Journal #7

My Personal Learning Network

            A PLN or Personal Learning Network is the community that one can establish by utilizing various technological tools or social networks to share ideas among others in that community who have a common interest or goal. A few of these tools that can be used to establish a PLN are Twitter, Diigo and Classroom 2.0. I have used all of these tools to establish my Personal Learning Network based on my interest in education. I seek out others who are Elementary School teachers, since that will be my field so that I can learn from their experiences. I also have an interest in teaching art and am constantly seeking out creative ways to teach. Once I become a teacher, I will have established my PLN and have a reputation within my network. These educators will benefit my creative thought and give me helpful advice as I learn how to teach effectively. 

            I use Twitter to “follow” people who have experience teaching. Many educators are very active on Twitter as they share technology tools and articles that aid their teaching. I am following more than eight educators at the moment one of which is Jill Thompson. She is a science and math teacher who is also interested in technology. She is very active on Twitter and posts many interesting articles and tools that are useful. I think that technology provides important tools that can help children learn how to do difficult subjects like math and science so her advice will be helpful for my teaching experience. Twitter also has the function of educational chats. I downloaded tweetdeck, which organizes tweets into columns. I also found a way to slow down the feed so that rapidly updating posts do not overwhelm me. I participated in #elemchat which is a chat for Elementary School educators on Saturdays at 3pm PST (I participated on October 29^th). One of the many things I found interesting during the chat was LindaYollis’ comment, “One-on-one conferences with children really helps them understand that they are responsible for their learning. They have a role”. This struck me as very true and made me think about my previous blog post about using Google + hangouts to have a videoconference with a student who may be struggling. I also read other interesting comments from people who suggested students should decide the layout of the classroom so they feel as if its their classroom.        

            I use Diigo to bookmark sites that have educational value. While bookmarking a website, you can tag relevant subjects within that source. You can also write a description of the content you bookmarked for other people to see. I tagged the website squidoo for their visual thinking school. On this website, you can view many different modules for visual learning. A few are visual vocabulary, sketching and visual mapping. These modules can be used in the classroom to teach a variety of subjects. On the same website, I found a recommended blog called visualthinkingart.blogspot.com which allows many different people to upload their examples of the modules learned within the website. Both of these tools additional examples of how a website can act as a means to establish a Personal Learning Network.  I also follow other teachers on Diigo who bookmark useful sites that I can also bookmark for reading later. One person I am following is named Lori Sheldon. She bookmarks very frequently and is a former 3^rd grade teacher (my ideal grade level). She has over 2,000 bookmarks and many tags that are of interest to me.

            I joined the digital forum Classroom 2.0 and have seen many interesting sources that educators have posted in the forums. One of which is an article that outlines 5 creative ways to use Twitter in the classroom. The most interesting idea was a Twitter game show. Say you need students to review for an upcoming test. You can tweet a question and one person from each team can tweet an answer. The first one with the correct answer could get a point. This can be projected on the screen so everyone can watch the progress of the game. This is a great idea that I will be sure to use in my classroom.

NETS-T 5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Journal #6

Google +: A Complete Guide

Parr, B. (2011, July 16). Google+: The complete guide. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2011/07/16/google-plus-guide/

          The article written by Ben Parr outlines the many different social tools within Google +. He juxtaposes the functions and options of Google + with those of Facebook to illustrate how Google + is an improved social network. Parr describes the use of circles as compared to adding someone as a friend on Facebook. Circles allow you to follow people that don't have to friend you back (like Twitter). It also allows you to easily share information with a limited group of people. This means that your close friends can see something that might be inappropriate for your business colleagues to see. Parr also talks about streaming and sharing content from the web. One of the tools in Google + is called Sparks. It allows you to find things to share that might interest you so that you can easily share them with your friends. Parr also goes over what a Google + hangout is used for. A hangout is a video chat service, similar to Skype, in which up to 10 people can chat at the same time. Of course Google + has a photo sharing service as well as a mobile app that allows you to send group text messages.  Overall, Ben Parr effectively outlines how simple Google + can be once you understand the function of the tools within it.

How could I use this in my classroom?

         With the function of circles, I could have my students add each other within the same circle. This would mean that I could easily communicate with them and they could also work on group projects together. In addition, I could use the hangout feature, with parental consent of course, to help kids who are struggling in the classroom. I could make a specific meeting time so that we could work on whatever they need help with. Since I will be an Elementary School teacher, it would be easier to video chat then have them send emails in which I might not respond to for over 24 hours.    

