Journal 7 Personal Learning Network NETS-T 5

The five people in my network are; Michael Werner, Jessica Garcia, Lisa Dabbs, Steven W. Anderson, and Parentella. I am following Michael Werner because he looks like someone that can give me useful information about education. From reading the Tweets that he has posted on his page I find that I can use some of the free web based software applications, such s Prezi, that he has shared with his followers in my own future classroom. I chose to follow my EDUC 422 classmate Jessica Garcia because she has been in the ICP program here at Cal State San Marcos for the past two years. I recently have been accepted into the ICP program. By following Jessica I can attain some tips and retweet her tweets whenever I feel that I can relate to them in regards to the ICP program. I am following Lisa Dabbs because she seems to be an encouraging and motivating educator coach and supporter. From reading the tweets on Lisa’s page I had found that a lot of her followers had wrote nothing but kind and thankful praises and words. I find that fellow teachers need this kind of support from a knowledgeable coach and supporter to help them realize that they are making a positive difference in their student’s lives. I chose to follow Steven W. Anderson because some of the Retweets on his page provided useful links to educational Wikis and linked information to social media networks that will help educators to collaborate with school administrators from around the world. I am following Parentella because as a future teacher I can help encourage my student’s parents to collaborate and share ideas and opinions with other parents from across the world. By working together they can share and find tips on how they can help their children study. Also, while reading the Retweets on this page I had found some useful information that I could take into consideration when I am a teacher. Take for instance the Retweet of the link of the ten top reasons why students prefer to learn online, I would most likely take these explanations into consideration once I am a teacher.

      I participated in #ed chat. The topic discussed was, make parents part of the digital citizenship education. They need to learn too! By participating in this ed chat I learned that many parents who at times are considered to be the “unconnected,” find that digital media social networking sites and other means of digital media is a waste of time. I find that children who are over the age of thirteen show their parents how to use some of the digital media tools and social networking sites that we are provided with today, but their parents may say that they do not have time to use it or they simply do not have an interest in learning how to use these social networking tools. On the other hand, I learned a few suggestions on how educators can help their student’s parents become a part of the digital citizenship of education. For instance, at parent teacher conferences or during open house, teachers can suggest to their students parent’s that by creating and signing up for free social networking and collaborative wiki sites, such as; Facebook or Memiary they can communicate and collaborate amongst themselves on these sites.  Also, educators can inform parents that through the use of these digital media tools they can ask questions, they can request for their children’s progress report cards, and by being apart of the digital citizenship of education they are given the opportunity to be an active member in the Twenty First Century, in regards to technology.

My use of Delicious is strictly used for the purpose of networking with people who have an interest in education.  I chose to bookmark the websites, wikis and people on my Delicious network because I find that they will be useful to use in my future classroom. In addition, instead of scrambling to find these people and websites, I can refer back to them in an efficient and organized way. I decided to network with these five people because I find that I can refer to the information that they provide, and I can also leave comments on their pages and collaborate with them on a daily basis. I tagged 5 websites, in which include Wikis, as PLN.  I tagged; Twitter4teachers/Elementary Teachers, Teacher Reboot Camp, Gazette – “50 Web Applications for Teachers,” Bullying Has Little Resonance With Teenagers, and 4^th Grade Steele – Math. Twitter4teachers/Elementary Teachers provides links to K-12 educators on Twitter, (in which is a collaborative social media network site). I chose to tag this site PLN because I find it to be useful and also I will most likely refer to it in my future preparations in designing my lesson plans and curriculum. Teacher Reboot Camp is a digital discussion forum implemented through the use of Twitter. In this digital discussion forum teachers from around the world can work together to discuss strategies to successfully engage students through the use of instructional methods and technology. I chose to tag this site as PLN because whenever I am in doubt or need some ideas and suggestions on how to implement technology and other instructional methods to engage my future students in my lessons I can refer to the provided information that has been shared within the forum. Gazette – “50 Web Applications for Teachers, “consists of a variety of websites ranging from; educational bloggers, digital discussion forums, and educational wikis. I chose to tag this site as PLN because I will most likely be using it to find strategies and web tools to share with my students and to as well as implement some of the provided web applications into lessons and activities. Bullying Has Little Resonance With Teenagers is another digital discussion forum. In this forum one can comment or reply to the authors posts in regards to making connections to a specific topic (in which in this case, the topic is about bullying) that has not been properly addressed. I chose to tag this site as PLN because I believe relevant and self evident topics such as bullying should be addressed in the classroom. By bookmarking this site I can refer to it to help me find some ideas on how to address topics such as bullying so that I can be prepared to answer any questions that my future students may have in regards to such topics. Fourth Grade Steele – Math is an educational wiki. This site consists of many manipulatives and/or activities for children to work on their math,,…and….skills through the implementation of technology. I chose to tag this site as PLN because I can see myself using this wiki in my future classes. While I was exploring through the site I found most of the manipulatives and activities to be up to date and engaging. I find that my students will have fun learning about math through the use of this wiki.  

