Monday, April 11, 2011

Prezi Assessment

Use this survey to assess the quality of my Prezi assignment. Using Google Docs, I created a survey form to help evaluate my Prezi assignment. This assessment encorporate NETS II and V for educators.




Results

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Journal # 10- "Being the Change She Wants to See in the Schools" (NETS I, III,V)

Fingal, D. (2011, March/April ). Member profile: being the change she wants to see in the schools. Learning & Leading , 38(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Member_Profile_Being_the_Change_She_Wants_to_See_in_the_Schools.aspx

Education is obviously in need of a technological re-boot as technology continues to grow and broaden. Libraries across the country have started to re-construct into state-of-the-art facilities. Librarians in charge of these libraries are great leaders and innovators for students. One person can make a difference, and Shannon McClintock Miller greatly demonstrates that. She has devoted herself to education and has provided many students with an outstanding education.
Shannon Miller is the district teacher librarian and technology coordinator at the Van Meter Community School in Iowa. She also co-teaches a personal learning network class with a principal from Philadelphia through Skype. She was the main reason that every student at her school, grades 6-12, now have laptops. She trains students on how to network with online tools like Twitter, Facebook, Animoto, and of course Skype. She cares about the interests of her students, as she oversees a digital photography club online called Club Click. This club allows students to gain resources for photography and collaborate with one another as members share a genuine interest in photography. She has motivated many teachers and students to step out of their comfort zone and become contributors. As if everything she has already done is not enough, she has created a website with helpful updated resources for other educators. She also makes herself available to anyone who needs assistance with technology over the weekends and when she is not teaching. Teaching is not only her passion, it is her life.
Shannon loves what she does and she proves that one person can easily make a difference in life. Teaching is her passion, and she will do anything to improve the student education experience. She credits her great success to the collaborative, creative, and respectful community that she is apart of. If she did not have great collaboration with her administrators and fellow educators, she would not be as successful as she is today. It is very important to collaborate and connect with your educational community, as that connection can pave the way for change.

1. How can we connect with Shannon Miller?
Shannon Miller currently runs a technological librarian website, http://tinyurl.com/yyde2gw, that can povide access to great resources that she uses. She also blogs which can be found on her website as well. She is very welcoming and assits anyone that might need help. She is a great leader.
2. What is the best advice that we can learn from Shannon?
Shannon contributes her success to staying connected and collaborating with her peers. Educators should work together to help education change, as it takes a universal change to really impact education. Her passion also guides her through her work and contributions, which can show that passion is important to have in education. All educators must have a passion for the job, as that is how change starts.
3. How can we promote change and innovation in education?
Educators should all connect with PLNs. This is a great strategy to gain new resources and to collaborate with other people who share your passion. Educators need to work together and not remain in solitude. Educators like Shannon who participate in a collaborative, supportive environment have more incentive to bring about change. PLNs need to be promoted in education for educators/administrators to work together and create solutions. Our education system is in dire need of change, and people like Shannon began to act out with collaborative support from her PLNs.

Journal #9- "Not Your Grandmother's library!" (NETS I, II, V)

Perez, L. (2011, March/April). Feature article: not your grandmother's library!. Learning & Leading , 38(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Feature_Article_Not_Your_Grandmother_s_Library.aspx

A library is a very important necessity in school. Libraries provide students with proper research to support their curriculum and needs in school. With technology expanding, libraries of the past will no longer be efficient to support student's needs. Several schools across the country have stepped up and supported new and innovative libraries. This is a trend that will hopefully expand across the country, as technology is now a requirement in school.
Several librarians and technology teachers have created innovative state-of-the-art libraries for their schools. Joyce Valenza, author of an award-winning library tech blog, has created a great library for Springfield Township High School. This library identifies the latest technologies and resources to support her students. Because of this great library, 90 percent of students at Springfield Township High are college bound. A great library can really affect the students in a great way. Wendy Stephens, a librarian at Buckhorn High School, is right behind Joyce. She is preparing all of her students for our current technology and our future technology advances that we will soon see. She is preparing her students for the future.This library has computers, laptops, and video cameras for the students to use at their leisure. She credits the great collaboration with her fellow administrators for the great library that she was able to create. Charter schools are following in their footsteps as well, as Monarch Academy also provides a state-of-the-art library for their students. There are other leaders out there as well paving the way for their students, and the key success for this building trend is getting and staying connected. Collaboration is highly important and provides support that can only be obtained if you get connected with collaborators. PLNS can be greatly useful in this aspect.
Students use libraries to complete homework and classwork, and resources that libraries provide are highly important to students. If students are not provided with up-to-date resources, their success in school can be greatly hindered. State-of-the-art libraries are now needed in our society as technology keeps expanding and re-inventing. Some educators have paved the way for other schools, and getting connected to these educators can provide resources to create these libraries throughout the country. Everyone needs to collaborate and stay connected to help promote this great step for education.

