Thursday, March 10, 2011
Journal #6 (NETS III, V ) Grow Your Personal Learning Network
Warlick, D. (2009, March/april). Grow your personal learning netwrok. Learning and leading, 36(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-march-april-2009.aspx
While in the past, people have used other people to accquire knowledge, we live in an age in which knowledge doesn't require us to leave our home. All we need is to switch on the computer, or flip open our phone and the world is at our doorstep. Warlick discusses the three types of PLN's in his article. The first two, "personally maintained synchronous connections [and] personally and socially maintained semisynchronous connections...connect us with each other." (Warlick, 2009) Examples of these would be technology like Skype, twitter and facebook. It allows people to have conversations that "are not exactly conversations." (Warlick, 2009) People can ask questions and recieve answers without haven't to stop doing other tasks, like homework or researching on the web. The last PLN type is "dynamically maintained asynchronous connections...this type often connects us with content sources that we have identified as valuable." (Warlick, 2009) An example of a way that I use the this type of PLN is through the social bookmarking site diigo. Through this site I am able to save web pages that I feel I will need in the future and also pages that have information that I find essential. Warlick finishes his article by telling us to grow our PLN's by not staying within the boundries of our comfort zone, "it is human nature to incline toward sources that agree with our own worldviews, so we must try to cultivate networks that challenge our thinking." (Warlick, 2009) This is an important thing to remember because as educators we are in charge of expanding a child's knowledge and showing them all point of view; not just our own.
1. While increasing our PLN is a great thing, how do we teach students that there are things that they shouldn't explore on the internet without advertising it?
- I think this is something that scares many educators and parents alike. Especially when technology is introduced within elementary classes. I know I was worried when my nine year old brother came home and said he had a video to show me on youtube. My first thought was, "who taught you to surf the web?" As I watched him he navigated his way around ads and videos he didn't want to watch to show me a video that was a cartoon of StarWars. It was evident that my panick was unneccessary and that my brother was being educated well at his school. But the thought of how young he is and how his generation is going to constantly going to be tapping into the internet overwhelmed me. It's gotten easier to accept that this is the world we live in now and that as educator its my job to teach students the safe way to be on the internet.
2. Is there any role that "facebook" can play in a person's PLN?
- While facebook is a wonderful site to interact and connect with people it is merely a social internet tool. While people may refute that it does have knowledge that can be shared with the world, there is no evidence. Facebook is a place where people post status's of their daily events and make irrevelent comments on their friend's pages. People may argue that since facebook doesn't have any "actual" significance and it is merely a fun site on the web, that twitter is the same thing and that twitter has no real signifcance. They would be wrong however in that fact, because through twitter people can network with people in their professions and offer help and resources. For example, education; teachers can network with educators around the world and share information that they find and introduce new technology to educators.
While in the past, people have used other people to accquire knowledge, we live in an age in which knowledge doesn't require us to leave our home. All we need is to switch on the computer, or flip open our phone and the world is at our doorstep. Warlick discusses the three types of PLN's in his article. The first two, "personally maintained synchronous connections [and] personally and socially maintained semisynchronous connections...connect us with each other." (Warlick, 2009) Examples of these would be technology like Skype, twitter and facebook. It allows people to have conversations that "are not exactly conversations." (Warlick, 2009) People can ask questions and recieve answers without haven't to stop doing other tasks, like homework or researching on the web. The last PLN type is "dynamically maintained asynchronous connections...this type often connects us with content sources that we have identified as valuable." (Warlick, 2009) An example of a way that I use the this type of PLN is through the social bookmarking site diigo. Through this site I am able to save web pages that I feel I will need in the future and also pages that have information that I find essential. Warlick finishes his article by telling us to grow our PLN's by not staying within the boundries of our comfort zone, "it is human nature to incline toward sources that agree with our own worldviews, so we must try to cultivate networks that challenge our thinking." (Warlick, 2009) This is an important thing to remember because as educators we are in charge of expanding a child's knowledge and showing them all point of view; not just our own.
1. While increasing our PLN is a great thing, how do we teach students that there are things that they shouldn't explore on the internet without advertising it?
- I think this is something that scares many educators and parents alike. Especially when technology is introduced within elementary classes. I know I was worried when my nine year old brother came home and said he had a video to show me on youtube. My first thought was, "who taught you to surf the web?" As I watched him he navigated his way around ads and videos he didn't want to watch to show me a video that was a cartoon of StarWars. It was evident that my panick was unneccessary and that my brother was being educated well at his school. But the thought of how young he is and how his generation is going to constantly going to be tapping into the internet overwhelmed me. It's gotten easier to accept that this is the world we live in now and that as educator its my job to teach students the safe way to be on the internet.
