Blog #4

An "Internet Safety and Security" in my class would depend on which class I am teaching.

If I am developing this for my freshmen college reading improvement students it would align with the ISTE NETS Standards for Students:

1. Acceptable use - including citation (style formats), plagiarism, academic integrity

2. Using technology (blogs, collaborative mapping, authentic projects) to promote responsible learning, collaboration, diversity

3. Personalizing learning and developing lifelong inquiry

4. Appropriate, responsible, academic behavior

These students would be involved in using the internet for sources of information to extend the learning. For example, if in a psychology class they are studying behaviorism, their assignments in my class would have them searching for cites that explained behaviorism. Additionally, they might collaborate with classmates in the same psychology course to develop mind maps (using Mindmeister or similar tools) of information on behaviorism to prepare for a test or presentation. Additionally, as part of this class, I would require that students attend the campus' how-to workshops on research, citation, plagiarism, etc. Finally, I hope to develop in these students the understanding that learning is active, that they must be involved to learn.

On the other hand, if I were developing this for my junior and senior elementary education majors, I would attempt to align with the ISTE NETS standards for teachers.

1. Modeling of appropriate use

2. Incorporation of the use of technology for all students with emphasis on the possibilities for diverse methods of accessing information and presenting information

3. Emphasis on professional cyber behavior

4. Celebrating the diversity of all by having students interact with students in other places

Since my students in these classes are assigned to an elementary classroom for the entire junior year and the first half of the senior year (They student teach during the second half of the senior tear and are in the elementary schools everyday), I would develop projects in my class whereby they would be creating learning experiences for the children in the schools where they are doing their field work. Additionally, as of the class entering as freshmen this fall, all elementary education majors will have their own MAC notebook computers. We are in the process now of developing course work to integrate these into all of the junior and senior courses. In preparation for this I have started and will continue to ask my students to use the internet to develop lessons that they will teach. For example, they each developed a webquest based on something that was part of the curriculum in their field placement classroom. One student developed a webquest revolving around Cinderella stories that included culture from the clothing (glass slipper, golden sandal, beaded moccasin) that the characters wore, the prince (chief, pharaoh), etc. She also incorporated "google earth" so students could see places featured in each Cinderella story (France, China, Appalachia, Egypt, etc). Using this she developed both geography and math activities. Another project they had was to develop an "author study" in our children's literature class. Many of them found on-line activities revolving around the works of a particular author. They also developed their own activities using cites like National Geographic Kids, Discovery Kids, Time for Kids, and the authors' cites.

In this way, I hope to develop in my students the idea that they are the creators of knowledge as well as consumers of knowledge.