Week+-+5+-+February+8,+2010

This week we learned about digital assessment and evaluation tools. Even after many months of this program I am still confused about marks. I do not understand why we have to have percentages, levels and letters. I understand that the university wants a different mark. Why can we not have a consistent marking system. i do not like the fact that we have so many different ways of marking and I do not like having a computer program figure out the marks for me. As a digital immigrant I am much more comfortable figuring out the marks on paper myself and then having the computer confirm them. I also experience problems trying to figure out what each assignment i give should be worth. That said Markbook seems fairly simple to use. I am sure after a while I would get use to using it. I also like having all the options on the program, including being able to make an assignment worth more or less and being able to see the graph depicting the class marks. __Is Digital Assessment Different?__ I do not believe that assessing digital projects should be any different than marking another assignment. the only different may be the inclusion of aesthetic value. I believe that the outcome, and whether or not expectations are met are more important than the media used. However if the expectation is centered around whether or not the student understood the technology then marking will be slightly different. In the end it all depends on what the expectations are.
 * General

Plagiarism I think plagiarism is a very serious offense. I think turnitin i s a great tool, although I have never used it. I definitely would like to see it used in secondary schools. Secondary is a stepping stool for many people into college and university. Students need to start learning what is and is not acceptable. Buying an essay online is more problematic than not citing something properly (but still citing it). There are also great new tools available to students to learn to cite properly. Such as Bibme.org. I do not think Bibme.org is problematic. Do students need to know how to cite properly....or do they need to know how to use tools to cite properly. I think the answer is both. they need to know how to do it to make sure the computer is correct. In this new technological age they should know the tools available to them. If a student is caught plagiarizing that student should be asked to redo the assignment and also write something about what plagiarism is and why they should not do it. I do not believe that ** plagiairizng is cause for a fail or loss of credit. There should be progressive consequences. If it is repeatedly a problem then they should lose the credit for the course. ** Collaboration ** : Where do you draw the line? This is a great question. In today's world collaboration is key. I want to see that my students are able to collaborate. However I want to be able to see that they did at least part of the assignment. I think they should be required to do their fair part of the assignment (ex. 2 people - each do 50%, 3 people - each do 30%, etc). Translate.google.com: I would definately allow my students to use this. This is similar to Bibme. org. I want them to be able to use the technology. However I also want them to be able to spot any discrepancies.

= Challenging Cyberbullying = I had never thought about cyber bullying before. I realize now that it is a **huge problem**. This article is great because of the **suggestions** it gives to teachers, parents and students. One that really stood out to me was " **Save any harassing messages and forward them to your Internet Service Provider** (i.e. Hotmail or Yahoo). Most service providers have appropriate use policies that restrict users from harassing others over the Internet - and that includes kids!". I did not realize that there are policies regarding this. I think the most important aspect is **educating**. As teachers we need to **teach our students that cyberbullying is happening**. We need to explain what constitutes as cyber-bullying and what are the consequences...both to the victim and the perpetrator. I think **schools should take a strong stand against cyber bullying** and reinforce consequences. I would not allow a student to access school computers if they are caught bullying through the use of the computer. I realize that this may cause problems for that students homework. I'm not sure how to get around this. **There needs to be consequences**. Suspensions no longer work. The **hardest part is catching students** in the act. Like this article explains cyber-bullying can often be done anonymously. I think that the most that teachers can do is **educate your students** about the harm of cyber-bullying, **what they can do** if it happens to them and **what the consequences are**. Also **be approachable** so students can come to you if they are being bullied or if they know someone who is bullying someone else, and finally **learn as much as you can about the technology and social networking sites** that students are using. This is a complicated problem with no easy answer.
 * Readings:**

Software I love Smart Board. I think it is a great tool. Is it worth $2000? That remains to be seen. I do believe that it is a great tool for engaging students. If they are not interested by your subject matter perhaps they will be interested by the neat things you can do with the smart board. I also think smartboards are great for student projects. Allowing them to use it for their presentations allow them to diretly use and learn about technology in the classroom. **
 * SmartBoards