2. Is there any role that "facebook" can play in a person's PLN?
- While facebook is a wonderful site to interact and connect with people it is merely a social internet tool. While people may refute that it does have knowledge that can be shared with the world, there is no evidence. Facebook is a place where people post status's of their daily events and make irrevelent comments on their friend's pages. People may argue that since facebook doesn't have any "actual" significance and it is merely a fun site on the web, that twitter is the same thing and that twitter has no real signifcance. They would be wrong however in that fact, because through twitter people can network with people in their professions and offer help and resources. For example, education; teachers can network with educators around the world and share information that they find and introduce new technology to educators.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Journal #5- Not Your Grandmother's Library (NETS II, III, IV, V)
Perez, L. (2011, March/april). Not your grandmother's library. Learning and leading, 38(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Feature_Article_Not_Your_Grandmother_s_Library.aspx
This article was almost like a breathe of fresh air, a sign of hope that technology does have a place within the educational system and that it can be effective. Educators and parents alike have been skeptical about letting technology have a place within schools yet there are schools out there that are functioning quite well with the use of interactive technology library programs. For example, a librarian in Erdenheim, Pennsylvania, has vivid proof of the success of technology within schools. "Technology is readily accessible; the library provides more than 80 desktop computers and various multimedia production tools. Students also bring laptops to access the library’s wireless network." (Perez, 2011) Here, is living proof of educators embracing the advances in technology. Instead of being frightened by it they understand how much technology affects their students day to day lives and instead of prohbiting and blocking the internet, they make it a part of day to day function.
Q1) While these library programs are incredible, what about schools that don't have the funds for such technology?
Monarch Academy is an example of a school that is defying the odds, "The school population is 97% Latino students of Mexican heritage and 3% African-American. Ninety-seven percent of the students are low income." (Perez, 2011) Keisa Williams is the librarian at this school and she knows most of her students' backgrounds but it is something to be can be channeled into a wonderful interactive learning experience within their elementary school.
Q2) With all the incoporation of technology within schools, what happens to relying on books and nuturing a love for reading for pleasure?
I believe that schools should move into the 21st century and teach effective technological tools that will provide students with skills for today's society. However, some of my fondest memories of elementary school was the visits to the library and hearing the librarian read a story book aloud. I don't think that technology will be erasing books from our future anytime soon. The relationship people have between books and themselves is a very intimate and special one. The ability of an author to pout themselves out in pages and have a reader relate to their writings is a level of love that will not be erased soon.
This article was almost like a breathe of fresh air, a sign of hope that technology does have a place within the educational system and that it can be effective. Educators and parents alike have been skeptical about letting technology have a place within schools yet there are schools out there that are functioning quite well with the use of interactive technology library programs. For example, a librarian in Erdenheim, Pennsylvania, has vivid proof of the success of technology within schools. "Technology is readily accessible; the library provides more than 80 desktop computers and various multimedia production tools. Students also bring laptops to access the library’s wireless network." (Perez, 2011) Here, is living proof of educators embracing the advances in technology. Instead of being frightened by it they understand how much technology affects their students day to day lives and instead of prohbiting and blocking the internet, they make it a part of day to day function.
Q1) While these library programs are incredible, what about schools that don't have the funds for such technology?
Monarch Academy is an example of a school that is defying the odds, "The school population is 97% Latino students of Mexican heritage and 3% African-American. Ninety-seven percent of the students are low income." (Perez, 2011) Keisa Williams is the librarian at this school and she knows most of her students' backgrounds but it is something to be can be channeled into a wonderful interactive learning experience within their elementary school.
Q2) With all the incoporation of technology within schools, what happens to relying on books and nuturing a love for reading for pleasure?
I believe that schools should move into the 21st century and teach effective technological tools that will provide students with skills for today's society. However, some of my fondest memories of elementary school was the visits to the library and hearing the librarian read a story book aloud. I don't think that technology will be erasing books from our future anytime soon. The relationship people have between books and themselves is a very intimate and special one. The ability of an author to pout themselves out in pages and have a reader relate to their writings is a level of love that will not be erased soon.
