Sunday, August 9, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
"Stop playing w/that phone or I will confiscate it!"
“No true best practice has started out with, ‘have students bring their cell phones to class’” (Allen, 2007). This is undeniably true, and makes perfect sense in the realm of phones are distracters, rather than educational. In the last two months of the MAT program, we have been informed of the importance of differentiated learning techniques and strategies. It is totally accurate to say that technology has been a common theme and major component of these discussions. What has been discovered is the idea that cell phones may be a positive piece of technology within the classroom walls. What I think is that for every reason they can be defended as a learning tool, there are probably three reasons to dismiss them as distractions! This is besides the fact that not every student has a phone, or the messaging/internet capabilities to perform the tasks that could possibly be assigned.
It is imperative that students (as well as teachers) are attempting to become fluent in the ever changing ways of technology for the specific purpose of staying ahead of the curve and becoming as marketable as possible to potential future employers. “I cannot think of a job where ‘cell phone operation’ was a skill. Employers are much more concerned about a student’s computing and critical thinking skills than their phone skills” (Allen, 2007). This is such a true statement, and I feel it really sums up this topic. No questions resulted for me after reading both sides to the topic, only an opinion that students are hurt more than they are helped, when using a cell phone in class.
It is imperative that students (as well as teachers) are attempting to become fluent in the ever changing ways of technology for the specific purpose of staying ahead of the curve and becoming as marketable as possible to potential future employers. “I cannot think of a job where ‘cell phone operation’ was a skill. Employers are much more concerned about a student’s computing and critical thinking skills than their phone skills” (Allen, 2007). This is such a true statement, and I feel it really sums up this topic. No questions resulted for me after reading both sides to the topic, only an opinion that students are hurt more than they are helped, when using a cell phone in class.
WTF?!
I believe that Chatspeak is definitely having an impact on our language, not necessarily destroying English, but it is converting students to take shortcuts in expressing their written communication with others. “The shortcuts and acronyms that make instant messaging, text messaging, and online chatting so popular have no place in academic, business, and other formal writing settings where it is essential that all individuals involved are using language that is clear and concise” (Howard, 2007). These academic and business-like settings are exactly the arena’s that are going to be intolerant of “shortcutting.”
I remember back to the history teacher of my first semester of college that actually subtracted points from my roommate’s overall score in the class, because of some chatspeak-like abbreviations he used in an e-mail to her in the first week of class! It turned out that he missed an ‘A’ in the class by just a few points…about the amount he lost from a harmless e-mail the first week!
I believe that teachers will be the ultimate ‘traffic cops’ in trying to keep this type of communication out of classrooms, as this is solely for the welfare of students. “When it comes to students and their use of chatspeak, it will be more difficult for many to switch gears to effective and meaningful writing” (Howard, 2007). The question that I have now, in response to this article, is: how do we internalize this thought process in the younger population who are the ones making this chatspeak widespread?
I remember back to the history teacher of my first semester of college that actually subtracted points from my roommate’s overall score in the class, because of some chatspeak-like abbreviations he used in an e-mail to her in the first week of class! It turned out that he missed an ‘A’ in the class by just a few points…about the amount he lost from a harmless e-mail the first week!
I believe that teachers will be the ultimate ‘traffic cops’ in trying to keep this type of communication out of classrooms, as this is solely for the welfare of students. “When it comes to students and their use of chatspeak, it will be more difficult for many to switch gears to effective and meaningful writing” (Howard, 2007). The question that I have now, in response to this article, is: how do we internalize this thought process in the younger population who are the ones making this chatspeak widespread?
Friday, July 31, 2009
"My attention span is ju.......check out that sweet car!"
As I ask myself the question/title; “Is Educational Technology Shortening Student Attention Spans?”My first reaction is to think YES. But upon actually reading I must say that both sides to this issue make valid points, if not valid facts. It seems as though David M. Marcovitz is annoyed with the influx of technology to the hands of our young people, and assumes that they will be left far behind if they don’t grasp it right away. This is illustrated with “Life moves fast, and if you don’t multitask, you can’t keep up with it” (Marcovitz, 2008). I find this idea somewhat applicable in the realm of technological-based professions, but it just isn’t that absolute in many other aspects of life. In that same breath, I feel he reaches a bit too far in another quote stating “After seeing the flower bloom in a minute, who has the patience to wait for it to bloom in real time?” (Marcovitz, 2008). I want to know who, at all, is watching the flower bloom in real time. I feel that people are thanking technology for showing them “time lapse” photography!!
