After reviewing the ISTE Standards for Students, I realized that there are some areas that my students and I are doing a great job with. However, I also realized that there are some areas that definitely need improvement. One area that I consider to be a strength is #4 Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making. As a history teacher, I have been fortunate enough to purchase several of Tom Snyder’s Decisions, Decisions computer simulations. My students absolutely love using these in the classroom. Each simulation is based on a real world problem. To solve the problem, students must set priorities or goals and make informed decisions with the guidance of advisors. These simulations allow students to identify a problem, create a plan to solve the problem, collect and analyze information that can be used as possible solutions, and finally, discuss and debate with their classmates as to which choice should be made. These simulations encourage critical thinking skills and help middle school students gain confidence when it comes to forming their own opinions as well as discussing and debating with their classmates.
Another area that my students and I have experienced success is with # 3 Research and Information Fluency. Each year my 8th grade students participate in the Illinois History Fair. Every student writes a 5-7 page research paper on a topic relating to Illinois. To complete this project, students must conduct research. Using their laptops, students gather, evaluate, and use information on their topic. Once students finish writing their research paper, they either create a display board, podcast or iMovie. By the end of this project, students become quite comfortable locating and evaluating reliable information using the Internet.
One area that I feel needs improvement is # 5 Digital Citizenship. My students use their laptops nearly every day in my classroom. Many students are also allowed to take their computers home. While our school district has filters in place to protect students, this is obviously not the case once students leave school. Because of this, I need to spend more time working with my students on the importance of being safe on the Internet. Just last week, our school participated in a school wide Internet safety activity. We discussed the benefits and dangers of social networking sites. I found this to be very helpful to my middle school students.
Another area that I need to continue working on is #6 Technology Operations and Concepts. My students are very comfortable with technology but are not always the best at troubleshooting when problems arise. Our building does have a computer technician, but he is only here part time. It would be great if interested students were trained in troubleshooting so that when problems arise, we would have “experts” that could help other students.
In order to improve in these two areas, I plan on creating other activities that could be done school wide to promote Internet safety. I also intend to discuss legal and ethical issues that apply to Internet usage. Also, after talking with a co-worker this afternoon, we came up with a plan to train students who could act as technology troubleshooting “experts”. Our plan is for several students to voluntarily attend after school trainings as sixth graders. These students would then be able to serve as “experts” throughout their middle school career.
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Jodi,
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful your school did a school wide project on internet safety. This really boosts the relevancy of this topic to the students since it is not just one teacher, but the whole school. Wow! I am impressed.
Again, what a wonderful idea to have students be the "experts". Why did I not think of that? I know we can ask students about problems, but having them help each other is a great asset to the classroom and the volunteers' future. Perhaps a little class after school once a week would be a good idea especially if you can have a IT director teaching it. If you happen to forget, I bet your students would know. This will also empower out students to learn more and do the above and beyond.
Jodi,
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that you will work on a school-wide activities to promote internet safety. Protecting our children should always be our primary concern when adopting online resources, especially social networking.
I came across the Cyber Angels website which you might find interesting. On their homepage they have posted that
CyberAngels has won numerous awards for online safety programs. President Bill Clinton bestowed the 1998 Presidential Service Award on the organization, and in 1999, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani proclaimed "Guardian Angels" Day, recognizing the work of CyberAngels in making online activity safer for children.
The have numerous tutorials which may prove to be useful when implementing an internet safety program such as you have mentioned in your blog.
You can find the site at the following URL: http://www.cyberangels.org/about.php
Miriam
Jodi,
ReplyDeleteYou certainly have a wonderful opportunity to develop technology in your curriculum which such great resources. If I understand correctly, each student has a laptop to use on a consistent basis? That is a luxury that many of us do not have. Therefore, you can capitalize on the Illinois History Fair which sounds very open to multimedia presentations. It provides alternatives that align well with your resources.
Your emphasis on digital citizenship is to be commended. Students do not understand the far-reaching consequences of Internet involvement, and if we provide them with the tools, we need to provide them with the rules of safety and decorum. That Cyberangel site sounds informative. I'm looking to checking it out, as well.
Kim