Journal #4- It's Time to Trust Teachers with the Internet (NETS- IV, V)
Schaffhauser, D. (2010, December 1). It's time to trust teachers with the internet: a conversation with meg ormiston. Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/12/01/its-time-to-trust-teachers-with-the-internet-a-conversation-with-meg-ormiston.aspx?sc_lang=en
This article was an interview with Meg Ormiston who "consults with schools on incorporating technology into the classroom to reach 21st century learrners," and its importance in today's society. (Schaffhauser, 2010) It offered great insight into the perspectivies of teachers and the decision making of administrators. Schaffhauser discussed how, "teachers are going to give up using technology. If I were to keep hitting the wall again and again, I'd give up." (Schaffhauser, 2010) This statement rings true in so many schools. I know of teachers that don't use technology within their classroom because of all the blocking the district places. But that should be an excuse of why teachers don't implement technology into their classroom. Instead it should be a reason for them to fight harder to have technology within their classroom. Especially since, "[then kids] open up their smart phones, and there's not a block or filter, and they're sitting in your schools." The time for excuses has past its time for action.
Q1) This class has shown many technological tools and while they are all very cool, once I leave this class and become an educator will I use the technology I have learned? More importantly will I push for use of technology within my district?
If I honestly think about it, I will continue to use the tools and programs that I am learning from this class when I leave but the idea of pushing an idea against adminstration is a bit scary. Especially since I will be a new educator and my main priority will be obtaining a job. I cannot say what type of district I will be teaching in because at this point I have no idea, I believe it all comes down to the type of adminstration I come in contact with.
Q2) Why does the adminstration take the easy way out when deciding technology?
There are many aspects that the adminstration has to take into account when making these type of decisions. One reason would be the ability of network power that supports the schools. If there isn't enough, the administration isn't going to take much initiviative in trying to open up technology to the use of educators. This is an example of the difficultites that can be found with technology and also how easy it is for administration to continue in the ways they already are in so not to create "unnesessary" commotion.
This article was an interview with Meg Ormiston who "consults with schools on incorporating technology into the classroom to reach 21st century learrners," and its importance in today's society. (Schaffhauser, 2010) It offered great insight into the perspectivies of teachers and the decision making of administrators. Schaffhauser discussed how, "teachers are going to give up using technology. If I were to keep hitting the wall again and again, I'd give up." (Schaffhauser, 2010) This statement rings true in so many schools. I know of teachers that don't use technology within their classroom because of all the blocking the district places. But that should be an excuse of why teachers don't implement technology into their classroom. Instead it should be a reason for them to fight harder to have technology within their classroom. Especially since, "[then kids] open up their smart phones, and there's not a block or filter, and they're sitting in your schools." The time for excuses has past its time for action.
Q1) This class has shown many technological tools and while they are all very cool, once I leave this class and become an educator will I use the technology I have learned? More importantly will I push for use of technology within my district?
If I honestly think about it, I will continue to use the tools and programs that I am learning from this class when I leave but the idea of pushing an idea against adminstration is a bit scary. Especially since I will be a new educator and my main priority will be obtaining a job. I cannot say what type of district I will be teaching in because at this point I have no idea, I believe it all comes down to the type of adminstration I come in contact with.
Q2) Why does the adminstration take the easy way out when deciding technology?
There are many aspects that the adminstration has to take into account when making these type of decisions. One reason would be the ability of network power that supports the schools. If there isn't enough, the administration isn't going to take much initiviative in trying to open up technology to the use of educators. This is an example of the difficultites that can be found with technology and also how easy it is for administration to continue in the ways they already are in so not to create "unnesessary" commotion.