1. With education currently facing budget cuts, how can we get enough money to build and re-construct these innovative libraries?
Although education is suffering from budget cuts, our education is based off of No Child Left Behind. This means that our education is based on test scores and how well students perform. If students are not equipped with proper resources to use, they will score lower on tests. The government would not want that to happen, so to jump start this process we can rally to the government with petitions to make them aware of what is needed to better the education system. The government can then budget more money to education and more money from taxes or lottery funds can be devoted to education. Although it might not happen, it is worth the effort.
2. How can we promote internet resources if most computers in school libraries are blocked?
With the building and construction of innovative libraries, these librarian leaders are aware of great resources for students to use. Several of these librarians even use Youtube, which is mostly blocked, to support educational lessons. Again, we need to connect with one another to rally and prove that computers should not be blocked as much as they are because it prevents access to great resources. These librarians who have created these innovative libraries have promoted more access to resources as well.
3. How can these libraries promote college bound students in school?
As previously mentioned, the library at Springfield Township High has great resouces for their students. The students at this school are 90 % college bound, which can greatly be attributed to the library. This is because the library is preparing students for their future with technologically advanced resources. Having access to these resources provides students with more preparation and assets to attend college.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Journal 8- " Point/Counterpoint: Should Schools Be Held Responsible for Cyberbullying?" (NETS III, IV, V)

Bogacz, R, & Gordillo, M. (2011, March/April). Point/counterpoint: should schools be held responsible for cyberbullying?. Learning & Leading , 38(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Point_Counterpoint_Should_Schools_Be_Held_Responsible_for_Cyberbullying.aspx

Bullying has always been a serious problem in schools. With the development of technology, bullying has developed as well. The newest form of bullying, referred to as cyberbullying, is making its way through schools and damaging students in the process. A student is being cyberbullied when he/she is being harrassed by other students through the internet (social networking sites, email, instant messaging, etc.). With this problem on the rise, people are beginning to question how much responsibility schools should have with this serious epidemic.
The reasons why schools should are responsible are pretty obvious. Students spend a lot of time at school, about 5 days during the week. With that said, cyberbullying affects the students involved, which can greatly affect the school environment. Teachers need to be aware of cyberbullying and they need to educate their students on it's damaging effects, and most importantly how to prevent it. Administrators need to take bullying seriously and enforce necessary consequences. Parents of course need to be involved and be fully aware of their children, monitoring them in the process. Students of course are very important with this issue and they need to be educated to stand up for victims and prevent it from happening. There is a lot of people that can be held responsible in the school system for cyberbullying, as they all hold responsibility to educate the students about this serious issue.
There are also reasons why schools should not be held responsible. Students can be going through exterior issues outside school that sometimes the school can not help or prevent. The responsibility then transfers to the parents or family members of the student to constantly be aware of their children/family member. Parent's have the most authority and knowledge of the student, which only makes sense that parents should be held responsible.
Cyberbullying is as serious issue, and the question of responsibility is always lingering. In reality, everyone needs to be aware of cyberbullying and do their part to help prevent it. In most cases, schools and family are responsible for it. Everyone should be held responsible who did not do their part to help prevent it. Everyone needs to be involved and most importantly educated. This has already caused some fatalities, as suicide rates have increased.

1. Why do students use cyberbullying when they can just do it at school?
Most students who cyberbully are physically defenseless and therefore hide behind a computer screen. When students are able to hide behind a computer screen, they gain more confidence and power to affect their victims. This is because they are too afraid to confront them in person.
2. How can parents properly monitor their children?
In order to properly monitor their children, parents need to gain access to social networking passwords, email passwords, and screennames that they might use. Parents can then log on to their accounts every once-in-a-while to see if anything inappropriate is going on. Parents also need to be aware of their children's friends, and where they go when they leave the house.
3. What should a student do if their teacher is not taking them seriously when they try to tell them about prospective bullying/cyberbullying?
A student should tell another teacher or an administrator. Teachers and administrators have a duty to take bullying seriously and if someone is not doing their part, the student is greatly affected. The best administrator to go to often times is the principal, because they hold the most authority for the school.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Journal 7: My Personal Learning Network (NETS I, II, III, V)

A PLN is a personal learning network that helps you learn, gain new insight, and collaborate with other people who share the same interests as you. My PLN is made up of educated math teachers, technology teachers, a couple of teacher organizations, and useful educational websites. My goal is to be a Geometry teacher one day and my PLN mostly consists of math teachers. These math teachers inform me on useful web links to provide math lessons and helpful math hints. The technology teachers that I follow post useful links for incorporating technology in the classroom. Lastly, the few teacher organizations that I have on my PLN infom me of important educational news from the goverment (state and federal), teacher conferences, etc. My PLN is very helpful for my future teaching career, and incorporates several different tools.

