Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts: Wikis (Chapt 9) Social Networks

This chapter about Facebook brought up some really good points.  I like how the author said that we shouldn’t just not use it because most schools have the site blocked.  The examples he provided In the book are very good examples about how Facebook can be used appropriately. Students now probably know a lot more about Facebook than most of us do, so I think it’s important to take the opportunity to teach students how to use Facebook appropriately and safely.  Some parents may not have Facebook or even know much about it, so as teachers, we need to take the responsibility to make sure our students know what they are doing and doing it safely.  From experience, I know how addicting Facebook can be and I know that a lot of people are on Facebook whenever they are home.  Since students are on Facebook quite a bit, I like the idea of having a “secret” group for your class where they can discuss different things.  This would make it very easy to accomplish classroom tasks if students are already on Facebook while at home.  I think it can also be a great way to build your class community by having an open discussion where students can talk to each other and the quiet students can even contribute and maybe not feel quite so much pressure as when they are in class and talking. 
I am not familiar with Ning.com, but this also sounds like it could be nice to use in a classroom.  I liked the examples the author gave about how teachers are using Ning in their classroom.  I think social networks can be a great way to help build a classroom community and at the same time you can teach your students how to be a safe online citizen.  You could also use these resources to help teach about bullying and how to prevent cyber-bullying or what to do if they experience or see cyber-bullying happen.  I think by using these Social Networks in the classroom there are a lot of teachable moments to take advantage of. 
As a future teacher, I would definantly play around with these two resources and see which may benefit my class.  I would want to incorporate this into my class so I can take advantage of the other teachable moments, especially cyber-bullying since this is a very hot topic right now.  I feel that by having an online classroom community, students can express themselves who may not otherwise do so in the classroom.

New Thinking from Class

One key idea from today’s discussion is that with change there will always be a loss and gain.  Public education needs to become more competitive.  The technology debate isn’t one that is black and white.  There is a lot of gray area.  What it all comes down to is how you feel you can best serve your students.  Funding is available for those with initiative who go to find it.  Don’t just give up, go and find the funding that you need.  As most of the resources we go through in class, Elluminate is new to me.  But it’s always nice to learn about new resources.

For our podcast, we need to address a contemporary issue related to technology and PK-12 learners.  The article can come from online or from a magazine or newspaper.  Once the issue is determined, a script should be written that provides an overview of the issue which summarizes the resources and also share our reaction or reflection related to the issue.  Be sure to have very clear audible speech. 

Rethinking Education- Chapter 7

In this chapter, they discussed that as parents decide to take their children out of the public schools and take over their education, the schools will be left with uninterested students.  I can see this as a good and bad thing.  If the students that are left are really uninterested, by having only them in the school, the teachers can devote more time to them and possibly get them more interested in school and the subjects.  Some of these students may not be interested in school because of some of the other students.  These "uninterested" students may be intimidated by the more advanced students and without them the "uninterested" students may become more interested and actually do better in school.  But, it is a large problem when some students do not have access to the same educational tools and resources as others.  As the book stated, students that do have access to the educational tools and private educations pull ahead in life and there is no competing.  Sometimes I worry that everyone is so competitive that children can’t even be kids anymore.  Parents are educating their kids as soon as they can talk and preparing them for school.  But unfortunately, not all families can afford the most prestigious schools and educational tools.  This creates a problem for the lower income families.  Access to computers and internet is another big problem.  If teachers require students to use the internet for homework or listen to podcasts at home, they are creating a problem for those students who may not have access to the internet or a computer at home. 
Another interesting point the book made was that if students are able to choose their course of study, they will chose subjects that interest them.  They may not choose the history class and will not have some of the basic knowledge that all individuals should have.  But then again, the individual will be learning what interests them and they will therefore be more engaged. 
One very positive gain to a more individualized education is that there would not be as much competition in school between students.   Students would be less likely to compare themselves and focus on their studies and what they are learning and how they are doing as an individual instead of being ranked in their class and feeling like a failure. 

