Final Blog Reflection

1. I can honestly say that every technology I have learned in this class will be helpful in my future career as a teacher. However, some of the most effective technologies I learned was how to make a class website.

Link to my class website!

2. I plan to use this technology as a teacher in order to improve parent-teacher communication, but also to get students involved. If any of my teachers in high school or junior high ever had a class website (which I'm not even sure they did) I never knew about it. However, students today will be so immersed in a technological generation that getting on the internet and viewing a teacher's website will be much more common. I plan on using my website and perhaps integrating wiki technology into it to get students more involved. For example, people can comment questions they have so I could have a FAQ page where parents can look before they e-mail me with questions.

3. One of my goals as a teacher is to engage my students in more ACTIVE learning. Technology is a great way to do this. One of the ways I can involve my students is through Google Earth. I used this for my Personal Technology Project, and it would be a great way to enhance student's learning of geography by helping them to view in 3-D places that would be unrealistic to travel to. It would be more interesting than just simply looking at pictures in a textbook. Another technology I would use is a social network or some sort of blog to have students work together to form study guides or discussion groups. Basically, I could use a class social network to get students to do their homework on to get them more involved and discussing issues with other classmates. It is a more interactive (not to mention more fun) way of getting students to become interested in a topic.

Personal Technology Project

Here is a link to my wiki page for my personal technology project.

Personal Technology Project

For my project I used Google Earth to help enhance a student's learning of Geography and have them create a virtual tour to show their own personal migration history.

Here is a link to my wiki page for my most useful blog resource.

Blog

I found this blog was the most practical of all the blogs I followed because everyday teachers put new ideas for how to use technology in specific lesson plans.

Engl 312 Rhetorical Analysis- Source for Paper C

Source for Paper C- Article in Editorial Projects for Education, a nonprofit publisher for Education Week

1. The argument of this source is that teachers need to get an ESL endorsement because it makes them more marketable and school districts are starting to fire teachers who refuse to get it.

2. The audience of this article is current and future teachers who are not planning on getting the ESL endorsement specifically in Utah.

3. The goal of this article is to persuade current and future teachers to obtain the ESL endorsement as soon as possible.

4. The article attempts to persuade its audience to obtain the ESL endorsement through several elements of rhetoric:

Pathos- The article explains how several districts are starting to make official policies regarding teachers getting the ESL endorsement, and how teachers that are not getting the endorsement are either never hired or laid off. By stating this, the article is instilling the emotion of fear and anxiety about not getting the endorsement, as most future and current teachers are concerned about their job security, thus using these emotions to persuade people to get the endorsement.

Logos- The article gives several statistics about the growing number of students in schools who are foreign born students and do not speak English as their first language, thus reinforcing the idea through logic that there is an increasing number of ESL students who need extra support and the ESL endorsement would help with this.

Sufficient- The article gave sufficient evidence, including statistics and several testimonies from teachers in various states throughout the country explaining the benefits of getting the ESL endorsement.

Relevant- The article stated cases from several cities including Ogden City School District, which is especially relevant for teachers here in Utah. It also had immigration statistics not only for the entire country but for Utah specifically, which is very relevant for the argument here in Utah.

5. Overall, this article was very successful in its goal to persuade the audience to obtain the ESL endorsement. Through the use of emotions such as fear, the article targets concerns that the audience will have about how to become more in demand as an educator. The article also uses logic to present statistics and facts that are irrefutable. The article also uses sufficient evidence that is relevant to both the audience and argument in an effective way to persuade the reader to get the ESL endorsement.

English 312-RA for Conference Talk

Neil L. Andersen "Never Leave Him", October 2010 General Conference.

1. The argument of this speech or conference talk is that members of the Church should choose not to be offended or ashamed of the Lord, because it will help us to be able to feel of His love and approval.

2. The audience of this talk is all Latter-day Saints throughout the world who are both active in the gospel, and those who are beginning to feel ashamed or offended by the gospel.

3. The goal of this talk is to persuade Latter-day Saints to stay strong in the gospel and to never leave the gospel or stop being active in it.

