Activity 10

I decided to update my website! I took a few of the things I learned how to do with the web2.0 class and put them on my site!
Here is the address: http://vlstruthers.wix.com/vschmidt
You will see that I put my classroom calendar on the front page, as well as created a website tab with my screen cast on it! 
I also worked with signupgenius.com to create a communication time sign up and have linked that on my communication tab:) The sign up will be activated once school starts!!!

Activity 9

#2-After hearing a presentation at a conference, your principal Mr. Smith has banned all Web 2.0 tools for students and teachers including Facebook, Skype, YouTube, wikis, blogs, and Flickr. A number of teachers and many students are upset with this decision but Mr. Smith cites legal reasons for blocking the sites.
1.  Discuss the possible ethical issues involved. I don't think there are any real ethical issues; however, many students and educators feel that technology and various web2.0 tools are a critical part of learning and teaching.
2.  Determine if the safety or well-being of anyone is in jeopardy. Although there are no physical issues associated with this, there are issues associated with what is truly the best for student learning. This all or nothing attitude is not what is best for students. It is important to teach about moderation with all parts of life and by banning all web2.0 tools that lesson is not being taught. 
3.  What advice, strategy, or policy would you recommend to individuals or schools based on this scenario? I think it would be important to discuss what web2.0 tools are currently being used in the school and then find research supporting the use of these tools within the classroom. I would also find information to share about possible classes that teach about using web2.0 tools responsibly and suggest the school/teacher participate in a class like that. 
4.  Share any real-life incidents or personal connections related to the scenario. I don't have any personal connections to this scenario, but I know that often people can be apprehensive about technology. I think the thing to keep in mind is that if used properly it can been a very powerful too. I also think that when teachers choose to use these tools it is important that they really research it and understand how a certain tool works before asking students to use it on their own. Again, it goes back to being responsible. 

#5-Mr. Lopez, a social studies teacher, has been using the same PowerPoint to introduce content on the electoral-college for many years now. He recently saw a Prezi his high school-age daughter created for a class and asked her to teach him how to create a Prezi. He was able to link images and video content instead of just text and found that his students seemed more motivated and lively in a debate about voting politics.  He decided to have his 7^th graders create Prezis in small groups outlining their main points for the election debate.  What Mr. Lopez discovered in the computer lab is that as students were creating Prezi Edu accounts and told to use their school provided email when registering, they could not activate their Prezi accounts because the school email settings only allow emails internally, and therefore cannot receive emails from outside the district. Mr. Lopez’s assignment was suddenly dead in the water.

1.  Discuss the possible ethical issues involved. Similar, to scenario #2 I don't see a real ethical issue with this. Unfortunatly what happened to Mr. Lopez could happen to any teacher. Often when you plan a lesson with a focus on technology, there can be unforseen problems, despite being a reponsible user/teacher of web2.0 tools. 
2.  Determine if the safety or well-being of anyone is in jeopardy. This scenario does not have a safety issus. The main problem is what to do next??
3.  What advice, strategy, or policy would you recommend to individuals or schools based on this scenario? If this happened to me I think I would plan to make a Prezi as a class and then talk to the IT people to see if the email system could allow for this lesson. 
4.  Share any real-life incidents or personal connections related to the scenario. I have been in situations similar to this. Sometimes things like this can happen because a teacher has not done the proper reseach before using a tool; however, often issues like this can happen even when the proper research has been done. I have had cases where my home computer has allowed me to use a website/tool, but when I get to school the access is blocked. Luckly, I have never been infront of the class/ middle of a lesson, when something like this has happened.

Activity 8

I did a poll about favorite apple colors. Apples are our theme early in the year and because you could do it whole group, I think this poll would work with my kids. I think polling could be really fun in a number of different ways, and I liked that you could use pictures, which would make it better for my kindergartners. I could also see using polling more on my website with families!