The key concepts for ICT education that I learned about this week were; learning how to be safe on the Internet, skills in design and technology and using higher order thinking skills to design educational games on the QUIA website.
CYBERSAFETY
Our lecture this week covered the protection of students online. The widespread use of computers and other technologies such as mobile phone devices means that students are at risk from the following:
- Exposure to harmful or undesirable material.
- Cyber bullying and harassment.
- Spam and computer viruses.
- Commercialism and financial risks.
- Identity theft.
Teachers can be mindful of these risks and do their best in ensuring Internet use is safe and supervised, however accidents can still happen at school or when students are at home not being supervised. Teachers can educate their students to behave responsibly and safely when accidents do occur. As technology becomes a part of our daily lives in the 21st century these skills in dealing with risky situations will become extremely valuable for primary students (Powell, 2010). Internet safety is probably one of my biggest concerns as a beginning teacher. How will I be able to monitor what all of my students are exposed to when they are all searching the Internet? Other than high level supervision I can only think to educate students to act responsibly in risky situations. The online cyber safety games Greg showed us during this weeks lecture will be one way I can teach responsible Internet use. On my teaching rounds I was impressed to hear that my grade 1/2 class was able to tell me all of the major risks associated with technology and how to prevent them. Obviously educating students as young as possible is another way to improve responsible behaviour.
Other aspects to consider when working with children and technology include moral values, cultural sensitivity, software filtering and supervision. Children may be exposed to material that compromises their own moral values which may cause confusion for them. Children may also be exposed to material that offends their cultural values. The most productive way to reduce exposure to harmful or offensive material could be implementing software filtering systems that block certain materials school wide and of course supervision by teachers. Filtering systems may also reduce the amount of information a child may send out into cyber space. In order to adequately supervise my students I will ensure that computers are not placed in areas that are difficult for me to see. I will also role model appropriate behaviour when demonstrating Internet use. I may also have students use a whole class email account when sending emails to the community so that I can see exactly what information they are sending and receiving.
One way to teach students skills to protect themselves online is to play games with an educational purpose. I had a look at the 'cyber pigs' game found at:
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/games/privacy_playground/
I thought this site was really great. It had information for teachers and a game for the students. The game was in two parts. The first part was for 8-10 year olds and as the students play the game they learn about spam, privacy issues, ploys and online predators. The second section was made for 9-12 year olds and as these students play the game they learn about cyber bullying, authenticating online information and stereotyping.
I think games like the one I have mentioned are a fantastic way for students to learn about risks associated with using the Internet as well as learning skills to deal with situations when they arise. I will definitely use this game to assist teaching my future students to behave responsibly and safely on the Internet.
Another important aspect of teaching students to take responsibility for their own behaviour when using technology is to involve their parents in the process. Students most likely have the Internet at home so parents should also be aware of risks associated with its usage. Therefore as a teacher I would like to use the templates found on the DEECD website at:
http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/ict/internet_acc_use_pol_primary.doc
http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/ict/Primary_Internet_and_Mobile_Acceptable_Use_Kit.doc
These forms are sent home for parents and students to read and sign stating they will take responsibility for their behaviour whilst using the Internet at school. They provide information on the risks mentioned above and cover Internet and mobile phone use whilst at school. They also encourage parents to supervise their children's Internet use at home. I think they are a great way to involve parents and are very informative. They promote school policies on taking responsibility for ones own actions and acting safely. I believe the use of these 'acceptable use agreements' would be a really valuable opportunity for teaching.
Another opportunity to teach cyber safety would be to have students develop their own class agreements or codes of practice for Internet and mobile phone use. This activity would also instill a sense of responsibility for ones own behaviour. I think this activity would also assist the students to become responsible for monitoring their classmate's behaviour and ensuring they are all keeping each other safe.
WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES
This weeks workshop activities showed me that technology is not just about computers. I always assume that this unit covered only computer technology but I learned today that technology also covers simple activities.
Our first activity was to use a design process to work out how to make a jumping frog. We were given a piece of cardboard, picture of a frog and a rubber band. We were given a design brief chart which could be used in primary schools. The sections requiring completion included 'investigation', 'design', 'produce' and 'evaluate'.