4. Elder Andersen attempts to persuade his audience of his argument through several elements of rhetoric:

Ethos- Elder Anderson gives the example from the Bible of when Christ was in Capernaum and he had several followers who could not accept that He was the son of God, and so they "walked no more with him". By giving an example from the New Testament about Christ and his disciples, Elder Anderson gains authority for his argument by revealing how this problem of leaving Christ was a problem with even His closest followers. By using respectable figures such as Christ and His disciples, Elder Anderson's argument gains immediate credibility and respect.

Pathos-Elder Anderson also uses pathos to persuade his audience in behalf of his argument. He gives the statement that " If we are not watchful, our injured, childlike spirit will retreat back into the cold, dark crust of our former bloated ego, leaving behind the warm, healing light of the Savior." The imagery and word choice he uses here evokes emotions of pain, fear and loneliness if we choose to be offended or ashamed. In contrast, he evokes the emotions of warmth, happiness, and peace if we choose to follow the Lord's commandments. These emotions of pain versus happiness are very effective in persuading people to never leave the gospel.

Accurate- Elder Anderson does a good job of being accurate in his argument, and not setting up weak counterarguments. He is realistic in the counterarguments he presents, such as living the commandments of the Lord or the gospel is not easy. He addresses the concerns that members will feel different, isolated, persecuted and they will not understand everything. He understands the problems and concerns people have with keeping the commandments. However, he argues that it is still important not to become offended or ashamed because the blessings will outweigh the hardships.

Sufficient- Elder Anderson does a good job of giving sufficient evidence for his argument. He quotes several examples from the New Testament and Church History of times when members chose to fall away or not. One such example is Fredrick Williams who could have easily left the Church after committing sins; however, he chose to repent and come back to the Lord. Elder Anderson describes the many generations after him who have benefited from his decision to not become ashamed or offended.

5. Due to his use of ethos, pathos, sufficient and accurate evidence, Elder Andersen is successful in persuading his audience to not become ashamed or offended. He understands the concerns and challenges the members face, and any counterarguments they may present. However, he evokes the emotions of peace, happiness and joy with following the Lord's commandments, which is extremely effective for his audience.

Week 1- Proposal for Personal Technology Project

World Geography

These are the Utah Core Curriculum Standards that my lesson plan will follow:

UEN Standard 2: Students will understand the human and physical characteristics of places and regions.

Objective 1: Interpret place by its human and and physical characteristics.

a. Examine human characteristics, including language, religion, population, political and economic systems, and quality of life.

UEN Standard 4: Students will understand how human activities shape the earth's surface

Objective 1: Analyze the characteristics, distribution and migration of human population's on Earth's surface.

a. investigate how people adapt to their environment

-My idea is to use Google Earth to create a lesson plan for World Geography. It will also be geared towards ESL students, and the objectives of Second Language Acquisition for the teacher to understand the background and culture that the student is coming to class with.

For my lesson plan I will use Google Earth to demonstrate different parts of the world and different cultures we will be discussing: for example Latin America, Europe and Asia. We will talk about different characteristics of each region and as we do so I can show the class on Google Earth exactly what we are talking about.

For the assignment I will have students record a virtual tour on Google Earth showing where they came from and maybe their exact home in their homeland. Students will be able to show unique things about their homeland, for example unique geography, cultural sites, or national monuments. The student will talk about the culture of their homeland, for example the dominant language, religion, political system, etc. Then the student will show on Google Earth the migration pattern to their new home in the U.S., and the student can talk about why they moved, who moved with them, how they have adapted to the new culture, etc. It will be a lesson in discussing both spatial and cultural differences, as well as examining migration patterns and how people adapt.

The "artifact" I will present will be an example of a student-made video tour on Google Earth.

I am still trying to become comfortable with Google Earth because I have never used it before. Some of the tutorials have been helpful but if anyone has any suggestions of good tutorials or tips for using Google Earth that would be great! Any feedback or suggestions would also be gladly accepted :)

Internet Safety- Talking with a parent

For this part of the assignment, I spoke with my own mother about Internet Safety. My mother is the parent of four children, and she also teaches Pre-school children. I began by sharing with her some of the videos and articles I read, and what was shared in our voicethread discussion. I was surprised at how little she really knows about Internet Safety, and how she mentioned she wish she knew more because she can barely protect herself, let alone other youth. She also said she hates having to constantly ask her children how to do something on the computer because she does not know how.

