Wikipedia Reflection

For my Wikipepdia assignment I created a username and monitored this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte. There was a lot of information on Charlotte already, so where ever I saw any discrepancies that I knew weren't factual I edited it. Since I am from Charlotte I only edited topics that I was familiar with. But I did not have to edit a lot because much of the information was true. 

For the most part I would say that I enjoyed the assignment. I myself use Wikipedia a lot just to find quick fun facts. Although all of the information can not be trusted, some of it is true. I think it should be up to the desecration of the reader to judge for themselves what is false. 

Wikipedia for me is important to the internet. The fact that it can be edited by anyone adds to its importance because in some instances you are getting complete unfiltered information. For example, me being a resident of Charlotte can add information on Wikipedia that no one else would know about, unless they are from the city. Yes of course that information can be false or true, but you can choose to believe it for yourself. I think that Wikipedia helps us to research things for ourselves. Just because a book says it doesn't mean it is true. We should find truth for ourselves. 

History of Wikipedia:

In the future I probably would not edit anything from Wikipedia again. But I would definitely continue to use it for my on needs. I enjoy going on it to look up cities and anything else I am interested in. 

As far as the classroom goes I believe you could use Wikipedia in an assignment to teach students how conduct proper research and not be dependent on just one source.

Copyright

(Credit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GidwzOYiPl0&feature=player_embedded#!)

The primary motive of Copyrighting an item is to protect an arthur's or inventor's ideas. These people have devoted time and intellectual thoughts to creating these idea, and it is important that they be credited for it. It is necessary to believe that Copyrighted items came about as a result of arthur's works becoming stolen. 

I believe the main goal Copyrighting is to keep people from benefiting off another person creation. If I steal your idea I can benefit financially or even socially. So Copyrights makes sure to protect the creator of an idea by setting up Copyright Laws.

(Credit: http://bakuganusers.wikia.com/wiki/File:Copyright-8-18-10.png)

I think as a teacher much of what you do will be influence in some sort of way by Copyright Laws, since we are constantly in contact with literature. But teachers are protected by Fair Use Laws, which is a limitation and exception to the exclusive rights granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In the United States, fair use permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders. Since we as teachers will be using Copyrighted material for the benefit of education and not for the benefit of profiting from it, we are able to use Copyrighted materials. Even though this is the case I believe it is important to teach student about Copyrighting so they themselves can follow appropriate practices.  


Related blogs:
http://eci201.blogspot.com
http://catdaleynews.blogspot.com

Reference

References: “Fair Use." Copyright. U.S. Copyright Office, 05 2012. Web. 15 Oct 2012. <http://www.copyright.gov/>.

Banned Website Awareness Day

(Credit: http://www.aasl.ala.org/aaslblog/?p=3076)

Banned Website Awareness Day was established to raise awareness of the restrictive blocking of legitimate, educational websites and academically useful social networking tools in schools. This movement is pushed by the American Association of School Librarians or AASL. During this day teachers and school administrators are asked to spread the word about the overly restriction of these sites. (AASL)
So why do these restriction occur within schools? In an effort to keep students off adult sites and from coming in contact with any adult materials, many school systems have set up filters to block sites. But, In an effort to block these sites they have also block other sites that could potentially be gateways into adult materials through advertisements and form other users. They also block sites because some students can get distracted checking their Twitter or Facebook pages and not pay attention to their work.
The AASL believes that banning websites can come at the expense of students learning. We are in a day age where we are pushing innovation, technology integration, and real world learning within our educational system. But yet we are restricting some of the websites that could bring us to the technology level we would like to reach. Sites like Facebook and Twitter could have educational benefits. Rather it be through blogging, or by reaching outside the classroom to increase learning, these sites can be used to enrich the classroom experience. 
Many schools are in charged of what they restrict. As a teacher I would bring my concerns to my administration through evidence of how ban sites will be use to integrate technology. If I still could not get through to them I would use a proxy. There will be constant monitoring, as well as some form of synchronized program where i can see what my students are doing. Us as future educators can not let fear keep us from pushing innovation within the classroom. Blocking adult sites is a must, but any other sites should be open to the discretion of the teacher. 

Take a look at this blog about that talks about what Banned Awareness Day is:
http://www.aasl.ala.org/aaslblog/?p=3076     

Gaming in Education

(Credit: http://myengaming.com/2012/05/13/need-to-read-3-levels-of-gaming-in-education/)

Gaming in general has been something that teacher have often done throughout the years in order to give a different dimension to teaching students. Many students enjoy the aspect of playing a game to learn taught materials, as oppose to standard verbal lectures. Examples of this is monopoly, jeopardy, or any other gaming in which subject matter can be incorporated within a game. As far as this type of gaming is concern, I feel like it should continue and develop as new forms of tangible games come out. 

The form of gaming that I am more cautious of is video games. I feel like educational games for youth are more popular with elementary age students compared to high school students. As a future high school teacher  this may limit the amount of games that high I could choose from. Having a limited amount of selection could potentially bore students who no longer want to play the same game. 

Despite these cons, we still do live in an generation where video games have continued to become popular. I believe that due to this, more students would be open to playing games in order to learn. If teachers bring video games within the classroom they are showing their commitment to bringing technology and innovation within the classroom. 

In my classroom I would definitely use general board games like the ones I've already mentioned. As far as video games goes I will use them, but I will be very selective when choosing games. All of the games that I choose will have some educational benefit and if possible be age appropriate. An example of a games I would use would be Sims Business. In this game students can take the place of a entrepreneur and be able to build that business. All game selections and there connected activities will be highly monitored and approved by administrators. 

Here's a story of successful integration of video games within the classroom:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6KCgZY-7HU)

Related blogs and websites:

http://gamification.org

http://blog-ulous.blogspot.com

http://catdaleynews.blogspot.com/2012/11/gaming-in-education.html

Technology For My Future Classroom

There was a lot of tools we went over throughout this semester. Most of which I had no clue existed; not to mention I did not know they could be used in a classroom setting. I am big on open discussion and collaborative work within the classroom. So I particularly like all the tools where my students could utilize them for open discussion, to express a certain idea they have. 

One tool that I could utilize for this is wallwisher. I feel like wallwisher is easy to navigate, which would mean not a lot of time has to be spent in the classroom explaining how to work it. Some of the tools we used this semester were complicated, and realistically I would find it very difficult to introduce them to my class. Wallwisher for me was different, I understood how to work the site within minutes of being introduced to it. 

Wallwisher can also be utilize in many different ways. I would use it to gauge students understanding of the information I am teaching. I would ask questions and have my students answer them by posting notes on the wall. By doing this I could assess if their answers or explanations connect with what I am trying to teach them. If I see my students do not understand I could have them to ask questions using the site to gain clarity. I believe that this fits within the 21st Century classroom because I feel like this technology is enhancing the students learning. As we know, many students are afraid to ask question and to participate. I feel like Wallwisher (depending on how you use it) narrows the playing feel and gives students an opportunity to communicate their ideas in another form. 

Other Blogs about Technology in the Classroom: 
http://rebekah12.edublogs.org
http://cmwill12.edublogs.org

Here's a video about how teacher can use Wall wisher within the classroom:

(Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG26gpg7-IM)

Credit:
http://wallwisher.com