As a teacher, I will make sure that all my students have access to the technology they need to succeed.  I will make sure that if students have to use a computer or internet, I allow time during the school day for them to work on this so those without access can complete the task and not have to feel ashamed or fall behind because they do not have access to the technology.  I will also work hard to try to make all my students feel confident in their work.  I do not want to have a class where students are comparing themselves to others.  I want students who focus on their own learning. 

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts- Chapter 8 (Podcasting, Video and Screencasting, and Live Streaming)

Podcasting, video and screencasting, and live streaming are all new to me.  I do not know much about them at all.  I just remember last year my brother who was a freshman in high school had a class where the teacher used podcasts.  The students had to listen to his podcasts a couple times a week and do assignments and then class time was used as a lab.  Unfortunately, my brother did like this.  He said he did not like the teacher, so having to go home and listen to him for another hour was hard and he would rather have read a chapter instead.  But after reading this chapter, I learned that you can't just use one teacher's podcast and base your opinion on that.  I think there are a lot of cool things you could do with podcasts.  You could create podcasts as a review for your students so it is not mandatory for them to listen to, but if the student is studying and decides he/she needs more review they could listen to your podcast as a review. 

A lot of times, I think notes or announcements get sent home with students and the students either throw them away or lose them so parents do not receive important information.  Podcasts would be a great way for school personnel to get in touch with parents and make sure they receive all the announcements and important information. The schools website could have an area devoted to podcasts for parents so parents could check it or use their RSS to subscribe to and keep them in the loop. 

In today's society there are a lot more parents who are out working (less stay at home parents) and parents who are overseas fighting for our country.  As I was reading about the podcasts, video and screen casts and live streaming I was thinking how all of these could be used to record and capture things that are going on in your classroom to share with parents who can't be there.  If your class is putting on a little play or talent show you could do a podcast, video cast or live stream it so those parents unable to attend can still take part in it and enjoy their children. 

I also really liked the idea the author used about connecting with students in another country or even another state and creating podcasts or video casts to learn about each other and if learning a new language, having the students help each other by creating podcasts for each other. 

As a new teacher, I want my students to be able to use new technologies in my classroom so they are ready and willing to try new things instead of being scared.  I also want to teach my students how to use these tools appropriately. 

New Thinking from Class

This week from the class facilitation it was emphasized again that we need to use our teacher voice.  The group did a great job of circulating and checking in.  They asked great questions to make us think of other things within our group.  The group was well prepared, knowledgable and did a good of grouping the students.  The timer was a great way.  This helped the groups know how long we had but also allowed the facilitators to not have to be watching the clock. 

To consider: ways to share out the information, not just verbally but visually to help all student learners.  One way to do this would be jigsaw grouping.  One person from each group would form the second groups so that there is one expert from each initial group in the second groups. 
Provide a summary frame to summarize your discussion.  This makes everyone focus on a clear summary which makes the group summaries go very quickly. 

During class it was helpful to go over the SMART Board tips and tricks.  Make sure to check that objects are locked in place if you don’t want them to be moved.  Also be sure to group objects so they are one object and not individual objects to move.  If you want a bunch of one object so that if they drag one away, there is another, you can use the infinate cloner.  Be careful and sensitive to color choices.  On your monitor the colors may be fine together, but when projected the colors may be totally different and make it hard to read.  Smallest size text you want to do is 24, but 36 plus is ideal.  Rule of thumb for number of words on one slide or page is 6 lines with 6 words per line so a total of 36 words.  Also take into consideration the grade level.

Rethinking Education- Chapter 6

Before reading this chapter, I did not know much about the history of schooling.  This chapter was very interesting. As they talked about the stages that education has gone through, I think we are getting to a combined stage, where we still have the formal education in a classroom, but we are also learning online and taking courses that interest us as individuals.  I also think a lot more teachers are giving students choices as to what they may research so that it is something they are interested in and want to learn about compared to being forced to research a topic the student may have no interest in.  Even with testing, in schools today you have the different types of assessments and then there are still standardized tests.  I think schools are working hard to combine different types of ways to test student’s knowledge and also to keep students interested and teach them topics they are interested in. 