The statements above are probably reasons enough why I agree with John David Son, who on the other hand, gives us positive feedback about the wave of technological savvy that students are showing in normal daily interactions. This is given to us in the valid opinion that, “Educational technology, if presented to students in a format that gives them freedom to express themselves, will engage our students far beyond a pencil and paper” (Son, 2008). I couldn’t agree more with this statement especially after seeing it work first-hand. I was helping tutor a course a few summers ago, where the quietest student with the worst written journal in the class, showed me his blog and how intellectual and well stated it was. It was amazing! This just goes to prove the fact that not all students learn alike or have the same set of skills as the classmate sitting next to them. In the last seven or eight weeks, we have been guided to internalize the theory of creating differentiated teaching strategies to grab the minds of all learners in all sorts of ways. Son pleads this through the statement: “School leaders, teachers, and other district personnel must believe that educational technology is the vehicle to engage our students and capture their minds while delivering the school’s instructional content.” (Son, 2008) Regrettably, no questions come to mind after reading this.
The statements above are probably reasons enough why I agree with John David Son, who on the other hand, gives us positive feedback about the wave of technological savvy that students are showing in normal daily interactions. This is given to us in the valid opinion that, “Educational technology, if presented to students in a format that gives them freedom to express themselves, will engage our students far beyond a pencil and paper” (Son, 2008). I couldn’t agree more with this statement especially after seeing it work first-hand. I was helping tutor a course a few summers ago, where the quietest student with the worst written journal in the class, showed me his blog and how intellectual and well stated it was. It was amazing! This just goes to prove the fact that not all students learn alike or have the same set of skills as the classmate sitting next to them. In the last seven or eight weeks, we have been guided to internalize the theory of creating differentiated teaching strategies to grab the minds of all learners in all sorts of ways. Son pleads this through the statement: “School leaders, teachers, and other district personnel must believe that educational technology is the vehicle to engage our students and capture their minds while delivering the school’s instructional content.” (Son, 2008) Regrettably, no questions come to mind after reading this.
No offense, but my PowerPoint was better than your's...
GREAT JOB GROUP! Here is my recap of the things I enjoyed. I liked Everett’s opening of explaining the anticipatory set. Anna had a tougher topic to explain, but was efficient in teaching the lesson to the non-musical people. Steph’s side note was classic…What a COWARD she is! Ben had a great intro with cool graphics, also spoke with great confidence and knowledge. Jackie’s PowerPoint had great slide content, much in the way of aesthetics, and evoked great emotion. David had great opening trivia about the spelling of Hawthorne, good knowledge of area (New England). Kate had a great topic that really represents her ideals and the idea of societal simplicity. Bryant topic was very powerful in that the statistics of poverty were astounding, and the revolutionary actions by “Che” were remarkable.
Since all of the presentations were so amazing today, the least engaging thing that I saw was Rhiannon fingers representing the countdown in the back of the room. I feel that there was a lot of rushing through information by everyone, and it was all in response to those five fingers! So next time, we all need to take a deep breath and speak slower, rather than speed talking.
A couple of improvements that I would make to my own PowerPoint would be to go with better background color on some slides, or even use graphics as a background wallpaper. This would be in addition to reciting my presentation a few times to gain better fluidity.
Surprisingly, after being anti-PowerPoint for so long, I have warmed up to the idea of using them to maintain a visual learning experience. This is strictly due to the fact that I have gotten to create/use them and my fear is now non-existent. Some pro’s of using this method is obviously the ability of getting through to the visual learner as well as having a guide or “pace car” to follow, and hopefully keep you on track. Additionally, I think that implementing sound bites and videos add to the entertainment factor, and potentially provide humor, which I feel is very important. Some Con’s could revolve around the typical mistake of reading from the PowerPoint as well as getting face-to-face with it and not speak to the audience. Also, in creating one, somebody who just throws one together is really subjecting the students to a badly designed, dry lecture. A quality product takes time and that isn’t always available.
Since all of the presentations were so amazing today, the least engaging thing that I saw was Rhiannon fingers representing the countdown in the back of the room. I feel that there was a lot of rushing through information by everyone, and it was all in response to those five fingers! So next time, we all need to take a deep breath and speak slower, rather than speed talking.
A couple of improvements that I would make to my own PowerPoint would be to go with better background color on some slides, or even use graphics as a background wallpaper. This would be in addition to reciting my presentation a few times to gain better fluidity.