Journal #3 - 100 Happy Things
1. Disneyland
2. Movies
3. Fairy tales
4. Blustery days
5. Snow
6. Christmas
7. Friends
8. Family
9. My little brother
10. Smoothies
11. Sugar
12. Roller coasters
13. The ocean
14. Hiking
15. Running
16. New clothes
17. Musicals
18. Spaghetti
19. Enchiladas
20. Hamburgers
21. Tamales
22. Watching the sunrise
23. Watching the sunset
24. Rainbows
25. Reading
26. Going to movie premieres at midnight
27. Listening to music
28. Singing
29. Dancing
30. The zoo
31. Museums
32. Snuggling
33. Cleaning
34. Taking a shower
35. Smell of laundry
36. Babies
37. Flowers
38. Drawing
39. Paint
40. Going to church
41. Kitties
42. Panda bears
43. Giraffes
44. Glow sticks
45. Fireworks
46. Going to concerts
47. Gardening
48. Listen to a guitar player
49. Teaching Sunday school
50. Shooting stars
51. Poetry
52. Winning a game/sport
53. Going to theatre (to see a play)
54. Decorating
55. Building 3-D models
56. Butterflies
57. Facebook
58. Watching Glee
59. Photography
60. Making mini home videos
61. The color yellow
62. Massages
63. Bubbles
64. Smell of shampoo
65. Pine tree smells
66. Shopping
67. Money
68. Happy endings
69. Pay day
70. Honey nut cheerios
71. People smiling
72. Other people’s happiness
73. Laughing
74. My job
75. Watching basketball
76. Playing tennis
77. Watching football
78. Starbucks
79. Birthdays
80. Television
81. Playing with children
82. Otter pops
83. British accents
84. Playing board games
85. Margaritas
86. Patrick
87. Sunny days
88. Car dancing parties
89. Eating breakfast at night
90. Getting my hair braided
91. Seeing an elderly couple holding hands
92. Art shows
93. Holidays
94. No school days
95. Journaling for pleasure
96. Surprises
97. Dressing up
98. My best friend- heather
99. Bowling
100. Tax returns!
Journal #2 Join the Flock/Enhance Your Twitter Experience (NETS- V)
Hadley, F. (2010, June/July). Join the flock. Learning and Leading, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2010.aspx
Miller, S. (2010, June/July). Enhance your twitter experience. Learning and Leading, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2010.aspx
Between the two article a great deal of twitter terminology was introduced. The most important term introduced is that of PLN, "a PLN is a community of individuals around the world who are learning together...[it] helps these strangers come together to creat a community built on communication and collaboration dedicated to making learning and education the best it can be." (Hadley, 2010) My first reaction to this statement was, "is this the same twitter?" As long as I have known twitter, I had come to the belief that it was a social networking site that was mostly used by celebrities. The thought that it could be used for educational purposes surprised me. When we were in class and we were given the task of signing up for twitter. I was very opposed to this task at first but as we continued learning about the advantages of twitter I realized that it was so much more than a place for celebrities to vent. Miller mentioned a way to organize twitter streams, "TweetDeck..organize your Twitter stream into columns, such as All Friends, Mentions, Direct Messages..." (Miller, 2010). While this tool at first seems overwhelming it is actually quite useful especially when a person has many people that they are following and also for the different subjects a person follows.
Q1) Can educators really profit from the use of twitter?
Yes, from all the evidence twitter is a networking site that connects people (like educators) across the world to share ideas, resources and lesson plans. Miller wrote about how her students were able to be taught about technology from a teacher in New Zealand. How amazing is that! A child could go home and tell their parents they were connected to New Zealand during a lesson.
Q2) Why does it seem that twitter is only publized as a social networking site for young people and celebrities?
I believe this is the fault of the media. The media is constantly displaying what celebritites say on their twitters, it is the place to get news nowadays. Also since the news constantly speaks negatively of twitter on their broadcasts, adults feel that it is not a suitable site for their teenage children. While they may have reasonable evidence twitter wouldn't have to be negative it adults learned the benefits of twitter and introduced those to their children. As educators this would be a way to introduce twitter.
Miller, S. (2010, June/July). Enhance your twitter experience. Learning and Leading, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2010.aspx
Between the two article a great deal of twitter terminology was introduced. The most important term introduced is that of PLN, "a PLN is a community of individuals around the world who are learning together...[it] helps these strangers come together to creat a community built on communication and collaboration dedicated to making learning and education the best it can be." (Hadley, 2010) My first reaction to this statement was, "is this the same twitter?" As long as I have known twitter, I had come to the belief that it was a social networking site that was mostly used by celebrities. The thought that it could be used for educational purposes surprised me. When we were in class and we were given the task of signing up for twitter. I was very opposed to this task at first but as we continued learning about the advantages of twitter I realized that it was so much more than a place for celebrities to vent. Miller mentioned a way to organize twitter streams, "TweetDeck..organize your Twitter stream into columns, such as All Friends, Mentions, Direct Messages..." (Miller, 2010). While this tool at first seems overwhelming it is actually quite useful especially when a person has many people that they are following and also for the different subjects a person follows.
Q1) Can educators really profit from the use of twitter?
Yes, from all the evidence twitter is a networking site that connects people (like educators) across the world to share ideas, resources and lesson plans. Miller wrote about how her students were able to be taught about technology from a teacher in New Zealand. How amazing is that! A child could go home and tell their parents they were connected to New Zealand during a lesson.
Q2) Why does it seem that twitter is only publized as a social networking site for young people and celebrities?