As a teacher, I will try hard to keep my students interested and give them choices.  If the students are working on a research paper, I want them to research something that interests them.  No matter what they write about, they still have to do research and find information on their topic and they will get the writing experience.  For a history class, you could have students research a time frame, but relate it to something they enjoy.  Since I enjoy baking and cooking, maybe I would research foods during a certain time, how they cooked or if there were any movements towards different types of food. 

Book Chapter Project

On Thursday, Cassie, Cari and I facilitated the class discussion on Chapter 5 to the class.  Before our group met, I read the chapter so I knew what the material was and could start getting some ideas on how we wanted to facilitate this.  We met as a group to prepare.  We used Prezi as our main presentation tool and then used the Elmo.  Prezi was very easy to use and prepare our material.  None of us had used it before, but once we started using it, it didn’t take very long to create a presentation.  We all worked well together and it didn’t take us very long to come up with how we wanted to facilitate the discussion.  We wanted to group our peers differently than what others had used to discuss, so we grouped them into colors.  I think this worked very well.  The time constraint was an issue, but we just had to go with it and were not able to have a lot of large group discussion after the small groups discussed.  After our group prepared for the discussion, we met together the day of to make sure we knew how to use all the technology and make sure we knew who was doing what.  I think we all did a very good job of getting our material ready so on the day of we weren’t trying to get last minute things ready. 

By facilitating this discussion, we were able to experiment and see what works well with facilitating.  This also helped me personally feel more comfortable presenting in front of my peers.  Also, by doing this, as the facilitators, we had to know the material well so that if questions were asked we could answer them or if a group was on the wrong track, we could reguide them. 

As teachers, we will have to teach with administrators in our classroom observing.  I personally find it a lot more difficult to teach or present when a peer or administrator is in the room.  I was a substitute teacher for a year and had no problem going into a classroom and teaching, but when I had to start peer teaching, I found it very difficult to do.  So by teaching our peers this helps us get ready for not only teaching students, but also for having observers in our classroom.  Also, by discussing course content with peers, I think this helps you understand the material better.  If you can teach the material to someone else, that means you have a pretty good understanding of the topic and can actually help you learn the material even better. 

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts- Chapter 6 (Fun With Flickr)

I have never used Flickr before but as I was reading through the chapter, I was thinking about how this could be used in a classroom.  I think it would be fun to have students or as a class, we take pictures of Wisconsin and what we think of when we think about Wisconsin.  We could create a Flickr account for our class and then maybe find a class in another country who would also create a Flickr account where we could see pictures from their country. This would be a great way for the students to learn about different places and cultures.  Students see a lot of pictures in textbooks, but wouldn’t it be cool to see pictures that other students have taken.  This would also allow the students to decide what is important about the place they live.  Thinking about Flickr, I got nervous about having students upload personal pictures, but on page 103 the author mentions that you can have your pictures private so only those who are invited to see them will be able to see them.  I did not realize how much you can do with Flickr.  I thought it was just a site to upload pictures and share with others.  But, after reading the chapter, there are a lot of cool things you could do with a class. 

One important thing to remember when using Flickr, just like any technology is to use it a while yourself before you have your students try it.  This will allow you to know how and it works and be able to answer your student’s questions.  This will also help you determine if there are certain words to stay away from when looking at pictures using tags. 

New Thinking From Class

Today we presented for chapter 5.  I think it went better than I expected.  I was happy that we decided to form the groups how we did with colors.  I think one downfall we did have was we should have allowed more time for the whole class to discuss.  We could have offered more in depth commentary to the pros and cons given or built on the idea that the group gave us.  I do agree that we should have talked a little more about the quote given as our final thought, but it was meant to make the class think and it actually leads into next weeks chapter. 

