Week 8 Blog: Computer Security

In today's technology age, we use computers for practically everything it seems. From paying bills to ordering a birthday gift for your child, computers can make our lives much easier. However, computers and  the Internet in particular, are not always safe and secure. Computer hackers can hack into your network and steal personal information. Child predators can stalk children via the internet causing every parent's worst nightmare. Another threat to computers are viruses that can infect them and cause irreparable damage. All of these things are dangers that we encounter when using the Internet. That's why it is vital to take the necessary precautions to prevent these things from happening.

I am not yet teaching, but on my personal computer at home I have anti-virus software installed. I am also very careful about what I download or click on when using the Internet. Unfortunately, these precautions are not always enough because some viruses, like the Trojan Horses, disguise themselves as something else, so the user unknowingly downloads them onto his or her computer. My sister had something like this infect her computer last year. A pop-up box kept showing up on her computer prompting her to click yes or no as to whether or not she wanted to download a program. She clicked "no" and didn't think about it again. Over time her computer virtually shut down. My husband was able to fix it, and discovered that her computer had a virus that she had unknowingly downloaded when she clicked "no." The virus was set up to infect the computer no matter which you chose. She would have had to have closed out the box without choosing an answer to not contract the virus. It definitely pays to be extra careful with the internet.

I am not yet teaching, but I did work at my county's middle school for the last three years as a case manager, so I know a little about the precautions made with the school's computers. Every staff member has a password that must be entered before they can access any computer. This is a good precaution because it prevents students from being able to access the computers without knowing the username and password of a staff member. One concern I have with this system, though, is that the password is not required to be changed after so long. I worked there for over three years and was never once asked to change my log-in password. Teachers can take it upon themselves to change it every so often, and they probably should, but honestly, I never changed mine because I was worried that I would forget it if I kept changing it. I kept it the same for my own convenience, but at what risk? My guess is that if I did not change my password, other staff members probably didn't either. Looking back, I can see that this was not the best way to go about things. Changing passwords is a simple way to increase security and prevent students from getting onto computers and retrieving information.

With the prevalence of social networking sites like Facebook, new safety and security concerns are occurring in our schools. My county recently had an incident with a teacher communicating with a student via Facebook in order to illicit sexual contact with her. After this happened, our schools are now requiring that teachers do not have students as friends on Facebook. I personally think that this should have been policy before this happened, but thankfully it is now. We have to keep our students and teachers safe from things like this. In the end, I feel that it is best to err on the side of caution when using the internet.

Taking precautions with the internet and teaching our students about internet safety addresses the NETS-T standard 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. It is our responsibility as educators to keep our students safe while using the internet. It is important that we monitor what they do in the classroom and teach them safety tips that they can use at home as well.

Week 7 Blog: Educational Software

One of the things we have been learning about this week in Educational Technology is educational software. Educational software can be very beneficial to students if utilized in the right manner. One of the most important aspects of using this software is choosing the appropriate kind for your classroom. The software needs to be high quality and should be tied to the instructional goals we have for our students. It should also be fun and engaging for students to use, while simultaneously enhancing the content we are teaching. I remember when I was in elementary school, two of my favorite educational games were Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. I was actually surprised when I saw these two games listed in our textbook as examples of good educational games to use today (Lever-Duffy 216). My first thought was, "These games are still around?" It's interesting that games I used to enjoy twenty years ago or more are still being played by students today.

I am not yet teaching so I have not had the opportunity to use educational software in the classroom. However, my mom, who is a first grade teacher, actually recommended a website called Starfall to use with my preschool age son to help him learn the alphabet. She uses this website with her first graders, and she says that they really enjoy it. I have explored the site, and I could definitely see myself utilizing it not only with my own children, but also with my future students. The website features reading activities based on where the child is at the in reading process. These stages include: ABCs; Learn to Read; It's Fun to Read; and I'm Reading. Each part of the website includes various activities, songs, videos, and more for students to use to help with the reading process. The content of the site is both educational and entertaining, which I think is the combination needed for quality educational software. Another aspect of this website that I liked is how easy it is to navigate. This is extremely important in order for students to get the most benefits from using it. Everything is easy to find and easy to get to. Children could use this website with assistance or on their own.

This software would be very useful for early elementary teachers. The degree I am pursuing is Special Education, which is one of the groups of students that this site recommends using it with. This website could help me to meet the instructional goals of teaching my students how to read and also teaching them to enjoy reading. This website helps make reading fun, and I think that is such a crucial aspect of teaching kids to read. If it something they enjoy, they will be more likely to spend time doing it. If I teach Special Education at the early elementary level, this is a website I will definitely utilize with my students.

Using this software in the classroom will help me to meet the NETS-T standard 2-Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. This software will also help my students meet the NETS-S standard 1-Creativity and Innovation and the NETS-S standard 6- Technology Operations and Concepts. This software will allow my students to make good use of  a quality technological tool that will improve both their reading and technology skills.

Blog Post 6- WebQuests

This week's blog assignment included something I had never done before: create a WebQuest. According to the article, "How to Plan a WebQuest" by Tammy Andrew, a WebQuest is "an assignment or short project that engages students in searching for information via the world wide web."  Honestly, before this assignment, I was unfamiliar with WebQuests, and had never actually seen one. Now, I not only know what a WebQuest is, but I have actually had the opportunity to create one of my own. I did not realize how little I actually knew about the various educational technology tools out there until I took this class. I am definitely learning something new every week.
My WebQuest is about the book Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. I chose to do my WebQuest on a literary topic since that is what I am most familiar with. I geared my assignment toward middle school age students, specifically seventh graders, since I have worked with this age group as a case manager for a mentoring program and also because I hope to teach at this grade level eventually. I chose the diary of Anne Frank because it is a personal favorite of mine and also because it is on several middle school classic literature lists that I researched. Deciding on a topic for the WebQuest was probably the most challenging aspect for me. It took me awhile to come to a final decision. Once I decided on Anne Frank, I had to design the assignments that the students would have to complete. Since Anne Frank is a historical figure and her diary was written during the Holocaust, I chose to have the students research both World War II and the Holocaust to get a better understanding of the book. To further incorporate technology into the assignment, I had the students create a Powerpoint presentation on their findings. As an additional assignment, I asked the students to create a series of diary entries to be written from the point-of-view of a teenager living during the same time in history as Anne Frank.  My WebQuest can be found at http://questgarden.com/130/01/2/110806203147/


I really liked the Quest Garden website. I liked how it takes you step by step through the entire process of creating a WebQuest. This was especially beneficial to those like me who are new to WebQuests. When I first saw this assignment and what we would have to do, I was a little intimidated and also worried that it would be difficult to complete. I found, however, that once I got started, the rest fell into place. Like I said before, choosing my topic and figuring out the specific assignments was probably the most challenging aspect of creating my WebQuest. 


Creating a WebQuest for students addresses several of the NETS-T standards. It addresses Standard 1: Facilitate and Inspire student learning and creativity: Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. It also addresses Standard 2: Design and Develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments. This assignment also addresses the NETS for students standards such as: Standard 3: Research and Information fluency and Standard 4: Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making.


Overall, I feel that creating this WebQuest was a good learning experience for me. I have been exposed to a new technological tool that I can utilize in my own classroom. I am glad that I now know how to create a WebQuest for my students to use.