Sam’s blog

After having read Talia’s interesting post on e-books i was intrigued to learn more about this new technology. After visitng the sites Talia provided, I was not greatly impressed with what was available. As a book reader myslef, I did not see the appeal in reading a book online. The ‘books’ looked like a word document and I personally would not enjoy reading a book that way.

However, keen to not disregard this technology without some more research i googled e-books in the classroom and found a great article by Eric J. Simon “Are e-books ready for the classroom?” Although this article is a bit dated it raised some points that helped answer some of questions.

Eric was curious about e-books and conducted a survey on their use. He gave 22 biology students e-books for a semester and monitored their use and response to the technology. The way in which they were used was how we would use textbooks in our learning. The e-books allow for highlighting and note-taking so students used them as they would any ordinary text.

However, some problems were noted. The screens were small and in black and white, this would be sufficient for a subject that relies on written information only, however a subject that requires visuals and diagrams would be disadvantaged with a black and white screen. Colour screen e-books are available but for a higher price, at the time they were $699 opposed to the $199 for the black and white. When surveyed 84% of students would pay $199 for the e-book but not $699 as they would still need to purchase the texts.

Also, a major problem was the availabilty of texts. There were not many texts available, as many publishers were willing to provide e-books of their texts but, not until the e-books become more popular. However, one of the main reasons that the e-books were not being used was the limited texts available. So it was going to be difficult for the e-book to be a success.

After reading this article, I think that i may use an e-book if it was available to me, as i think that carrying an e-book rather than actual books to uni would be easier and less of a hassal as you would have all the books you need in one device. However, i do not see this being a good technology for a primary classroom as young students will benefit more from using real books, we do not want them to lose touch with authentic texts they way they were originally written. In a high school or tertiary environment i think the e-book could be a success as students will have access to texts all the time, however, i they were to forgot their e-book at home…. there could be a problem. The only other thing i can think of is whether students and parents will be willing to spend the money to purchase an e-book.

If someone gave me an e-book i would give it a go, as i could see the benefit of using one and hopefully they continue to work on the e-book or even software to put on laptops and pcs that will develop this interesting technology to become a part of the classrooms of the very near future.

Talia posted some interesting information about digital cameras. It is true that cameras with film are becoming extinct almost in our society. Digital camera’s are much easier and quicker to use, a photo can be taken, and uploaded onto a computer in mere minutes and printed off on the spot.

As this is so simple, it is a great idea to get students involved with using camera’s. Dr. Terrence Cavanagh has set up a website with some great information on using digital camera’s in the classroom she provides factual information and even has some great lesson plans posted. She goes on to say

“The use of images in teaching and learning has benefits to support student comprehension, retention, and application. For example we relate the use of images to spatial intelligence, student motivation to learn, and conditions of instruction, which are established models and theories in education.”

I personally enjoy usinfg my digital camera as it is so easy to use and there are so many options available when using it. The price of digital cameras is quite reasonable considering the quality that is available, also you do not need to buy film or get the photos professionally developed. I think they are a great affordable tool that every classroom and home should have.

After reading Tim’s post on social networking, I was reminded of the Current Affair item on the same issue. Tim speaks of the popularity of social networking sites such as myspace and facebook amoung children. Schools have begun banning these sites from their computers, however, they cannot prohibit them from using them out of school.

It is often in this time that the problems arise with students being bullied through their blogs. Children have been insulted, ridiculed and had others hack into their accounts. This is a new form of bullying that parents and teachers are not familair with and cannot deal with in the usual way.

As i mentioned in my earlier post cyber bullying is not limited to school, and follows children home. Parents need to become more aware of their children and how they are using the internet. Carol A. Josel provide some tips for parents on how to become more aware with this issue. A good suggestion she had was that parents become involved in the programs their children use. This way they can see what their children are doing and children will be aware that a parent is watching.

I also found a site called imbee it is a social netwroking site for children that requires the permission of the parent for a child to sign up and can be used in a classroom environment. Hopefully, such a program can be used to reduce the number of students on myspace and facebook, as these sites are not really suitable for children with some of the content that is available.

However, a big issue with these sites remains that if children are not allowed to use them, they will become curious and want to more, perhaps rather than prohibiting their use, students should be better educated on how to use these sites and the risks of using them.

A good site i found relating to this and providing good information for children, parents and teachers is Australian Government Net Alert. I think education is the key to social networking as it has only become popular recently and it will most likely become more and more popular. It will not go away so rather than try to stop children from using it we should all educate ourselves about it and learn how to use it safely.

Watching A Current Affair last night, I was shocked to see an item on Cyber Bullying.

Cyber-bullying is the title given to the new form of bullying that is becoming increasingly common in schools today. Children are being bullied via chat rooms, messenger programs, blogs, and e-mails. It is becoming more common as it is easily accessible and does not necessarily need to involve any physical contact. However, I can see how this form of bullying could be worse than physical bullying as students can feel very threatened. Physical bullying may occur only in certain places, such as school and after school activities, however with cyber bullying there are no real limitations. The bullies can torment others in their own homes, a place where they would usually feel secure.

A year 7 student in Queensland was bullyed in the playground at school. This is bad enough and traumatic for the child. However to add insult to injury, students filmed the attack on their mobile phones and then proceeded to upload these videos onto you-tube.

I was shocked by this, as the poor student involved had to have the ordeal broadcasted online for all to see. It was suprising to see how technologically advanced students are these days, and what they can do using the technology made available to them. It made me wonder whether or not all this technology we use is actually helping our society or not. Some of the things people do with technology are definately not beneficial and can be harmful.

I think that with such things in consideration, that it is important to address appropriate and inappropriate ways to use technology with students. As using it in the way i saw yesterday is definately not something I think anyone would condone.

However, if we are teaching students how to use technology and encouraging them to share media online through blogs and sites such as teacher tube, we are providing them the skills to do the things seen in cyber bullying.