I learnt heaps last night again! The Macs in the collaborative room are awesome. I want one!!!!
It was great to discuss the perils of technology; safety, legalities and the general ethics of being a part of this online community. We have two girls. They are both aged 12 (no they are not twins). When we first bit the bullet and purchased a PC my hubby sat Dany down (we didn't have the other one at that stage) and discussed with her the dangers of the internet & if she wasn't sure of anything to come and ask. It has paid off. Moshie Monsters was a site Dany played with & she had a friend request supposedly from a girl. When Brad sent this "girl" his mobile to get her mum to ring him we didn't get a response. Funny hey!!! Dany realised then that it can be dangerous if not monitored. The girls both have Ipods and they are also checked by Brad. So far so good. They haven't twigged yet that when they message each other on their Ipods that it comes through to my Iphone. Their Ipods are connected to our email address. Another way of BIG MOTHER watching!!! To say we go to the extreme................YEP: for the safety of the girls is paramount! Facebook is another thing I will decide when they will sign up. One will get it before the other; it's a maturity thing!!!
Ethics are another thing that everyone should address. Some people behave quite poorly; Facebook! It's amazing to see a post & you look for it again & it is gone. Yes I have been guilty of certain posts however through the guidance of my hubby (he is a very intelligent man) I watch what I post. I don't want it to bite me in the arse!!!!! Can I say that????
I unfortunately have a bit to catch up on due to sickness last week & over the weekend! I will be pulling my finger out & addressing the activities set for the last couple of weeks.............after I wash the dye out of my hair.........
Tata for now (TTFN)
Maz
ETHICS & SAFETY
The safety of my learners whilst they engage with digital technology is of the up most importance. The students need to engage with ICT's ethically and productively to maximize their development of the various digital tools. Whilst students are within a school environment it will be relatively easy (I hope) to monitor. Our girls have just been accepted into Unity College here in Caloundra and they were expected to sign a form which stated they would not engage in any unacceptable behaviours whilst engaging with ICT's at school. This included downloading unfavourable websites, knowingly uploading viruses, playing games etc.I like this and I believe it should be brought into all schools and parents & students should be made to re-sign every year.
Safety is a major issue with students who engage with ICT's. Teachers need to ensure safety is an ongoing component of ICT's as technology is forever changing. There are many malicious websites and people, whos sole desire is to inflict harm whether it be physical or mental to our students. What we teach the kids at school will hopefully transpire into the home. However in saying that it is also up to the parents of these kids.
Unfortunately many students post material onto the World Wide Web not fully understanding the consequences which may follow. Students need to be taught and ensure they understand that if they post nude photos of themselves, especially if you are female there are all sorts of ramifications that will befall them: bullying, labeling (tart, slut), cyber-bullying, stalking. In the future, how students engage with technology may even have detrimental effects toward them looking for employment. Students must understand that what they do now and how they engage with it will only benefit them in the long run. Cyber-Safety!
ETHICS
(how
one conducts themselves online)
|
SAFETY
(yourself
and others: friends)
|
Understand it is a right for all to use
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Do not post all your information: full
birthdate, location, bank details
|
Use common sense: if it doesn’t feel
right don’t post it
|
If you don’t know people don’t befriend
them
|
No malicious content: you will be found
out and dependent on severity may be charged (consequences)
|
Watch out for your mates
|
No swearing? Watch what type of
language you use for certain sites
|
Do not post information of parties:
they can invite the undesirables who’s sole purpose is to create trouble
|
No provocative photos: can be detrimental
for future (employment)
|
Do not befriend online then arrange to
meet
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No bullying: you will get caught out
and consequences will be harsh
|
Make sure security is enabled on
computer
|
No stalking
|
Do not respond to emails from people or
companies you do not know
|
BE NICE
|
Do not post provocative photos
|
CYBER
COURTESY!!!!
|
CYBER
SAFETY!!!!
|
Depending on what year level you are teaching there will an element of "how far do you go as teacher to teach your students about Ethics & Safety on the net". It wont hurt to start early and make the kids aware that there is a code of conduct required for engaging with the online community and the safety element is there to protect themselves and their friends.
