TIP Model Phase 4-Preparing the Instructional Environment
This is the scenario in which we have been tasked to access.
Esmerelda is having her students do a social studies project in which they do "virtual interviews" of experts on various periods in U.S. history. She schedules time in the computer lab and has them locate experts by searching Internet sites. She gives them an initial list of sites, but encourages them to branch out from there, looking for additional sites on their own. There is no lab manager and she has to go back to the classroom for periods of time as they work, but she knows they are competent Internet users and can be trusted not to leave the lab without permission. For their contacts with experts, she has them prepare a standard email with the school name; their names, ages, addresses, and personal email addresses, if they have one; and a description of what they would like to know.
1. Assuming she is correct that students will not leave the lab with permission, is Esmeralda's plan for having students use the Internet a good one? Why or why not?
Leaving the lab without permission would be the least of my concern when dealing with the internet.
The concept of using the internet is both a good and a bad idea. When using the internet for research, it is a valuable tool in which they are able to expand to out of the box thinking with the initial list of sites she has provided for them. Also, with allowing access to the internet to do research, it is reinforcing confidence to become familiar with the use of the internet.
But with the idea of performing an on line interview with a so called "virtual interviews" of experts on various periods in U.S. history is something I feel is only asking for trouble and placing her students into possible harm. There is no way she can be sure that her students are dealing with reputable people and not a predator. She is especially encouraging them to branch out from there to look for additional sites on their own in which she has not gone to herself first to determine if they are safe. I believe Esmerelda is performing poor judgment by allowing them to continue this assignment without her constant supervision.
2. Do you see any problems with the email she is having them send?
There are several problems with the email she is having them create to send. First of all she is having them prepare a standard email with the school name; their names, ages, addresses, and personal email addresses, if they have one.
No one should ever put personal information like their ages, schools, email address and definitely not their addresses. It is an open invitation to help predators to target children. The email they are composing contains too much information for a predator to be able to physically locate one of the children.
3. How would you change her plan to improve it?
If I were the teacher, I would not have them perform a "virtual interview". It is a subject that would be too difficult to monitor 100% without endangering the students. But I would utilize the internet by showing them how to obtain information from sites that I had already explored prior to demonstrating the lesson in classes. I could perform the searches in class using the equipment provided by the school and stress the importance of not providing information to anyone on the internet even if it may seem harmless. I would also, direct them to other resources such as other teachers, text books, the library, and the local colleges with the assistance of their parents.
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You have some great advice in your blog. I like the point you made about expanding outside the box, great way to put it. The Internet is very resourceful for information, and I agree with you on the "virtual interview", bad idea. Could you picture being the parent of the children and not knowing what your child may be exposed to through this project? I am a proud parent of 2 boys and just the thought of a chance that a predator advanced my child makes me feel hurt, frustrated, and scared to think that I would not be there if it did occur while they were at school.
ReplyDeleteI like all the references to outside resources as well as the Internet idea. Great job, Juanita.
Juanita, I understand your comment left on my blog but are we always going to shelter the students. Regardless if there is predators we just need to really step up our security. I think stopping the kids from learning and experiencing technology is pretty bad too. I think Esmeralda had good ideas but needed some work. That is when fellow co-workers are great. Sharing ideas for class project can sometimes use another side of ideas. They can make you see what needs to be worked on. Thanks for the comment. Oh! I wasn't sure to put the comment under mine or yours. I guess we'll figure it out.
ReplyDeleteI can understand both Juanita and April. We do live in a world that can be complicated and even cruel at times, but as April pointed out we may not always be able to shelter our students. I feel that we need to find an agreeable median when dealing with certain issues as these. I believe Esmeralda had good intentions by trying to expose her students to using the internet as a useful tool, but I don't think her lesson was well-thought through. There were many underlying issues that needed to be addressed, but were overlooked. The assignment was a good idea and could be a very creative lesson if those minor quirks were fixed- a few examples are a. Esmeralda could get an aide or volunteer to help supervise, b. instead of using real experts in their "virtual interviews" fellow students could be used, or c. having the experts send their mail/email to the school would be better than using their own. Overall each point made is valid and seems to be in the best interest of the students.
ReplyDeleteHi Juanita, I agree with your assessment of the good/bad use of the Internet. While the technology to connect with people and information over this world-wide network is a powerful and time-saving tool it certainly has its drawbacks. Not knowing who you are connecting to and whether the information you receive is valid and able to be verified are just a few of the drawbacks. The exercise that Esmeralda is asking the students to perform could be better handled if she would give more directed instructions and supervision. The Internet is not a magical tool that will safeguard our children! This leads me to the email that she is having the students prepare. For the purpose of the research, I agree with you that virtual interviews are not needed. There is one additional thought that I had on the Internet research. The teacher could also integrate a lesson on being able to judge whether a web site is legitimate or not. She could show the children what she looks for when looking for a “good” web site for research information. This lesson of validating information on the Internet will help the student on future research projects.
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