Surprisingly, after being anti-PowerPoint for so long, I have warmed up to the idea of using them to maintain a visual learning experience. This is strictly due to the fact that I have gotten to create/use them and my fear is now non-existent. Some pro’s of using this method is obviously the ability of getting through to the visual learner as well as having a guide or “pace car” to follow, and hopefully keep you on track. Additionally, I think that implementing sound bites and videos add to the entertainment factor, and potentially provide humor, which I feel is very important. Some Con’s could revolve around the typical mistake of reading from the PowerPoint as well as getting face-to-face with it and not speak to the audience. Also, in creating one, somebody who just throws one together is really subjecting the students to a badly designed, dry lecture. A quality product takes time and that isn’t always available.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Cyberbullying...Don't be a jerk
Cyberbullying is when a minor is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another minor using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. As prevalent as this negative activity is, I don’t feel that I have ever been involved (either as the recipient or instigator) in this new wave of harassment. This might have to do with the fact that I’m rarely online, and I have never gotten into negative encounters since owning a cell phone over the last eight years.
Problems that schools can face in dealing with cyberbullying can range from inability to name the source of harassment (due to anonymous identities), and if they do in fact locate the instigator, schools try and get involved by disciplining the student for cyberbullying actions that took place off-campus and outside of school hours. They are often sued for exceeding their authority and violating the student's free speech right. They also, often lose.
Within the walls of the school confines, private matters have a way of circulating from loose lips to open ears. This is not only from students to students, but faculty can be recipients also. When something as serious as cyberbullying is going on, students tend to talk to whoever will listen, without being viewed as a “rat” or “snitch.” Other ways you as a teacher may realize students are being subjected to this harassment are rather obvious. Instances where students are declining rapidly from once acceptable levels, are major signs that something is wrong. These can be easily measured like absenteeism, excessive tardiness, or complete shutdown/unwillingness to participate in class. The signs could also be tougher to gage like having a student uncharacteristically gain or lose weight. It is at this point that I feel the schools should at least investigate what the problem is, and possibly attempt to regulate what could be happening off-site.
I believe that the first place to begin an education campaign is with the kids and teens themselves. Addressing ways they can become opponents of cyberbullies, how to be accountable for their technological actions, and not to allow bullying (in any form) to be acceptable. We need to teach them not to ignore the pain (real or perceived) of other peers. This should be done with the class as a whole (as nobody is outside the realm of being a bully/victim), and mainly used for a prevention strategy (trying to nip it before it starts). After implementing this educational tool, it will probably be necessary to evaluate it with anonymous student surveys, and if effective, attempt to make the campaign school-wide.
Problems that schools can face in dealing with cyberbullying can range from inability to name the source of harassment (due to anonymous identities), and if they do in fact locate the instigator, schools try and get involved by disciplining the student for cyberbullying actions that took place off-campus and outside of school hours. They are often sued for exceeding their authority and violating the student's free speech right. They also, often lose.
Within the walls of the school confines, private matters have a way of circulating from loose lips to open ears. This is not only from students to students, but faculty can be recipients also. When something as serious as cyberbullying is going on, students tend to talk to whoever will listen, without being viewed as a “rat” or “snitch.” Other ways you as a teacher may realize students are being subjected to this harassment are rather obvious. Instances where students are declining rapidly from once acceptable levels, are major signs that something is wrong. These can be easily measured like absenteeism, excessive tardiness, or complete shutdown/unwillingness to participate in class. The signs could also be tougher to gage like having a student uncharacteristically gain or lose weight. It is at this point that I feel the schools should at least investigate what the problem is, and possibly attempt to regulate what could be happening off-site.
I believe that the first place to begin an education campaign is with the kids and teens themselves. Addressing ways they can become opponents of cyberbullies, how to be accountable for their technological actions, and not to allow bullying (in any form) to be acceptable. We need to teach them not to ignore the pain (real or perceived) of other peers. This should be done with the class as a whole (as nobody is outside the realm of being a bully/victim), and mainly used for a prevention strategy (trying to nip it before it starts). After implementing this educational tool, it will probably be necessary to evaluate it with anonymous student surveys, and if effective, attempt to make the campaign school-wide.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Don't copy this...or else
Some new things that I learned about copyright was the different scenarios in which copyright can be avoided through 'loopholes' such as the amount of years from the death of the copyright owner, the manner in which you produce or present the information, and best of all, whether or not you are a good person! I really had no idea about any aspects of copyrighting, so this was a very valuable lesson to me.
