This is a wiki page that I contributed to a technology class wiki using WetPaint. It is a discussion of a tool that I researched for the wiki through another wiki called Cool Tools for School.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Geometry Crossword - NETS I & II
This is a crossword that I created using Microsoft Excel. The crossword was completed by following a tutorial on atomiclearning.com. The completed crossword is on the first sheet and the clues are on the second sheet.
Spreadsheet
Spreadsheet
Publish at Scribd or explore others:
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Copyright Assignment - NETS III & IV
This is a copyright assignment that I collaborated with two others peers on Google Docs. The assignment is based on the Fair Use Harbor website.
Copyright Assignment
Copyright Assignment
Publish at Scribd or explore others:
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
iMovie Software Proficiency - NETS I & III
This is a movie created on iMovie featuring the campus of Cal State University, San Marcos.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Journal 10 - NETS I & IV
"MySpace Can Be a Learning Tool" -Liz Kolb
Kolb, Liz (December/January 2008-2009). MySpace Can Be a Learning Tool. Learning and Leading with Technology, 36, Retrieved April 6, 2009, from www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume3620082009/DecemberJanuaryNo4/L_L_December_January.htm
This article is about how educators can use social networks like MySpace in the classroom. MySpace can be a great learning tool to motivate students to learn. Educators can now utilize a tool that a majority of students are familiar with and use on a daily basis as a tool for their creativity. There were several pitfalls of using MySpace in the classroom that were discussed that educators can easily overcome. One of the them was advertising. Educators can turn this negative into a positive by using it to teach older students about advertising. There are websites (Disney, Imbee, or Club Penguins) that educators can use for preteen students that do not display advertising. A topic that most educators and parents are apprehensive about when speaking about using MySpace is the issue of predators. Research has shown that a very small percentage of users, less than 10%, have encountered predators while online. The issue of predators can be avoided by teaching students how to create a safe profile, like not providing information about where you live, and having parents more involved in their children's MySpace pages. Most educators can be apprehensive about using MySpace in the classroom because of their worry that the parents might not approve. If parents are worried that their students are being exposed to social networking too early, educators can create a class page in which the students can participate in and the teacher can supervise all activities on the page. Educators can also lessen parent's apprehension by hosting a parent education night where students can teach their parents how to navigate through the MySpace page or even create one themselves.
There are many ways to incorporate MySpace into the classroom which will be beneficial to both the students and the teachers. One way to incorporate MySpace into the classroom would be to have students create a page around a historical figure or a favorite character in a book that the class is reading. Everything on the page would be fictional but relevant to the historical figure or the novel's character. This assignment would allow for students to express their creativity in a different medium. They can post blogs as if they were the historical figure or the character in the novel. Another assignment that students can do on MySpace would be to create a fictional literature piece and create their page around that literature. Students can invite friends and families to view and comment on their work. MySpace is a popular site for well-known authors of teen literature. Students can communicate with their favorite author and ask for feed back as well through MySpace. MySpace is not only a great tool for socializing but it is also great for educational purposes. There are tutorials and help pages for students who are having problems, either academic or personal, there are resources through MySpace that can assist the students in solving their problems. I think that MySpace is a great tool to use in the classroom and can definitely make learning a little more relevant to students.
Question 1: How can educators make parents feel more at ease about their children using MySpace in the classroom?
Educators can make parents feel more comfortable with the idea by hosting a parent's night where the teacher and students inform the parents about the different resources that MySpace offers. Students can show their parents pages that have been created by similar students. Parents will feel more at ease when they are better informed about how MySpace is being used in the classroom, especially if it motivates their children to learn.
Question 2: What is one way that MySpace can be incorporated into the classroom?
MySpace has a ton of resources that both educators and students can use. There are an unlimited number of curriculum ideas for teachers and resources for students. Students can use MySpace to create a page around a historical figure or a character from a novel. Everything on the page, from the profile to the blogs, is created from the historical figure or the character's perspective. Basically, the students have to pretend that they are the character. This is a really cool assignment and it also gives students room to be creative.
Kolb, Liz (December/January 2008-2009). MySpace Can Be a Learning Tool. Learning and Leading with Technology, 36, Retrieved April 6, 2009, from www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume3620082009/DecemberJanuaryNo4/L_L_December_January.htm
This article is about how educators can use social networks like MySpace in the classroom. MySpace can be a great learning tool to motivate students to learn. Educators can now utilize a tool that a majority of students are familiar with and use on a daily basis as a tool for their creativity. There were several pitfalls of using MySpace in the classroom that were discussed that educators can easily overcome. One of the them was advertising. Educators can turn this negative into a positive by using it to teach older students about advertising. There are websites (Disney, Imbee, or Club Penguins) that educators can use for preteen students that do not display advertising. A topic that most educators and parents are apprehensive about when speaking about using MySpace is the issue of predators. Research has shown that a very small percentage of users, less than 10%, have encountered predators while online. The issue of predators can be avoided by teaching students how to create a safe profile, like not providing information about where you live, and having parents more involved in their children's MySpace pages. Most educators can be apprehensive about using MySpace in the classroom because of their worry that the parents might not approve. If parents are worried that their students are being exposed to social networking too early, educators can create a class page in which the students can participate in and the teacher can supervise all activities on the page. Educators can also lessen parent's apprehension by hosting a parent education night where students can teach their parents how to navigate through the MySpace page or even create one themselves.
There are many ways to incorporate MySpace into the classroom which will be beneficial to both the students and the teachers. One way to incorporate MySpace into the classroom would be to have students create a page around a historical figure or a favorite character in a book that the class is reading. Everything on the page would be fictional but relevant to the historical figure or the novel's character. This assignment would allow for students to express their creativity in a different medium. They can post blogs as if they were the historical figure or the character in the novel. Another assignment that students can do on MySpace would be to create a fictional literature piece and create their page around that literature. Students can invite friends and families to view and comment on their work. MySpace is a popular site for well-known authors of teen literature. Students can communicate with their favorite author and ask for feed back as well through MySpace. MySpace is not only a great tool for socializing but it is also great for educational purposes. There are tutorials and help pages for students who are having problems, either academic or personal, there are resources through MySpace that can assist the students in solving their problems. I think that MySpace is a great tool to use in the classroom and can definitely make learning a little more relevant to students.
Question 1: How can educators make parents feel more at ease about their children using MySpace in the classroom?
Educators can make parents feel more comfortable with the idea by hosting a parent's night where the teacher and students inform the parents about the different resources that MySpace offers. Students can show their parents pages that have been created by similar students. Parents will feel more at ease when they are better informed about how MySpace is being used in the classroom, especially if it motivates their children to learn.
Question 2: What is one way that MySpace can be incorporated into the classroom?
