Internet Safety Reaction

Internet safety is an absolute must, and from a parents perspective you cannot be too safe.  When it comes to the internet people of all ages need to be aware of the situation and how to handle it.  There are many preventative measures to take but all need to be in place to actually prevent misuse of the internet.

One way is to use the parental controls, they allow you to block programs that you do not want your child to view.  Also, schools often have a program that blocks pages, which helps avoid the misuse of the internet at schools.  All children need to be watched while on the internet, not continuously but enough to know what they are doing.  If you suspect your child is misusing the internet be sure to keep an eye on them and ask questions, also look out for suspicious behaviors.

Chat rooms are a big contributor to online problems, many  sex offenders love to spend all their time in them.  They start to talk to the kids, and lure them in to them.  After that they get them to call them and therefore giving the predator the child's number.  Even though the child thought that they followed all their parents rules the predator still got some private information from the child.

The best way to achieve internet safety is to talk to your kids, and only allow so much time on the internet.  Keep the computer in an area where all can see, none in the bedrooms.  Use the internet with your child, and watch for signs of your child being stalked.  All parents need to be aware of the internet problems that are out there, and help their children to learn to avoid them.

Dowshen, S. (2008) Internet Safety.  KidsHealth.  Retrieved November 15, 2009, from http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/net_safety.html#.

Smart Boards in K-3 Classrooms Reaction

Smalling talks about how to integrate the smartboard into the classroom.  A smartboard is best defined as an interactive white board.  It give students the hands on experience, and lets them interact with all the lessons.  Feedback from the students has been comments saying that it is much better than pencil and paper, and that they enjoy it.

Teachers can conduct nearly every lesson plan on a smartboard with ease.  You can show videos on it, take notes, brainstorm, and present, by using the smartboard.  The smartboard helps engage those students who maybe be shy or non cooperative.  It allows the teacher to store their information on it, and get instant feedback from the students to analyze if they understand the topic or not.  The smartboard is an item that can be used all the way from early childhood to college or older student.

The good thing about the smartboard is that it helps involve all the students.  This is a good way to bring technology into the classroom.  Since the smartboard gives instant results it helps guide the lesson plan.  The smartboard is though too expensive for many schools, and it can be distracting to those students that have never worked with the smartboard may get off subject for awhile.  

The videos that explained the lesson plans and the smartboard interactions were a great example to see how the smart board can be used within the classroom.  Many teachers are using the smartboard to show their students that education is important and they are trying to "meet you where are."  I see the smartboard as being a huge gain in the classroom, it gives the students the boost to keep pushing.  Students are more willing to contribute with the classroom when they are able to work with the smartboard.  These videos prove how engaging a classroom becomes when one brings in hands on materials.

I think that there should be a government grant that supplies all rooms with smartboards since they give a huge advantage in the classroom.  The smartboard is one way to interact with the students of the 21st century.  As a student and a future teacher I back the smartboard all the way, I just love working with it.

Smalling, L.  (2008) Get Smart!  Smartboards in K-3 Classrooms.  Connexions.  Retrieved November 2, 2009 from http://cnx.org/content/m18121/latest/.