I believe that the laws are pretty well written in keeping fairness for all the parties involved. For example: Faculty may only make single copies for scholarly research or for use in teaching or class preparation. They are restricted to one chapter of a book; not the entire work. This is for the obvious reasons that the book should be purchased, and not 'stolen' multiple times by a copy machine.
To make sure whatever we are using in our classroom will fall under fair use protection, we must "… look to the nature and objects of the selections made, the quantity and value of the materials used, and the degree in which the use may prejudice the sale, or diminish the profits, or supersede the objects, of the original work." as sited from Wikipedia. In my own words though, we need to make sure its used for non-profit and educational benefits only, should be relatively factual/historical in data as opposed to creative pieces that may require permission, less substantial in amount (as the more we use the tougher fair use applies.)
I will enforce copyright within my own classroom with my students by possibly giving them the same (or similar, in case Rhiannon has it copyrighted-haha) lesson and tools that we experienced in class today. I'm not sure what stance I would take in the event of copyright infringement, but I'm sure that it would be far less than an occurrence of plagiarism which, for me personally, is a bigger problem that students are engaging in. I feel we need to at least create awareness of the topic and put the idea into the back of their brains for future reference. I feel that I gained a better sense of the world of copyright within today's course and they will need to also.
I believe that the laws are pretty well written in keeping fairness for all the parties involved. For example: Faculty may only make single copies for scholarly research or for use in teaching or class preparation. They are restricted to one chapter of a book; not the entire work. This is for the obvious reasons that the book should be purchased, and not 'stolen' multiple times by a copy machine.
To make sure whatever we are using in our classroom will fall under fair use protection, we must "… look to the nature and objects of the selections made, the quantity and value of the materials used, and the degree in which the use may prejudice the sale, or diminish the profits, or supersede the objects, of the original work." as sited from Wikipedia. In my own words though, we need to make sure its used for non-profit and educational benefits only, should be relatively factual/historical in data as opposed to creative pieces that may require permission, less substantial in amount (as the more we use the tougher fair use applies.)
I will enforce copyright within my own classroom with my students by possibly giving them the same (or similar, in case Rhiannon has it copyrighted-haha) lesson and tools that we experienced in class today. I'm not sure what stance I would take in the event of copyright infringement, but I'm sure that it would be far less than an occurrence of plagiarism which, for me personally, is a bigger problem that students are engaging in. I feel we need to at least create awareness of the topic and put the idea into the back of their brains for future reference. I feel that I gained a better sense of the world of copyright within today's course and they will need to also.
Monday, July 20, 2009
WIKI-WIKI-WIKI-Whaaaaat?
To be honest, I rarely frequent wikipedia as a site, even for research topics. I have nothing against the information that is available on those pages; it’s just that I have had instructors in the past not allow it as a reference. My normal start for researching a topic is simple and consistent. I’m not sure if it is the most effective way, but it seems to get me started. I google the topic and start reading the top posts. It is here where I start to dive deeper into the web and go on tangents to help me cover the main aspects that I’m looking for.
As a teacher I think I will probably allow wikipedia to be used as a reputable, quotable source, as I will encourage students to go see what is there. In the article they bring up many key points that support my approach with future students by maintaining the sites’ validity/credibility a number of different ways. One states that wikipedia may be someone’s only source in researching a new type of technology, or rather recent event. Also, a wider scope of topics is represented compared to an actual book version of an encyclopedia.
The policy that I would feel most comfortable setting for students surrounding web-based research would have to be requiring “A” papers to contain all URL’s ending in .edu or .gov. When we talked about this in class on Friday it made sense not to weigh a ton of reliability on others for the simple reason that anyone could buy an address with .com, .net, or .org. This wouldn’t mean that I would just allow a “B” level paper to be full of those less reputable sites, but there would be a maximum allowed. On top of limiting the amount of certain types of websites, there would be a standard APA citing requirement and a strict policy on plagiarism.
As a teacher I think I will probably allow wikipedia to be used as a reputable, quotable source, as I will encourage students to go see what is there. In the article they bring up many key points that support my approach with future students by maintaining the sites’ validity/credibility a number of different ways. One states that wikipedia may be someone’s only source in researching a new type of technology, or rather recent event. Also, a wider scope of topics is represented compared to an actual book version of an encyclopedia.