The digital discussion forum that I joined is a blog post titled, “Losing Quality Teachers (Part 1 and 2).” I learned that half of new U.S. teachers are most likely to quit their profession within the first five years of their employment. The reasons why so many educators are calling it quits is because of the long hours, little pay, and the frustrations that come along with the challenging yet rewarding profession of teaching. However, what I found most interesting in this article is that it mentioned that the increasing numbers of disruptive students who make it difficult for one teach the class as whole is one of the main contributing factors to why these educators are leaving the profession of teaching.

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Inspiration NETS-T 3

 

I didn't know where to begin so I asked a classmate for their help and I used the Atomic Learning to view some tutorials.  To create this assignment I downloaded the 30 day free trial for Inspiration.  I began with my main idea and from there I linked the 5 NETS T Standards and my subtopics. I then added a hyperlink to the ISTE website. I also used some clip art images from Inspiration and for the rest of my images I was able to cut and paste them onto my template. Then I gave a title for each artifact.  Then I changed the font sizes and colors.  I also added arrows to link each artifact. Finally, I saved this assignment as a JPG and used posted it on my blog.  

Journal #6 - "Change Agent" NETS-T 5

Journal #6: “Change Agent” NETS-T 5

Rebora, A. (2010, October 11). Change agent. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2010/10/12/01richardson.h04.html?cmp=clp-edweek&intc=bs&sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4cb7dc75d0303b73,0

Summary:

This interview was taken in part with Will Richardson. He is a former high school Journalism and English teacher who is now an educational-technology consultant and co-founder of Powerful Learning Practice. He is a huge advocate for technology, to the extent that he believes technology is essential for student growth and effective learning. He strongly emphasizes the significance for educators and as well as educators to implement Web 2.0 technology in class lessons. In other words, he wishes and/or argues for educators to work with the digital tools that we currently have and to show students the vast variety of technology resources and opportunities that are available in the Twenty First Century as well.

Questions:

Q1: Do you believe that it is important for educators to implement Web 2.0 technology into class lessons?

A: Yes, I think it is great idea to implement web tool technology into the classroom. I find that teacher's who use such technology are helping their students become more active in our technological society. We have an extremely wide range of various different web tools that are made readily available for us to use. In other words, if we are provided with such web tools, then educators should definetly implement web 2.0 technology into the classroom.

Q2: Do you believe that technology is essential for student growth and effective learning?

A2: I find that technology can be essentially useful for developing student growth and effective learning. I say this because the implementation of technology in class assignments (i.e.: chapter summaries and oral presentations) can inspire children to want to actively participate in class. In other words, with engaging and visually pleasing web tools such as, Prezi, I find that children will actually have fun and will be focused on assignments. Also, for some students their grades may reach higher levels due to the implementation of technology in the classroom.

Journal #9: "Lessons from New Zealand; Developing Student Voices With Technology" NETS-T 1, 2, and 5

Journal #9: “Lessons From New Zealand; Developing Student Voices with Technology” NETS-T 1, 2, and 5

Charles, M., Burt, D., & Williams, M.K. (2010). Lessons from New Zealand; developing student voices. Learning and Leading With Technology , 38(2), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201012#pg24.

Summary:

This article is about Thirteen member of ISTE's Special Interest Group for Teacher Educators (SIGTE) who embarked on an adventure to Auckland, Rotorua, and Christchurch, New Zealand. While here they visited seven schools. In these schools they observed how technology was used to develop student voices in the classroom, in the community, and across the world. They also observed students that were engaged in peer listening and sharing activities and teacher student cooperative practices. In which valued the student's as co-researchers and developers. In their observations they recorded, when students learn something important from their lessons, they illustrate and write about what they are learning so that they can share it with a broader audience. They SIGTE mentions that Pt. England as well as the other schools that they observed in New Zealand describe this as a quality teaching of the traditional concepts of literacy. They also mentioned that the staff there believe that technology makes a contribution to the literacy cycle. In other words, technology-facilitated activities create interest and enthusiasm in students, so they can participate in class. In their observation they also mentioned that the students learn to efficiently read and write better by using this type of process. For instance, the students worked on drawings on the paint program KidPix and animated drawings on the multimedia authoring program HyperStudio. They also added titles and voice overs using a video editor (iMovie). Once they were done they shared their mulitmedia stories with their teacher, classmates, and also with the world through the use of their class blogs on Blogger. The main purpose of sharing their multimedia stories with the world is to ensure their development of student voice is reinforced by an authentic audience. In other words, the educators believe that by having their students leave open for the world to comment on will partially help their students view themselves as; confident, connected, and actively involved lifelong learners.

