Stop Cyberbullying

Stop Cyberbullying website

           I will touch upon my previous blog post titled "Cyberbullying via Social Networking". The previous article about cyberbullying really affected me and I continued to do some research on the matter. There are various sites provided that stand against this, however, Stop Cyberbullying was the one that I found to be the most user-friendly and beneficial.

            How many of you were bullied in school? Outside of school? Both? Even if you weren't, as teachers, we are responsible for stopping these hateful and hurtful acts. This website provides students with information on the meaning of bullying, prevention, and online forums. It also allows parents to share their stories, and give each other advice on how to solve their child's bullying issues. Stop Cyberbullying makes itself more credible by providing the written law on bullying for its viewers to read. This website's target audience is teens who are struggling with being bullied or are the bully. They can participate in an online survey to test their etiquette. The end results let them know where they stand on the bully to victim scale and provide them with information on how to improve and be a better person.

              I believe this technological device can be very beneficial to our students. Even if we do not witness bullying in our classrooms, this piece of material can help stop bullying before it begins. Although the focus is cyberbullying, it teaches students about bullying in general. It also teaches a students how to to be a good person overall. Students have greater access to this organization because it has its own website. It will be helpful to mention this website in class and ask students to visit it. It would even be nice to ask students to come in with a couple facts and questions they have about cyberbullying or bullying in general. It is important to make students aware of the consequences of bullying. Through use of this website, we can help advocate against bullying much faster.

Preparing Students for Financial Success

TechCrunch Article

 Attention all high school teachers and parents: 

        This article focuses on the financial management company Tykoon and its development of an app for the iPhone. This app teaches kids to manage their finances and think about the ways in which they use their money. It controls kids' expenses by tracking their spendings in a child-friendly Amazon store. This apps moralizes children by having them perform chores to receive money and rewards. This also shows parents how to push children to reach their goals based on merit.

     
         In an educational setting, this app should be presented to high school students, particularly Juniors and Seniors. It can help them learn how to save money for college and life after high school. It teaches them appropriate work ethic by suggesting that one must work to gain money or any other satisfaction and reward. This app can be used as early as Freshmen year in math, business, or finance class to assist students in learning about money. Also, this application should be implemented in a Freshmen college course to prepare incoming students for monetary management.

         There are many benefits in using this application from the early childhood ages and beyond. This is an educational app that can enhance financial security in students' lives. However, everyone may not have access to this app, and therefore, it would be more difficult to make it a requirement in schools. However, the teacher should make students aware that an app like this one does exist. Personally, if I was given this option during high school, it would help me a great deal in the future years. I have always struggled with saving, and I could have really benefited from this app if it were made available to me. Therefore, I know other students and parents will find the positives in downloading and using this app. 

Can You Be My Friend, Ms. Marti?

Education Week Article

      Do you think teachers and students should be friends on Facebook? To go on from the previous blog post I wrote on Social Networking: Facebook has become a huge part of today's communication. As mentioned in this article, emails and letters are no longer ways that youngsters communicate. Still, teachers must learn to draw boundaries in the social networking world. Yes, Facebook has many benefits and builds on students' social skills, however, it can also damage the relationship between teacher and student and be the cause of career loss. Therefore, as teachers, we must be extremely careful about what we post on Facebook pages, even if we are not friends with any of our students. Employers are investigating inappropriate activity on teacher and substitute pages. But let's say your Facebook page is PG, would you still friend your students? 

      As a current teacher in three dance studios in NJ, I refuse to accept any of my students' requests on Facebook. My page does not contain anything inappropriate, however, in my opinion, it is not professional for students to have access to your Facebook page and you to theirs. I think there are other more appropriate ways to reach students: email, phone, mail, and so on. It is true that less and less youngsters are using email as a  means of communication but as teachers, we can make this more common. At the start of the marking period or semester, we can inform students that they need to have an email account. You should give them an estimate on how many times during a week they should check their email. This information should be verbalized and written down for students. This is a good way of letting students know your expectations as a teacher and their expectations as students. Granted, I would love to form connections with my students that go beyond the classroom. I want them to be able to rely on me, however, Facebook is not a way to enhance that relationship.