The policy that I would feel most comfortable setting for students surrounding web-based research would have to be requiring “A” papers to contain all URL’s ending in .edu or .gov. When we talked about this in class on Friday it made sense not to weigh a ton of reliability on others for the simple reason that anyone could buy an address with .com, .net, or .org. This wouldn’t mean that I would just allow a “B” level paper to be full of those less reputable sites, but there would be a maximum allowed. On top of limiting the amount of certain types of websites, there would be a standard APA citing requirement and a strict policy on plagiarism.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Using blogs in the classroom
By teaching strategies for civil discourse, students will learn to participate in effective classroom discussions. Furthermore, students will be able to use such skills outside of the classroom in everyday interactions. There are many benefits to online blogging when appropriate online interactions are upheld. Some people think that kids/students should not be held down by a multitude of rules. I think that most students do well with structure, as long as they know what is expected. Therefore, clear rules and guidelines should be taught regarding online blogging. Many of the guidelines mentioned in the article are common sense. It is less obvious however, how easy a blog can be misinterpreted.
Whenever vague wording is used, ideas could be misconstrued. Students would need to be clear in their phrases and take responsibility for their comments. Another disadvantage could be possible blogging from “trolls.” One way to minimize damaging remarks made by a negative commenter, would be to create a system in which all posts had to be approved by the instructor before visible to the class. This could be time consuming, but the instructor could do their grading at the same time, and have students send their responses the following day as a separate assignment.
Another disadvantage that may present itself would be lack of computer access. If students are expected to blog as homework, there may be issues of not having a computer at home. This could be alleviated by giving students additional time to access the school computer lab, or if possible, checking out a laptop from the library for home use.
After viewing Mr. Harbeck’s classroom blog, I feel that it could be a pretty effective tool to be able to engage kids outside the classroom. By using this different strategy (in addition to classroom learning), he is essentially giving students another way to achieve success. I liked the layout of the content on the blog, and thought that the chat area could provide much needed encouragement and feedback. Having an interactive place to receive information about the curriculum (assignments, due dates, study guides, etc.) as well as the option to submit homework and evaluate peers, seems ideal and efficient. Zero trees were used in producing that page, and a syllabus could be posted, furthering its environmentally friendly format.
Although I named a number of disadvantages above, I can see benefits of using blogging in my teaching strategies. For my future Health classroom, blogging could provide a great opportunity for students to ask questions that they normally wouldn’t feel comfortable asking in class. I could also have students submit assignments through their blog. This would be great as sometimes a gym environment is not ideal for paper assignments. This would put the focus of physical activity in the gym, and any assignments to be done electronically, outside of the gym. For example, in a fitness class I could have students keeping daily logs or journals concerning their sleep and nutrition habits. By requiring students to post these logs, they might work a little harder in practicing healthy habits.
Whenever vague wording is used, ideas could be misconstrued. Students would need to be clear in their phrases and take responsibility for their comments. Another disadvantage could be possible blogging from “trolls.” One way to minimize damaging remarks made by a negative commenter, would be to create a system in which all posts had to be approved by the instructor before visible to the class. This could be time consuming, but the instructor could do their grading at the same time, and have students send their responses the following day as a separate assignment.
Another disadvantage that may present itself would be lack of computer access. If students are expected to blog as homework, there may be issues of not having a computer at home. This could be alleviated by giving students additional time to access the school computer lab, or if possible, checking out a laptop from the library for home use.
After viewing Mr. Harbeck’s classroom blog, I feel that it could be a pretty effective tool to be able to engage kids outside the classroom. By using this different strategy (in addition to classroom learning), he is essentially giving students another way to achieve success. I liked the layout of the content on the blog, and thought that the chat area could provide much needed encouragement and feedback. Having an interactive place to receive information about the curriculum (assignments, due dates, study guides, etc.) as well as the option to submit homework and evaluate peers, seems ideal and efficient. Zero trees were used in producing that page, and a syllabus could be posted, furthering its environmentally friendly format.
Although I named a number of disadvantages above, I can see benefits of using blogging in my teaching strategies. For my future Health classroom, blogging could provide a great opportunity for students to ask questions that they normally wouldn’t feel comfortable asking in class. I could also have students submit assignments through their blog. This would be great as sometimes a gym environment is not ideal for paper assignments. This would put the focus of physical activity in the gym, and any assignments to be done electronically, outside of the gym. For example, in a fitness class I could have students keeping daily logs or journals concerning their sleep and nutrition habits. By requiring students to post these logs, they might work a little harder in practicing healthy habits.
