A Different Kind of Consumer: Internet Safety

We've all heard the horror stories. The news headlines about children on chat sites who've been targetted by predators, the problems with online bullying, and sites like myspace,nexopia, and facebook.

Like many people, I'd like to brush it off as simply paranoia, but it's a pervasive danger that is a constant threat, especially to children, and that I can't ignore. I think it's a teacher's duty to educate their students on safe practices when using the internet. I am an advocate of class discussions, making students aware of the dangers, and discussing with them techniques to minimize such risks, like sticking to assigned sites when on the computer, staying away from social networking sites, keeping personal information private, and being respectful of others when online. I think its important to teach students to be critical consumers of information. The internet is like a supermarket, and it's important to know if the things you're buying are healthy - or at least, not harmful.

I also think reminding students of safe practices before allowing them on the internet, or supplying them with a checklist is an important part of keeping them safe, because it refreshes their memory.

Through all this, I think the teacher should be actively monitoring student activity, and be aware of things like instant messaging software, which can lead to online bullying.



My Webquest

"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum...": Online discussion boards and the classroom

Even in the Classical age, Forums were a cross-roads place; an intersect of ideas, concepts, and opinions. These were discussed and debated among the people. Forums have come a long way since then, and the form in which they exist now is much different. They are a virtual place, not something built of words and stone. Luckily, we don't have to don a toga or assassinate an emperor to experience a Forum. The main points are still the same though: they are still a common ground for people to express their ideas and opinions, to have intelligent debates and discussions.

So how does this antiquated idea fit into the modern classroom? Online message boards and forums provide more than just discussions. It's a virtual twist on a 'back to basics' model. Having a space set aside for open discussion and debates can be community building, creating engaging interaction on a more intellectual level, due to the student's ability to edit a thought before posting. Preformance Anxiety when it comes to class debates? this is one way to lessen that. It's a place for collaborative learning, because everyone's opinion is heard, not shouted over, and it's all in print for students to read, review, and read again. It develops written communication skills, and writing fluency, while encouraging out-of-the-box thinking. One way in which this updated back-to-basics trumps it's older competition? Flexibility - it's accessible from any computer, so nothing 'funny' can happen on the way to the forum. No virtual dog can eat a student's virtual thread reply.

However, that isn't to say it doesn't carry risks. Assassination attempts on emperors aside, in this virtual world, there are all sorts of virtual ways for things to go wrong, and assassinations aren't just carried out with knives, and don't always end in murder. Online bullying is something every teacher should be on the watch for. Even on the web, this is a difficult issue, and educators should be aware that the best way to prevent it is to keep a carefully moderated board, and discuss in class behaviours that are acceptable. It's important to keep tabs on which students are using which usernames. Flaming, or responding insultingly and negatively to a post, can be the onset, or a product of online bullying, or it may just be arguments and debates growing increasingly heated. In this case, the same thing is required of the teacher, keep a close eye on your boards, and moderate strictly and accordingly. When a teacher doesn't, it can do the exact opposite of what it should. It can pull a community apart by polarizing it on an issue, it can deaden creative thinking for fear of getting flamed or bullied, squelch intelligent conversation, and so forth. There is also the question of availability of computers for students. Some do not have access to computers from their homes, and may find it difficult to participate. Scheduling class time to access message boards is important.

The following is a list of ways one might use message boards to enrich student learning:

• Write a story together online: everyone creates a character and posts with others to create a story. (this can be used to enhance written fluency, increase creativity, and teach story components - use a typical play-by-post moderated RPG format)
• Online debate: the class is broken off into teams which debate a certain position (this can be used to enhance written fluency, reduce preformance anxiety, increase research skills, and positional writing skills)
• Novel Study: Students discuss parts of the novel that interest them (this can create lively debates, intellectual discussions, and increase peer learning)
• Class Project: Students and teacher could use boards to discuss the project, what to do, and how to accomplish it (especially useful if class project extends outside the classroom, like donating to a charity, increasing environmental awareness, etc)
• Peer-tutoring/mentoring: Students go to other students for help in school related issues, ie: class tutorial (increases sense of community, promotes interaction and peer learning, while improving student learning through utilizing different instructional methods)

Concept Maps in the Language Arts Classroom

As alot of articles mention, Concept maps are very useful tools in Language Arts. They can help students in the pre-writing process by allowing them to connect ideas, plot points, and characters in a visual way, which can make it easier to organize in their minds, and allow for consistency in writing. However, Pre-writing is not the only reason to use a concept map.

Concept maps can be used to visually represent writing conventions, relationships between characters, movement within a novel, contextualizing poetry, and outlining a story or novel read in class. They can be great study materials, and in my experience, prove invaluable.

This particular concept map, which I have created to outline the children's book "Micawber" By Jon Lithgow, can be used to teach students within grades 1-3 how to organize ideas, visually represent, and express themselves in meaningful ways. This concept map could be created as a class, in small groups, or individually.

