How to fight the New Bullies
by Rosalind Wiseman
In this article the author addresses the growing problem of "cyberbullying." What used to be confined to the schoolyard or classroom now has stretched into students homes or anywhere they can access a computer. One of the problems with this type of bullying is the anonymity it provides for the bully. Harassing or insulting language can be posted online or even exchanged in real time on message boards. Most parents are primarily concerned with online predators and are not even aware of this form of intimidation and bullying. Fortunately some and hopefully all school districts will enact certain codes of ethics to following when using online collaborative applications. However the question of how far does the schools authority reach comes into question.
Q1) How can we help as educators curb this type of on-line behavior?
A. As educators we need to inform students of the effects this can have on other students. We need to set ethical guidelines as to what is appropriate online language.
Q2) How can we better inform parents of this activity?
What we can do is educate parents on what to look out for when monitoring their children's online activity. We should also help and give parents an outlet to call for information regarding "cyberbullying."
Friday, March 9, 2007
A New Tool in Education: Cell Phones? Journal 4
From Toy to Tool
By Liz Kolb
Author Liz Kolb explores the possibilities of audio blogging with cell phones in this article. At one time she was not fond of allowing cell phones in class and saw no advantage to using them in the classroom as an educational tool, rather a mere distraction. However with the recent and ever growing field of technology cell phones have become possible educational tools.
The idea of audio blogging has transformed the cell phone into an interview tool complete with recording device, and camera for photos. Complementing the cell phone is the formation of web sites specifically suited for downloading voice recorded interviews. Liz gives several examples of how this can be used to conduct interviews for various types of classes. She also explores many pros and cons of this type of lesson including privacy issues, cost, and control. Here are two of the possible cons of using cell phones in class.
Q1) How can you control what students will do with their cell phones once in a classroom setting?
A. Set boundaries for students concerning cell phone use. Only allow them to bring to class/or have them turned on when appropriate lessons are involved.
Q2) How can we ensure the privacy of the students posting on the web?
A. Although blogger.com is not password protected, other sites like Gabcast can be for a small monthly fee. Some students however may not afford that fee so the another option is to not identify students in audio blogs but rather focus on the actual interviews instead.
- I want to thank the author Liz Kolb for these questions and answers
By Liz Kolb
Author Liz Kolb explores the possibilities of audio blogging with cell phones in this article. At one time she was not fond of allowing cell phones in class and saw no advantage to using them in the classroom as an educational tool, rather a mere distraction. However with the recent and ever growing field of technology cell phones have become possible educational tools.
The idea of audio blogging has transformed the cell phone into an interview tool complete with recording device, and camera for photos. Complementing the cell phone is the formation of web sites specifically suited for downloading voice recorded interviews. Liz gives several examples of how this can be used to conduct interviews for various types of classes. She also explores many pros and cons of this type of lesson including privacy issues, cost, and control. Here are two of the possible cons of using cell phones in class.
Q1) How can you control what students will do with their cell phones once in a classroom setting?
A. Set boundaries for students concerning cell phone use. Only allow them to bring to class/or have them turned on when appropriate lessons are involved.
Q2) How can we ensure the privacy of the students posting on the web?
A. Although blogger.com is not password protected, other sites like Gabcast can be for a small monthly fee. Some students however may not afford that fee so the another option is to not identify students in audio blogs but rather focus on the actual interviews instead.
- I want to thank the author Liz Kolb for these questions and answers
No Bull/Journal 3
Video in the Age of Participation
by Glen Bull
In this article Glen Bull highlights the importance of using digital video as opposed to the antiquated method of a film projector or VCR. (people still use those?) He illustrates the various possibilities of using websites such as "you tube" or the discovery channel's web page to download educational media.
No longer limited by time and space this new approach in the classroom can be used as a valuable learning tool. Not as time consuming as other methods of instruction which may require the instructor to fast forward or rewind to find a particular clip, this new technology allows the specific clip to be viewed. Incorporating this with the standards is the ultimate goal of the instructor.
Glen Bull also points out an increase in two way interaction of information between thousands of individuals creating and uploading their own digital videos. This brings me to two questions regarding this technology and its applications in the classroom.
Q1) How can this technology used in the classroom be sure to capture the students attention? I know that some students "doze" off during any type of video.
A. I think if the instructor poses either some questions to answer about the video clip or a list of specific vocabulary words to address after the clip this would help engage the students to pay attention.
Q2) How can you ensure the videos you watch are credible?
A. Downloading from sites that are more well known such as the Discovery Channel site or History Channel are two such examples. Or you could give your class a brief lesson on how to determine the validity of such a web site.
by Glen Bull
In this article Glen Bull highlights the importance of using digital video as opposed to the antiquated method of a film projector or VCR. (people still use those?) He illustrates the various possibilities of using websites such as "you tube" or the discovery channel's web page to download educational media.
No longer limited by time and space this new approach in the classroom can be used as a valuable learning tool. Not as time consuming as other methods of instruction which may require the instructor to fast forward or rewind to find a particular clip, this new technology allows the specific clip to be viewed. Incorporating this with the standards is the ultimate goal of the instructor.
Glen Bull also points out an increase in two way interaction of information between thousands of individuals creating and uploading their own digital videos. This brings me to two questions regarding this technology and its applications in the classroom.
Q1) How can this technology used in the classroom be sure to capture the students attention? I know that some students "doze" off during any type of video.
A. I think if the instructor poses either some questions to answer about the video clip or a list of specific vocabulary words to address after the clip this would help engage the students to pay attention.
Q2) How can you ensure the videos you watch are credible?
A. Downloading from sites that are more well known such as the Discovery Channel site or History Channel are two such examples. Or you could give your class a brief lesson on how to determine the validity of such a web site.
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