Week+7+-+Mar+1st

=Thoughts & Reflections... =

Reading # 7 - "Acceptable Use Policies for Internet Use" - Media Awareness Network

This week's reading looks at acceptable use policies and summarizes what they are and what they should contain in order to be effective.

According to the article, acceptable use policies (AUPs) have been implemented by many schools as a way to ensure students are accessing the internet at school in a safe and appropriate manner.

Basically, an AUP acts as a sort of contract between administrators, teachers, parents and students, and outlines the terms and conditions for internet use and access.

Quoting the US Department of Education's online Alphabet Superhighway, the article states that AUPs should include:
 * A description of the instructional philosophies, strategies and goals to be supported by Internet access in schools
 * An explanation of the availability of computer networks to students and staff
 * A statement about the educational uses and advantages of the Internet
 * An explanation of the responsibilities of educators and parents for students' use of the Internet
 * A code of conduct governing behaviour on the Internet
 * An outline of the consequences of violating the AUP
 * A description of what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable use of the Internet
 * A description of the rights of individuals using the networks in your school/district (such as the right to free speech, right to privacy, and so on)
 * A disclaimer absolving the school district from responsibility, under certain circumstances
 * An acknowledgement that the AUP complies with provincial and national telecommunication rules and regulations
 * A form for teachers, parents and students to sign, indicating that they agree to abide by the AUP

One of the downsides of AUPs, according to the article, is that they can foster feelings of an absence of trust in students. However, the article notes that an AUP is less restrictive than content filtering software, and if implemented properly can "respect the rights of both child and school"

Take a look at the AUP developed by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board to get a better idea of the specific content and structure of an AUP: [|OCDSB AUP]

Or...check out this YouTube video that explains an American school's AUP and offers good Internet and network use guidelines for teachers...

media type="youtube" key="P1wew3t3SVs" height="253" width="310" align="center"

=Information & What I Have Learned... =

This week we....

Devoted the entire class period to group lesson plan presentations. Following is a brief summary of each presentation...

Group #1 - High School Geography Lesson (grade 9)
 * Using a human migration website: [], students were asked to choose three of the available profiles, familiarize themselves with them, and identify the push and pull factors for each immigrant
 * This site is an innovative and interactive way to get students to learn about immigrants' experiences from around the world
 * I checked the site out and loved it - students could get the same information from a text book, but this site is a fun and interactive way to learn the information

Group #2 - High School History lesson (grade 10)
 * Students were familiarized with Web quests and Web-racing using [|Google Book Search] (allows you to find books online, and preview their content) and [|Worldcat.org] ( allows you to find books available in libraries near you & can help you build a bibliography)
 * Students were asked to complete a Google form - this allowed results to show up in real-time for students, something which helps them evaluate their learning

Group #3- High School Chemistry lesson (grade 9)
 * Each of the elements of the Periodic Table were identified by letters, and each student was given a different element. Students were given instructions (also available online) and were to research their element and work to build a class wiki containing the Periodic Table of elements
 * Students were also encouraged to conduct well documented research and to reference their work. They were referred to this website: []
 * The class wiki containing the Periodic Table, lesson plan and other resources are available for viewing at this address: http://ped3119-dp-hg-chemistrylesson.wikispaces.com

Group #4- High School English lesson (grade 10)
 * This group made use of the online website [|Comic Life] and a Midsummer Night's Dream to demonstrate how thematic elements can be demonstrated in different ways, and how comic books can help you to explore a story
 * Interpretation of stories, plays and poems through creation of a comic strip is a good way to interest students who may not otherwise be interested in the topics studied in high school english class
 * This program is available for download for free, but only for a 30 day trial. The actual program costs around $25.
 * In addition to facilitating the creation of comics, it also allows you to manipulate your personal photos, create greeting cards, and much more

Group #5- High School English lesson (grade 9)
 * Using the website: [] students were asked to create their very own diamante poem
 * This is an excellent website for younger students or beginning poets as it simply allows you to fill in the blanks and offers definitions for unfamiliar words (i.e. synonym/antonym)
 * Students were asked to create a podcast of their poem using Audacity and then transfer it into Windows MovieMaker to finish the project

Here is the diamante poem I created about spring (because it happens to be a very sunny day today!)

Sun, Bright, Happy, Shining, Uplifting, Life-giving, The snow is melting and spring is coming! Growing, Living, Blooming, Green, Happy, Springtime

Group #6- High School Nutrition lesson
 * Using the Dieticians of Canada website, available at this address: [] students were asked to create a food diary
 * Students were directed to EATracker.ca, which lets you track your day's food and activity choices and compares them to the guidelines laid out by Health Canada. It also assesses your food choices and provides personalized feedback on your total intake of energy (calories) and essential nutrients and compares this to what is recommended for your age, gender, and activity level. It also determines your body mass index (BMI) and provides information to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
 * I took the assessment and while I have good eating habits and a healthy BMI, I need more physical activity (however, Teacher's College doesn't allow for much spare time for physical activity....maybe in the summer!)

Group #7- High School Math lesson
 * Students had to work in teams to find the volume and surface areas of prisms and other shapes
 * Teachers made use of "real life" problems to increase student engagement and used videos to help "create" these problems

Group #8- French Immersion History lesson (grade 8)
 * Students were asked to use PhotoStory to create a documentary about La Nouvelle France
 * Working in teams, students had to narrate a choice of photos, illustrating the pros and cons of life in La Nouvelle France
 * This is an excellent way to have students practice pronunciation and is a good evidence of student understanding of the subject matter (does the photo match with the explanation?)

=Software & How to Use... =

E-learning
 * A plethora of online courses are now available at both the high school and secondary levels
 * Online courses have the same requirements as in class courses but offer convenience for those unable to make it into class for whatever reason
 * The Province of Ontario currently uses Desire2Learn (a Learning Management System - see below) to manage and deliver its online courses
 * I have taken online courses in University and I plan to take more in the future, although I have to say I do not particularly like them
 * I miss the face to face interaction with other students and regular in person feedback from the teacher
 * I also do not like forced online group activities because I do not feel like a sufficient enough classroom community has been established to facilitate comfortable group work amongst students
 * That said, online courses make it possible for students who are unable to attend school, able to take the course and get credit for it, and this advantage makes all of the above annoyances irrelevant in my opinion

Learning Management Systems (LMS)
 * A program for delivering the curriculum. Examples of commonly used LMSs are: Desire2Learn, WebCT, and Blackboard
 * In most LMSs you can build calendars for students, allow them to submit work online, and provide them with information and instructions
 * *A free application such as wikispaces or Google docs could essentially complete many of the same functions as one of the above mentioned LMS systems

Hybrid/Blended Learning
 * Includes in-class and online learning
 * **Synchronous:** you must be online at the same time as the instructor (pre-determined time)
 * **Asynchronous**: you can go online at anytime - this allows for more flexibility and is becoming much more popular

[|Skype]
 * An online instant messaging service that acts like a phone service [[image:3441907149_4afdd30960.jpg width="99" height="47" align="right"]]
 * If you connect to a landline you have to pay, so the ideal connection is a video connection (*the downside to video connection is that it requires ALOT of bandwidth)
 * Advantages: you can talk to other classes anywhere in the world (new millennium version of a pen pal!) OR you can be teaching in one room with an additional class in the other room watching you on Skype and receiving the same lesson (although a teacher does have to be in the room with the Skype students)