Week+6

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 * __Week 6__ - Internet Filtering**

This week's reading was on the topic of filtering the web in schools. There are many beliefs on the matter. Currently, there is a mild form of censorship currently in place. It deals mainly with pornography, internet videos, and social networking programs. I am a believer that there should be some form of censorship in schools. Personally, I remember classmates and I taking any opportunity to tread the lines of authority to see how far we could go. If students are given the chance to obtain elicit material, there will be those who will take. I do not believe that any form of moral education will stop this from happening. Education is a two way street. We can teach all we want, but it isn't complete until the students choose to learn. No matter how much we tell them they should use elicit materials in school, there will always be those who do it.
 * Reflections:**

I found an interesting article that follows along the lines of the reading for the week. It is another debate on the merits of filtering internet content. It is found at [|www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr070.shtml]

Pros: -safer student environment -age appropriate material only -the internet is used for many negative things; more than just knowledge
 * Pros and Cons to Heavily Filtering Content:[[image:pros-cons-hoboken-2.jpg width="250" height="174" align="right"]]**

Cons: -filters don't block all negative things, while blocking some positive ones -students should be learning skills to ethically access information -we aren't preparing them for the world after school, just shutting their eyes -the amount of educational material on the Internet outweighs the minor inconvenience of having to monitor what is going on

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Today we had the lesson plan presentations from numerous groups. They provided lots of different ways to present information and test students using technology. The lessons were for differing courses and subjects, showing that you can bring technology into the classroom if you take some time and effort. This motivates students and keeps them interested, something that we see can be accomplished. It also presents an opportunity for students to shine using the talents and skills they possess to the forth the desired material.
 * Lesson Plan Presentations:**

-canadian history (research important canadian figures) -grade 9 english imagery in poetry (The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald) -grade 11 world religion (the use of prezi) -grade 10 optics (using explorelearning) -grade 9 space science (celestia) -religion (biblegateway.com)
 * List of Presentations**

The lesson plan presentations also showed a good example of the websites that are accessable to the public that can be useful in education. One group showed us a website the composed a proper bibliography for you if you insert the proper data. This was [|www.bibme.org]. I find this very useful for both myself and the students, since I remember it always being a great hassle when a bibliography was required. The site I found the most interesting was [|www.explorelearning.com]. As a science teacher, I was extremely impressed with the interactive online simulations it provided for both math and science. Another useful site was the Ontario Educational Resource Bank (OERB), found at []. The login is ocdsbteacher and the password is oerbt. This is great information since it has numerous activities and lessons provided by successful teachers. They always tell us in teacher's college to not reinvent the wheel. These tried and tested lessons are of great merit. The final website that we were given was [|www.osapac.org], which is the Ontario Software Acquisition Program Advisory Committee. It is a site that lets you download educational software for teacher use. The programs are not always the latest version, but they are useful nonetheless. Things that are free for teachers to use is awesome, since it will let us bring more to the students.
 * Websites of Interest:**