MySpace has a ton of resources that both educators and students can use. There are an unlimited number of curriculum ideas for teachers and resources for students. Students can use MySpace to create a page around a historical figure or a character from a novel. Everything on the page, from the profile to the blogs, is created from the historical figure or the character's perspective. Basically, the students have to pretend that they are the character. This is a really cool assignment and it also gives students room to be creative.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Journal 9 - NETS I & IV
"The Kids Are All Right" -John K. Waters
Waters, John K. (March 2009). The Kids Are All Right. T-H-E Journal, Retrieved March 30, 2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/24104
This article is basically about how educators can take advantage of the fact that children are very skilled at using new digital tools such as the internet for self-directed learning. It all started with the study "Kids' Informal Learning With Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures", funded by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur. This was a study conducted on over 800 young people over a period of three years. Data was collected on how these young people use digital media tools and how they developed social skills through online websites such as FaceBook and MySpace. This study can be very beneficial to educators who wish to lessen the gap between them and their students in regards to using new digital tools. It was suggested that educators should participate in these social websites such as FaceBook and MySpace so that they can get a feel for how their students are learning and what their students use on a daily basis to continue communication with others.
The study identified three genres of participation with new digital media tools. The first genre is "hanging out," which is basically when students are communicating with their friends and keeping in touch with their friends through the websites like MySpace since public space for children to hang out now are more restricted than they were in the past. Through this, children are learning the social skills through they online interactions with one another. The second genre is "messing around." This is when the kids are just exploring on their own. They might jump from website to website, checking things out along the way, or browsing for information that are of interest to them. This is an example of self-directed learning. The children are seeking out the information and absorbing in what they discover. The third genre is "geeking out." This is when the children are seriously interested in the new digital tool. They are taking their time to investigate the new tool and to learn more about it. It is here that they develop expertise in their topic of interest. Through this research, it is founded that "the internet is empowering a tech-savvy generation to pursue a central element of 21st century education-- self-directed learning, performed on kids' own terms and time schedules. It's a finding that compels educators to disregard any lingering notions that the internet is strictly unproductive playtime" (Waters, 2009).
This article has really changed my perspective on kids and the internet world. I think that it is a great idea for educators to use the children's passion and skills for computers and bring it into the classroom as a way to facilitate their learning and creativity. It is very true that technology today is totally different from that from 5 years ago. I realize that the environment in which I learned will be totally different from the way in which my future students will learn. As an eduator, I believe that you have to utilize what is out there so that your students will have the best tools possible when they leave your classroom. I also believe that an educator must never stop learning, whether it be from their own peers, the news, or their students; the yearning and willingness to learn new things is an important quality for educators to possess.
Question 1: What are some ways that educators can reduce the technology gap between themselves and their students?
One way to reduce the technology gap would be to learn about the new technologies yourself. There are a lot of resources out there and a lot of different social networks that you can join to get updated information on how to utilize the new digital tools in your own classroom. Another way would be for educators to allow their students to teach them a few things about these new digital tools. Students are a lot more tech-savvy now-a-days than most educators and most of them easily pick up on how to navigate through these new digital tools like nothing. This would definitely make the students feel like they are contributing something valuable to the classroom.
Question 2: Name one of the participation genre and describe it.
One of the genre of participation is labled "geeking out." This is when the students are extremely interested in the digital tool. They invest a lot of their time investigating and learning about the new tool. They participate in self-directed learning. They learn to eventually become experts at the new digital tool.
Waters, John K. (March 2009). The Kids Are All Right. T-H-E Journal, Retrieved March 30, 2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/24104
This article is basically about how educators can take advantage of the fact that children are very skilled at using new digital tools such as the internet for self-directed learning. It all started with the study "Kids' Informal Learning With Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures", funded by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur. This was a study conducted on over 800 young people over a period of three years. Data was collected on how these young people use digital media tools and how they developed social skills through online websites such as FaceBook and MySpace. This study can be very beneficial to educators who wish to lessen the gap between them and their students in regards to using new digital tools. It was suggested that educators should participate in these social websites such as FaceBook and MySpace so that they can get a feel for how their students are learning and what their students use on a daily basis to continue communication with others.
The study identified three genres of participation with new digital media tools. The first genre is "hanging out," which is basically when students are communicating with their friends and keeping in touch with their friends through the websites like MySpace since public space for children to hang out now are more restricted than they were in the past. Through this, children are learning the social skills through they online interactions with one another. The second genre is "messing around." This is when the kids are just exploring on their own. They might jump from website to website, checking things out along the way, or browsing for information that are of interest to them. This is an example of self-directed learning. The children are seeking out the information and absorbing in what they discover. The third genre is "geeking out." This is when the children are seriously interested in the new digital tool. They are taking their time to investigate the new tool and to learn more about it. It is here that they develop expertise in their topic of interest. Through this research, it is founded that "the internet is empowering a tech-savvy generation to pursue a central element of 21st century education-- self-directed learning, performed on kids' own terms and time schedules. It's a finding that compels educators to disregard any lingering notions that the internet is strictly unproductive playtime" (Waters, 2009).
This article has really changed my perspective on kids and the internet world. I think that it is a great idea for educators to use the children's passion and skills for computers and bring it into the classroom as a way to facilitate their learning and creativity. It is very true that technology today is totally different from that from 5 years ago. I realize that the environment in which I learned will be totally different from the way in which my future students will learn. As an eduator, I believe that you have to utilize what is out there so that your students will have the best tools possible when they leave your classroom. I also believe that an educator must never stop learning, whether it be from their own peers, the news, or their students; the yearning and willingness to learn new things is an important quality for educators to possess.
Question 1: What are some ways that educators can reduce the technology gap between themselves and their students?
One way to reduce the technology gap would be to learn about the new technologies yourself. There are a lot of resources out there and a lot of different social networks that you can join to get updated information on how to utilize the new digital tools in your own classroom. Another way would be for educators to allow their students to teach them a few things about these new digital tools. Students are a lot more tech-savvy now-a-days than most educators and most of them easily pick up on how to navigate through these new digital tools like nothing. This would definitely make the students feel like they are contributing something valuable to the classroom.
Question 2: Name one of the participation genre and describe it.
One of the genre of participation is labled "geeking out." This is when the students are extremely interested in the digital tool. They invest a lot of their time investigating and learning about the new tool. They participate in self-directed learning. They learn to eventually become experts at the new digital tool.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Journal 8: Internet Telephony -NETS V
Internet Telephony: "A category of hardware and software that enables people to use the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls. For users who have free, or fixed-price Internet access, Internet telephony software essentially provides free telephone calls anywhere in the world. To date, however, Internet telephony does not offer the same quality of telephone service as direct telephone connections.
There are many Internet telephony applications available. Some, like CoolTalk and NetMeeting, come bundled with popular Web browsers. Others are stand-alone products. Internet telephony products are sometimes called IP telephony, Voice over the Internet (VOI) or Voice over IP (VOIP) products." (http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/Internet_telephony.html)
Internet telephony is basically telephone calls through the internet. There are different web programs like Skype that provides the medium to make telephone calls through the internet. These phone calls are usually free of charge and can be used worldwide. There are some programs that even allows you to make a video phone call if you have a web cam connected to your computer.