Teachers and social networking
When searching for my for my name on “pipl” I found a couple of links to my name. I was not surprised to find that my facebook page was the first thing to be listed.
Such popular networking sites such as facebook and myspace are easily accessible. I feel that my face book information is rather secure, as I have my profile set to private. Therefore only friends of which I have accepted can view my information and pictures. I would feel comfortable with students seeing the information I have listed, as I have not divulged any personally incriminating information. However, I do not feel it would be appropriate for students to view my pictures as many of them have evidence of alcohol consumption. Again, as long as my profile is set to private and I screen who I accept as a friend, I do not foresee there being a problem. However, I am less familiar with myspace and their security measures, therefore I have deleted my myspace profile.
Other posts that I found on “pipl” was my grandmothers obituary from the local newspaper in Scappoose, “The Spotlight,” which has an online periodical. Also I found a link to a roster from a national basketball tournament I coached at down in San Diego last December. Both of these links obviously serve no harm to my professional credibility, however, finding this information was a great reminder of how my personal information could easily be accessed by my students.
After reviewing the article, “Have You Googled Your Teacher Lately,” I was most drawn to the section regarding the teacher who used facebook to communicate with her students. I think that although it is a nice gesture of wanting to provide further instruction outside the classroom, there could be other avenues for attempting to do so. Other possibilities could include e-mail or possibly instant messaging for a quicker response. I think these tools should be school endorsed and monitored. For instance, there is some gray area with instant messaging. Therefore, there should be a time frame for when it is appropriate to engage in such forms of communication.
I think that because teachers are serving their community and largely influencing the youth population, that they should be held to community standards even when it comes to their personal life. Kids learn by example therefore they should be able to look up to their teachers as role-models, and parents should be able to trust that their kids are not being wrongfully influenced. In order to hold this ideal, I would expect for there to be clear community standards for which a teacher should conduct themselves in public. I take this this into consideration when protecting myself and my job. I understand that by living in a small town there is a microscope that I will constantly be under. News that is either positive or negative travels fast. To stay clean in the microscope, I will really have to keep my professional and private life as separate as possible. It is important to realize that wherever I am at, I am still a reflection of the school and the community.
Link to my face book page
http://www.spotlightnews.net/news/print_story.php?story_id=124405011136251500)
My grandmothers obituary
http://www.spotlightnews.net/news/print_story.php?story_id=124405011136251500
A roster from a basketball tournament
http://www.basketballtravelers.com/images/brackets/surf/2008BoysSlam.PDF
Such popular networking sites such as facebook and myspace are easily accessible. I feel that my face book information is rather secure, as I have my profile set to private. Therefore only friends of which I have accepted can view my information and pictures. I would feel comfortable with students seeing the information I have listed, as I have not divulged any personally incriminating information. However, I do not feel it would be appropriate for students to view my pictures as many of them have evidence of alcohol consumption. Again, as long as my profile is set to private and I screen who I accept as a friend, I do not foresee there being a problem. However, I am less familiar with myspace and their security measures, therefore I have deleted my myspace profile.
Other posts that I found on “pipl” was my grandmothers obituary from the local newspaper in Scappoose, “The Spotlight,” which has an online periodical. Also I found a link to a roster from a national basketball tournament I coached at down in San Diego last December. Both of these links obviously serve no harm to my professional credibility, however, finding this information was a great reminder of how my personal information could easily be accessed by my students.
After reviewing the article, “Have You Googled Your Teacher Lately,” I was most drawn to the section regarding the teacher who used facebook to communicate with her students. I think that although it is a nice gesture of wanting to provide further instruction outside the classroom, there could be other avenues for attempting to do so. Other possibilities could include e-mail or possibly instant messaging for a quicker response. I think these tools should be school endorsed and monitored. For instance, there is some gray area with instant messaging. Therefore, there should be a time frame for when it is appropriate to engage in such forms of communication.
I think that because teachers are serving their community and largely influencing the youth population, that they should be held to community standards even when it comes to their personal life. Kids learn by example therefore they should be able to look up to their teachers as role-models, and parents should be able to trust that their kids are not being wrongfully influenced. In order to hold this ideal, I would expect for there to be clear community standards for which a teacher should conduct themselves in public. I take this this into consideration when protecting myself and my job. I understand that by living in a small town there is a microscope that I will constantly be under. News that is either positive or negative travels fast. To stay clean in the microscope, I will really have to keep my professional and private life as separate as possible. It is important to realize that wherever I am at, I am still a reflection of the school and the community.