These are links to a Wix account. It was an assessment for Science Curriculum & Pedagogy in Term 1 where we had to create Digital Task Cards for certain year levels. It was only suppose to be a duo but because I didn't have a group (i was away sick) we made it a trio! Task cards 3&4 are the ones I created. I thought they were quite good for someone who had never dreamed of creating anything. You are welcome to have a look.
http://www.wix.com/sharonmorriso8/science#!task-card-3
http://www.wix.com/sharonmorriso8/science#!task-card-4
I have checked the links and they work.
I found it very daunting at first. I didn't know where to start, how I was going to do anything. Creating a Voki was the easy part. I did work out that there needs to be at least double space between the words when inserting text otherwise the words flow into one another. Actually choosing what I wanted as an avatar was also a bit difficult because I kept changing my mind. A woman changing her mind: NEVER!
VOKI:
PLUS
|
MINUS
|
INTERESTING
|
Great Graphics
|
Code is difficult to embed: not very
clear to understand
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Different dialects
|
No sign up
|
Language is robotic
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Varying avatars to use
|
No fee
|
Language flows no breaks in between
unless you tap spacebar at least 3 times
|
|
Anyone can do it
|
If I as a mature student found it difficult to embed a code how would the younger students feel? I persevered and won, but I also had the sense to "google" how to embed a code. It worked eventually! I don't remember it now, I will have to "re-google" it. This as a learning tool will create great looking projects but it will also allow the students to explore their creative side. I forgot to put in the PMI table time as a minus. You will spend too much time playing with it to get the right avatar!
WIX:
Although our wix was created by another student, we all had to participate and create our own cards. That was fun and interesting in itself because me personally I navigated the website on my own trying to work out as I went. The finished product (my task cards 3&4) turned out ok. My one downfall was that I kept changing the page, which in turn changed all the other pages. I have since signed up for an account but as yet have not been able to create a website because I realised one needs to watch the video. I can see this being used in schools maybe not in the lower level, to possibly as a whole class use it to demonstrate their skills at using ICT in a global environment as this is published on the internet. It could also be set up as link to parents to view various projects students have been engaging with. The one best feature I found was pages could be added to scaffold students learning.
The Wix website builder is used by all; from photographers, musicians, sports people, event planners, everybody. It's a fantastic business tool and I believe it would be a wonderful tool to support students learning not just with the KLA's but to also strengthen their use of ICT's.
WIX:
Although our wix was created by another student, we all had to participate and create our own cards. That was fun and interesting in itself because me personally I navigated the website on my own trying to work out as I went. The finished product (my task cards 3&4) turned out ok. My one downfall was that I kept changing the page, which in turn changed all the other pages. I have since signed up for an account but as yet have not been able to create a website because I realised one needs to watch the video. I can see this being used in schools maybe not in the lower level, to possibly as a whole class use it to demonstrate their skills at using ICT in a global environment as this is published on the internet. It could also be set up as link to parents to view various projects students have been engaging with. The one best feature I found was pages could be added to scaffold students learning.
The Wix website builder is used by all; from photographers, musicians, sports people, event planners, everybody. It's a fantastic business tool and I believe it would be a wonderful tool to support students learning not just with the KLA's but to also strengthen their use of ICT's.
PLUS
|
MINUS
|
INTERESTING
|
Easy sign up
|
Must continually save before publishing
|
Everybody uses it
|
Can upgrade to a customised level: fee
required
|
Step by step instructions needed
|
|
Large range of categories to explore
|
Online community can view wix
|
|
Video to watch (a must)
|
||
Different layouts
|
||
Fonts
|
||
Add buttons to pages
|
||
Add animations
|
||
colourful
|
||
Can add a blog
|
||
Add music
|
||
Different parts of page can be edited
|
Marie, You bring your experience as a parent to this discussion which is valuable. How might the issue of ethics and safety influence what you do with your learners?
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