Twitter is my first tool that I used to create my PLN. Twitter allows you to post useful information to share with the network community, and fosters collaboration with people who share your interests. I chose to follow 9 educational organizations, 3 math professors, and 2 technology educators. The 9 educational organizations are dedicated to helping not only math teachers but all teachers in general. Two of those organizations are affiliated with the US Department of Education, which constantly informs me of new educational reforms, news, and goverment influence all throughout the country. The 3 math educators I chose to follow are all college professors that not only post helpful links for math educators, but other fun math concepts like mathematical jokes or innovative lesson plans. The technology educators I follow are passionate for promoting technology in the classroom and constantly feeds helpful tips and links to incorporate technology in any and all classroom subjects. The chat I chose to participate in was Edchat, on March 29th at 12pm EST. The topic was " What are the possibilities, negative or positive, if we do blended (Internet and F2F) classes on secondary level?" The benefits that most people exhibited on the chat was that students get more variety in their learning structure, students get more prepared for college, and it allows for better scheduling for students. Students are restricted and planned to be in a classroom a certain amount of time per day, but the Internet is always available to them. The Internet also provides more access to other experts besides just the teacher. Blended learning can also get more students motivated to learn, as most students nowadays are constantly online. A Face to Face environment requires deliveries of school supplies, and the Internet is free. Blended Learning can decrease school spending because of the time spent using the Internet. The main issues that can arise with Blended Learning is that teachers are not educated enough to appropriately encompass Blended Learning, and students might not have access to computers outside the classroom. Overall, Blended Learning is a great benefit for students. This PLN chat was very enriching, and I can see myself participating in more chats in the future.

Diigo is a great tool for creating a PLN. Diigo allows you to follow and collaborate with people of interest just like Twitter, however it is also a social bookmarking site that allows you to bookmark useful websites. This is a public site and using tags, you can look up useful infomation you might need, or post useful websites that you want to share with the public. People who often share your interests post useful website links that you can always easily access because of the bookmarking capability. I chose to follow 4 educators that specialize in math and technology. The websites that they bookmark are greatly useful to me for my future math teaching career. The first website I bookmarked for my PLN is edtechpost-PLE diagrams. This website provides useful links and tools to create a positive and engaging personal learning environment for all educators. The second website I bookmarked for my PLN is Teacher Reboot Camp. This website lists goals that all educators should strive for and useful resources to educate teachers, gain student learning, and increase test scores. The third website I bookmarked is Creating a PLN with Web 2.0 Tools. This site provides more web 2.0 tools that can be useful for expanding your PLN.

The last tool I incorporated to my PLN is The Educators PLN. This is a website that used the NING tool that is a PLN for educators to join. This PLN is constantly growing as new members are joining, and new information that is useful to educators is constantly be uploaded in video form, blog form, articles, and website links. This is an already constucted PLN that fosters collaboration and educational transformation. A very interesting article I read was titled " 5 Reasons Why Educators Should Network". This was a great article to read as this NING site was created to help teachers network. This is a great article to convince other teachers to end educational isolation and work together to help transform education. This article conveys that educational isolation, teachers keeping isolated from one another, is one of the reasons our education system has had a downfall. Creating a PLN network allows teachers to collaborate and grow from one another, instead of struggling alone. The five reasons to network are to " learn with others, serve your students, access a dynamic resource, extend your learning base, and to stay engaged in education" (Roscorla 2010). By networking with fellow educators, you are constantly extending your learning base and you are serving your students by gaining useful information to be the best educator you can be.

PLNs are greatly useful for future and current educators. Having a PLN allows you to share your knowledge, and constantly gain new knowledge that can help you in your teaching career. Educators should have a passion for learning, and PLNs greatly foster that. Using your PLN, you have a better capability to grow and become a great educator. People with other interests outside education can also collaborate to grow in their field of expertise. Everyone can greatly benefit from having a PLN.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Journal #6- Grow Your Personal Learning Network (NETS I, III, V)

Warlick, D. (2009). Grow your personal learning network. Learning & Leading With Technology (36)6, Retrieved from http://istelearning.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Grow-Your-PLN.pdf

               With the new digital-age coming into play in education, building a personal learning network is a great way to share your knowledge, meet people with the same interests as you, and most importantly gain new knowledge to utilize. David Warlock addresses the different forms of PLNs you can use, and how to properly use your PLN.
               Personal  learning networks can be created through Twitter, Diigo, Second Life, Google Docs, Wikis, and Blogs to name a few. There are many resources out there to create a learning network that is personalized just for you. There are three types of Personal Learning Networks, which can encompass your social life and your business/ work life. The first type of PLN that you can create is  a personally maintained PLN with synchronous connections. This is the traditional PLN that includes the people and places you consult with every single day. IM and text messaging are two tools that can greatly enhance your PLN. The second type of PLN that is created is a personally and socially maintained semisynchronous connection. This type of PLN includes facebook, chatrooms and almost every other technological communication tool. It is only semisynchronous, so you are not synchronized with information 24/7. This type of PLN is very common for people with busy schedules, as schedules often prevent PLN members from engaging in their PLN 24/7. The third type of PLN is a PLN that connects us most often with sources that we feel are highly useful. This PLN is known as a dynamically maintained asynchronous connection. This type of PLN is easy to use as when you sign up for an aggregator such as Google Reader, your PLN is updated when they post new information. This type of PLN is training people to get information delivered to them. Having a PLN gives you a sense of responsibility to actively participate in your PLN as you most likely have network followers depending on you for new knowledge as well. PLN's are not about just acquiring information, you have a responsibility to contribute as well.
                 David Warlick presents us with a very useful publication distinguishing the three different types of PLN's, and how you can effectively use your PLN. The great thing about this publication that while PLN's are a great tool to participate in, once you create a PLN you have a responsibility to spread information as well.