I followed a discussion about internet telephony but it barely provided any information about how internet telephony works, instead I learned that there are a lot of different ways that you could use a web cam in your classroom. I saw some really extremely cool stop-motion animation movies that students made with the web cam. The videos portray specific vocabulary words used in literature like foreshadowing, personification, and morphing. You can have students make their own short story film in almost any subject. One of the educators filmed a science experiment that his students were conducting.
A suggestion from one of the educators was to have students create a tutorial using the web cam. This is both fun and educational for the students. Another educator films himself replaying the day's activities and assignments. He then uploads these videos onto a class website for students who missed class. This was a way for him to motivate his students to keep up with class work and to continue participating in classroom activities even if they are absent for the day. Another educator used the web cam to connect with another classroom from a different country. This allowed for his students to collaborate with students from a different culture within the classroom. Overall, I learned that there are a zillion different ways to use the web cam in your classroom to motivate student learning and create an environment for creativity.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Inspiration - NETS I, II, & III
This is a graphic organizer made through the Inspiration 8 program. The main idea is the NETS standards for teachers. Under each standard are two sub-standards with assignments listed that illustrates each sub-standard.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
PowerPoint Presentation - NETS I, II, III, & IV
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
This is a slide show presentation created on PowerPoint displaying different activities that can be done in the classroom that will meet the NETS for students.
This is a slide show presentation created on PowerPoint displaying different activities that can be done in the classroom that will meet the NETS for students.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Journal 7 - NETS I & III
"Mining for Gold" - Chris Bigenho
Bigenho, Chris (March 2009). Mining for Gold. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved March 9, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/
This article is about RSS (Real Simple Syndication) and how educators can use this new technology in the classroom. RSS is a new technology that enables information on the web to come to you instead of you going to different websites to see if there is an update of information on the website. The way that RSS works is through two tools called feeds and aggregators. Feeds contain channel tags and have specific information for each individual item on a website. Aggregators read these feeds, track updated information, and allows you to see any available updated information. Aggregators are basically a webpage where all these websites that you like to use can be displayed in. There are two types of aggregators. One is internet hosted, which are basically readers on the web such as Bloglines, iGoogle, and Net Vibe. The other is client-based which are incorported into browsers and operating systems such as Safari for Macs and Vista for PCs. With internet hosted aggregators, you can access your feeds from any computer. Client-based aggregators limits you to your personal computer only.
Bigenho suggests several ways for educators to use RSS in the classroom. One way would be to subscribe to student blogs. RSS makes it extremely easy to track new postings on individual student's blogs. Instead of having to go to each student's blog to check if they had posted anything new, RSS brings all the blogs to you on one website such as Blogline or iGoogle. Blogline is especially made to subscribe to a number of blogs and there is a notifier which notifies you whenever a new posting on any of the blogs have been updated. This is a great way to bring technology into the classroom without being overwhelmed with keeping tract of everyone's blogs. Another way to use RSS in your classroom would be to subscribe to social bookmarks. One social bookmarking website is Delicious.com. Delicious allows you to "bookmark" your favorite websites under more than just one tag or topic name. You can even create a tag name specifically for your class. You can then subscribe to the tag and feed it to an aggregator that will allow all the students to view the resources that you are collecting for them. I think that RSS is a great tool to know how to use. It can make following information so easy because everything is being brought to you.
Question 1: What are the two different types of aggregators?
One type of aggregator is internet hosted. These are web-based readers such as Bloglines, iGoogle, and Net Vibe. These are hosts that can be accessed from any computer that is connected to the internet. The other type of aggregator is client-based. These are aggregators incorported into browers and operating systems. For example, Safari is an aggregator for Macs and Vista and Windows Live are aggregators for PCs.
Question 2: How can educators incoporate the use of RSS into their classroom?
Blogs are a great technology to have students create. Blogs are a great tool to get students to be creative and to communicate their thoughts in a different way. There are usually around 20 to 25 students in a classroom. To try to keep up with all the student's blogs can be overwhelming and difficult. RSS can turn keeping up with student's blogs from stressful to extremely easy. You can create a feed from each student's blogs into one aggregator such as Blogline. Everytime a student creates a new post, you are notified of this. RSS can save you a lot of time because you do not have to check on each student's blog to see if they have a new posting or not, the updates come to you.
Bigenho, Chris (March 2009). Mining for Gold. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved March 9, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/
This article is about RSS (Real Simple Syndication) and how educators can use this new technology in the classroom. RSS is a new technology that enables information on the web to come to you instead of you going to different websites to see if there is an update of information on the website. The way that RSS works is through two tools called feeds and aggregators. Feeds contain channel tags and have specific information for each individual item on a website. Aggregators read these feeds, track updated information, and allows you to see any available updated information. Aggregators are basically a webpage where all these websites that you like to use can be displayed in. There are two types of aggregators. One is internet hosted, which are basically readers on the web such as Bloglines, iGoogle, and Net Vibe. The other is client-based which are incorported into browsers and operating systems such as Safari for Macs and Vista for PCs. With internet hosted aggregators, you can access your feeds from any computer. Client-based aggregators limits you to your personal computer only.
Bigenho suggests several ways for educators to use RSS in the classroom. One way would be to subscribe to student blogs. RSS makes it extremely easy to track new postings on individual student's blogs. Instead of having to go to each student's blog to check if they had posted anything new, RSS brings all the blogs to you on one website such as Blogline or iGoogle. Blogline is especially made to subscribe to a number of blogs and there is a notifier which notifies you whenever a new posting on any of the blogs have been updated. This is a great way to bring technology into the classroom without being overwhelmed with keeping tract of everyone's blogs. Another way to use RSS in your classroom would be to subscribe to social bookmarks. One social bookmarking website is Delicious.com. Delicious allows you to "bookmark" your favorite websites under more than just one tag or topic name. You can even create a tag name specifically for your class. You can then subscribe to the tag and feed it to an aggregator that will allow all the students to view the resources that you are collecting for them. I think that RSS is a great tool to know how to use. It can make following information so easy because everything is being brought to you.
Question 1: What are the two different types of aggregators?
One type of aggregator is internet hosted. These are web-based readers such as Bloglines, iGoogle, and Net Vibe. These are hosts that can be accessed from any computer that is connected to the internet. The other type of aggregator is client-based. These are aggregators incorported into browers and operating systems. For example, Safari is an aggregator for Macs and Vista and Windows Live are aggregators for PCs.
Question 2: How can educators incoporate the use of RSS into their classroom?
Blogs are a great technology to have students create. Blogs are a great tool to get students to be creative and to communicate their thoughts in a different way. There are usually around 20 to 25 students in a classroom. To try to keep up with all the student's blogs can be overwhelming and difficult. RSS can turn keeping up with student's blogs from stressful to extremely easy. You can create a feed from each student's blogs into one aggregator such as Blogline. Everytime a student creates a new post, you are notified of this. RSS can save you a lot of time because you do not have to check on each student's blog to see if they have a new posting or not, the updates come to you.
