PLE #6, continued- Le Vieux Mans Google Earth Tour

This is my tour of Le Vieux Mans. By using Google Earth, students will be able to get a better feel for the layout of a French city. They will better understand the cultural and social aspect of France through virtual technology, without even setting foot in the country... though a trip would definitely be the ultimate goal.

Final Survey

I completed the final survey and the online BYU evaluation.

PLE Week 7

I read all related articles

Reading:

I chose to read "Tangle in the Web", written by an anonymous writer. Reading about true story always seems to bring to reality a problem. The internet affects all of us. It is so easy to "just" surf for a few minutes and then end up spending hours on-line. It is important to realize that surfing can become an addiction just like smoking or pornography. Our children will grow up thinking that the only way to have a life is to be on-line for hours. Their school work will suffer as well as their social life.
Elder Bednar is very much aware of the negative impact the media has on our life. In our home we chose a few years ago not to have cable in order to spend more quality time with each other. It has helped but much more needs to be done because browsing the internet and watching You-Tube seems to be my children's pass-time. Many times we only worry about the sexual content of an activity, but we fail to see the violence in some show or game. Violence can be just as bad if not worse. We need to teach children to avoid watching violent movies or playing violent video games.

I want to do better as a parent and teach my children the real danger of the internet. Teach them that it can be a very useful tool as long as it is used appropriately.

Watching:

These videos were very informative. Cyberbullying is a fact of life. Children, and in some cases adults, have resorted to the internet to belittle their peers. The bullying can even lead some to suicide. The internet is so easy to use, you feel like you can be on and nobody really knows who you are, at the click of a button you can hurt someone more than words could.

The frontline PBS documentary was very interesting. Teachers will not have a choice but to be technologically savvy in order to keep up with this generation. If we cannot keep our students focused, we will probably have to deal with more chaos, more boredom, and more discipline issues. Time is an issue for many students who go to school and try to earn money. So yes, sparknotes will be used, but teachers could find a way to incorporate this site, and still make sure students do some reading.

Doing:

I discussed with my 15 year-old daughter the danger of cyber-space chatting after watching Amy's and Julie's experiences on the Netsmartz site. I know that she has chatted with strangers in the past and I quickly ended it. But having her watch those videos of girls being lured by older men brought the issue closer to home. We discussed the real dangers associated with those social networks. I believe that she will be more aware of this and stay away from such sites. She told me that at first she didn't see anything wrong with it, since of course the person she was chatting with was her age, and lived so far away (so he claimed). I can see how very easy and flattering for a teenage girl to get that much attention. But the dangers are real, and I do hope to be able to keep her safe. We discussed that listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost will be a great help. She knows right from wrong, and hopefully will be better equipped now to follow the counsels of those who care for her.

PLE Week 6

For this project I will be using google earth. The purpose of this project is to show students who would like to visit France that there is more to France than Paris. The town used for this project is called Le Mans. It is famous for its medieval town (many movies have use Le Vieux Mans as their backdrop, such as The man in the iron mask), it features a beautiful cathedral, and the countryside with its rolling hills is gorgeous. 

This project should fit with the Utah Core Curriculum for language, as the student will learn about France, historically and geographically.

PLE Week 5-TPACK

TPACK or Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge helps teachers use certain knowledge to integrate technology in their teaching. There are three different kinds of knowledge: Content (CK), Pedagogy (PK), and Technology (TK).

• Content knowledge deals with facts, concepts, and skills in a certain domain, in my case French.
  
• Pedagogical knowledge is the general knowledge and skills related to teaching, such as classroom management.
  
• Technological knowledge is the knowledge needed in order to be able to use the many different technologies, or tools available.
  

TPK or Technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) is the general knowledge used to incorporate technologies in any teaching context.  TPK is able to support teaching using multimedia technologies, or tools. For example in my French class I could use a website where students can view assignments, lessons using videos, etc. TPK can encourage students to learn about the French language and culture in a more advanced and interesting way.

My Jing Video Extra Credit

PLE Week 5-Synchronous vs. Asynchronous

I like the asynchronous video better because instead of feeling pressured to talk, I could think of what I had to say. It wasn't as awkward as the synchronous video. The synchronous video would be a great tool if I happen to have a home bound student. We could have a conversation, and he could ask all the question needed in real time. The students would be able to keep up with the lessons, and stay on track. As we discuss subject matters, the student will be able to better retain what is taught. With this method there wouldn't be any loss of time as there would be in asynchronous communication such as emailing or messaging in facebook. 

Here is a picture of my synchronous video chat on Skype with Jasmine:

And here is my facebook video chat with Jasmine!!!!!