Analysis Questions:
1.  How does Facebook qualify as a PLN?
                  A PLN is a network of people that you associate with frequently, or maybe once in a while. Generally a PLN is created to collaborate, spread ideas, and keep in contact with people that you affiliate with. Facebook qualifies as a PLN because you "friend" people that you share the same interests with, or people that you know, and posts are regularly made sharing ideas or even links to websites. Facebook allows you the opporunity to share with your friends website links, or other information that can be greatly useful. Generally people use Facebook as a personal leisure website, but information can be transmitted and spread.
2.  How do you start a PLN?
                  Starting a PLN is very simple. You first must choose a tool to create your PLN such as Diigo, Google Docs, Blogger, Wikis, or other collaborative tools that you see fit. Once you sign up and create your account, you describe what your interests are in your personal information. Once you have done that, you can search other people regarding to your interests. Once you find someone with the same interests as you, all you have to do is click " follow" or add them to your profile. Their posts will show up on your stream and you will gain new information from that person. Once you continue to find more people, your PLN further develops.
3. What is the difference between a PLN with synchronous connections and a PLN with semisynchronous connections?
                 A PLN with a synchronous connection is a PLN that you are always connected to. It is always synchronized to you and you are able to access it 24/7. Semisynchronous PLN's are PLN's that are not always synchronized. With a semisynchronous PLN, you are able to step away and take a break for a while. You don't always have to be connected.           

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Journal # 5- Learning Connections: Find Free Tools and More (NETS I, II, III, V)

Ribera, M. (2011, March/April). Learning connections: find free tools and more. Learning & Leading, 38(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Learning_Connections_Find_Free_Tools_and_More.aspx

               It is very crucial in today's society that teachers have all the help they can get. Our world is vastly changing and upgrading with new technology standards and requirements. Teachers used to only have to worry about how they teach and the proper books to use, but now they have to worry about properly implementing technology in their classrooms. New websites and helpful tools are constantly in production to assist teachers and a new website called EduTecher (http://edutecher.net/) falls into that category.
               EduTecher was created by Adam Bellow, a Director of technology for College Board Schools. He also works for ISTE to help teachers find helpful web tools for their classrooms. His website does not have any ads and it is also free to all teachers. It is a public website that provides links to helpful websites and helpful hints. A great thing about this website is that Adam Bellow constantly updates the site and he uploads new links daily. This site is constantly updated to the latest technology programs and helpful tools. Some of the hints that Adam provides is how to use tools that were not originally designed for education. He also provides audio and visual basic training support. A great thing about this website is that it is the first of its kind to be available as a smartphone application. It is currently available in the Andriod market and the Iphone market. Over 8,000 users have already downloaded the application to their phones. This is a very helpful website.
              Adam Bellow is a technology leader. He created a website to help others and he is greatly appreciated. It is a website that not only provides helpful information, but constantly updated helpful information. After learning about this website, it is something that I can see using in my future teaching career.

Analysis Questions:
1. How did Adam locate all of these helpful websites that are currently linked on EduTecher?
               Adam is a Technology Director and his job is dedicated to technology. He is able to search up useful education programs because he knows where to look for them and how to look for them. He has dedicated his professional life to technology and he is also well appreciated, known, and educated in the technology community.
2. When it is mentioned that this website does not have any ads, what does that mean?
               Most websites that you come in contact with like emailing sites (Yahoo, hotmail, etc.) , have ad links on the left side or the right-hand side of the webpage. This can pertain to weightloss supplements, dating websites, etc. Websites have ads because they make a lot of money from the company who has the ad posting. Companies pay websites to display their ads throughout the internet to provide more awareness and propaganda for their product.
3.  How do you find the phone application?
               First and foremost, you must have a smart phone to be able to access applications. Phones like the Iphone ( ATT and now Verizon) ,the Droid (Verizon), and the Evo (Sprint), are great examples of smartphones that have web access abilities. Your cellphone must have internet access and memory storage. You will either have the Iphone market on your phone (Iphone), or the Android market (Droid, Evo, etc.), if your phone is fully capable. Once you have those requirements, you click on your market and in the search option put the name of the program ( EduTecher). The application should pop up and you should be able to click or hit " Ok" to download. Then the program will be fully installed on your phone!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Technology Self Assessment: School 2 .0

Using the School 2.0 website, I assessed my ability and use of technology, demonstrating the use of NETS IV. I then picked a Nets-T assessment to analyze by summarizing an article. The Nets-T assessment that I investigated is: Nets-T 2- Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. I chose to research this Nets T because it is very important and it is something that I need help with.

