Web Savvy Educator
#McKEdTech
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The World Wide Web is like the ocean: deep and wonderful with so much to explore and learn, but it is also a vast dangerous place to travel. Just as you would not throw your students into the ocean alone, you don't want to throw them into the Web alone. A Web Savvy Teacher should be like an ocean guide. They are aware of the need to model responsible technology use and help students learn to use it effectively (learn more about the SAMR Model), but also purposefully designs travel into the Web and helps their students wade in and eventually dive in.
This is a broad topic but for the purpose of this TLC the focus will be on finding the safest and best Websites to expose students to. To learn more about teaching and modeling best tech practices consider looking into the Researcher TLC.
Resouces
FAQ
What if students find a bad/inappropriate website on their own?
Teach students to either turn the monitor off and alert the teacher or simply use the back button and get out of there. Filters attempt to protect students but unfortunately things do get through and teachers need to be actively monitoring student internet use and guiding them to good resources.
I found a new favorite! How do I keep track and keep organized?
Symbaloo is a great tool to collect and share websites with students. You can share a link to a symbaloo directly (either asking students to type a short URL or through a QR Code) OR you can embed Symbaloo on your own website. You can also create a bookmark using Google Chrome. It is strongly suggested that you SIGN IN to Chrome so that your bookmarks are not only saved to your profile but will sync across devices.
Did you know? Malvern teachers have a links page on the Malvern Learning Commons website for student use and can add links at any time simply by talking to the MRS.
Don't kids just need a few fun websites---for fun?
Yes. There is a time and a place for this: but is it your classroom during the school day? Is CoolMathGames REALLY the best use of their school time--even if it is downtime, OR because we are still in a learning environment could we restrict choices to some better sites? Given the choice could students make BETTER choices to spend their free time reading, researching, learning or practicing skills FOR FUN? Is it better to model using down time to learn for fun than to waste time mindlessly? Check out these two pages to find other "fun" sites:
The first step in becoming a Web Savvy Educator is to know where to look for good websites, and to know what a good elementary website is.
Start by reading these articles about Tech Savvy Educators from Education Week. Be on the look out for tips that can help you find the best websites for student use.
Browse through some of these lists of Best Elementary Websites to find a few new favorites. These are by no means exhaustive and you are encouraged to branch out and do your own searches.
AASL's Best of 2015 (this is THE list to get on if you are a webiste)
How can I determine if a website IS good?
Each teacher will need to determine their own criteria based on their students needs. However there are a few sources that might help:
1. AASL's Best of.....updated each year
Challenge
Elementary teachers have a hard job as students have a broad range of skills and schema when it comes to using the web, some don't know Google from a Goose and others know their favorite URLs by heart. Students do need to be explicitly taught how to use Google and become better researchers, so modeling this IS important, but it is also important to have done the search in advance and KNOW which site to head to, rather than letting the students lead you.
Task 1: Determine your critieria for a "Good" website for your students. Note these in the comments below.
Task 2: Using your criteria think find at least 4 good websites for use with your students: 1 for assement of a particular skill or skills, 1 for use after they are finished with other work (down time), 1 that helps students with one of your research projects and one that you just like and think is great. Submit these websites to the TLC Web Savvy Directory with your TLC completion survey.
Bonus Task: Post to your favorite social media page (Twitter if possible) with the words "Elementary websites" and #McKEdTech
Claim your Badge
Please complete this brief survey to help TLC and future technology professional development improve and then download and save a copy of the Web Savvy Educator badge or claim your Credly badge (claim code: 9BD-C5B4-404). Visit the Show Off page to learn about ideas of how to share the badges you earn. Consider leaving comments below with additional questions, tips for others or feedback that was not included in the survey.