I chose to share the documentary and talk with my mom a lot about what issues were brought up with the PBS video. She gave the idea of sharing examples and personal experiences from other people about things such as getting their identity stolen to help make kids aware of the serious issue it is. We also talked a lot about the issue of cyberbullying, and how devastating of a problem this is. She commented on the segment of the video where the young boy was bullied online for months, and he eventually used information from the internet and advice from a friend online to kill himself. We both discussed what a teacher or a parent can do to help prevent something like this from happening, and we both agreed it's a very difficult situation. She said that it's important not to share too much information with kids about the dangers of what is on the internet because then they can just get curious and look up things they didn't know were on there before. But, my mother also said it is important to make kids aware that this is a serious issue and if they are being bullied they need to inform a teacher or parent right away.

Overall, speaking with my mother about this issue was a very valuable experience for both of us. My mother was previously not aware of all the different dangers that can occur from the internet, but she shared very good advice about how to talk to youth about these issues. It's hard to know of all the difficulties of the internet that face students and subsequently teachers ,since we are responsible for their well-being as well. However, I think it is also important to realize all the good that can come from increased technology, and that it is a matter of figuring out how to "filter through the filth" to use the internet appropriately.

IPT 286- Internet Safety Articles and Videos

Top 5 Ways Teens are Compromising Their Identities Online

This video talked about a speaker who goes to schools to talk to teens about identity theft, because he had his identity stolen at the age of 7. I found it interesting that the video revealed how it is teens that identity thieves target because they are usually more willing to share personal information. I really liked how the video talked about that it starts with the schools educating teens in order to prevent identity theft from occurring.

I think as a teacher, rather than reprimanding students for sharing too much information, a good way to address this issue with students would be to ask them what it means to be popular. The video mentioned how it is because of a desire to be popular within a certain social group that teens share personal info. I think as a teacher it would be a good idea to address this desire to be popular, and look at the consequences of that and being unsafe on the internet.

Documentary: Growing Up Online

A lot of issues were raised in this PBS documentary that will influence my actions as both a parent and educator of youth. One of the main issues is how kids have grown up in the technological age and a lot of times are more advanced technologically than adults. As a teacher, it is important to stay educated and up to date enough that there isn't a disconnect created between myself and my students. Also, the video mentioned how teachers now have to be "entertainers" because students are so used to being stimulated by media that just lecturing is not going to cut it anymore. This shows how important it is to use technology and the internet to keep students engaged.

Meanwhile, it is also important to address the issue of cheating by using the internet. I think as a teacher it will be important to realize that there are several sources on the internet students can use to cheat on assignments, and it is important to plan and organize my lessons and tests in a way that takes that into account. It could be a good idea to have students complete some assignments in class so I know they are not getting information that aren't supposed to from the internet.

Cyberbullying: Another VERY important issue to address with students is cyberbullying. Because of the internet today, bullying doesn't end in the schoolyard. Kids can read words over and over again until it becomes real to them, and it is important to make students aware of this. It's important as a teacher to understand why this type of bullying is so destructive because teens don't know if it's their best friend or someone else who is doing it. It essentially leaves teens with no one to trust. I think as a teacher, a way to prevent this and raise awareness of the severity of the issue is 1) to show a clip from a documentary like this about how it has affected kids lives in such a negative way that it can lead to legal trouble, depression and even suicide and 2) give them tools and advice to help if they are being bullied online. I liked how the video gave the steps of "stop, block and tell". Teach kids the importance of informing others if this is happening because it is a serious issue.

I also think as a teacher it is important not just to blame the internet for everything, but to realize that this is the reality of the world we live in, so it's important to educate ourselves and our students on how to be safe in it.

"Let Our Voices Be Heard"

"Television offers history channels, discovery channels, education channels. One can still find movies and TV comedies and dramas that entertain and uplift and accurately depict the consequences of right and wrong. The Internet can be a fabulous tool of information and communication, and there is an unlimited supply of good music in the world. Thus our biggest challenge is to choose wisely what we listen to and what we watch."

I think this quote by Elder M. Russell Ballard sums up how we should present media to our students, and how we should view it as teacher. We need to teach of the good that media can produce, while still recognizing and warning of the dangers of it as well. We can be good examples to both our students and future children of what it means to responsibly use media.