Journal 6 - NETS III & V
"Grow Your Personal Learning Network" -David Warlick
Warlick, David (March 2009). Grow Your Own Personal Learning Network . Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved March 5, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/
Personal learning networks (PLNs) are tools to help you stay connected with people and new information. There are three main different types of PLNs. The first is the "personally maintained synchronous connections," which is how you would traditionally keep in touch with people and get new information. New tools such as chat, instant and text messaging, and teleconferencing websites are a more sofisicated way of keeping in contact and staying up-to-date on this type of PLN. The second type of PLN is the "personally and socially maintained semisynchronous connections." This type of PLN is more broad than the first. Questions that you have are posted by you onto tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and other networking tools. Not only can people who are in your community answer your question but also people from all over the world who sees your post can answer your question. There are not limitations to who can answer your questions. People who answer your posted questions are usually those who are interested in the same topic.
The third type of PLN is the "dynamically maintained asynchronous connections". This type of PLN is different from the others in that it connects you with the information that you are interested in. The main tool used to gather up all these information and to bring it to you is the aggregator RSS. RSS is also known as really simple syndication. Syndication is a process in which a part of a website is brought to you through another network such as Google, Blogline, or Yahoo. Many websites now have the RSS icon. To get updates from these websites brought to you instead of you going to the website, you simply click on the RSS icon and connect the web page to another webpage such as Google. So now when you are on your Google account, all the websites that you are interested in are loaded and ready for you to check for updates.
All these PLNs are really helpful in keeping you connected with not only people who you do not get to see on a daily basis but also new information of interest to you. I think that PLNs are extremely helpful for educators since the world is continuously developing new technologies and there are always new tools that can help you do a certain job better than before. As educators, you need to be in the network with all the new tools because you are teaching the next generations tools that they can use to be successful in life. It would not be fair to your students if you are not up-to-date with the new tools. You would be doing them a disservice by not being connected with the new tools available out there.
Question 1: What is one of main types of PLN?
One of the main type of PLNs is called the "dynamically maintained asynchronous
connections." This type of PLN connects you with information of interest to you through a tool called RSS feeds. RSS feeds take parts of a website and make the information on that website available onto another website such as Blogline and Google. Through websites such as Google, you can have access to any updates on the websites that you choose to place an RSS feed through to Google. Without having to go through a list of websites to check for new information, the information is being brought to you.
Question 2: What are some useful PLN tools?
One really useful PLN tool is social bookmarking websites such as Delicious. Delicious is a tool used to help you organize all your resources, research resources that others have found useful for a specific topic, and keep you connected with new information through networking with other people's bookmarks. Delicious helps you to get the most useful resources available instead of having to sift through handfuls of websites. Another useful PLN tool is the RSS aggregator. This tool allows for information to be brought to you instead of the other way around. Facebook is also another useful tool to keep in contact with people that you do not see on a daily basis. It allows for you to keep in touch with distant friends without running up your phone bill.
Warlick, David (March 2009). Grow Your Own Personal Learning Network . Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved March 5, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/
Personal learning networks (PLNs) are tools to help you stay connected with people and new information. There are three main different types of PLNs. The first is the "personally maintained synchronous connections," which is how you would traditionally keep in touch with people and get new information. New tools such as chat, instant and text messaging, and teleconferencing websites are a more sofisicated way of keeping in contact and staying up-to-date on this type of PLN. The second type of PLN is the "personally and socially maintained semisynchronous connections." This type of PLN is more broad than the first. Questions that you have are posted by you onto tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and other networking tools. Not only can people who are in your community answer your question but also people from all over the world who sees your post can answer your question. There are not limitations to who can answer your questions. People who answer your posted questions are usually those who are interested in the same topic.
The third type of PLN is the "dynamically maintained asynchronous connections". This type of PLN is different from the others in that it connects you with the information that you are interested in. The main tool used to gather up all these information and to bring it to you is the aggregator RSS. RSS is also known as really simple syndication. Syndication is a process in which a part of a website is brought to you through another network such as Google, Blogline, or Yahoo. Many websites now have the RSS icon. To get updates from these websites brought to you instead of you going to the website, you simply click on the RSS icon and connect the web page to another webpage such as Google. So now when you are on your Google account, all the websites that you are interested in are loaded and ready for you to check for updates.
All these PLNs are really helpful in keeping you connected with not only people who you do not get to see on a daily basis but also new information of interest to you. I think that PLNs are extremely helpful for educators since the world is continuously developing new technologies and there are always new tools that can help you do a certain job better than before. As educators, you need to be in the network with all the new tools because you are teaching the next generations tools that they can use to be successful in life. It would not be fair to your students if you are not up-to-date with the new tools. You would be doing them a disservice by not being connected with the new tools available out there.
Question 1: What is one of main types of PLN?
One of the main type of PLNs is called the "dynamically maintained asynchronous
connections." This type of PLN connects you with information of interest to you through a tool called RSS feeds. RSS feeds take parts of a website and make the information on that website available onto another website such as Blogline and Google. Through websites such as Google, you can have access to any updates on the websites that you choose to place an RSS feed through to Google. Without having to go through a list of websites to check for new information, the information is being brought to you.
Question 2: What are some useful PLN tools?
One really useful PLN tool is social bookmarking websites such as Delicious. Delicious is a tool used to help you organize all your resources, research resources that others have found useful for a specific topic, and keep you connected with new information through networking with other people's bookmarks. Delicious helps you to get the most useful resources available instead of having to sift through handfuls of websites. Another useful PLN tool is the RSS aggregator. This tool allows for information to be brought to you instead of the other way around. Facebook is also another useful tool to keep in contact with people that you do not see on a daily basis. It allows for you to keep in touch with distant friends without running up your phone bill.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Journal 5 - NETS V
"Collaboration in a Web 2.0 Environment" -Glen Bull
Bull, Glen (April 2006). Collaboration in a Web 2.0 Environment. Learning and Leading with Technology, 33, Retrieved February 26, 2009, from www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/EducatorResources/YourLearningJourney/Web20/collaboration-in-web-20-environment.pdf
This article is about the use of syndication in the web 2.0 environment. Syndication is the process in which certain parts of a Web site is made available to other Web sites. For example, the Google account can be personalized to an individual's desires. From there users can use the RSS feed, available on majority of websites, to link that website to their personal Google account. Any time there is an update of information on that particular website, the information will also be updated on your Google account. Now, there are RSS feeds for every major newspaper such as The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. You can use an RSS feed to get updates on a specific topic of interest from these newspaper. RSS feeds are very useful in that you do not have to directly go to each of the website of interest to see if there is any updated information, the information comes to you through websites such as Google, Bloglines, and Netvibes. Educators who want to incorporate using a blog into their classroom will be better able to manage the individual student's blogs by using the RSS feeds. Teachers will not have to go to each individual student's blogs, instead they will be updated of their student's blog entries through the RSS feeds onto one site such as Google. The web 2.0 environment is very interactive with its users. You can not only view information but also manipulate the resources available on the web to your desire. Instead of the users searching for information and jumping from one website to the next, information will be updated and brought to the user's attention from these RSS feeds.