Talking about the iRLO and how to get started was very helpful.  The first step is to identify a standards-based content.  We then need to design a developmentally – appropriate way to address the content.  We need to take into consideration what age level we are designing the iRLO for compared to the content we are focusing on.  The audience needs to be considered.  It was very helpful that Jeff took us through the process for downloading Scratch.  The only difference is that on our home computer we should install the program.  When we were first introduced to the iRLO, I was very nervous about it but now that we went through the steps and how to actually make it, I am feeling a lot more comfortable. 

Rethinking Education- Chapter 5

After reading this chapter, I learned a lot that I didn’t know about other ways people are learning.  I never realized how many students are home schooled. I do believe that students who are home schooled score significantly better on standardized tests.  When you are home schooled, you are usually only one of a couple who may be home schooled, depending on if you have siblings who are also home schooled.  This means that you aren’t in a class with 20 or more other students and you can move at your own pace.  In middle school, I had a friend that was home schooled and she actually graduated 3 years earlier than students her same age. 

I think a lot of these new ways of learning are very important.  As adults, we should always continue to learn and keep our brains active and working.  Adult education, distance learning, and workplace learning are all a great way for adults to learn something new and something that interests them.  Schools may not be able to allow everyone to learn just what they are interested in, but these other ways of learning can allow you to do that when the timing is right for the individual.  I don't feel that these new seeds of learning will hurt public schools and their intentions, I think they are here to strengthen citizens and allow them more opportunities to learn and allow individuals to learn in a way that works best for them and what interests them. 

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts: The Social Web (Chapt 6)

Technology can be very beneficial to educators.  As discussed in this chapter, Twitter can be used to connect with other educators that you may have never met or will never meet and allows you to learn from them.  We can learn what is working in their classrooms that we may be having problems with or cool lessons that they are teaching.  Twitter is just one of the many social sites that can be used to connect to others. 

Social bookmarking is something new to me, but I really enjoy using it now.  Social bookmarking allows you to bookmark and tag sites you find useful so that you can access those sites from any computer.  Unlike the traditional bookmarks on your home computer, you can access these bookmarks anywhere.  The thing I like about this is that you can find sites with similar tags that other individuals have found helpful.  There are so many websites out there that you may never discover, until now with the help of social bookmarking. 

As a future teacher, I want to incorporate as technology into my classroom as possible.  Young children today are more attuned to technology than anything else.  They catch onto technology very quickly and enjoy being on the computer.  Social bookmarking is a great way to help your students start researching a topic.  As a class you can add links.  I really like the idea in the book where he talks about tagging links that each student may like.  So you would have a tag called “Meredith” with information you feel she would enjoy.  I think students would love to see what their teacher finds for them and have their own personal library of information and sites. 

New Thinking From Class

There are 4 main developments of American Schooling.  The first is the printing press which led to the Reformation.  During the Reformation schools were created.  The American Revolution was next, then the Industrial Revolution.   After today’s discussion, some things to keep in mind for other discussions is to encourage deeper thinking from our peers.  The presenters did a good job of restating comments for the group.  We also need to take into consideration how to group peers so everyone can be a part of their group. 

Our iRLO we will submit 2 drafts; one for our peers to review and then the final draft.  An iRLO is an interactive reusable learning object.  Interactive means it provides user control and appropriate feedback.  Many lecture classes do not allow for this, whereas video games do.  Reusable means it can be used repeatedly. Learning means users should learn new content, review previously learned content or practice a skill.  Object is a generic term, but it refers to the Scratch file that you will create. 

We were introduced to Scratch which is a program we can use to create an iRLO.  Scratch has an online community where students can access iRLO’s that you created.  They do not have to have Scratch downloaded on their computers. 

