Reptile Concept Map

Reptiles

I.       Crocodilia

Crocodilia includes 23 species of crocodiles, alligators, gharials, and caiman.  They can be found in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.  Crocodilia, unlike mammals, replace their teeth continuously throughout their lives.  They lack a urinary bladder.  They also have a four-chambered heart, unlike other reptiles.

A.    Crocodiles

B.    Alligators

II.     Lizards

Lizards are the largest group of reptiles.  There are more than 5,600 species of them.  Most lizards have four legs; some lizards only have two legs.  They can vary in size from two inches to ten feet in length.  The Gila Monster and the Mexican Bearded Lizards are the only two venomous lizards.  Lizards can also be very popular pets.

A.    Wild Lizards

B.    Pet Lizards

III.    Snakes

There are 3,400 species of snakes.  Snakes do not have eyelids or eternal ears.  They also do not have legs.  Snakes can be found on all continents except Antarctica.  They can be up to 29 feet in length.  Most snakes are nonvenomous, though some are venomous.

A.    Venomous

B.    Nonvenomous

IV.    Turtles

There are more than 270 different species of turtles.  Like all other reptiles, turtles are cold-blooded.  These animals can use the pattern on their shells to blend in or camouflage into their environment.  One species of turtles is the sea turtles.  They can grow to be over six feet long and weigh 2000 pounds.  The largest sea turtle recorded was 15 feet long.

A.    Water Turtles

B.    Wood Turtles

V.     Tortoises

There are about 200 species of tortoises, including large and small species.  Large tortoises live an average of 100 years, making them the longest living animals.  These animals can be about four feet long.  An example of large tortoises is the Hood Island Tortoise.  Small tortoises range from about two to eight inches long.  An example of these tortoises is the Bog Tortoise.

A.    Large Tortoises

B.    Small Tortoises

1.    Bog Tortoises

2.    Box Tortoises

Reptiles

Safe Social Networking Tailored For K-12 Schools

Today, more and more students are using social networking for entertainment and communication purposes.  Students enjoy social networking and are using it more and more throughout the day.  Students are given the opportunity in some schools to use this social networking for an educational purpose.  Students can chat with historical figures (played by their teacher), classmates, and their teacher in a controlled environment.  This is using something students enjoy doing for an educational reason.  Students can become excited about learning through using social networking.  I believe this would be great to use with students.  However, teachers must be very cautious.  Because this is an online social network, teachers must constantly monitor this.  It, however, provides teachers an awesome opportunity to help students understand how to use the internet, including safety and communication ettiquette.

Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship

It is important for teachers to teach digital citizenship.  Students must learn how to use the internet and tecchnology appropriately and responsibly.  There are nine themes of digital citizenship, all of which students should learn and understand.
Digital Access means everyone should have access to internet and technology.  In many schools, non-educational websites are often blocked.  I believe this makes it impossible for students to learn how to decipher good internet material from bad.  Sites will not always be blocked and students must understand how to decipher material on their own.
Students also must understand important concepts such as digital communication, etiquette, and security.  Because students use technology so much, it is important they know how to use it to communicate.  They  also must understand how dangerous the internet can be.  They must be able to use the internet is a safe and responsible way.

Children's Internet Protection Act

The Children's Internet Protection Act requires schools and libraries to filter out certain websites and sets other requirements on the internet.  Schools must monitor students using the internet by students.  It now requires schools to provide education on online safety and cyberbullying.  If schools fail to do this, they will not be eligible for E-Rate funding or discounts.  This would require teachers to be educated on online safety and cyberbullying.  According to the article, the new rules are vague and do not give a way of how to teach this to students.  Though this may be a difficult rule to enforce, I believe it is very important for students to be taught online safety and about cyberbullying.  They are headed into a very technical world and will need to know how to use technology.  It is also dangerous for young students who do not know about the possible  dangers of the internet.  Many students do not understand how dangerous the internet is and how it is not at all private.  It would really benefit students to receive this type of education.

A Future Full of Badges

According to the article, A Future Full of Badges,colleges are beginning to give out badges as a rewardsystem for classes, grades, and other achievements.  It is a similar system to girl scout's badges.  Students are given an electronic "badge" for completing classes, grades, training and competitions.  Soon, it will not be limited to colleges handing out these badges. Badges will be given for competitions and other achievements.  This badge system can have both good and bad effects.
Badges could help give students something to work toward.  They also give employers a more overview of the applicant's accomplishments.  This gives the employers a better idea of what skills the applicant has than a traditional resume or transcript.
Badges can also have a negative sidde.  When students earn badges for training, it is difficult to tell whether this training is legitamate or good training.  Badges handed out by organizations other than colleges may not be earned or as valuable as others.  It may become so trivial that badges become no longer meaningful.

