www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing
This website is for elementary school students who are learning to touch type. There are four levels and twelve stages for students to pass. This is the only free online typing website that I’ve found to be effective and hold my student’s attention. My students especially loved the characters they get to meet for each level. There is a goat that speaks with a Scottish accent, a belly dancing hippo, a Greek cat with a moustache and more!
NETS for Students
Technology Foundation Standards for Students
1 Technology productivity tools
Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Evidence Based Posting: May 21, 2007
The Need for Cyber Bullying Prevention Legislation
During the course of this class, cyber bullying has come up several times throughout our discussions through email and in Second Life. In our relatively small class it came up that two families have had to move and/or switch schools because a child was being cyber bullied. I do not have kids yet but I teach middle school age children and wanted to do some research on what could be done to protect them.
Cyber bullying tends to happen most often through instant messages, although it can also occur through e-mails, my space pages, texts etc. Fight Crime ( an anti-crime organization made up of police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors other law enforcement leaders and violence survivors ) commissioned a poll where it was found that 13 million kids in the United States ages 6-17 have been cyber bullied. That number is astounding to me. One teacher at my school told me that at her child’s school a student made a myspace page and was claiming to be another student. They put up pictures and horrible comments on this page and the victim couldn’t really do anything about it.
Gone are the days when children would have to deal with the occasional bully at school and then go to the safety of their home. These days the bullying doesn’t stop. Kids are getting bullied 24 hours a day because of the accessibility of electronic devices that are used to cyber bully. Because of the extreme toll this takes on the child families are having to move, children are becoming depressed and some even commit suicide. Therefore, I believe there should be legislation set in place in every state to help prevent cyber bullying.
Schools must address cyber bullying if it takes place on campus. Is that enough? I don’t think it is. It raises the question of how far can schools go to prevent cyber bullying. Most likely the impact of cyber bullying off campus is being felt at school. Even though the actual bullying is taking place off campus, interactions between the bully and the victim are happening at school as well. Some school boards have added electronic harassment into the anti-harassment policy which is a good start. However, I believe that there needs to be legislation set in place to help prevent cyber bullying.
Nancy Willard, Cyber bullying legislation and school policies, March 2007,, (19 May 2007)
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, Cyber Bullying, 4 January 2007, (20 May 2007)
Tony Mauro, Justices may take centrist view of 'Bong Hits' case, 3 March 2007, (21 May 2007)
During the course of this class, cyber bullying has come up several times throughout our discussions through email and in Second Life. In our relatively small class it came up that two families have had to move and/or switch schools because a child was being cyber bullied. I do not have kids yet but I teach middle school age children and wanted to do some research on what could be done to protect them.
Cyber bullying tends to happen most often through instant messages, although it can also occur through e-mails, my space pages, texts etc. Fight Crime ( an anti-crime organization made up of police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors other law enforcement leaders and violence survivors ) commissioned a poll where it was found that 13 million kids in the United States ages 6-17 have been cyber bullied. That number is astounding to me. One teacher at my school told me that at her child’s school a student made a myspace page and was claiming to be another student. They put up pictures and horrible comments on this page and the victim couldn’t really do anything about it.
Gone are the days when children would have to deal with the occasional bully at school and then go to the safety of their home. These days the bullying doesn’t stop. Kids are getting bullied 24 hours a day because of the accessibility of electronic devices that are used to cyber bully. Because of the extreme toll this takes on the child families are having to move, children are becoming depressed and some even commit suicide. Therefore, I believe there should be legislation set in place in every state to help prevent cyber bullying.
Schools must address cyber bullying if it takes place on campus. Is that enough? I don’t think it is. It raises the question of how far can schools go to prevent cyber bullying. Most likely the impact of cyber bullying off campus is being felt at school. Even though the actual bullying is taking place off campus, interactions between the bully and the victim are happening at school as well. Some school boards have added electronic harassment into the anti-harassment policy which is a good start. However, I believe that there needs to be legislation set in place to help prevent cyber bullying.