         The Nets T 2 standard addresses that all teachers should have the ability to design and develop teaching lessons/experiences with technology. The resource that stood out to me was EduScapes, as it is a website that teachers can use to gain new ideas and gain new resources.
         EduScapes (http://eduscapes.com/index.htm) is a website that allows for teachers to be educated in the realm of technology. This website offers project ideas and many resources that teachers can use to better their own technological abilities. They also offer their own technology courses as well. One thing that I learned is that there is a new National Educational Technology Plan 2010 to improve the learning of students in the education systems under 5 essential components: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. The three common things to do with technology to help reach this plan is to simply rediscover content, rediscover context, and to rediscover computing. Content and context practically go together, being that content for a job requirement (professional tasks) holds a real-world context. Computing ties along with the idea that learning is not determined from a certain gadget, it is determined from how you use that gadget. Understanding this information can be crucial for the correct usage of technology with students. An example for doing this could be:
     A Law/ Government Class(http://www.eduscapes.com/sessions/context/, 2010):
  • Content. Use of online resources such as infographics for learning such as How Laws are Made.
  • Context. Use the Battlefront: Campaigners on a Mission website as a place to find real-world needs and consider where laws need to be made.
  • Computing. Use the Thomas website to make contacts, track real bills, and share findings.
       EduScapes is a website that can greatly help teachers and future educators. This website provides useful resources for educators and current technological guidelines that need to be followed. Teachers using this website can stay up to date with technology and constantly gain new ideas and knowledge.




Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Journal # 4- It's Time to Trust Teachers With the Internet: A Conversation With Meg Ormiston (Nets I, II, 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&Page=1

              Teachers want to educate their students to the best of their abilities. Technology is a growing tool that is starting to take over much of society and the world around us. While technology can be intimidating, it is a great learning tool that can be very useful in education. Teachers are now instructed to implement technology in the classrooms, and this would be easy if teachers were allowed to access proper websites. Meg Ormison, a fellow educator, argues that teachers need the most access that they can get as they have been instructed to teach to the best of their abilities. Most schools issue blocks on internet access that teachers can't even work around. As much as teachers want to implement technology into the class, they have very limited resources to use.
              School computers are configured by technologists and websites that get blocked are getting blocked by people who don't even work in education. It is not fair to teachers that they do not have the proper resources they feel would be best to use in their classrooms. It is kind of hypocritical to not trust teachers with their classrooms when they were chosen to lead and be in charge of their classrooms. While it is not the best to completely unblock everything at once, eventually teachers should be able to control what they can access in classrooms. Security issues are constantly of concern which is why so many blocks are implemented in the first place. Teachers should be able to go to educational workshops to be aware of what can be a great learning tool for students and what actually needs to be blocked. People think that blocking everything altogether is the solution so that students don't have any chance at all in finding anything inappropriate. The problem with that is students and teachers are restricted to great learning opportunities. Students nowadays have smart phones and computers that don't have any blocked websites. Students also know how to work around the blocks, and teachers are left clueless. Technically, students have access to everything 24/7 that schools are trying to block. Teachers give up trying to format technology in their classrooms because everything they want to use is often blocked. It is of no use going to administration to get permission for the website because it can take up to two weeks and the answer is most often times a no. Teachers have been trusted to lead their students in their own fashion, so why not let them do it? Workshops can train teachers to implement security policies for the internet. Teachers should be allowed to do what they are instructed to do, implement technology into their classrooms.
              Technology is a vast scope of information that can be detrimental to students, but on the flip side it can provide great learning tools. Teachers who are constantly blocked from the wide range of learning tools give up because they can't access what they need to. With proper training, teachers can effectively implement technology into their classrooms with proper security measures. Teachers have been instructed to teach the class, so why hinder that?

