Community Building with Technologies

Wikis and blogs seem to be very similar. Wiki pages offer the student the opportunity to build and edit a page about chosen content. The student then has the opportunity to collaborate with other students through dialogue. Wikis allow users to edit and change content. It is important to monitor a students wiki page to ensure content is accurate. Blogs are also a tool that allow the student to create content and share ideas. I would consider using wikis and blogs with students. It would be important to keep in mind the ability of the student and the purpose the wiki or blog could serve. I would consider it in a situation such as researching a topic for essay or presentation.

Social bookmarking could be very helpful in the right situation. It could serve a purpose for research assignments by making the research itself a little less time consuming. By allowing students to use social bookmarking, more pertinent information could be found faster and easier. The students could also contribute to the bookmarking thus helping others. Voice threads could be fun ways for students to shre information on the internet. I would consider making a voice thread in the right situation. It is another technological tool that could make learning fun and meaningful to students.

Tapped In seems to be another useful tool when used appropriately. I have not explored it more than what is in the textbook, but I feel it could serve a purpose in the right setting. I like that there are spaces where private conversations and meetings can take place. This could help the student feel better about asking questions and seeking help when necessary.

Reference:

Community Building with Technologies, Chapter 6. Meaningful Learning with Technology, 2008. Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R. M., and Crismond, D.

Chapter 10

We as educators use assessment activities to gather and analyze data to determine if learning has been achieved in our students. Assessment is used (even when not intended for a grade) to determine if a change in the teaching method or further instruction is needed. It is important as we teach to ensure that learning is occurring in our students. Many assessment techniques can be used to evaluate it. Technology-based assessments are a quick way to do so because there is immediate feedback and changes in the teaching method can take place as needed. This is important to do this to make sure the students have a grasp on the subject before moving on to the next.

E-portfolios are collections of artifacts that are digitized. These artifacts can include, but are not limited to, graphics, writing samples, artwork and multimedia presentations. Portfolios are another way to assess learning. They are developed over time and contain artifacts that show the students learning. The student can choose what to include in and how to present his/her own portfolio. Computer-based tests are done strictly on the computer. The student completes and submits the test. A grade can immediately be seen. Writing these tests can be challenging.

In conclusion, technology-based assessments can be very useful because they give immediate feedback. Computer-based tests can be challenging when constructing. E-portfolios are a great way to empower the student by allowing him/her to make decisions about what and how information will be presented. Assessments are very important to ensure learning is taking place. We must know how to create and use assessment within our classroom to promote successful learning.

Resource:
Assessing Meaningful Learning with Technology, Chapter 10. Meaningful Learning with Technology, 2008, 3rd Edition.

Copyright

We must respect copyrights and fair use laws for many reasons. Copyright laws were put in place to keep people from copying other peoples work and passing it off as their own.  What you find when you are researching a topic is a product of someone else's hard work and it is not fair to them for you to turn it in as your own. While you may use a certain portion of the work, you still have to put forth an effort to get the assignment done. Doing your own work will also allow you to more understand the topic you are working on. Teaching this to students will have to be done in an interactive manner. The laws are not easy to understand and there are parts of the laws that most people don't know. Assigning groups and having students do projects allowing only a certain percentage of copyrighted material and then having the students explain the percentage they were able to use to the class can help teach the students of the different items that can be used.

Online safety in some ways will help keep cyberbullying to a minimum, but it is more than stopping cyberbullying. Online safety will also help keep viruses, spam, and spyware to a minimum. To do this, you must make sure your computer is equipped with the proper software to stop these items, whether with a firewall, antivirus/spyware software, or both. You can help keep the students and ourselves protected by stressing the importance of not post personal information online and by letting them know the dangers of being in chat rooms and watching who you accept as friends on facebook and other networking sites.

This weeks activities were very informative and brought to my attention the different rules about copyrights and fair use laws. The copyright bay activity was a different way to learn some of the laws and was a good change of pace from reading and listening to a person talk about different laws. The interactive learning aspect was used in a very effective manner. I learned the different laws and the amount of material you can use in assignments. I also learned that the manner and the audience you use the material also matters. I hope in my classroom I can create an interactive learning assignment to help my students learn about the laws discussed in this weeks lesson.