain and apply information. Some people/students have an easier time typing out there thoughts on a computer screen, whereas some, like me, feel more comfortable with a pen and paper. There's nothing wrong with either method. In a student based classroom, the teacher needs to learn and adapt to a child's needs. All children are able to grasp the knowledge and material that is presented in the classroom, the best teachers are the ones who are able to figure out how to assist the students in being able to retain that information.
Bibliography:
Johnson, L. and Lamb, A. "Graphic Organizers" updated June 2007 on Teacher Tap. retrieved from: http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic73.htm
Inspiration Software "Teaching and Learning with Graphic Organizers" 2014. retrieved from: http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic73.htm
Friday, April 18, 2014
The Blues
Good evening all, anyways all through this semester whenever I'm working on school assignments, I always have music playing in the background. Music helps me organize my thoughts, even though some of the stuff I listen to is chaotic in its own way. But this past month I've gone back to some of the classics, the blues especially. I'm a huge rock'n roll fan, mostly heavy metal, but one has to return to the roots. The first metal band, Black Sabbath, was originally a blues band called Mother Earth, and their bassist Geezer Butler and lead guitarist, Tony Iommi were blues musicians. When you listen to Black Sabbath's early stuff, you can hear the blues influence, especially in the guitar solo's. The main difference at the time was the lyrics. Anyways during the 60's, there were several great blues bands and musicians who had a major influence on music. Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton of Cream, Paul Butterfield and even Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. Cream covered the song Born Under a Bad Sign by Albert King and Peter Green covered Gotta Good Mind to Give Up Livin' by BB King. The thing about the blues to me is that the guitars don't just simply play the music, they sing it. Growing up, my Grandpa would play his guitar every night before he went to bed, and it would put us all to sleep because it always so soothing. He once said to me that when you learn how to play a guitar well, it'll talk to you. When a guitar sings, it's the musician talking through his instrument. Enjoy!
Fleetwood Mac: Gotta Good Mind to Give Up Livin'
Led Zeppelin: Since I've Been Loving You
Jimi Hendrix: Red House
Stevie Ray Vaughan: Life by the Drop
Albert King: Born Under a Bad Sign
Muddy Waters: Champagne and Reefer
Fleetwood Mac: Gotta Good Mind to Give Up Livin'
Led Zeppelin: Since I've Been Loving You
Jimi Hendrix: Red House
Stevie Ray Vaughan: Life by the Drop
Albert King: Born Under a Bad Sign
Muddy Waters: Champagne and Reefer
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Chapter 11 Reflections
I believe that are many benefits to using educational software and it's come a long way in advancement since I was in school. Studies have shown "that the use of tutorials increased student learning in mathematics and science and resulted in more positive attitudes about these subject areas" (Morrison & Lowther 2010). I've witnessed many students getting actively involved in interactive tutorials at the schools I sub at. At Nags Head Elementary, they use a program called Education City that allows the students to play against each other and compete. This can increase a students ability in math and even improve mental math on the basic level. However, no educational program will ever replace the Socratic method of education.
A program I would use in my classroom would be Discovery Education because it has applications and programs designed for all levels of technology, from desktop to tablet. Also, it has online interactive textbooks that are filled with accurate information. The site also provides research based activities the teacher can use for his/her class. One teacher I know received a grant from Discovery, and started using it for her 6th Grade Social Studies class, and it's proven to be very effective. I observed her class one day, and the teacher assigned them a project based on Islam (they were going over the 3 major religions) and its impact on the world. Discovery Education provided the students with plenty of information to get started, and a helpful tool in getting them started with their research. It's a very easy site to navigate, it has whole chapters on each topic with interactive timelines and maps, I thought it was a great website for that class.
When I integrate an educational program into a lesson, I won't use it as the primary source of education, because a student can read and absorb the information provided, but it can't explain the motives behind the information. I would have my class research a topic and compare sources based on the writers motives or point of view. Then they would discuss the differences and try to understand why there are disparities (NC Essential Standards 2010). The class could use software to organize their information, i.e. Popplit.com, and then post it on the Internet so it's available for everyone to find.
Bibliography
Morrison, G. and Lowther, D.L. Integrating Computer Technology into the Classroom Skills for the 21st Century. 2010 Pearson Education Boston.
North Carolina Essential Standards 2010. North Carolina Department of Education.
Morrison, G. and Lowther, D.L. Integrating Computer Technology into the Classroom Skills for the 21st Century. 2010 Pearson Education Boston.
