Webquests

I have discovered that webquests can be a very valuable teaching tool. This was my first experience working with webquests and I am getting better, but still not comfortable enough to incorporate in the classroom yet. From looking at other webquests, I can see how beneficial they can be in educating the digital natives we now teach. I would love to one day feel confident enough to create lessons on webquest and utlize them in my health classes. This project hopefully will help me get one step closer.

Internet Safety

The topic of internet safety is a very important topic, one that parents and educators really need to constantly reinforce with their children and students. Growing up my parents told me not to talk to strangers and to look both ways before I crossed the road. In this day and age the internet has brought about a whole new world of issues, many good however many bad as well. Children need to be made aware of the dangers on the internet. I'm positive that kids now encounter way more strangers on the internet than the strangers that I may have encountered growing up on the street! Watch one episode of Dateline "How to Catch a Predator" with Chris Hanson if you don't believe how dangers the internet has become. Children spend countless hours on the internet, often unsupervised when parents are out at work. As students get older they need to also learn the dangers of identity theft. Billions of dollars are stolen a year due to these crimes and high school students need to be made aware of the dangers of purchasing items online, online banking,credit and debit cards etc. College students are working, getting their first credit cards and may be uneducated to these dangers as many adults are. The internet has made the world a much smaller place and we need make a strong effort to educate the youth of america on internet safety.

Technology in Classroom Observation

Yesterday I took my 3 health classes to the computer lab to do a research project on Mental Disorders. Students were put into groups and assigned a specific mental disorder to research and present to the class at a later date. During the time in the lab I sat back and observed how proficient the students were on the computers and how well they were able to accomplish the task. Out of the 102 students over the 3 classes that I took to the lab not one student asked me a question that was related to utilizing the computer. Some asked questions specific to the project but every student was proficient with utilizing the computer. Also I was amazed with how quickly the students were able to find all of the information and complete the task. Within 10 to 15 minutes students were able to define the disorder, find signs and symptoms, treatment methods and a true life story of someone with the disorder. After that they were already discussing amongst the group members what their skit was going to entail and what visual aids they were going to utilize. Within 20 minutes they were already done and watching highlights of the Super Bowl from the night before! It continually amazes me to see what the internet has done for education! The amount of information that students have at their fingertips is astounding. However, what really amazed me is that everyone was proficient in using the computer and no one needed any help! I believe that is part of the problem with educators today in their fear of technology. Teachers who are uncomfortable utilizing technology do not want to fumble in front of students who know how to use the technology much better than them! We as teachers like to stay one step ahead of our students and many teachers will not use technology because of this fear.