Analysis Questions:
1. What can be done to make unblocking websites easier for teachers?
             I believe that schools have a right to block students from innapropriate websites, however there should be a system that allows teachers to configure websites to their learning activities. Teachers should be able to unblock websites for their own convenience, and monitor the students. While student computers should be blocked, teachers should be able to permit or block a website from their own computer. With technology constantly upgrading, I know it is a possible solution.
2.  Students are coming into school knowing how to configure and work around website blocks. How do we fix that?
             It is obvious that computer systems in schools need an updated security measure. It is unfortunate that no matter what we do to block innapropriate websites, students are getting information on how to work around configurations by people who input the configurations, or a third party. People need to be more aware of the information they share with students. The only way to fix this problem is to completely design a new blocking or configuration system, but some way or another the students are going to figure it out. The best thing we can do is monitor them when they are in our classrooms to the best of our abilities.
3. What are some great technology tools for teachers to use?
             Many popular websites can be useful for teachers. Youtube and Skype are two websites for example that are becomming more useful for educators. Skype is a great tool that allows students and teachers to reach out to fellow students/teachers of other countries. Youtube is starting to gain popularity from educational videos that can be watched. Blogging is also popular now, as students can gain more interaction with their fellow students and teachers. There are endless posibilities. The most important thing is that you monitor students to avoid them finding anything that may be innapropriate.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Journal # 3- 100 Things in Life that Make Me Happy ( Nets II, V)

 100 Forms of Happiness
1. My family
2. My boyfriend
3. My boyfriend's family
4. My friends
5. My cats (my obsession!)
6. Teaching/tutoring
7. My new job as a Teacher Assistant
8. Love/ weddings
9. Dancing
10. Gymnastics
11. The Desert
12. Riding my quad
13. Getting good grades in school of course!
14. Music
15. Making new friends
16. Traveling
17. Flying in my boyfriend's airplane!
18. Reading a good book
19. Rollercoasters!
20. Scary/action/romance/ comedy movies
21. Panera Bread (My latest food obsession)
22. Playing my flute
23. The Beach
24. Swimming
25. Going on long walks
26. Composing music/ music in general!
27. Vacations!
28. Math
29. Shopping
30. The color purple
31. San Diego
32. Estes Park, Co
33. Hawaii
34. Going somewhere new
35. On The Border (Mexican Grill)
36. Margaritas
37. Drawing
38. Writing poetry
39. Learning new things/ school/ education
40. Purple Orchids
41. Sleeping
42. Relaxing
43. Foot massages
44. Laughing/ humor
45. Cruises
46. Children/babies
47. Lazy days at home
48. Being productive
49. My room after it is cleaned.
50. snowboarding/ The snow
51. The beauty in nature and our environment
52. Rainbows
53. Being accepted
54. Technology
55. Food (in general- however NOT seafood...)/ candy
56. Being adventurous
57. Playing tag or hide-and-go-seek (acting like a kid every once in a while...)
58. Developing/ Fixing photography (I am a Kodak certified photo technician!)
59. Taking pictures
60. New experiences
61. The weekend! ( Now that I don't work on the weekends!)
62. My middle name Munro (The only tradition in my family that has been carried down from my Scottish Ancestors)
63. Dresses!
64. Getting all dolled up!
65. Being spontaneous
66. Burts Bee's Chapstick (I use it religiously...)
67. Cold weather
68. Waterparks!
69. Slides
70. Swings
71. Getting my homework done ahead of time instead of last minute
72. Summer
73. Christmas
74. My birthday!
75. Getting gifts for other people
76. Making other people happy
77. Hand Sanitizer (I use that religiously also....)
78. Helping people
79. Getting my nails done
80. Dying my hair
81. Reality shows on TV(The Bachelor, Jersey Shore, etc....)
82. Animals (in general)
83. Driving
84. Mini-golfing
85. Theme Parks
86. Sewing
87. Knitting
88. Scratchboard art
89. Zip-lining
90. Boat rides
91. snorkeling
92. honesty
93. Playing sports and being active (Everything except soccer....)
94. Family reunions/ trips/ celebrations
95. Sunglasses (I am blind in the sun...)
96. rings
97. pedicures
98. kindness/ consideration
99. optimism and smiles
100. Most importantly my life in general! (Everything that I have been given and will be given in the future!) I absolutely love my life and I am so thankful to be here today as after having massive brain sugery when I was younger, the doctors said I wouldn't be!

Questions:
1. How can writing what we are happy about help us in school?
            When we are in school, we tend to stress a lot over tests, homework, and the overall workload. When you feel like giving up, it is great to remember what keeps you going in life. It is a great list to motivate you to continute to do your best.
2. Why is happiness important?
             Being happy is very important in life. When you are upset or mad you are not motivated to do your best. When you are happy, you have motivation in yourself to try your hardest and do your best. Happiness motivates everyone.
3. How can other people benefit from seeing the things that make me happy?
            Other people can greatly benefit from seeing my list because as much as they may have 100 things in life that make them happy, seeing my list can remind them of other things that may also make them happy. The more things you have in life that make you happy, the happier the person you generally are. It is also great to gain awareness of new things in life that could bring you happiness. A great life is a happy life.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Journal # 2-Join the Flock!/ Enhance Your Twitter Experience (Nets I, III, V)

Miller, S. (2010). Enhance your twitter experience. Learning & Leading With Technology, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20100607#pg16

Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock!. Learning & Leading With Technology, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Join_the_Flock.aspx