North Carolina Essential Standards 2010. North Carolina Department of Education.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Chapter 9 Reflections
In schools today, multimedia usage has expanded drastically, although there are some institutions who are still behind in technology (Hefling 2013). In my classroom, students can use computers to create different presentations of many types. They could create a mind map using Poppit.com which will allow them to present how they've brainstormed a topic and linked it to another or reach a conclusion on a thesis. Another application they could use would be Prezi, where they could create a slideshow presentation that can allow them to interact with the class while they present the material. Another way they could use multimedia would be to create and edit a video on a computer and download different effects and graphics off the Internet (Flanigen 2013). These items can also be used in a Powerpoint presentation, which is a staple for creating slideshow presentations. The problems with some of these programs is that some students don't have computers or Internet access at home, so they're only able to work on technology projects while at school. I would give the option of how they would like to present their material. The applications available for creating a multimedia presentation are almost limitless. Here's a list of some that I'm familiar with.
-Prezi to create slideshow presentations, available at prezi.com.
-Poppit to create interactive mind maps, available at poppit.com.
-Blogger for creating online blogs, available at blogger.com.
-Weebly for creating websites, available at weebly.com.
-Discovery Education for teacher presentations and interactive student projects and assignments, available at discoveryeducation.com.
Every school I've subbed at has a strict cell-phone policy mainly for the teachers and students safety. One problem that's arisen lately in the district I'm at are students using the Snapchat application, they're taking pictures of themselves during school and sending it to whomever they're chatting with through the program. Some pictures that students take or receive are innappropriate. Students even go so far as to take pictures of the faculty while they're not looking and post them on the internet without their knowledge. Videos of classrooms are posted on Youtube without the teachers consent, and in some extreme cases the teacher lost their job because of what they said in the video. Also with computers being used more often, many students use them to play games. Therefore the teacher has to monitor their use, and there's a new program one school just implemented where the teacher can see what a pupil is doing on the computer. They can then exit the student out of the program if it is not being used appropriately. There are some students who are speaking out against the restrictions on smartphones and tablets (Deruy 2013).
Bibliography:
Hefling, K. "80 percent of schools lack sufficient Internet" December 5, 2013 published by the Associated Press. Retrieved from: http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/2013/1205/80-percent-of-schools-lack-sufficient-Internet
Flanigen, R.L. "Multimedia Journalism Emphasizes Real World Skills" Printed February 6, 2013 as Digital Storytelling. Published online February 7, 2013 by Education Week. Retrieved from: http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2013/02/06/02video.h06.html
Deruy, E. "Students, Teachers Clash Over Internet in the Classroom" June 11, 2013 on Fusion.net. Retrieved from: http://fusion.net/american_dream/story/students-schools-stop-limiting-technology-11779
-Prezi to create slideshow presentations, available at prezi.com.
-Poppit to create interactive mind maps, available at poppit.com.
-Blogger for creating online blogs, available at blogger.com.
-Weebly for creating websites, available at weebly.com.
-Discovery Education for teacher presentations and interactive student projects and assignments, available at discoveryeducation.com.
Every school I've subbed at has a strict cell-phone policy mainly for the teachers and students safety. One problem that's arisen lately in the district I'm at are students using the Snapchat application, they're taking pictures of themselves during school and sending it to whomever they're chatting with through the program. Some pictures that students take or receive are innappropriate. Students even go so far as to take pictures of the faculty while they're not looking and post them on the internet without their knowledge. Videos of classrooms are posted on Youtube without the teachers consent, and in some extreme cases the teacher lost their job because of what they said in the video. Also with computers being used more often, many students use them to play games. Therefore the teacher has to monitor their use, and there's a new program one school just implemented where the teacher can see what a pupil is doing on the computer. They can then exit the student out of the program if it is not being used appropriately. There are some students who are speaking out against the restrictions on smartphones and tablets (Deruy 2013).
Bibliography:
Hefling, K. "80 percent of schools lack sufficient Internet" December 5, 2013 published by the Associated Press. Retrieved from: http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/2013/1205/80-percent-of-schools-lack-sufficient-Internet
Flanigen, R.L. "Multimedia Journalism Emphasizes Real World Skills" Printed February 6, 2013 as Digital Storytelling. Published online February 7, 2013 by Education Week. Retrieved from: http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2013/02/06/02video.h06.html
Deruy, E. "Students, Teachers Clash Over Internet in the Classroom" June 11, 2013 on Fusion.net. Retrieved from: http://fusion.net/american_dream/story/students-schools-stop-limiting-technology-11779
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