I believe this is the fault of the media. The media is constantly displaying what celebritites say on their twitters, it is the place to get news nowadays. Also since the news constantly speaks negatively of twitter on their broadcasts, adults feel that it is not a suitable site for their teenage children. While they may have reasonable evidence twitter wouldn't have to be negative it adults learned the benefits of twitter and introduced those to their children. As educators this would be a way to introduce twitter.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Journal #1: Do Web 2.0 Right (NETS- I, II)
Light, D. (2011, February). Do web 2.0 right. Learning and leading, 38(5), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-february-march-2011.aspx
This article explored the different ways certain educators have attempted and are using the idea of blogging within their classroom; as well as blogging’s advantages and disadvantages within the classroom. Daniel Light is a researcher who gathers information about how technology is being used within the classrooms to enlighten future teachers on how to implement technology in their classrooms. One of the advantages of using blogs inside the classroom is a means of communication between the teacher and students, “The most successful individual blog tasks we learned about involved using the blog principally as a private means of communication between the teacher and each student.” (Light, 2011) This allowed educators to encourage students writing abilities through online journaling and gave the teacher an effective way to communicate with students individually. A disadvantage to the blog tasks is that, “students are very sensitive to the relationship between who they are communicating with and what they are talking about.” (Light, 2011) Some students are very careful as to who they speak with about certain topics. The idea of having a student’s ideas posted on the internet for all their peers to see and respond to can be a nerve-racking experience and can potentially discourage them from participating whole heartily.
1. Is there a way to help students feel comfortable with sharing their ideas through blogs with their peers? Without withdrawing them from the social aspect of blogging?
I think this idea to have full participation with blog assignments cannot be solely addressed within technology. I believe that this must be addressed within the classroom itself. It all comes down to the preconceived beliefs a student has; “I won’t be liked if I say this,” “people will think I’m weird if I do this.” If educators are able to implement teamwork and unity activities within their curriculum it would give further standing within their technology assignments.
2. The idea of using blogging within the classroom is a great thought, but what happens when students don’t finish their assignments and do not have a computer at their house?
While this is a concern, it is not as much of a major concern as in the past. A great number of the population nowadays have computers within their homes because without them, it'd be impossible to live daily live. Computers are a "necessity" in today's society. However, it really does depend on the location of the school. If the school is in an area where the population cannot afford computers it would be a different story. The teacher would have to make sure they give ample time for assignments to be completed in class.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
tag roll 03/02/2011
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Edchange Multiculturalism Awarness Quiz
"In a 2007 study, UNICEF rated the treatment of children in the 23 wealthiest countries in the world based on 40 indicators of child well-being. Which two countries received the lowest ratings?"
-For this question I got the answer wrong. I thought that a lower economically standing country would have less care for their child. When in fact it is the U.S and the U.K. The places with the most material and business driven people are the ones who care less for their children. That was an extremely sad statistic to read.
"The U.S. military budget is by far the highest of any country in the world. How much higher is the U.S. military budget than that of China, the world’s second biggest military spender? "
-The U.S is a big spender in everything we do. When I reached high school I learned in history that the U.S was in great deficit and had much to repay to other countries. How much I did not know but I knew that it was alot more than we had. I was surprised that I got this answer wrong. I over estimated the total of our military budget. It's was a small relief to know that we did not owe as much as i thought. -
Who We REALLY Are | Teaching Tolerance- Lesson Idea
I chose the lesson plan idea called "Who We REALLY Are." This is under the reading and literature section and pertains from grades 1-5. This lesson starts out with the teacher reading a storybook that is about a girl who says what she looks like on the outside but then says something about who she is on the inside. Then after the story the kids discuss the story in groups and then spend time doing a journal assignment in which they do the same as the book. They describe themselves outwardly and then inwardly. This allows kids to think about who they really are and learn to describe themselves and when they share they see how different and similar the people are around them. I would make this a definite part of my teaching curriculum because it is important to learn about oneself and embrace people's differences.
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Learning Styles: The Multiple Intelligences
After taking the quiz I discovered that my three top learning styles are
1. Interpersonal - 69%
2. Interpersonal - 69%
3. Musical - 58%
These weren't much of a surprise Since they matched perfectly to who i am. Afterward, I watched the video "Howard Gardner on Multiple Intelligences." This was an interesting video because he was discussing the different 8 types of learning but also saying how educators don't have to teach 8 different ways but rather insure that their students are learning the material and if not look to a different way to teach it. He also was saying that he believes schools "cover too many topics and teach way to many subjects...so that intelligence covers a mile wide and a inch deep." I agree entirely with this because it is true. Children aren't learning anything nowadays except how to take tests and memorize facts that will go in one ear and out the other. We need to change the way our education system is set up.
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