Questions:

Q1: In regards to different learning styles, do you think that all students will benefit from using the technology-facilitated activities?

A1: Yes, I think that students of all learning styles will benefit from using the technology-facilitated activities. I believe this to be so because the technology-facilitated activities will be visually presented. In addition, there are several quick start guides for those students who do not know how to use a web tool efficiently.

Q2: As a future teacher that lives in the U.S., do you find the quality teaching of the traditional concepts of literacy to be effective?

A2: Yes, I find that the quality teaching of the traditional concepts of literacy can be effective in some cases. However, in my classroom I would not use this method. I say this because I find that some people do not know the rules of proper netequitte. That said, I would not be open in wanting my future students to allow their class blogs to be readily open for the world to comment on. I still have some doubts about this concept, and I am not sold on this idea.

Journal #8: "Create a Web 2.0 Toolbox for Your District" NETS-T 2

Journal #8: “Create a Web 2.0 Toolbox for Your District” NETS-T 2

Schad, L. (2010). Creating a web 2.0 toolbox for your district. Learning and Leading With Technology , 38(2), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201012#pg1.

Summary:

This article was about how the Katy Independent School District (KISD) had its Instructional Technology Division create a web 2.0 toolbox. The web 2.0 toolbox consisted of the best suited internet-based tools for its students. Also, after the creation and evaluation of the toolbox the IT Division made it accessible to every member of the KISD District. The use of the toolbox provides self-starters with just enough information to allow one one to incorporate web resources into classrooms. This information includes; help desks, training, instructional technology groups, an overview of each web0tools purpose, information on account creation, and quick-start guides. Some of the web 2.0 tools that the IT Division had placed in the KISD's toolbox were; Prezi, Webspiration, Wordle, etc). However, the main goal and expectation for the use of the toolbox was for teachers to choose one or two tools to use with their students. The article also provided several ways on how students in the KISD used the tools. For instance, an Eight Grader had used Glogster to present a chapter summary for his Social Studies class by using animated, interactive, and digital posters. Also, a Sixth Grader has used Museum Box to capture items to help him describe Aphrodite.

Q1: Do you think that school-age children would find the tools that are in their Web 2.0 toolbox's to be useful?

A1: Yes, I find that school-age children will find tools such as, Prezi and Glogster to be useful. This way whenever they need to create a visual aide for their oral presentations they can use Prezi to help make their presentations more visually pleasing. In addition, web tools such as Glogster will also help assigned tasks (i.e.: chapter summaries) to look more engaging and visually stimulating.

Q2: Do you think that the use of a Web 2.0 Toolbox would be beneficial to have in any school district? 

A2: Yes, I believe that the use of a Web 2.0 Toolbox would be beneficial to have in any school district. I say this because I would find that it would be useful and would save me time from having to search for web tools to implement into my future lessons. By having a tool box with provided overviews of each of the web tools purposes and training tools I find that I would have an easier time with finding and learning how to use each tool.

iMovie PSA NETS-T 3

I was extremely pleased with my finished product of the iMovie PSA assignment. For this assignment I created a video using iMovie Software. I included at least 10 clips. I did some editing to make my iMovie more visually pleasing. I added in and took out audio in some of my clips. I even made the music fade in and out and switch to another song. I included screen transitions and I also included a voice over in my introduction.

CyberSafety Site/NETS-T IV

For this assignment I collaborated with two other people in the class to create a website that is dedicated to CyberSafety. Together we created a web page using Google Sites. What I found to be great about Google Sites is that we were all able to collaborate from our homes. We were all able to view each others' site and make corrections or comments when needed. I researched the topics Piracy and Plagiarism & Cyber Predators. I was able to identify the the concerns and legal issues about each topic. I also included tips for educators and students to help them be aware of the dangers that creep around the internet. I also included three resource links for those who wish to seek for additional information about Internet Safety. More over, I embeded a video for each topic about the dangers of Piracy and Plagiarism and Cyber Predators.