Question 1: What are RSS feeds?
RSS stands for "really simple syndication." Syndication is the process of taking parts of one website and making its information available onto another website. RSS feeds are used to follow multiple websites. The majority of websites have RSS feeds available. You can use RSS feeds to display websites of interest onto other websites such as Google, Bloglines, Netvibes, and Yahoo.
Question 2: How can educators use RSS feeds in their classrooms?
Educators can use RSS feeds to stay connected and to get updated information daily on specific websites. They can also use RSS feeds to organize student blogs if they incorporate blogs into their classroom. RSS feeds will allow for educators to get updates on their student's blogs without having to go to each individual student's blogs.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Classroom Newsletter - NETS I & II
newsletterlv
Publish at Scribd or explore others:
This is a classroom newsletter created on Microsoft Word and exported as a PDF file.
This is a classroom newsletter created on Microsoft Word and exported as a PDF file.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Journal 4 - NETS I, II, & IV
"Create, Collaborate, Communicate: Empowering Student with 21st Century Skills" -Chris Riedel
Riedel, Chris (January 2009). Create, Collaborate, Communicate: Empowering Students with 21st Century Skills. T-H-E Journal, Retrieved February 20, 2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23872
This article is based on Howie DiBiasi's speech at the FETC meeting in Orlando, Florida. FETC is a conference held for educators and administrators to learn how to integrate educational technologies into the school environment. Howie DiBiasi placed an emphasis on the importance of teaching our students skills that are relevant to the 21st century. DiBiasi suggests that educators change the way we are teaching our students because they are utilizing one set of skills in the school environment and another set of skills when they are away from the school environment. DiBiasi suggests that we teach students skills for the 21st centuray, not just for the school setting. DiBiasi gives several tips to educators and administrators so that they will be better able to integrate technology into the curriculum and to motivate student learning. One way to learn more about the different technology tools available would be to talk to someone who is knowledgeable in the digital world. Talking to experts can teach you a lot about things that you did not know before. Another way to learn more about technology would be to create a social network. Social Networking can increase your knowledge about technology by providing a large database of knowledge from your peers. You are basically sharing with each other the different tools you are discovering; everyone participating benefits.
One way to motivate students is to help them develop problem-solving skills. This can be done on a daily basis just by giving the students something as simple as a Sudoku puzzle to solve. When students solve their own problems, they will feel more able to be successful which in turn will motivate them to learn. Educators can motivate student learning by creating project-based activities where students are actively participating in the lessons. I think that DiBiasi made a really good point in stating that we need to modify our curriculum so that we are teaching our students skills that they can use in the real world.
Question 1: How can educators increase one-on-one computer time for students in the classroom?
Although there is a budget and most classrooms can only afford so many computers, teachers can increase one-on-one computer time for students by using refurbished computers. These computers might not look as nice and run as efficient as the new computers but they would give more students the opportunity to get on the computers and learn.
Question 2: What are some ways that educators can learn more about how to use technology in the classroom.
One way for educators to learn more about technology is to get together and talk to someone who knows technology. Another way to learn more about technology is to start a social network where you can get ideas from other educators and administrators on how to incorporate different technology tools into the classroom. Another great way to learn more about technology is to start social bookmarking. This is a great way to save websites that you have discovered that you like to use in your classroom. This is also a great way to share and get ideas from others who are social bookmarking.
Riedel, Chris (January 2009). Create, Collaborate, Communicate: Empowering Students with 21st Century Skills. T-H-E Journal, Retrieved February 20, 2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23872
This article is based on Howie DiBiasi's speech at the FETC meeting in Orlando, Florida. FETC is a conference held for educators and administrators to learn how to integrate educational technologies into the school environment. Howie DiBiasi placed an emphasis on the importance of teaching our students skills that are relevant to the 21st century. DiBiasi suggests that educators change the way we are teaching our students because they are utilizing one set of skills in the school environment and another set of skills when they are away from the school environment. DiBiasi suggests that we teach students skills for the 21st centuray, not just for the school setting. DiBiasi gives several tips to educators and administrators so that they will be better able to integrate technology into the curriculum and to motivate student learning. One way to learn more about the different technology tools available would be to talk to someone who is knowledgeable in the digital world. Talking to experts can teach you a lot about things that you did not know before. Another way to learn more about technology would be to create a social network. Social Networking can increase your knowledge about technology by providing a large database of knowledge from your peers. You are basically sharing with each other the different tools you are discovering; everyone participating benefits.
One way to motivate students is to help them develop problem-solving skills. This can be done on a daily basis just by giving the students something as simple as a Sudoku puzzle to solve. When students solve their own problems, they will feel more able to be successful which in turn will motivate them to learn. Educators can motivate student learning by creating project-based activities where students are actively participating in the lessons. I think that DiBiasi made a really good point in stating that we need to modify our curriculum so that we are teaching our students skills that they can use in the real world.
Question 1: How can educators increase one-on-one computer time for students in the classroom?
Although there is a budget and most classrooms can only afford so many computers, teachers can increase one-on-one computer time for students by using refurbished computers. These computers might not look as nice and run as efficient as the new computers but they would give more students the opportunity to get on the computers and learn.
Question 2: What are some ways that educators can learn more about how to use technology in the classroom.
One way for educators to learn more about technology is to get together and talk to someone who knows technology. Another way to learn more about technology is to start a social network where you can get ideas from other educators and administrators on how to incorporate different technology tools into the classroom. Another great way to learn more about technology is to start social bookmarking. This is a great way to save websites that you have discovered that you like to use in your classroom. This is also a great way to share and get ideas from others who are social bookmarking.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Journal 3 - NETS III
"Keep Them Chatting" -Jeannie Cole
Cole, Jeannie (February 2009). Keep Them Chatting. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved February 19, 2009, from http://localhost:51966/learning_leading/200902-offline2/index.html
"Keep Them Chatting" is an article about techniques that educators can use to get students thinking and talking on certain topics in online class discussion rooms. The two main tips for educators who conduct online class discussion rooms are: one, to set goals and achievements for the class and two, to select questions that promotes student interaction and discovery through research and collaboration with other students. There are four main types of questions that can be used to promote student thinking and exploration. The first one is called the "high-level, open-ended questions." This type of question requires students to do their own thinking since there could be more than one way to answer the question. This question allows for students to be creative and to think on their own. The second type of question is called "the inquiry method." This type of question requires students to engage in research on the topic and to solve any problems that they encounter through their research. Students are exploring on their own and making their own discovery with a little push in certain direction.