Cyber-bullying via Social Networks

Education Week Article

        Bullying is a major problem in today's schools. With technology becoming such a big part of our youth's lives, bullying is moving outside of the classroom, onto the streets, and into social networks. As mentioned in this article, students are creating fake facebook pages, twitter accounts, and so on to make their peers look bad. One case stated in this article also shows that students have impersonated school faculty members and posted offensive messages via social networks. As teachers, we have a responsibility to minimize bullying and encourage students to respect each other and ourselves by modeling how they should behave. But how do we monitor their behavior outside of the classroom? When is it OK to limit the use of technology? This is a concern I have as a future teacher.

        It is not true to say that technology causes these behaviors; people are responsible for bullying. However, it is true that bullying has become a larger problem throughout the years and the availability of technology and social networking has added onto that. The internet is very high speed and many youngsters have access to it. Messages, whether good or bad, circulate much faster. Social Networking applications are readily available on smartphones and students can have access to them in a matter of seconds. As teachers, I believe it is important to be aware of these conditions and restrict the use of cellular devices and computers for social purposes. These devices should only be used to complete assignments and engage in educational games. It is up to you how to handle it but by making students aware of the cruelty of bullying is a start. We would hope they would instill your anti-bullying values outside of the classroom as well. How would you encourage your students to use technology as a way of doing something positive for their community?

E-Rater: Dumbing Down Writing

New York Times article

        After reading this article, I am pretty sure that I won't be using this computerized grading system although it works significantly faster. There are more problems to e-Rater than there is advantages. Truth is, if we as teachers begin to use it, we will shift our focus from facts and substantial arguments to sentence structure and use of vocabulary. This is not necessarily a bad thing when balanced with other writing skills such as the clarity, purpose, and so on. However, e-Rater pays no attention to the facts and only focuses on students' ability to create a complete sentence with big words. Is this more important than proposing a valid argument and information?

       As a future English teacher, I refuse to use e-Rater because studies prove it to be unreliable although more convenient. I feel that it will completely dumb down students writing skills by having them write to e-Rater's expectations. Students would feel obligated to use a lot of vocabulary and words that they are unfamiliar with. They will probably only use them because they know if they do, e-Rater will give them a higher score. Students will not be motivated to establish meaning behind their writing once they discover that e-Rater doesn't really care if they do. If I were to completely depend on e-Rater, my students will soon begin understand the pattern and requirements it has when grading. Students would not be interested in developing their writing skills. Students would not understand what they are writing because it won't make much sense. Truth is, although I am an advocate for integrating technology in this classroom, I choose not to use this is my classroom. The only way I would consider using this is if it was completely revised and focuses on a wider range of writing skills. After reading this article, what are your takes on this robo-reader?

Scholastics' Read 180: Helps Teachers and Students

Teaching Software Flooding Into New Jersey Classrooms

                The news article/ recording above focuses on the Scholastics Software, Read 180.  This is a computer based software that assists in improving students' reading skills and informing the teacher of the skill gaps in the classroom. Asbury Park School District has begun implementing this software in their schools to improve test scores of ELL students and those who are struggling in reading. In the article, opposing views are presented about this program and its use in New Jersey schools.

           The Asbury Park school district qualifies for state funding because it houses many immigrants from Haiti and Mexico and are in need of these tools to tend to their needs. At first sight of the program, the teachers were against it because they feared their ELL students would not be able to understand the technology. However, when they began to recognize improvement in students' reading skills, they continued on with it. This software is beneficial to teachers as well because it informs them on what they need to pay more attention to and teach more in detail. Other opposing views include the lack of visuals such as: seeing the teacher's mouth move as she/he reads, and lack of facials and body language to distinguish emotions. There is also the issue of typing v. writing, and how writing is a better and faster way for students to grasp knowledge. 

   

               Regardless of the views, this article points out that Read 180 has really benefited students in improving test scores and their reading skills. I believe this can be an amazing tool to use as an English teacher. This tool could be used not only with ELL students, but also with students with disabilities and the overall student body. I think any child or young adult could really benefit from this program because it targets specific needs and classifies students depending on their skills and/or lack of. It also can assist me as a teacher to know what I need to teach more of and what the students are struggling with. Both students and teachers learn to be more efficient in their work through this program. Although it is a bit costly, I truly hope this is an investment that many schools will eventually look into because it could raise test scores in NJ and build on students' knowledge in general. 

