Class Presentations

Our class presented group projects on Tuesday this week and they were great! I really enjoyed seeing everyone’s creative side and their thoughts on different aspects of the internet and technology.

BYOD: Chantalle, Jocelyn, Tiffany, Erin, Carissa, Alaura
My group went first and we based our project on BYOD. I posted a blog about this last week and mentioned Roy Norris in my previous blog as well. I think this is great for classrooms. As it has been said numerous times students need to be taught how to properly use technology. By bringing their own devices they can take what they learn in school and, as Roy pointed out, seamlessly take it all home. Kids are going to be using these devices in the work place so why not start showing them how to in school.

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: Nick, Tom, Jenn, Lindsey, Micki
The next group to go were the other first years who did a really great job showing us the good, bad and ugly of the internet. One of their focuses was a debate about Wikipedia. I like Wikipedia as a resource because it is a secondary source for students to find information (I think it was Nick who was arguing this point). Students just need to be taught what information is factual and what is opinion based.

How NOT to Steal from the Internet: Tyler, Lisa, Jen, Kirsten, Kelsey
This group made a great video featuring Tyler the pirate! I really enjoyed this presentation because I never really gave this topic much thought. Whenever I take something from the internet I always copy the URL just in case I lose what I copied. In the end it is important to pay attention to where information is coming from and give credit where it is due. This project informed me a lot and I plan on using their Wikispace in the future to help educate students (hotnottosteal.wikispaces.com). As educators we need to make sure we are modelling correct behavior when it comes to attributing items from the internet.

Internet Filters: Anna, Jenn, Brooke
The second last group based their project on internet filters in schools. Just like stealing from the internet I haven't given this much thought either. I think that after seeing the presentation and reviewing the information I am against them. Students will find a way around any filters because they see it as a challenge. It gives the student responsibility if things are left open and students are expected to respect the school boundaries concerning internet use. Also how blocked content is decided will be an issue; everyone will have a different opinion on what is appropriate for students to use and not use.

Cyber Bullying: Scott, Adrienne, Mike, Sarah, Stephanie
The last group made a pretty funny video based on how media takes ideas and makes it worse than they actually are. Basically they asked; do the media make cyber bullying worse than it actually is in the classroom. I think that cyber bullying is happening just as much as other bullying. Differences that I see is through technology students are able to make their bullying permanent and mobile. Pictures and comments can be put online at any time and are there forever. It's just a bad imprint to leave on the internet for all involved, and awareness needs to be brought to it just like all the other forms of bullying.

I think our class did a really great job on choosing topics and creating informative presentations. There were many different programs used like Glogster, Today's Meet, Video, Wikispace, Wall Wisher, Poll Everywhere, and Google Docs. Basically all are different programs that I4ED has "forced" us to check out and try. It was great to see some of those programs in action and realize that they aren't that hard to use.