Protection of students online and FUN!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW14kz3TKug&feature=related

I think this week's lecture resonated with all of us. Especially in relation to the video showing the devastating consequences that cyberbullying can have.

Unfortunately cyberbullying is now a real issue for today's youth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdQBurXQOeQ

Whilst as teachers we will be unable to monitor how our students use technology at home, we can ensure that we make our students aware of their responsibilities when using technology.
The cybersmart website has a lot of practical advice for children and parents about the benefits and many dangers to be aware of when using technology.
http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/

I graduated from high school in 1998, I don't consider it to be very long ago, but so much has changed! I didn't have a mobile phone, and while we had a computer at home we did not have the Internet. Some of our future students will have been exposed to these technologies since birth. Depending on which schools we are working in, the majority of students will be aware of how to text, how to instant message, how to email and and to surf the web. Just as I was taught "stranger danger", it will be my responsibility to make sure my students are aware of protecting their own and others security when online.

 In our workshop we briefly stepped away from technology and focused on design. Our mission was to create a frog that could jump using only
1. cardboard card
2. picture of a frog
3. rubber band
4. sticky tape
5. glue

We (the students) had to record our processes on a design brief that showed our
1. problem to be solved
2. how we investigated it
3. how we produced a solution
4. how we evaluated/assessed our result.

The class came up with several solutions and we learned a simple method of incorporating design and technology into our future classrooms, as will be required by VELS.
http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/maps/maps_domain/design/level4.html

We spent the rest of the workshop devising games and thus gained another way of letting our students work with technology while introducing or revising material from other domains such as English or science.
www.quia.com/web
The above website allows teachers and students to create games and play eachothers. So the teacher could create a new spelling test game with different words each week and allow the students to play with it to familiarise themselves with the new vocabulary. By allowing students to invent their own games, it is making newly acquired information relevant and adding excitement and competition to learning.