The third type of question is called "the discrepant event inquiry method." This type of question starts the student off by showing them an unexplained photo, video, document, or any other source. The teacher then gives the students a question that requires research. The fourth type of question is called "personal examples." These are questions that can be answered from personal experience but also requires the students to do their own research to be thorough with their answer. All these questions have guidelines which can help students to stay on topic. I have taken several online courses before and can understand how students can be turned off to discussion rooms because the questions are either very standard or just plain boring. A lot of these question types seem to have very positive outcomes and they do seem to stimulate thinking and student exploration that then leads to students discovering things on their own.
Question 1: How can educators stimulate student interaction in an online class discussion room?
Educators can stimulate student interaction in an online class discussion room by posing questions that students can collaborate with each other on. The questions should require students to do research and to develop problem-solving skills. Students can help each other out by discussing with one another the types of problems that they've encountered. Most likely another student would have had the same problem so then these students can help each other out. Another way to promote student interaction within the discussion room is to assign group assignments. Group projects require that students interact with one another and to communicate their thoughts.
Question 2: Describe one of the four types of questions suggested by the article to help promote student interaction and discovery.
One of the type of questions is called "the inquiry method." This type of question requires students to do their own research and to solve any problems that they encounter while doing the research. Although students are doing individual work, they are still interacting with other students to discuss how they will go about with their research and the types of problems they have encountered.
Cole, Jeannie (February 2009). Keep Them Chatting. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved February 19, 2009, from http://localhost:51966/learning_leading/200902-offline2/index.html
"Keep Them Chatting" is an article about techniques that educators can use to get students thinking and talking on certain topics in online class discussion rooms. The two main tips for educators who conduct online class discussion rooms are: one, to set goals and achievements for the class and two, to select questions that promotes student interaction and discovery through research and collaboration with other students. There are four main types of questions that can be used to promote student thinking and exploration. The first one is called the "high-level, open-ended questions." This type of question requires students to do their own thinking since there could be more than one way to answer the question. This question allows for students to be creative and to think on their own. The second type of question is called "the inquiry method." This type of question requires students to engage in research on the topic and to solve any problems that they encounter through their research. Students are exploring on their own and making their own discovery with a little push in certain direction.
The third type of question is called "the discrepant event inquiry method." This type of question starts the student off by showing them an unexplained photo, video, document, or any other source. The teacher then gives the students a question that requires research. The fourth type of question is called "personal examples." These are questions that can be answered from personal experience but also requires the students to do their own research to be thorough with their answer. All these questions have guidelines which can help students to stay on topic. I have taken several online courses before and can understand how students can be turned off to discussion rooms because the questions are either very standard or just plain boring. A lot of these question types seem to have very positive outcomes and they do seem to stimulate thinking and student exploration that then leads to students discovering things on their own.
Question 1: How can educators stimulate student interaction in an online class discussion room?
Educators can stimulate student interaction in an online class discussion room by posing questions that students can collaborate with each other on. The questions should require students to do research and to develop problem-solving skills. Students can help each other out by discussing with one another the types of problems that they've encountered. Most likely another student would have had the same problem so then these students can help each other out. Another way to promote student interaction within the discussion room is to assign group assignments. Group projects require that students interact with one another and to communicate their thoughts.
Question 2: Describe one of the four types of questions suggested by the article to help promote student interaction and discovery.
One of the type of questions is called "the inquiry method." This type of question requires students to do their own research and to solve any problems that they encounter while doing the research. Although students are doing individual work, they are still interacting with other students to discuss how they will go about with their research and the types of problems they have encountered.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Social Bookmarking - NETS IV
This is a social bookmarking assignment completed through Delicious.com, a social bookmarking website that makes keeping track of and sharing "bookmarks" on the web fast and easy.
1. I checked out several online exhibits. One of the exhibits that I checked out was about the Watergate Files. There were a lot of really great information on the case. Under each time-line tab was an overview during the event, a list of documents, names of people involved, and a film reel. I also checked out the Power of Persuasion website which features poster art from World War II. A lot of these posters were very patriotic and invokes a sense of responsibility to one's country. I can see how these posters were used to encourage people to support the war. I think that using primary sources is such a great way to get students involved in the history that they are studying. A lot of these primary sources bring to life the events of the past. Students would be better able to understand the events of history by studying these primary sources because they tell so much more than just reading a textbook.
2. The three areas that I feel fit my teaching style are: "Ensure that your school has a mission statement that commits to cultural competence as an integral component of all its activities. The cultural competence committee should be involved in developing this statement," "Determine the diverse groups served by your school. Consider cultural, linguistic, racial, and ethnic diversity. Find out the degree to which families and students in these groups are accessing available school services," "Network with parent, family, minority community, and faith-based organizations concerned with the needs of diverse students. Solicit their involvement and input in the design and implementation of initiatives for culturally, linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse groups." I chose these three areas because diversity is a very important issue to me. I believe that every group of students are different and we as future educators should not treat them all the same. The first step in becoming culturally competent is actually acknowledging the different ethnic groups at your school and in your classroom. Identifying the different culture at your school environment will allow for you to better accommodate to your students needs based on their cultural background. I also think that involving parents and others from different ethnic groups to help at the school to educate about their culture would also increase culture awareness.
3. The website that I found is called Owl Online Writing Lab. This website discusses the differences between an adverb and an adjective. It gives several examples of each and also discusses how to use these parts of speech correctly. At the bottom of the website are two different exercises that students can complete to apply there understanding of the uses of adverbs and adjectives. The reading level for this website is grades 3-6.
4. The area of Kathy Schrock's website that I focused on was the "Education Resources" area. Once you click on this link, there are so many other tabs that are so helpful for teachers. There is a tab for lesson plans, one for useful websites, one for how to integrate technology into the classroom, and so many others. I will use this website to get ideas on how to integrate technology into my classroom. I will also use it to make quizzes and create web-based activities to engage my students in their learning process. So instead of pencil and paper activities all the time, I can use this website to get ideas on how to engage my students in learning with different technology tools.
5. Something interesting that I learned about multiple intelligences is that everyone posseses them. There are eight different intelligences and most people are strong in certain intelligences and weak in others. Each of the eight intelligences is different from one another. Each intelligence focuses on a particular area in the brain. In a classroom, all the students will not be strong in the same type of intelligence so as a teacher you would have to accommodate your teaching style to fit the learning style of your students. Some students learn better visually, some learn better kinethestically, and so on.
6. The lesson plan that I chose is called "Family Ties and Fabric Tales." The link to it is http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?cid=331. This lesson plan has two parts to it. For the first part, students are to talk to their parents about their family's background. Students then discuss their background in a presentation in which they bring in something that symbolizes a part of their background. Along with the presentation, students will also locate where their family came from on a globe. For the second part of the lesson, students create a family quilt by illustrating in each square on a worksheet something that symbolizes a part of who they are. This is a lesson plan that I would definitely use in my class in the future to get a better understanding of my students and at the same time it also allows my students to get to know each other better. This activity can really stimulate an appreciation for other culture and other people's differences.
