Facebook Privacy

Reading through Facebook’s lengthy privacy policy a few items jumped out at me fight away the first is about GPS location. “When we get your GPS location, we put it together with other location information we have about you (like your current city).”I was shocked when I saw this. This was disturbing to me because Facebook knows right where you are even if you don’t type in your location. This could be done without the user knowing and could cause their safety to be put in jeopardy. If a child’s location was posted without he/she knowing this could allow this information to fall into the wrong persons hands. I believe Facebook should notify the user before they use GPS to find their location.

Educational Game

            The educational game I found is called Math Baseball. I chose this game because it has a wide range of math topics. From simple addition to algebra this game can be customized to the level of math that is right for each individual student. With every question the student gets right they hit the ball and in turn they score runs. This provides the students with some incentive to get the questions right and a teacher could even have competitions in his or her classroom to see which student could get the most runs in a period of time.

http://www.funbrain.com/cgi-bin/mb.cgi

  

            This game gives kids repetition with math concepts but is a much more fun and engaging way than giving students a worksheet with 50 questions to answer. This way kids want to do math rather than dreading doing those dog on worksheets. 

Lesson Plan Presentation

            I have to start this entry out by saying that the group that went today did a great job. I thoroughly enjoyed the lesson plan they came up with. The stations setup in the classroom really made the time go much more quickly and provided a number of different ways to learn about hurricanes. This variety was nice because I didn’t feel like I was stuck either reading or drawing for too long because the sessions were short but long enough to finish the work at each station without feeling rushed. My group is planning on using the format group one did because it worked so well and provides a learning experience that each student finds interesting.

            As a teacher I plan to use this style of teaching because the combination of constructivism and variety in material keeps kids engaged in what is in front of them. This is one of the most challenging things for a teacher and I feel this lesson plan did a fantastic job of keeping me engaged.     

Article Review

I read the article, Using Technology In The Classroom, by Stephanie Reeve Boles that Sarah Kroeger reviewed. I found this article particularly interesting because Boles brought up a very good idea that had not crossed my mind. She explained how she gathered up old computers that no one was using at her school and updated them with various things like new software, more RAM, and wireless cards. This interested me because I enjoy technology greatly and I feel that I could do something like this in my own classroom because it would be easy, cheap, and able to get technology in student’s hands. Boles also brought up a point that technology sparks interest in kids and therefore encourages them to learn. I believe this whole-heartedly because as a student I enjoy classes that utilize technology because I think it enhances my ability to understand the material. All in all, I enjoyed reading this article because Boles shared some tips that she has learned over the years that hopefully I can implement into my classroom.