The blog page ‘Monkey Scribbles‘ has recently posted a blog discussing cyber-bullying issues contained within myspace. This is a prevalant issue within society and something that teachers should be well equiped to try and deal with. But are they? I believe that the next generation of teachers (us!) will be the most well equiped to deal with such issues. We have grown up in a society of myspace and facebook and are able to recognize its many pitfalls.

Students need to be made aware of the privacy issues relating to social networking sites, and a well informed teacher is able to provide this. Students also need to grasp the fact that something written on a site like myspace or facebook is written in a public domain and virtually accessible by whomever wishes to read it.

I believe that the next generation of teachers are going to have to be prepared to counsel their students on a wider range of topics than before. Myspace and facebook are just two examples of social networking sites which students need to be cautioned on. As cyber-bullying becomes more and more of an issue in society, teachers with adequate knowledge of these pitfalls will be in demand more as the need for educating our students on such issues becomes a necessity rather than a bonus…

The blog title ‘Facebook friends could be internet spies’ is what first prompted me to read this blog. It is an interesting discussion on an article in ‘The Guardian’ Newspaper which claims that Military spies have been gaining vital information about other countries simply by tapping into facebook friends from that country. The blog also makes reference to a young couple who made plans with each other via facebook, only to come home that evening to find their house robbed!

This article highlights multiple dangers to concerned parents regarding what is surely now known as the biggest socail netwroking site in the world, facebook. Not only can facebook be used for good, it can be used for sinister. Parents should clearly instruct their children not to give out any personal information on their facebook page. Furthermore, they should be made aware that if their page is accessbile to the public, then any ‘plans’ they make with friends can also be seen by whomever chooses to read their page. I know of a young lady who made plans over multiple weekends on her facebook page and wondered why she kept ‘bumping into’ the same male every night out in the city. This male was previously unknown to her and then it clicked, maybe he was reading her facebook page.

Parents should also talk to their children about befriending random people over the net, as sometimes they arent who they seem to be. One must be careful on facebook and it is certainly a duty of all parents to firstly learn about, then discuss with their kids, the potential dangers attached to online social networking.

Here is a podcast of my thoughts on the article ‘First in laptop line’.

first-in-laptop-line

The article was found in the Hills Shire Times, Tuesday June2, 2009. P.28.

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Through reading Frances blog on the million, a incentive program to encourage attendance and participation in students, it got me thinking about the effect the program is going to have on the student, beyond their education. I don’t believe the introduction of mobiles back into the school is going have create a distraction for the students, as the ‘mobile’ function of the phone will not function throughout school hours, but will create a buzz and competitiveness between students.

However I think ultimately, the system is going to embed the idea in students that they should be given extrinsic rewards and material for all good work and attendance? What will happen when students are in the work force and need to rely on personal motivation and  praise for their hard work and attendance? Therefore I believe if the incentive program in a school, which implements this program, balances rewards with intrinsic and non-materialised rewards, then it may just be successful.

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The article titled “Cash-starved public schools chase corporate dollars” offers insight into the trend of public schools turning their classrooms into branded advertising centres in order to gain funding for adequate technology. It discusses the two ‘test cases’; Killara High School and Cromer Public School. I found this article very interesting and topical to e-learning as i found myself thinking, should schools really have to go to this measure in order to gain access to technology advances? I mean, doesnt it stand to reason that we make this type of tehnology accessible to as many schools as possible? However, with a price tag of some $18 million needed to equip the rooms, what kind of school can find that funding?

I think the idea of turning classrooms into marketing schemes, giant rooms showcaseing one such product is in itself rather innovative. However, Opposition education spokesman Andrew Stoner said they must tread carefully as there was a danger of going too far. “The Iemma Government has to meet its obligations to fund public schools or we are going to see unacceptable levels of corporate intrusion into our schools as seen in America,” Mr Stoner said.

So, id be interested to hear, is this just another great innovative idea to come out of public schools, or are we going too far?

~T~

In Francis’ blog titled The Million, there is an interesting discussion focussing on the use of mobile phones in classrooms. Now ive blogged before on ‘mobile-learning’ because i find this method of learning fascinating, but ive never heard of a phone, or phone set-up should i say, quite like the one Francis talks about. It is basically an education tool by day and a normal mobile phone by night. It acheives this by blocking all calls and messages for the user during school hours.

