Authentic Writing Project with a Peace Corp Volunteer

I'm so excited about our new blog with a Peace Corp Volunteer. Her name is Megan McCann she is from Keizer. Her current posting is in Nicaragua. Fifth grade students have an opportunity to write to Megan. Her posts allow us to learn about life in another culture, while developing our writing skills.
Bellow you will find Megan's first post.

My name is Megan McCann and I grew up in Keizer, Oregon. I went to Keizer
Elementary, Whiteaker Middle School, and McNary High School before
heading off to college at Western Oregon University. There I got my degree
in Elementary Education and my Oregon teaching license. I focused on
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). After that, I
went to Gonzaga University up in Spokane, Washington--you've probably
heard of their great basketball team, but that's not why I went :) I'm in
a special program that is connected with the Peace Corps, called the Peace
Corps Masters International (PCMI) program. So, this means that I have
taken classes for my Masters degree, and now I'm serving in the Peace Corps
in Nicaragua to teach English to complete my degree. The Peace Corps is a
program that was started by former President John F. Kennedy. He asked
college students to serve their country by working to help other countries
in need, representing the USA in a good way. The first goal of Peace Corps
is to assist people in other countries in a way that will allow them to build skills so they can continue the work after volunteers leave (sustainable development); the next goal is to be a good representative of the US in other countries to show those people that US citizens are kind and helpful; the last goal of Peace Corps is to show US citizens what other cultures are really like, more than the strange things you might see on TV, but real people who work, and have families. That last goal is the one that I'll be working on with you. I hope to give you an insider's opinion into what Nicaragua and the wonderful people who live here are like. Please send me any questions you have and I'll try to answer them as best as I can. Can't wait to hear from you all!

Megan :)

You can follow our posts at:
http://gubsergators.blogspot.com/

Cyberbullying and Copyright

This month we have been learning about Cyberbullying and House Bill 2599, an Act that went into effect in Oregon on July 1, 2009. The Act relates to Cyberbullying, creating regulations that school districts must have in place to deal with "hostile educational environments." Students learned that the school district has policy in place to deal with students who are creating reasonable fear in other students. We viewed a video and had discussion around the idea that while we sometimes think we are acting in jest, it can sound very serious to the person on the other end of an email, IM, text, etc.
Yesterday we started a new topic of discussion: Copyright. I have been amazed at the number of questions that students have about downloading songs, borrowing songs, copying songs and giving them away. We talked about the rights of an artist, an author, the recording industry, and the movie industry. Many students asked about Youtube and the many songs, movies and television shows that they see there. We talked about Napster and the can of worms that they opened and about Limewire and if the videos and songs they download there are OK to get. We talked about the difference between creative commons videos, songs, etc. and copyrighted work.
We are living in a viral age, where everything is available. I think that it boils down to educating ourselves about the about the legal use of copyrighted material.
I like the Stanford University website, it's broken down in plain English and will hopefully help with questions you might have. Check it out at:
http://rescomp.stanford.edu/info/dmca/

Internet Safety Skills

This week students in grades 3rd, 4th and 5th we will be exploring internet safety. Areas to be covered are email, chatting, social networking, search engines, downloading and password safety.
The emphasis is on cautious use and parent involvement with areas that may make a student feel uncomfortable. The website that we are using is, http://www.e-learningforkids.org/
Click on “Computer Skills” and then click on “Safe Internet Usage for Children.” You will notice that right below the children’s section is an “Internet Usage for Parents”, great information for us adults. Please browse the other areas of course work on this website and you will find many interesting courses in math, literature and science.
Or check out the PDF, Getting Started With Cyber Security Awareness, for ideas about how to help your child stay safe.

Internet Safety Education

The Federal Broadband Data Improvement Act requires school districts, like ours, who receive e-Rate discounts on our telecommunications services and Internet access to educate students about appropriate online behavior.
At Gubser we have been using the Cyber Smart curriculum for the last five or six years. I have seen it as a valuable tool in giving our sudents a greater understanding of, and the responsible use of the internet and other technologies.

Cyber Smart is a research-based curriculum that is aligned to both our state and the national technology literacy standards. The topics covered are:
• Safety and Security online
• Manners, Cyberbullying and Ethics
• Authentic Learning and Creativity
• Research
• Twenty-First Century Challenges

All students in grades in grades first to fifth will be given age appropriate instruction through out the year.

You can learn more about the Cyber Smart home connection at: http://cybersmart.org/

Or check out the PDF What the Experts Say About Online Safety. for a quick overview of what your students will be learning and what you can do at home to keep you child safe online.

Windows Vista Parental Controls

Get Game Smart: Windows Vista Parental Controls

Posted using ShareThis

Love this site that I found today, it allows you to create parental controls for children, both on Windows Vista and on your X-box 360. I created an account and set up time limits, program restrictions, and game settings for early childhood through teen programs. This is a fantastic tool available to you if you use Windows Vista or X-Box 360. I'd encourage you to take a look. Get the directions for setting up Windows Vista settings at the link above or get more information at...
http://www.getgamesmart.com/tools/setcontrols/

4th Grade State Symbol Research

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This is a search engine that was created through the student Google site. This will allow your student to work on their state report project safely. The web sites that you see below the Google add have all been reviewed. Stay within the custom search results without moving to "more results" option.

Third Grade All About Me Power Point and Speech

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Your third grade student will be starting a project in computer lab called "All About Me." This project is a Power Point slide show that includes photos or drawings of family members, pets, and a self portrait.

If you have photos that would be appropriate for this project, you can send them to me in an envelope with your student’s full name and home room, email them to me, send in on a flash drive or CD Rom. I will return any photographs to you as soon as I've scanned them. Please keep the number of photographs to no more than six.

Thank you for your help,

Carol Proudfit
My email address is:
proudfit_carol@salkeiz.k12.or.us