Hectors World

Screen Shot 2016-01-11 at 2.15.38 pm

Link to resource

https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/classroom-resources/hectors-world

Year 2 content descriptor: Share and publish information in a safe online environment, with known people (ACTDIP006)

Also ties in with health (cyber safety)

This is a website for something called Hector’s world. It has a great series of episodes suitable for students up to year 2. These websites cover cyber safety and its importance.

I find this is a very important aspect to cover from an early age and in a way for students to understand what is safe and unsafe about the internet and sharing personal information. As technology is beginning to be used by students younger and younger each year I think it is VERY important to inform students about cyber safety from a young age.

Classroom activity

I used this on my third year practicum and the students loved it and really understood each episode. The episodes can lead to various types of assessment strategies to see what each student is and is not understanding and taking from the episodes. On my practicum I would review the video after watching and ask then questions verbally and also get them to answer questions on a worksheet. Students could also think, pair, share. The school had just opened up accounts for each student in the school, which they could take part in discussions on etc. this was a great way to get the students involved in discussion online and commenting on other students ideas.

My last idea, where students were responding to other students ideas and sharing their own really showed me how much students understood how to use the website, how to navigate themselves around the website and was a great assessment tool.

 

Coding

https://code.org/learn

Year 6 content descriptor: Implement and use simple visual programming environments that include branching (decisions), iteration (repetition) and user input (ACTDIP020)

This website has a range of activities for students to do with coding. There are short videos on the website which explain to students what coding is and why it is important. This will help students to understand what they are doing in the activities which follow and why they are important.

The website has a range of activities that teach students how to use coding in a fun way. There are various videos relating to students interests (Frozen, Minecraft etc.). I particularly look at the ‘Frozen’ activity which involved me helping Elsa create a pattern which the students can then share with their friends and family. Students must show an understanding of coding in order to create the pattern correctly.

It is important for students to understand what coding is, therefore they can understand how what they’re doing on the computer is working. This will also help students when an issue arises with a computer, they may begin to understand the concepts behind it. They may not be able to fix it, but it gives them an understanding of what the computer is doing.

 

Screen Shot 2016-01-11 at 2.15.17 pm