7. One of the questions that I thought was interesting was the comparison between the earnings of U.S. white men and Latin and Native American women. Although they are both graduates, Latin and Native American women earn about $30,000 less than U.S. white men. Even though women are able to do more things now than they did in the past, there is still a gap in equality between men and women in certain environments. Women are usually still seen as the housekeeper, the nurturer while men are usually seen as the money maker and the authority in a home. It really surprised me how much of a difference in earnings are made based a person's gender even if they have the same qualifications and skills. Another question that I thought was interesting was the one about which country had the lowest rating for the treatment of children. The United States and the UK had the lowest rating out of the top 28 wealthiest countries. I was really surprised to see that the United States and the UK were at the bottom two. It's just kind of weird that we are at the bottom two because it does not seem like we treat our children bad.
8. I scored 90% on the Nettique quiz. I should teach students about Nettique because it knowledge on how to behave while in the virtual environment of the internet. I think that this is a step in teaching our students to become digital citizens. Nettique is about the do's and don'ts communicating with others online. Many students nowadays have emails and blogs in which they pass back and forth thoughts and feelings on certain topics. It would be good for students to know what they should and shouldn't do while communicating with others online. ; P
1. I checked out several online exhibits. One of the exhibits that I checked out was about the Watergate Files. There were a lot of really great information on the case. Under each time-line tab was an overview during the event, a list of documents, names of people involved, and a film reel. I also checked out the Power of Persuasion website which features poster art from World War II. A lot of these posters were very patriotic and invokes a sense of responsibility to one's country. I can see how these posters were used to encourage people to support the war. I think that using primary sources is such a great way to get students involved in the history that they are studying. A lot of these primary sources bring to life the events of the past. Students would be better able to understand the events of history by studying these primary sources because they tell so much more than just reading a textbook.
2. The three areas that I feel fit my teaching style are: "Ensure that your school has a mission statement that commits to cultural competence as an integral component of all its activities. The cultural competence committee should be involved in developing this statement," "Determine the diverse groups served by your school. Consider cultural, linguistic, racial, and ethnic diversity. Find out the degree to which families and students in these groups are accessing available school services," "Network with parent, family, minority community, and faith-based organizations concerned with the needs of diverse students. Solicit their involvement and input in the design and implementation of initiatives for culturally, linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse groups." I chose these three areas because diversity is a very important issue to me. I believe that every group of students are different and we as future educators should not treat them all the same. The first step in becoming culturally competent is actually acknowledging the different ethnic groups at your school and in your classroom. Identifying the different culture at your school environment will allow for you to better accommodate to your students needs based on their cultural background. I also think that involving parents and others from different ethnic groups to help at the school to educate about their culture would also increase culture awareness.
3. The website that I found is called Owl Online Writing Lab. This website discusses the differences between an adverb and an adjective. It gives several examples of each and also discusses how to use these parts of speech correctly. At the bottom of the website are two different exercises that students can complete to apply there understanding of the uses of adverbs and adjectives. The reading level for this website is grades 3-6.
4. The area of Kathy Schrock's website that I focused on was the "Education Resources" area. Once you click on this link, there are so many other tabs that are so helpful for teachers. There is a tab for lesson plans, one for useful websites, one for how to integrate technology into the classroom, and so many others. I will use this website to get ideas on how to integrate technology into my classroom. I will also use it to make quizzes and create web-based activities to engage my students in their learning process. So instead of pencil and paper activities all the time, I can use this website to get ideas on how to engage my students in learning with different technology tools.
5. Something interesting that I learned about multiple intelligences is that everyone posseses them. There are eight different intelligences and most people are strong in certain intelligences and weak in others. Each of the eight intelligences is different from one another. Each intelligence focuses on a particular area in the brain. In a classroom, all the students will not be strong in the same type of intelligence so as a teacher you would have to accommodate your teaching style to fit the learning style of your students. Some students learn better visually, some learn better kinethestically, and so on.
6. The lesson plan that I chose is called "Family Ties and Fabric Tales." The link to it is http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?cid=331. This lesson plan has two parts to it. For the first part, students are to talk to their parents about their family's background. Students then discuss their background in a presentation in which they bring in something that symbolizes a part of their background. Along with the presentation, students will also locate where their family came from on a globe. For the second part of the lesson, students create a family quilt by illustrating in each square on a worksheet something that symbolizes a part of who they are. This is a lesson plan that I would definitely use in my class in the future to get a better understanding of my students and at the same time it also allows my students to get to know each other better. This activity can really stimulate an appreciation for other culture and other people's differences.
7. One of the questions that I thought was interesting was the comparison between the earnings of U.S. white men and Latin and Native American women. Although they are both graduates, Latin and Native American women earn about $30,000 less than U.S. white men. Even though women are able to do more things now than they did in the past, there is still a gap in equality between men and women in certain environments. Women are usually still seen as the housekeeper, the nurturer while men are usually seen as the money maker and the authority in a home. It really surprised me how much of a difference in earnings are made based a person's gender even if they have the same qualifications and skills. Another question that I thought was interesting was the one about which country had the lowest rating for the treatment of children. The United States and the UK had the lowest rating out of the top 28 wealthiest countries. I was really surprised to see that the United States and the UK were at the bottom two. It's just kind of weird that we are at the bottom two because it does not seem like we treat our children bad.
8. I scored 90% on the Nettique quiz. I should teach students about Nettique because it knowledge on how to behave while in the virtual environment of the internet. I think that this is a step in teaching our students to become digital citizens. Nettique is about the do's and don'ts communicating with others online. Many students nowadays have emails and blogs in which they pass back and forth thoughts and feelings on certain topics. It would be good for students to know what they should and shouldn't do while communicating with others online. ; P
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Journal 2 - NETS I & IV
"Museums in the Classroom" -Rose Reissman
Reissman, Rose (February 2009). Museums in the Classroom. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved February 5, 2009, from http://localhost:51966/learning_leading/200902-offline2/index.html
"Museums in the Classroom" is basically about how to bring a museum into your own classroom. There are a variety of websites that educators can access with their students to learn about history through the web. One of the museum websites that was suggested in the article is Resource Central-Museum Resources. This website is a search engine that educators and students can use to access real-live museums on the web. This search engine leads you to links for the different museum's websites. For example, students can learn about the aircraft that were used during the war at the virtual San Diego Aerospace Museum. Without having to leave your classroom to go on a field trip, students can have access to artifacts in history that are usually only accessible by going to the different museums through the web.
The article also suggests using Going to a Museum? Resources for Educators website (http://www.curry.edschool.virginia.edu/it/projects/Museums) for educators who are just beginning to learn how to incorporate virtual museums into their classroom. This website not only has tips and tools for beginners but it can also be useful for educators who have been utilizing web-based museums in their classrooms. I think that using online museums that are available to us on the web is a great substitute for a classroom field trip to the museum. Online museums can save a lot of time and money because students will be able to have access to museum artifacts through the click of a mouse. Students will have a greater variety of artifacts to look at with less time and effort because they can have access to more than just one museum a day.
Question 1: How can educators bring museums into their own classroom?