It covers the following points in the ICT curriculum for Division one:

C.4 - Students will use organizational processes and tools to manage inquiry.
Specific Outcomes
1.1
follow a plan to complete an inquiry
1.2
formulate new questions as research progresses

C.7 - Students will use electronic research techniques to construct personal knowledge and meaning.
Specific Outcomes
1.1
develop questions that reflect a personal information need
1.2
summarize data by picking key words from gathered information and by using jottings, point form or retelling
1.3
draw conclusions from organized information
1.4
make predictions based on organized information

P.2 - Students will organize and manipulate data.
Specific Outcomes
1.1
read information from a prepared database

P.3 - Students will communicate through multimedia.
Specific Outcomes
1.1
access images, such as clip art, to support communication
1.2
create visual images by using such tools as paint and draw programs for particular audiences and purposes
1.3
access sound clips or recorded voice to support communication

All Stories are Anansi's: Folktales around the world and the 'Web' that connects them

Anansi Stories

Grades: 6

General and Specific Learner Outcomes:

General Outcome 1: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences. (1.1.1., 1.1.2)

General Outcome 2: Comprehend literature and other texts and respond personally, critically, and creatively(2.1.1, 2.1.2,2.1.3,2.1.4)

General Outcome 3: Manage ideas and Information (3.1.1,3.1.2,3.2.1)

General Outcome 4: Enhance clarity and artistry of communication (4.2.1, 4.2.2)

General Outcome 5: Respect, support and collaborate with others (5.2.1)

Activity

• Students listen and view an Anansi story being told by a story-teller (teacher), and discuss the history.


• Students discuss parts of the story that interest them, and brain-storm patterns in the Anansi stories that they’ve recognized in other traditionally oral tales (fairy-tales, legends, etc).


• In small groups, students use the internet to research the history, typical characters and setting of other traditionally oral tales, or stories told from traditional oral cultures, such as Anansi Stories from the Caribbean, African Folktales, Reynard the fox stories from France, Asian Folktales, Scandinavian Fairy-tales, German fairy-tales and Sufi Folktales from the middle east.


• In their respective groups, they will then use the information they’ve gathered to create a folk or fairy-tale based on the culture, characters, and setting they’ve chosen together, using the patterns (conventions) they’ve brainstormed in class that go across all cultural boundaries.


• They will then tell their stories to the class in creative ways relevant to their chosen culture.


• They will give to the teacher a reflection about which conventions they used and why, why they chose the culture’s folk-tales, and why they wrote the story they did, as well as detailing the process, and citing all their internet sources properly.
  

Reference Sites

Ashliman, D. (1998-2003). Folktales From Japan. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/japan.html

Beckwith, M. W. (1924). Jamaica Anansi Stories. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/jas/index.htm

CLN Organization. (n.d.). Stories,Folklore and Fairytale Theme Page. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.cln.org/themes/fairytales.html

FolkArt. (1995-1997). Mayan Folktales. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.folkart.com/folktale/

Haines, P. B. (2001-2007). Mythology, Folktale and Fairy tale resources. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.chlive.org/pbeck/eastlibrary/MYTHOLOGY.htm#MIDDLE%20EASTERN%20FOLKTALES

Kinnes, T. (1997-2007). Norwegian Folktales. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://oaks.nvg.org/norwegian-folktales.html

National Geographic. (1996-2007). Grimm's Fairy Tales. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/

Pitara. (n.d.). Tale-Spin. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.pitara.com/talespin/folktales/listing.asp

Robinson O'neil. (n.d.). Anansi Folk-tales. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.robinsononeil.com/anansi_folk_tales.htm

Thompson, R. (n.d.). Anansi. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.drawandtell.com/cjm/anansi/anansistories.html


ICT Outcomes

C.1 - Students will access, use and communicate information from a variety of technologies.
Specific Outcomes
2.1
access and retrieve appropriate information from the Internet by using a specific search path or from given uniform resource locations (URLs)
2.2
organize information gathered from the Internet, or an electronic source, by selecting and recording the data in logical files or categories; and by communicating effectively, through appropriate forms, such as speeches, reports and multimedia presentations, applying information technologies that serve particular audiences and purposes

C.4 - Students will use organizational processes and tools to manage inquiry.
Specific Outcomes
2.3
reflect on and describe the processes involved in completing a project

C.5 - Students will use technology to aid collaboration during inquiry.
Specific Outcomes
2.1
retrieve data from available storage devices, such as a shared folder, to which a group has contributed
2.2
record group brainstorming, planning and sharing of ideas by using technology
2.3
extend the scope of a project beyond classroom collaboration by using communication technologies, such as the telephone and email

F.3 - Students will demonstrate a moral and ethical approach to the use of technology.
Specific Outcomes
2.1
comply with the acceptable use policy of the school and school authority for Internet and networked services, including software licensing agreements
2.2
work collaboratively to share limited resources
2.3
use appropriate communication language and etiquette
2.4
document sources obtained electronically, such as web site addresses
2.5
respect the privacy and products of others
2.6
use electronic networks in an ethical manner
2.7
comply with copyright legislation

Rational for Integration

When attempting to broaden students’ world-view through literature such as culturally specific folk-tales, it’s important to take into account that as a teacher, you’re trying to instill in them a sense of Global Citizenship, of a responsibility to take the entire world into account and celebrate diversity, while still being a critical consumer of information. The internet provides an arena for practice of global citizenship, because it connects the world. It gives students an exciting, hands on way to not only research diverse cultures through story, but allows them to become information-conscious individuals, by being aware of what they’re looking for, and who is displaying the information. They become discerning, critical thinkers. It is also a way for students to access things such as video clips, or sound-clips which enrich their learning, and may provide different insights into the lesson.