Nancy Willard, Cyber bullying legislation and school policies, March 2007,
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, Cyber Bullying, 4 January 2007,
Tony Mauro, Justices may take centrist view of 'Bong Hits' case, 3 March 2007,
Monday, May 14, 2007
Site of the Week 5/14
A truly amazing website that has actual letters to and from soldiers at war over 200 years ago. Students can choose from letters on enlisting, comforts of home, love, combat and the end of war. Letters are written from friends, family members and loved ones. There is one set of letters from old friends who were fighting against each other in the Civil War.
The letters are shown with the original handwriting and all. A great feature of this website is that when you scroll over each sentence the handwriting turns to print making it easier to read.
My students couldn't believe how long it took someone to get a letter back then since the dates are included.
STATE GOAL 2: Read and understand literature representative of various societies, eras and ideas.
B. Read and interpret a variety of literary works.
2.B.1a Respond to literary materials by connecting them to their own experience and communicate those responses to others.
STATE GOAL 16: Understand events, trends, individuals and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States and other nations.
A. Apply the skills of historical analysis and interpretation.
16.A.1a Explain the difference between past, present and future time; place themselves in time.
16.A.2a Read historical stories and determine events which influenced their writing.
16.A.1b Ask historical questions and seek out answers from historical sources (e.g., myths, biographies, stories, old photographs, artwork, other visual or electronic sources).
16.A.1c Describe how people in different times and places viewed the world in different ways.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Evidence Based Posting: 5/7
Importance of Classroom Websites and Parental Involvement
Classroom homepages can provide a variety benefits for students and the classroom teacher. Above all, classroom websites can teach students the importance of technology in education and motivate them to take an active approach in their learning.
Perhaps one of the most important reason for creating a classroom homepage is because classroom websites can help communication with teachers, parents, students, the community and even the world. From my experience, most teachers find it extremely important to build a link between home and school. I believe that parental involvement is vital to a students success. Classroom websites do a great deal to strengthen that link between home and school. Classroom websites can also be used as a tool for communicating with parents through an email link.
Homework assignments, exams and school events can be accessed by the click of a mouse.
It's a great way for parents to see what is going on in their child's class and even see their work published.
Something that many people may not think about is that classroom websites are also great tools for those students who have some learning disabilities like ADHD or dyslexia. These disabilities can prevent students from accurately copying down assignments. In these situations students and parents need not worry, as they can double check the assignments while at home on the classroom website.
Parents also need not worry about their child's safety on the Internet. Steps should be taken to make sure that every student is safe. For example, a password for students and parents could be set up and teachers should know that students first and last names should never be next to the child's picture.
Classroom websites are excellent for so many reasons, but I think one of the most beneficial is that they can really help bridge a link between home and school.
Leu, Donald, Leu, Deborah, and Coiro, Julie. "Teaching with the Internet K-12: New Literacies for New Times" Norwood: Christopher Gordon Publishers Inc., 2004.
Classroom homepages can provide a variety benefits for students and the classroom teacher. Above all, classroom websites can teach students the importance of technology in education and motivate them to take an active approach in their learning.
Perhaps one of the most important reason for creating a classroom homepage is because classroom websites can help communication with teachers, parents, students, the community and even the world. From my experience, most teachers find it extremely important to build a link between home and school. I believe that parental involvement is vital to a students success. Classroom websites do a great deal to strengthen that link between home and school. Classroom websites can also be used as a tool for communicating with parents through an email link.
Homework assignments, exams and school events can be accessed by the click of a mouse.
It's a great way for parents to see what is going on in their child's class and even see their work published.
Something that many people may not think about is that classroom websites are also great tools for those students who have some learning disabilities like ADHD or dyslexia. These disabilities can prevent students from accurately copying down assignments. In these situations students and parents need not worry, as they can double check the assignments while at home on the classroom website.
Parents also need not worry about their child's safety on the Internet. Steps should be taken to make sure that every student is safe. For example, a password for students and parents could be set up and teachers should know that students first and last names should never be next to the child's picture.
Classroom websites are excellent for so many reasons, but I think one of the most beneficial is that they can really help bridge a link between home and school.
Leu, Donald, Leu, Deborah, and Coiro, Julie. "Teaching with the Internet K-12: New Literacies for New Times" Norwood: Christopher Gordon Publishers Inc., 2004.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)