Link to my face book page
http://www.spotlightnews.net/news/print_story.php?story_id=124405011136251500)
My grandmothers obituary
http://www.spotlightnews.net/news/print_story.php?story_id=124405011136251500
A roster from a basketball tournament
http://www.basketballtravelers.com/images/brackets/surf/2008BoysSlam.PDF
Friday, July 17, 2009
Digital Native vs. Digital Immigrants
I totally consider myself a digital immigrant due to the fact that I have only needed to rely on computers heavily for the last five years or so. Before that it was just for recreational searching, checking e-mail, etc. I think the real problem for me is that I have super-slow typing skills, and I prefer to write things out on paper first. It’s almost ironic that I’m so slow because my Mom teaches keyboarding. As far as video gaming goes, I have always played starting with Nintendo, but as I’ve gotten older I have experienced less and less time to spend in front of the TV and opted for actually physically participating in or watching the sports live. I guess that I might be in the minority of the quote that is stated by Prensky “Today’s average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV). (Pg.1)
As a learner early on in elementary school, I remember watching movies on the projector that used reels! It seemed so cool at the time, but I now see (20 years later) how in fact lame that method would end up being. Over the years I did experience overhead projectors, and TV’s that had VCR’s for visual aids. This seemed pretty standard throughout middle and high school. As I got older and made it to college, technology had obviously improved and many new tools were available. These visuals morphed from TV’s w/VCR’s, to giant pull down white screens with digital projectors mounted from the ceiling. Overhead projectors with transparencies are now replaced with “elmo’s” that can read sheets of paper and project digitally. The introduction of PowerPoint gave a whole new meaning to lectures, and information was able to be communicated more visually. This has been a welcomed learning strategy for me, as my attention span tends to wander from time-to-time. This is stated accurately in Prensky’s Part II which says about students “Sure they have short attention spans—for the old ways of learning.”(pg. 4) This illustrates the idea that new technology and advances in teaching strategies make learning conducive for all types of thinkers.
These articles have definitely swayed my ideas of using technology in the classroom, because of the many different ways that it can grip a student and make learning possible. Prensky states “Digital Immigrant teachers assume that learners are the same as they have always been, and the same methods that worked for the teachers when they were students will work for their students now.”(pg. 3) I have been a witness to this in previous classes in high school and nothing was more frustrating. I think that by incorporating web based assignments and technologically fueled projects in health classes, it will spark greater thought and development than the regular book based research. I think that videotaping certain skills (like running form or basketball shooting technique) in PE classes could make for better improvements in the given skill and give the students a fresher outlook on their own physical evolution.
As a learner early on in elementary school, I remember watching movies on the projector that used reels! It seemed so cool at the time, but I now see (20 years later) how in fact lame that method would end up being. Over the years I did experience overhead projectors, and TV’s that had VCR’s for visual aids. This seemed pretty standard throughout middle and high school. As I got older and made it to college, technology had obviously improved and many new tools were available. These visuals morphed from TV’s w/VCR’s, to giant pull down white screens with digital projectors mounted from the ceiling. Overhead projectors with transparencies are now replaced with “elmo’s” that can read sheets of paper and project digitally. The introduction of PowerPoint gave a whole new meaning to lectures, and information was able to be communicated more visually. This has been a welcomed learning strategy for me, as my attention span tends to wander from time-to-time. This is stated accurately in Prensky’s Part II which says about students “Sure they have short attention spans—for the old ways of learning.”(pg. 4) This illustrates the idea that new technology and advances in teaching strategies make learning conducive for all types of thinkers.
These articles have definitely swayed my ideas of using technology in the classroom, because of the many different ways that it can grip a student and make learning possible. Prensky states “Digital Immigrant teachers assume that learners are the same as they have always been, and the same methods that worked for the teachers when they were students will work for their students now.”(pg. 3) I have been a witness to this in previous classes in high school and nothing was more frustrating. I think that by incorporating web based assignments and technologically fueled projects in health classes, it will spark greater thought and development than the regular book based research. I think that videotaping certain skills (like running form or basketball shooting technique) in PE classes could make for better improvements in the given skill and give the students a fresher outlook on their own physical evolution.
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