                Hadley Ferguson and Shannon Miller have developed two articles to allow everyone to gain insight to the positive usage of Twitter. Most people see Twitter as a way to keep up with their friends and the latest celebrities, but Hadley and Shannon have demonstrated how useful Twitter can be to teachers as well. Everyone can find a positive use with Twitter which is depicted in these two articles.
                 Both Hadley and Shannon express the importance of building a PLN. This is otherwise known as a Personal Learning Network. This is what makes Twitter so useful. In building a pln, you are able to gain new information from people who share the same interests in learning as you do. To build a PLN, you must register for Twitter and build your own profile with designated interests and preferably a picture to show who you are. The next step is to choose who you want to follow. With twitter, you can look up people with the same interests as you, such as a fellow teacher, and follow their profile. It is also advised to make a list of what you are interested in as well because your fellow twitter community members can look up your list and gain interest as well. When you follow their profile, everything they post shows up on your twitter stream. Shannon suggests helpful ways to manage all of your followers and people you follow by creating a Twitter organizer. This allows you to better keep track of everyone and everything on your twitter profile. Both Hadley and Shannon express how important it is to make yourself visible by contributing to postings as well. Posting on your twitter page allows you to share educational ideas, and information that all of your followers may be interested in. If any information posted is of interest, you are able to tag the post to spread it along on your profile. This gives people credit and great confidence to continue to share more of their expertise. Everyone can learn something from someone, and twitter allows you to gain access to an infinite amount of people or educators that you may not have the chance to meet in real life.
                  Twitter is a great tool to spread and share ideas with fellow teachers or people who share the same interests as you. Many twitter members make a personal account to share personal interests, and they also make a business account to gain new information and insight with their work. Both Shannon and Hadley greatly express the importance of twitter as a Web 2.0 activity for teachers and students to gain new insight and share ideas with the world. You may not be given the opportunity to meet or gain information from a mentor or role model in real life, but with twitter anything is possible.

Analysis Questions:
1. What makes Twitter better than myspace or facebook?
                   After learning about everything that twitter can do, I feel that it is more of a learning tool than myspace or facebook. Most people use their myspace or facebook to stay in contact with friends or family. It is also a lot harder to find people with the same interests as you on facebook and myspace because of all of the security measures. Twitter is just a site to share ideas and follow people that you are interested in. It is mainly a website to share your ideas with the world, not to solely keep in contact with family or friends.
2. How do you get people to follow your profile on Twitter?
                    As it is very easy on Twitter to look people up and click on their profile to follow, that does not mean that you will gain followers. Generally in order to get followed you have to put yourself out there. The more ideas and knowledge you share with the twitter community, the more interest you will gain from them. This will result in more people following your profile. If you don't put yourself out there, there is nothing to follow. When you generally select a person to follow because you share their same interests, most of the time that will give them interest to look at or even follow your profile. It is all about putting yourself out there.
3. What if you reach out to someone on Twitter and they do not share the same interest back?
                     The beauty of the internet is that you never have to confront anybody face to face or even see them in real life. If somebody is not interested in you, their is no harm done and you can simply find someone else. Because they are online, you will never have to run into them again or face them and be embarrassed. There is always no harm done in trying. It is not like a person-to-person reaction in which you have more risk of getting embarrassed. On the internet, it is alot easier to protect yourself from being put into that type of situation. You won't be liked by everyone, but there is certainly people out there that will find interest in your thoughts and ideas. As mentioned before, it is all about putting yourself out there and giving some type of effort.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Journal #1- Do Web 2.0 Right (Nets I, IV, V)

Light, D. (2011). 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

                 Daniel Light is an expert on Web 2.0 and has gone around the country to observe how teachers are using Web 2.0 in classrooms. Many classrooms have different experiences with Web 2.0 activities, but the general knowledge is that most teachers have found a way to appropriately incorporate Web 2.0 into their classrooms. Daniel has come to find three seperate topics that demonstrate how teachers use effective communication with Web 2.0.
                The first topic that Daniel has seperated is the daily practice of Web 2.0. Some classes only use blogging and other Web 2.0 as "special projects" while others have instituted blogging as a daily practice. Communication through these daily blogs are very effective because children are using them daily. Through these daily blogs, two seperate blogs have come about. Classroom blogs where children get to interact with their peers or their teacher, and individual blogs that are monitored and sometimes blocked from public view. The most successful form of blogging was the individual blog because it is only accessable between the student and the teacher. Without being in the public spotlight, students are more comfortable to express how they really feel.
                Carefully understanding the audience is another key aspect for Web 2.0 activities. Students are often nervous about posting on a public blog website. Athough it may be linked to the class, outsiders often have access to view and post if they want as well. Teachers need to be consciencous of this to monitor through unwanted postings or comments. This is needed to ensure student safety.
                The last important topic to use Web 2.0 effectively is to teach and enforce appropriate behavior. This is needed to ensure that students are not insulting eachother or web bullying. Students are taught to effectively give critical feedback to their peers through commenting on eachothers blogs. Web 2.0, if used correctly, offers a different type of community for classrooms and students. It is important in a community to behave properly in order to have it function accordingly.
                 Web 2.0 offers a virtual community as opposed to the typical classroom community. Web 2.0 allows students to get more engaged into a classroom through virtual attendance. Students are often more attracted to virtual assignments on blogging because they are able to use the same computer to look up pictures, data, etc. The computer provides a new fresh way of learning that allows for some differentiation in the classroom. Daniel Light supports and is an advocate for Web 2.0 as long as it is used correctly. Following the three guidelines, Web 2.0 can be a pleasureable learning tool for teachers and students.


