NetSmartz

What it is: Technology is rapidly changing how we teach and learn. The Internet in particular expands our classrooms walls to the rest of the world. Netsmartz Kids teaches students about being safe online through fun songs, characters, videos and interactive games. The site does not link to any outside sites. It is safe and easy to use.

How to integrate: Netsmartz Kids introduce your students to the rules of the web through  songs and games. Netsmartz Educators offers wonderful activity cards and ideas for using Netsmartz in the classroom. Netsmartz Parents provides on and offline learning activities for parents to facilitate discussions with their children and teens about Internet safety.

WebSense Internet Safety Agreement

This week we are focusing on Internet safety and how we handle tricky circumstances. The students and I are discussing each question on the agreement in order to gain a complete understanding of what each one means.

These are the guidelines that we will be following:

1. I will remember that information is valuable on the Internet and I will keep my own and other classmates personal information private. [Check that posted images don't share personal info.]
   
   
   
   1. full name (first and last)
   
   
   2. street address
   
   
   3. name of school and or school address
   
   
   4. e-mail address
   
   
   5. phone numbers
   
   
   6. passwords
   
   
   7. calling card numbers
   
   
   8. mother’s maiden name
   
   
   9. parent’s place of work
   
   
   10. photos in which you can be recognized, other people’s photos
   
   
   11. other people’s names: friends, teacher, classmates
   
   
   
   


2. I will keep my password or password hint private, even from my best friend. I will only share it with my parents when I am asked.


3. Everything that I write, create, or search for using my digital tools will have an educational purpose that my teacher knows about and has given me permission to do.


4. I will use school appropriate language when communicating and searching.


5. I will only chat online with other TAS students and only when I need to work with other students on a school project and have my teacher’s permission.


6. I will delete any emails, junk, spam, chain emails or comments from people I don’t know without opening or forwarding them.


7. My school email is for my school work only. I will only share it or enter it to a website only when told to by my teacher.


8. I will always give credit when I have used other people’s work. [Citing sources]


9. I will only log on as myself.


10. I will always log off after using the computer.


11. I will check to make sure that my spelling; punctuation and grammar helps me to say what I want to say.


12. I will never purposefully collect or use information to gain access to any account or network that I do not have permission to access.


13. My teacher will not be included on any friendship network or non-school related communication.


14. I will only go to websites that I have permission to go to and check with my teacher if I am unsure.


15. If I see a webpage or an email that makes me feel bad or uncomfortable I will close the page and tell my parents or teachers about it.


16. I will tell my parents or teachers if someone that I met online wishes to meet offline.

"Get Up and Go"

I am thrilled and very excited to begin the 2010-2011 school year at TAS and have been delightfully overwhelmed with the student population. The students have been fabulous at responding to questions, politely asking for assistance and are respectful of each other. I was amazed at how well the 5th grade students could keyboard...some 50WPM with 97% accuracy. Not something I have seen a great deal of at other schools I have worked in. The students have been correctly taught to love keyboarding!

We started the year with “Get Up and Go” a unit which discusses:

1. Proper handling and use of a Netbook which all students in grades 3-5 will be using this year
   
   
   
   • Carry the Netbook with 2 hands
   
   
   • Log off when done and passing it to another student
   
   
   • Shut down when putting it into the storage cart
   
   
   • Always plug in the power adapter so it can charge the battery
   
   
   • Use the machine on a table not their laps or arms
   
   
   • Do not force a machine to shut down, tells a teacher if it will not shut down properly
   
   
   
   


2. Login/Logoff procedures
   
   
   
   • User name, password
   
   
   • Password etiquette
   
   
   • Creating a new password
   
   
   • Wiggle the mouse to wake up the computer
   
   
   • Ctrl, Alt, Del
   
   
   • Logoff when done
   
   
   
   


3. File management
   
   
   
   • Create new folders
   
   
   • Rename
   
   
   • Delete
   
   
   • Access them from within an application
   
   
   
   


4. Navigating to different sites we will be working with this year
   
   
   
   • Blogs
   
   
   • GApps
   
   
   • Typing Pal
   
   
   • TAS home page
   
   
   
   


5. Keyboarding

We have a few more lessons to go in this unit but we are off to a great start. I am looking forward to helping the students be creative, collaborate on units, understand their digital footprints, connect globally to others, and become good digital citizens.

Mr. Wolak's Students' Blogs

Aili

Bill

Daniel

Emily

Harris

Hyun Bean

Jackie

Jesse

Klaus

Lamie

Louis

Lulu

Melina

Michelle

Ojaswee

Olivia

Rei

Sean

Tomas

Vincent

Zhi Ping

Mrs. Rick's Students' Blog

Alex

Andrew

Annabell

Brian

Dustin

Dylan

Gordon

Jane

Janine

Jared

Jessica

Julie

Katrina

Lina

Mark

Patrick

Ryan

Sabrina

Timothy

Ting Jen

Yeji

Mrs. O'Rourke's Students' Blogs

Alina

Angela

Anna

Anne

Anthea

Charlize

Charlotte

Dohyeon

Eric

Ethan

Evan

Grace

Henry

Ian

Isaac

Jason

Nader

Nicholas

Reina

Ryan

Shaun

Thomas

Email Netiquette

1. Always include a brief subject


2. Always begin with a greeting: Dear, Hello, Ni Hoa, Hola, etc...


3. Capital letters mean you are SHOUTING


4. Be clear in your message; it is easy to cause a misunderstanding


5. Be kind, respectful, honest, and responsible when emailing


6. Use a spell-checker, read it aloud and listen for mistakes, correct grammar


7. Always end with a salutation: Sincerely, Thank you, Goodbye, Peace, ZiaJian


8. Do not forward mail without the author's permission


9. Never type what you would not want your parent, teacher, or friend to read


10. Emails ARE NOT private