Journal #4

Basham, J. D., Perry, E., & Meyer, H. (2011). It's in the bag. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(2), 24-27. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-september-october-2011.aspx

The article titled Its In the Bag by James Basham, Ernest Perry and Helen Meyer is about the concept of a digital backpack in which a teacher can customize the contents to tailor a student’s learning experience. There are three core components that can increase student interest and engagement. These include; foundational technology, modular technology and instructional support materials. Foundational technology is the hardware and software that supports modular technologies. It would be a laptop or tablet device that can store data. Modular technology is a set of tools that are chosen by the instructor to meet specific goals and outcomes. Some examples of these items include; digital camcorders, ipod touches with preloaded apps, digital cameras and microphones. Instructional support materials are the curriculum resources. Any digital resources can be included to aid student learning.  

How could I incorporate the digital backpack in my classroom?

I think that because of the age of my students, my backpack would be limited. I would probably include tools like a digital camera and a tablet device. I know that many schools already have programs for online homework so I think I would utilize the technology for subjects like science and history.

How would I know that my students don’t use the technology for entertainment instead of education?

Since my students will be around the age of eight, I would require that they leave most of the items in class. I could also use the items to teach lessons in the classroom.   

Journal #3

Morehouse, J. (2011). Learning connections: students dig up dirt to learn about internet safety. Learning and Leading, 39(2), 35. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issue/Learning_Connections_Students_Dig_Up_Dirt_to_Learn_about_Internet_Safety.aspx

     In this article, Jesse Morehouse, a computer science teacher in Colorado, outlines his lesson on Internet safety. He uses the metaphor of a miner digging up dirt to express unwanted information about a person that is available to the public via the Internet. He says that often times adolescents ignore the dangers of giving out their personal information on the internet because they have the sense that nothing bad will ever happen to them. The lesson leaves them with a sense of “creepiness” as Morehouse says, because after completing the project they realize how much one can learn from only a few bits of personal information. At the end of the lesson, he teaches the students how to change facebook and twitter settings so that their personal information is not exposed to possible predators.

How could I implement a similar lesson in my Elementary School classroom?

By the time I am a teacher, I think that most kids will probably have a Twitter or Facebook. Just warning them about the dangers of the internet will not be enough to educate them on the danger of internet predators. Perhaps I could show them the video Morehouse talked about in his article. I could also find other videos about Internet predators and provide other information on privacy settings. Though since I will be teaching 8 year olds, I would encourage them to use parental guidance while on the Internet. Still, they should understand the danger before they begin to join the world of social networking. 

How can I ensure that my personal “dirt” cannot be found by a future student?

There is nothing worse than being exposed for bad behavior when you are a professional. I have a Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr account. First, I should make sure that all of my profile pictures are school appropriate. No child or parent needs to find me on facebook with a profile picture of me drinking a beer. I need to make sure that my real address, zip code and birth date are not available for public access. And I should make sure that I do not add any of my students, as my school policy might state. In my opinion, its too risky!

Journal #2

Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), 12-15. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading digital.com/learning_leading/20100607?pg=14&pm=2&fs=1#pg14

McClintock, S. (2010). Enhance Your Twitter Experience. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), 14-17. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20100607?pg=16&pm=2&fs=1#pg16

Both of the articles titled Join the Flock by Hadley Ferguson and Enhance Your Twitter Experience by Shannon McClintock are about the educational function of the popular social network Twitter. Ferguson details the positive aspects of being a Twitter member such as discovering interesting educators that post useful links and ideas and finding them through lists made by those she follows. In addition to listing the perks of Tweeting, she defines Twitter terminology at the end of her article such as twittersphere, mistweet and twaffic. McClintock talks about Twitter organizers like hootsuite and tweetdeck to allow easy sharing. She also talks about the function of a bookmarklet. Both of these women demonstrate the evolution of social technology from a fun tool toward the realm of education. I can now see the merit in something that I used to think was used just for fun. 

Question 1:

As a teacher, how could I make sure to incorporate the educational aspect of Twitter as opposed to the purely social aspect?

Twitter users can choose to make lists and hash tags can be used to send messages to a specific group of people. Since I will be teaching younger children, Twitter might be controversial to use in the classroom. However, I think this tool would be useful for older kids and if I were to use it, I could require a school only twitter account.

Question 2: How could I utilize a bookmarklet in my class?

I could use a bookmarklet to quickly post interesting and educational links to my specific class twitter. The url of the webpage would go directly into a tweet so it would be easy to share any website with my entire class.