Article Questions:
1. How do teachers properly monitor individual student blogs?
     Individual student blogs are in control of the student. As much as the teacher can obtain information and contact the student through their blog, they are completely in control of what is posted. In order to monitor the student blogs, teachers can actually make each student their blog and create the password needed to log in to the blog itself. This way, if a student is not posting proper comments, the teacher can access their account and delete the post. As much as this may cause some trust issues with the students, monitoring is needed.
2. What amount of time should be dedicated to blogging and how much time should be dedicated to regular class work?
      Many teachers may face this dilemna on how to prioritize time and make sure that state standards and schedules are adequately being followed. The truth is, in my opinion, there should not be a huge amount of stress on what time should be assigned to both aspects of class. Some classrooms have gone 100 percent virtual and even classroom homework assignments are submitted online. Classrooms can easily implement Web 2.0 into their classroom as children need to learn and understand technology. Using Web 2.0 allows for children to not only complete their required classwork assignments, but it allows them to learn more about technology.
3. How should we accomodate teachers who never had the experience to take a technology class or learn about technology? Should it be required?
       With technology booming and taking over much of everything, technology is needed to adequately survive and live in today's society. While many people have denied technology and tried to live without it, it is getting harder and harder to avoid. Teachers should be required to take a technology class to ensure that their students are being taught to the best of their ability. As money is sometimes an issue, schools should offer teachers technology classes. Some teachers who are older never got the chance or were required to take any technology class when they were in college, so they should be given a fair opportunity to learn as well.

               

Friday, January 28, 2011

Formally introducing Lindsey Deetz

            My name is Lindsey Munro Deetz and I am currently a junior at Cal State San Marcos. I am majoring in liberal arts with a math concentration. I aspire to one day become a geometry or algebra teacher in middle or high school. I was born and raised in San Diego, California. I attended Morning Creek Elementary school from preschool through 3rd grade in Carmel Mountain Ranch. After my parents divorced I moved with my mom and brother to Rancho Bernardo. I finished my elementary school years at Turtleback Elementary. I then attended Bernardo Heights Middle School followed by Rancho Bernardo High School. I graduated class of 2007. I was appointed to be an academic tutor my senior year of high school and spent my last period of the day tutoring kids mainly in geometry or algebra. I absolutely fell in love with it, however I did not realize it at the time. Starting out at Cal State San Marcos I went into nursing because my mom was a nurse. Boy was that a mistake. Once I realized that it was not the profession for me, I thought back to being a tutor in high school and how much I enjoyed it. It was not until my sophmore year of college that I realized I wanted to be a math teacher. I currently accepted a position for the San Diego County Office of Education as a Teacher Assistant for a court school. The school is called Breaking Cycles and it deals with probation and the San Diego County school system. As it may be challenging at times, I absolutely love it.
              I would like to think I am on par with technology. I tend to learn things very fast with technology with little or no assistance. As I am mainly a Windows PC user, MAC is fairly easy for me to navigate through as well. As I begin to work for the county, I realize that I still have a lot of learning to do. I have recently been introduced to the Smart Board.... which still amazes me of it's capabilities. I do not know how to work it yet, but I am hoping to learn soon. The only struggle I have had with technology is Microsoft Excel. As I was able to pass the CCR, it still does confuse me. I am however proficient in Microsoft Word and Powerpoint. I am very excited to learn about what else is out there in the world of technology.
               The mission statement for the Cal State San Marcos Department of Education is very meaningful and powerful. To be a great educator I believe that one must accept and embrace diversity. We live in a country that is the land of the free with no racial, cultural, or social boundaries. Living in the country allows us to see diversity but in order to be a great teacher diversity must be welcomed, fostered, and most of all be accepted.  Educators I believe should be passionate about what they do and they should also have a passion to learn. I have a great passion to continue learning because I know that great teachers never stop learning. This is also embedded in the mission statement. Lastly, great teachers must be able to adapt to new technological standards of learning and growth. The world we live in is constantly changing and producing advanced technology. While some people are afraid of it, teachers must learn to accept it. This is because it will not only benefit themselves, but their future students as well. I believe that students who become truly educated accept diversity, have a passion to learn, and are aware of the benefits that technology can bring. Students who reach this goal need great teachers to educate them. This all starts with me and everyone else who aspires to be future teachers one day.