Instead of calls and messages, the phone is most efficiently used during the day by taking advantage of its many educational features such as an extensive dictionary and calculator service.

Once school has finished, the phone now turns into a normal mobile phone, still with all the educational mod-cons you would want.

But what if this phone is priced way out of the range of the average Australian family? What if there is an emergency during the day and due to the phone not working as a proper phone during school hours, this emergency is left unattended OR the reaction time is far too great?

I believe that ‘mobile learning’ is just one way in which education is going to branch out into technology and embrace all of its advantages. I do also believe, however, that this technology needs to be made accessible to as many people as possible. Is it being concepted in order to appeal to ‘the masses’? You tell me your thoughts…

~T~

Due to the discussion in class last week, on mobile phone and use within the classroom, I began thinking on the various forms the technology can be used in classroom learning. The blog ‘Mobile phones put to go use’ based on a 2008 Horizon report discusses how mobile phones can be used in learning due to the convenience of the Internet connection. However will all students have a mobile to use within the classroom, let alone a connection to the Internet? Equity is a reoccurring issue in schools, with technology causing more concern.

I agree that the applications of blogging and pod-casting within education is effective, however for the most part, wouldn’t this be conducted with in the vicinity of computers in which the students can use?

The i-phone, on the other hand, as discussed in class, creates a wide variety of opportunities for students to learn outside the realms of the conventional classroom.

In conclusion I believe, all technology, even mobile phones, have the opportunity to be effective teaching aids, however it depends on how the technology is manipulated.

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~A~

In our e-learning class for week 8 we had a rather long discussion on the possible uses of the i-phone in the classroom. How could something like the i-phone be used to enhance childrens learning?

One only has to pick up an i-phone and scroll through its features to realise that they are a palm-sized piece of technology with endless uses. Possible features for the classroom include:

• making music
• photography
• loading web pages
• video recording
• voice recording for podcasts

Is this a viable option for the classroom? Well the first shortfall which pops in to my mind is the fact that not every student in your class is going to own an i-phone. It is fair to say that they are currently priced out of range for the majority of families with primary aged children. However, for the students who do indeed have an i-phone, this could be a possible quick and effective way to receive reminders for instance. Students could be asked to take photos of themselves enjoying their weekend activity and come to class and show it as a slideshow instead of doing their news for that week.

There are many opportunities for interactive learning in the classroom. If everyone in this world had access to an i-phone i think they could be used very effectively in primary school classrooms. Do you…?

The article New web tools which can change how a class can collaborates by Fiona, on her blog, FionAlisa Bloggle introduced me to a new form of reporting technology, the E-Portfolio, in which I had not yet had knowledge of. Since, recently completing an assignment on reporting strategies and how these strategies inform stakeholders in a students education such as parents, students and the community I am become more respondent to the increasing number of reporting forms available for the respective stakeholders.

The E-portfolio, a form of online reporting, is used as an internet site, in which the teacher and student can up load work and information on the students progress, and consequently, parents have the ability to access this information from the comfort of there own home. However it does make me question if the E-Portfolio is assisting parents in becoming a less actively involved in their child’s education? I do believe nevertheless, that when used in conjunction with other forms of formal and informal reporting strategies, the E-Portfolio is revolutionary.

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A whole new world of study, an article published in The Guardian, describes the positive effect applications such as video making and second life can help teach university students.  “It started when I began to realise how useful technology can be for teaching,” says Russell Stannard, a professor at an UK university, on the use of technology in the classroom.

Stannard, continues to discuss the benefits of Video making as providing his students comprehensive feedback on submitted work, rather than supplying students with margins of red marking. The use of technology allows comprehensive details on work, additionally being affective for student with limited reading ability.

Would you think that the use of the virtual world program, second life, would be used in the classroom? The article describes the use in a university, however the focus of the program was problem solving and critical thinking skills, therefore could a interactive and engaging program such as second life present students with skills they can use in every day life or are we just emerging children into virtual worlds which will enhance their technology skill, not equipping students for realistic situations?

Therefore would this be effective if implemented in the primary school, for early stage 1 or stage 1 classes up to stage 3? Or would the use further limit the interaction between students and the teacher?

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Tobin, L. (2009, April 21). A whole new world of study. The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May, 2009, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/21/elearning-university-of-london

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