Amanda's Education Blog

CIPA CIPA (Children's Internet Protection Act)    developed in 2000. CIPA sets requirements on schools and libraries who receive discounts on Internet access and connections through E-rate programs. The purpose is to make sure the schools meet certain requirements to stop students from surfing on inappropriate sites like chat rooms and downloading material, to name a few. This act also requires schools to education students on Internet Safety. What was interesting to me was that the rules and guidelines were updating in 2011. It has now been 8 years and the Internet has changed drastically. I wonder if they will be updating the rules again. Also, what about the schools that do not receive the discounts? What policies do they follow? COPPA COPPA ( The Children´s Online Privacy and Protection Act)  developed in 1998 and updated in 2013 are polices created to protect children using the Internet. This acts gives parents the control over what information websites can...

Digital Tattoo I created a Data Mine before for my previous class and it did open my eyes to how much information is out there about myself. This time around I decided to complete the privacy check on my accounts. Now I always thought I was a very private person and that you cannot see anything on my account unless we are friends. I first started with Facebook Photo Credit   because that is what I use the most. One setting that I know was in place was that nothing can get posted to my page without my approval. I have had this setting for the longest time and I believe it was right after high school that I changed it. At this time I also went through and deleted a BUNCH of photos from my high school years from my page. Now I know that these photos will also be out there, it made me feel better to know that it will take people a little longer to find them. I also looked into SnapChat and Instagram's privacy setting, and I did not need to change anything on these settings ...

Technology Leader Throughout these first four weeks, I have learned a lot about what makes a great leader a leader. A leader must have great communication skills as they will be talking to many different departments within the district. They also need to be organized. They need to be Photo Credit  organized because they will be placing orders for very expensive equipment, collecting data to ensure programs are working and figuring out the best way to store technology on a day to day basis. A leader also needs to be patient, lead by example and build relationships. When I think about myself as a leader, I think I will be a great one, but I did not think about all the responsibility that would come with it. Such as the hiring and ordering sections. The one video I listened to described how when someone is selling you a product they are only going to tell you all the great things about their product. It is up to me to do the research and ask those hard questions that might...

Research As educators we are told to follow best practices based on statistics and research. After reading through many of the articles, there was one article that stuck out to me. The article was called Social Media Fact Sheet completed by Pew Research Center. The center began tracking many things about social media, such as how often, age, race , gender and which account gets used the most. This article contains information is mostly relevant to me.  The chart below shows the age ranges that use some form of social media. Something that does not shock me is that the top line represents ages 18-29 and the bottom line is 65 and older. It is obviously clear without this graph who uses social media the most and who doesn't. I would have liked to see the ages of 10-18 though. I feel like this is the age that most teens start using social media and I would be interested to see is they use it the most.  Photo Credit Another statistic that stood out to me would be ...

Pinterest Who doesn't love Pinterest!? I have so many boards all pertaining to the different communities that I belong to. If you click on the Pinterest logo below, it will take you to my page. You can see boards for reading, teaching, math, science, holiday and phonics...even a board designated to Dr. Seuss!   Photo Credit and Link to Boards I love using Pinterest to gather ideas for a certain topic. I love how teachers post "life hacks" on how to create the most space in your classroom using tools from the dollar store.  4 Areas  I think the area that this covers most would be social. Anyone from any where is able to have a Pinterest. If I chose to follow someone who had a great idea about something, they could live in California and I am here in Chicago. I also think it is social because I am able to share the ideas I found with other educators that might not be searching for the same topic that I am.  This area might be reaching far, but I feel...

Why Social Media? I grew up when it was normal to not have a cell phone at 13 and there was no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat...but there was a MySpace. With that being said to get a hold of friends you would have to call their house phone. This photo always hit home to me because it was so true. The world we live in now relies so much on technology that if you didn't have a cell phone or one of these accounts you probably wouldn't have a social life.  Photo Credit  Social Media Eyes of a Teen The first article I read was the view from a 19 year old. It was very interesting to see that Facebook was not as popular among them as I thought it would be. I loved how he broke down each social media site and gave proper insight to was people use them, how the privacy is and why his age group likes it more. I personal like SnapChat, because it is only my close friends and if I don't want to accept you I don't have too. I like how I can be myself and then the...