Gamification

Gamification is using elements of games in situation that are not gaming.  This can definitely be used in classrooms.  Students enjoy games; most of their time is spent playing games.  Using elements of games in situations such as contests, leader boards, or other game like situations can help students focus and hold their interests.  I would definitely consider using this in my own classroom.  Students can receive recognition through this, thus giving them more confidence to continue their success.  I could see how this would really work with students who are shy or struggling.  School should not be some boring place where students are constantly forced to sit and listen to a teacher talk for hours.  Interactive lessons, such as using game elements in a lesson, can really help students.  It should be done carefully, though.  Some students may begin working toward the reward, and not caring about the work they are producing.  If students are asked to read so many books for a contest, they may begin just scanning through the books quickly and not taking the time needed to truly understand what they are reading.  As long as this tool is used properly, it can be a very useful tool in a classroom.

The Virtues of Blogging

The author of the article Virtues of Blogging as Scholarly Activity points out the benefits of using blogs in his field as a University Professor.  His reasons for using blogs as much as he does is because of the "room for experimentation" and the "potential to connect to timely intelligent debate."  He discusses how useful blogs are.  Before blogs, professors were only able to publish their ideas in books or be on television to get their ideas out to the public.  However, with the help of blogs, they are able to communicate their ideas to many more people and much easier. 

I agree with the author in the fact that blogs do not work the same for everyone.  I cannot see me, as a future elementary teacher, using blogs in the same way as this University Professor does.  Though I may find a way to use a blog in my classroom, or to share ideas with fellow teachers, I will not use a blog in the same way this professor does.  I also agree that not everyone will benefit from using blogs.  There are other forms of media that may be more beneficial and can help in different jobs and situations.

One problem I could see with using blogs in a scholarly way is the lack of being able to prove the source is credible.  Books and scholarly journals are credible sources that can be used in a scholarly situation.  However, blogs are not the same.  Though information can be received by more people, the information may not be credible or seen as credible. 

A Vision of K-12 Students Today

The YouTube video, A Vision of K-12 Students Today- 2011, was very informative and eye opening.   This video pointed out how necessary  it was to incorporate technology in the classroom, but also how technology  is not being incorporated as it should be.Between 2004 and 2014, 5 of the 15 fastest growing jobs will be in the computer field.  Today's students will be faced with more jobs in the technology field than ever before.  It is now more important than ever to prepare these students for these jobs they will hold in the future.  Teaching students technology  education does not only teach them how to use a computer, but it can help students improve math skills, study skills, foreign language, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills.  All of these skills will be crucial for students entering in the technology field, or just having a professional job.  The U.S. is behind in scores in science, literacy, and mathematics. 24 countries hold higher scores in mathematics than the U.S.  11 countries hold higher scores in literacy than the U.S.  This is because more students are spending time with entertainment media such as video games and television than they are reading.  If technology was used more in the classroom, students would be more interested and inclined to participate, thus raising scores.  29% of teachers rarely use technology. This was shocking to me, because technology is so important in today's world.

Web Literacy

It is important as a teacher to teach web literacy.  In today's world, more and more students are having to use the internet or other forms of technology for schoolwork and other reasons.  According to the article Why More Schools Aren't Teaching Web Literacy-- and How they Can Start, most students do not know how to code information on the internet.  Because schools often block sites that are not credible, students are unable to decipher credible information from incorrect information.  These students are not taught how to decipher this information, and it is important for teachers to teach students how to do  this on their own, instead of relying on the computers to block the non credible websites.  As a teacher, it is important for me to be web literate so I can better teach my students. 

Students also must be taught the proper use of search engines and research tools.  Most students rely on one single search engine.  Students should know how to use a variety of search engines, and how to properly search using these tools.  Students should know how to use proper language and decide which information is appropriate to use in the instance.  Students may struggle to understand the information they find and organize it in a way that it can be useful to both them and others. 

Technology is becoming prevalent in the world  and in the classroom.  It is very important for students to understand how to use this technology to better their education and lives.  Teachers must teach this information to their students.