We began the activity by filling in the chart to come up with ideas of how we could make the cardboard into a spring. Then we drew a picture of the design we decided upon and proceeded to make it. We folded the cardboard in half then half again to produce a spring. Then we glued the frog onto the flat side of the cardboard. Then we wrapped the rubber band around the whole thing to make the spring tighter. Our finger can push down on the spring and the frog will jump.
Our jumping frog was not very consistent! It didn't always jump or jump very far. However after evaluating our design we didn't think of changing it which could have been a useful learning experience.
Everyone in our workshop came up with a different design, some worked better than others but I thought they were all very creative.
EDUCATIONAL USES
This activity taught me a great deal about the domain in VELS of 'design, creativity and technology'. Having not had this workshop would have meant I would not be aware of how clearly the design process can be set up. The handout that we filled in really helps to focus on the steps with the design process. I think it was a really clear, step by step process that students would quite easily follow. I also learned that all students will come up with many different designs that are all very creative. I will also now remember to encourage students to make changes or improvements to their design after evaluating it. This design process could be used in many creative projects, even science experiments. It is a very useful task to get students working in groups to learn social skills and teamwork skills. The process allows students to develop higher order thinking skills when evaluating and analysing their own designs.
There are so many activities that can be used in the design process, not just cardboard frogs! The following website has so many design briefs and ideas for teachers, but it does require a subscription: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/Boxguitar.shtml
As Greg stated in our workshop, students could do one of these each day which would really encourage higher order thinking skill development. I think students would most importantly find this really engaging and enjoyable. Kinaesthetic learners would find design briefs really play to their learning strengths.
All in all, I believe using this process will teach valuable life skills for students growing up in the 21st century such as teamwork and higher order thinking. These skills will definitely be useful, no matter what area they end up being employed in the future.
Our second activity was to design our own computer games on the site QUIA:
http://www.quia.com/web
The site contained templates of many games where the designer enters their own information.
I designed a multiple choice quiz on anatomy:
http://www.quia.com/quiz/2511740.html
It has 5 multiple choice questions.
After clicking on the activities link I made a hangman game based on habitats:
http://www.quia.com/hm/667572.html
I also designed an animal match game from the activities link, which was a lot like matching card games.
http://www.quia.com/cm/441220.html
However as you can see, this one didn't quite work as Java was not opening up for me:
I made a challenge game where the player chooses a category then answers a question about that category for 100 points. This can be a 1 player or 2 player game.
I didn't get the chance to design a 'scavenger hunt' game but I thought it was a great concept. The player clicks on links to websites to find information to answer the question asked of them during play. I think this idea would be great for a teacher to design to teach the students how to search websites for appropriate information and research. I'd really like to use it in the classroom at some stage. I think students would be very engaged with this one.
I thought this website was fantastic. As a teacher I could use it to design games based around topics of inquiry and have the students play them in order to learn new information and consolidate prior knowledge. I think the students would find them engaging and fun. I also believe that getting students to make their own games with this site would encourage higher order creation and design skills. Students would also get the chance to share their knowledge to teach others.
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
I think it would be beneficial for students to begin learning about cyber safety prior to using the Internet or mobile phones at school. I believe the earlier this education is implemented the more beneficial it will be. Children are exposed to technology from a very young age so the more prepared they are, the better.
Using the design process in a classroom is only limited by the imagination and materials available to the children. The teacher will have to keep in mind what resources are available prior to implementing these activities. Students could always bring materials from home if supplies are low.
Making games through sites such as QUIA require an educational purpose. It is unacceptable to simply use the games for the sake of playing games to fill in time. Using VELS or a topic of inquiry should help the teacher develop objectives for these games.
REFERENCES:
Powell, G (2010). The Protection of Students Online , PDF downloaded on 17/10/2010, from http://webct.latrobe.edu.au/webct/urw/lc9140001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
Australian Copyright Council (2010). Australian Copyright in Education, downloaded on 17/10/2010 from http://webct.latrobe.edu.au/webct/urw/lc9140001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
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