Rethinking Education- Chapter 4

On page 52, the author writes that “Taxpayers were reluctant to pay for education, and towns frequently reaffirmed parents’ responsibility for educating their children.  Yet, once schools were established, parents were quite willing to send their children to these schools, rather than teaching them at home.”  I thought this was very interesting.  It seems that even today, individuals may be reluctant for something, but once it is established and seems to be working fine, then everyone wants to jump on board and be a part of it. 

I also found it interesting that during the colonial years, when there were one room schoolhouses, most of the teachers were males.  I always thought of women as being the teachers and many years ago, it was uncommon to see males as teachers.  Gender roles put women as the teachers, but really, the earliest teachers were men. 

As I was reading the chapter, it surprised me how much of the education system is still similar to what it was when it was first created.  They talked about classes being 50-55 minutes long and that is still how most high school classes are, even most college courses are 50 minutes long. 

Before reading this chapter, I did not know much about the history of education and schools.  After reading the chapter, I understand better how school and education were created and the changes they have gone through, but also how some things have stayed the same. 

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts: RSS (Chapt 5)

Before reading this chapter, I knew nothing about RSS, or what it even stood for.  Now I know that RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and all educators should start using it ASAP and teaching their students how to use it.  An RSS will track all of the feeds that you subscribe to  and each hour will check for new feeds.  The new feeds will them be put into your aggregator and you can view them and decide what to do with them at your convenience. 

As I began reading the chapter, I wasn’t sure how I would use an RSS in my classroom. It seemed like a great way for me to keep up on new information and findings, but how could my students use this?
RSS would be a very easy way for me to keep up on my student’s blogs.  My students could create an RSS and choose something they are interested in.  They could then start getting the feeds from their RSS and write a paper using the information they received from the feed that they collected in a few weeks.  Maybe to introduce my students to RSS, as a class we could create one with a single topic in mind and see how the RSS works and what type of information we receive.  I could have each student look over the info we got for the day and determine what was worth keeping and if we should add other news sources. I think an RSS could become a great tool to first use as a group while everyone learns how to use it and then allow the students to create their own with a topic they are interested in. 

A lot of the resources we are learning about you can use through one account, such as Google.  I like that most of these are offered through Google.  As we learn about a new tool, I get nervous about how many different tools there are and each requires a different login.  As I learn that most can be accessed with one login makes me feel more comfortable with using them.

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts: Wikis (Chapt 4)

After reading chapter 4 on Wiki’s, I understand the concept of a wiki a lot better.  When I was in school, Wikipedia was just being started and we were taught to never use Wikipedia because anyone could add information and it may not be true.  After reading this chapter, I think it’s very important to teach our students about Wikipedia.  I did not know that there is a history as to what people change on a Wikipedia and if an individual deletes information, the information is not lost, it can be saved.  It was also reassuring to read that 4 out of 5 experts said the entries in their field of study were accurate, informative, comprehensive and a great resource for students.  I also like the idea that wiki’s are collaborative.  In schools and in many jobs, you are required to collaborate with others.  Wiki’s can help students understand and practice collaborating to create a wiki or add their expertise to another wiki.  There is so much you can do with wiki’s.  Students could have a wiki with another class in  another country and be able to work together to help each class learn more about where they are from. 

As a teacher, I will incorporate the use of wiki’s into my class and help students understand a wiki so they may contribute to our class wiki.  I feel that if students are a part of something and feel that they have control over the class wiki and it is their work in progress, they will be excited to keep the wiki current and keep it going.   I will also take some advice from the chapter and advise my students to use Wikipedia as a starting point to their research.  I also like the idea of using a wiki in the classroom and allowing the students to edit each other’s contributions.  I think this would be a great way for students to learn about editing and use their English skills to correct errors.  In another college courses, my group used Google Docs for a group paper.  I found this resource to be very easy to work with and allowed us to each to contribute our sections to the paper and allow each group member to edit the entire paper.  I think both a wiki and Google Docs would be an excellent way to have students peer edit papers.  If each student had a log in you could make sure another student had edited the paper and see what types of edits were done.