Would you use this in your classroom? Why or why not?

Interactivity #5

Spreadsheet

         The teacher interviewed is a 9-12 grade Spanish and ESL teacher in the West New York School District . Based on the answers provided on the survey, this teacher was familiar with the NETS-S and NETS-T. When she first read the question, she asked me if those were the national standards in Technology and Engineering and I reassured her that they were. After a reminder, she was able to recall what they were. The following is what I discovered through her completion  of my interview based on the NETS survey: 

        The West New York school district has begun to implement the NETS for students and the NETS for teachers. The teacher stated that the NETS are used at her school along with  the NJCSS. Teachers are encouraged to use them whenever they are working with technology in or outside of the classroom. In any classroom that integrates technology, the use of these standards is optional. The teacher mentioned that these standards and the resources needed to satisfy these objectives are provided at professional development workshops and the teachers are strongly advised to use them. The school is making the transition as more and more technology is becoming an essential part of the classroom. With promethean boards, computers, and so on, the teachers are encouraged to include these standards in their lesson plans.

         I was surprised with the responses of the teacher. I did not expect for her to utilize technology in her classroom and in her lesson plans. I have written a lot of lesson plans throughout my college experience and have not come across these standards. I expected the teacher to have the same unawareness. After discovering that she did know them, I was even more surprised because I had not yet been informed until this activity. I did not know what the standards were and at first mention, I had to do some research on them. I was impressed in discovering that urban areas, such as West New York, are slowly transitioning into using these standards and integrating more technology in their curricula. Through her responses, I realized that the NETS are starting to be taken seriously. 
        As a future teacher, I would promote the use of NET-S and NETS-T. I will include these standards in my lesson plans and write them on the board whenever necessary. I will spread the word of the new and revised NETS and encourage teachers to use them whenever they are working with technology in their classrooms. With technology becoming an enormous part of our society, it is beneficial if all teachers are familiar with and/ or implement these standards in their lessons. As I previously mentioned in my most recent blog, education will become solely digital by 2017. If this is true, the NETS-S and NETS-T should be recognized by all schools as the focus to an innovative way of approaching our lessons. The NETS target a the learning objectives of our technology-based education setting.

Education Online?

Teach your classes online?

"That’s why a New York-based startup called Powhow is launching its public beta today, which aims to allow anyone and everyone (with a webcam) to find and take classes in subjects like fitness, cooking, music, arts, DIY, and crafting from curated rosters of professional, credentialed instructors all over the world. During its private beta, over 600 students and instructors have been using Powhow to bake souffles, learn to play heavy metal guitar, sew bikinis, and sculpt abs."


           This article focuses on the development of education and the changes that are occurring because of the busy lifestyle of our generation. More and more people are relying on online videos to learn a subject. They are depending on online software to communicate and hold conferences with others over long distances. Solely in my college experience, I have seen more online classes being integrated in the semesters. Not only has the webcam taken over the business and work force, but also, it is beginning to have a huge impact on education.
           This article led me to think about the way education will be in a couple of years. Another article from Education Magazine stated that education in the United States will become completely digital by 2017. This same article showed that Florida's education will become fully digital by the end of 2012. This concerns me. I feel that in a classroom it very important to form personal relationships with your students and be available whenever they need help. I feel that instruction becomes less personal through webcam and online videos. Although it has its benefits and is at the tip of everyone's fingertips, it lacks many of the advantages of physically being in a classroom setting.
        Another aspect of this Powhow that concerned me was that students need to have access to internet connection, a webcam, and a credit card. In urban areas, such as where I went to high school, the students do not have these luxuries. I remember many of the students in my high school had to go to a library to complete homework that required internet connectivity. Also, when some students discovered they needed to make a trip to the library to complete their homework, they chose to not go through that trouble and refused to do it. Also, our libraries did not have computers with webcams and many of the students did not own a credit card. They came from families with bad credit that could not sign up for another credit card or were simply in debt. Also, I remember students that enjoyed going to school and having class in the school because it was an escape from their lives at home. I believe instruction via this software would only complicate things in an urban setting. Maybe, it will work in a more affluent community. Still, I do not agree with education becoming completely digital because it deprives the students of many of the in-class benefits.