115: Technology #1

1. Was there anything in the internet safety presentations that was new to you? What about for your students? Do you think they are aware of this information?

There was nothing that was particularly new to me in this, as the information in the cartoon video seemed to be more generated at teenagers than first graders in the specific community I am teaching in. That said, I think there are absolutely still dangers to my students in terms of technology, but it does not seem like my students risk the issues of cyber-bullying etc that older students are involved in. I think the largest benefit to me in terms of watching the presentation was that it covered various different forms of social media and how those things could be a danger to students even though they can also be a benefit as well.

2. What technology do both you and your students have available? Be specific & 3. What kinds of technology do you currently use in your classroom/what could you use?

I use my computer in the classroom on occasion. Our attendance is done via computer, the school site maintains an information database for filesharing via google docs (to assist with paperwor, and eventually, in theory, with lesson planning). Though I do not have a projector in my own classroom, I do have a pull down screen so that I can borrow our school's shared projector. I have used this for incorporating pictures, songs and images in UbD science and social studies units in the past and hope to integrate more into the general literacy curriculum for our students who are visual/auditory learners and would really benefit from these types of technologies.
I do often find myself using my personal computer, particularly in my planning (using teacher-oriented websites for Guided Reading books, phonics packets, etc). For my very lowest and most struggling students, I use one particular website (Starfall.com) where there are specific phonics activities, especially tailored to vowels, etc that those students really seem to benefit from.

For my students, they use computers every day in our learning lab-- I think they are very fortunate to have a daily computer class and I think it absolutely impacts students achievement. However, being totally honest, I am not positive what online curriculum they are currently using as I know our school has been testing out various types to try to meet students at their academic level as opposed to using a blanket "first grade" or "math" curriculum. I know that accelerated reader (the read a book, and then take a quiz online format) is used by them daily.

While most of my students do not have home computers available to them, I did notice on a few occasions at home visits that some students do. I was thrilled to have conversations with two parents who said that they translate the homework online when the language barrier means that they cannot fully assist their students. I know this must be time consuming for them and it is something I wish I personally had the time to do for them ahead of handing out the packets. Most of my students parents do have phones and texting, which I think we sometimes forget as a use of technology. A few parents will text or email me for parent communication.