There are a variety of websites that educators can use to provide a virtual museum experience for their students. One of them is the Resource Central-Museum Resources website which is a search engine that provides links to online museums such as the San Diego Aerospace Museum and the Pilgrim Hall Museum. The Going to a Museum? Resources for Educators website provides step-by-step instructions for educators on how to integrate museums into the classroom. Educators can learn how to incorporate museum artifacts into their own classrooms to promote student learning and creativity with the help of all these different websites that are easily accessible to them.
Question 2: How can educators use the idea of a museum in their own classroom?
Educators can turn their own classroom into a museum by having a wide display of student's work throughout the classroom. Students can help to arrange their work in ways that artifacts are arranged in real museums. As a class, students and teachers can create admission tickets, brochures, and souvenirs to create the feeling of attending a real museum. This would not only encourage the students to do good but would also give the student's guardians a chance to see what their children are working on in the classrooms. This classroom museum is an extremely cool idea to display student's work on a specific topic.
Reissman, Rose (February 2009). Museums in the Classroom. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved February 5, 2009, from http://localhost:51966/learning_leading/200902-offline2/index.html
"Museums in the Classroom" is basically about how to bring a museum into your own classroom. There are a variety of websites that educators can access with their students to learn about history through the web. One of the museum websites that was suggested in the article is Resource Central-Museum Resources
The article also suggests using Going to a Museum? Resources for Educators website (http://www.curry.edschool.virginia.edu/it/projects/Museums) for educators who are just beginning to learn how to incorporate virtual museums into their classroom. This website not only has tips and tools for beginners but it can also be useful for educators who have been utilizing web-based museums in their classrooms. I think that using online museums that are available to us on the web is a great substitute for a classroom field trip to the museum. Online museums can save a lot of time and money because students will be able to have access to museum artifacts through the click of a mouse. Students will have a greater variety of artifacts to look at with less time and effort because they can have access to more than just one museum a day.
Question 1: How can educators bring museums into their own classroom?
There are a variety of websites that educators can use to provide a virtual museum experience for their students. One of them is the Resource Central-Museum Resources website which is a search engine that provides links to online museums such as the San Diego Aerospace Museum and the Pilgrim Hall Museum. The Going to a Museum? Resources for Educators website provides step-by-step instructions for educators on how to integrate museums into the classroom. Educators can learn how to incorporate museum artifacts into their own classrooms to promote student learning and creativity with the help of all these different websites that are easily accessible to them.
Question 2: How can educators use the idea of a museum in their own classroom?
Educators can turn their own classroom into a museum by having a wide display of student's work throughout the classroom. Students can help to arrange their work in ways that artifacts are arranged in real museums. As a class, students and teachers can create admission tickets, brochures, and souvenirs to create the feeling of attending a real museum. This would not only encourage the students to do good but would also give the student's guardians a chance to see what their children are working on in the classrooms. This classroom museum is an extremely cool idea to display student's work on a specific topic.
Journal 1 - NETS IV
"Passport to Digital Citizenship" -Mike Ribble
Ribbel, Mike (December 2008-January 2009). Passport to Digital Citizenship. Learning and Leading with Technology, 36, Retrieved January 28, 2009, from www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/EducatorResources/YourLearningJourney/DigitalCitizenship/36414r.pdf
"Passport to Digital Citizenship" discusses how community members, parents, and educators can assist children in gaining full digital citizenship. Digital citizenship is defined as "students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior" (Ribble, 2008-2009). In other words, digital citizenship is the process of knowing how and when to appropriately use a piece of technology. Digital citizenship is a top priority in today's society because of the vast and endless technology tools that we have at our disposal. There is such a variety of technology that knowing how and when to appropriately use them might be a little difficult to understand.
The article proposes a circular learning module that consists of four steps that relates to the nine elements of digital citizenship. The nine elements of digital citizenship are: digital assess, digital commerce, digital communication, digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital laws, digital rights and responsibilities, digital health and wellness, and digital security. The first step in the digital citizenship learning module is awareness. This just means that students are knowledgeable about the different technology tools, its functions, and ways of appropriately using and abusing its functions. The second step is guided practice. This step gives students the opportunity to explore and learn about the technology. It also promotes appropriate use of technology. The third step is modeling and demonstrating. In this step, educators take time to demonstrate to the students how to appropriately use the technology in different environments such as school, home, and society. The fourth step is feedback and analysis. In the last step, educators and parents give students constructive criticism on their use of technology. Educators and parents give students information on what is appropriate and inappropriate use of technology in the home, school, and society.
I found this article very interesting to read because digital citizenship is something that we should all be knowledgeable about because technology is such as huge part in our everyday lives now. I think that it is also very important to teach and model to the younger generation how to appropriately use technology when they are in different situations and environments because it is very easy to misuse technology.
Question 1: In what ways can we bridge the gap between home and school expectations of technology use?
One way to bridge the home and school expectation of technology use is to inform both educators and parents the appropriate ways of using technology. When parents and educators are knowledgeable, they would be better able to make judgements on if the student or children is abusing the technology or if they are indeed using it appropriately. If both educators and parents are on the same page about the appropriate use of technology, then the standards at home and at school will not be at odds with one another.
Question 2: How can we we as educators and parents help our students and children to obtain full digital citizenship?
The first step to helping our students and children in obtaining full digital citizenship is to become digital citizens ourselves. It would not make sense for us to preach appropriate use of technology if we do not know the functions of technology ourselves. Knowing what is out their and how to use the different technology is very important. Another way we can help is to model how to appropriately use technology. Modeling how to use technology with our children and student will give them an idea of what is appropriate and what is not. We also need to give our students and children the chance to explore the different technology so that they practice appropriate use of the technology. We also need to talk to our students and children about the use of different technologies, how to appropriately use them, and how not to abuse them.
Ribbel, Mike (December 2008-January 2009). Passport to Digital Citizenship. Learning and Leading with Technology, 36, Retrieved January 28, 2009, from www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/EducatorResources/YourLearningJourney/DigitalCitizenship/36414r.pdf
"Passport to Digital Citizenship" discusses how community members, parents, and educators can assist children in gaining full digital citizenship. Digital citizenship is defined as "students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior" (Ribble, 2008-2009). In other words, digital citizenship is the process of knowing how and when to appropriately use a piece of technology. Digital citizenship is a top priority in today's society because of the vast and endless technology tools that we have at our disposal. There is such a variety of technology that knowing how and when to appropriately use them might be a little difficult to understand.
The article proposes a circular learning module that consists of four steps that relates to the nine elements of digital citizenship. The nine elements of digital citizenship are: digital assess, digital commerce, digital communication, digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital laws, digital rights and responsibilities, digital health and wellness, and digital security. The first step in the digital citizenship learning module is awareness. This just means that students are knowledgeable about the different technology tools, its functions, and ways of appropriately using and abusing its functions. The second step is guided practice. This step gives students the opportunity to explore and learn about the technology. It also promotes appropriate use of technology. The third step is modeling and demonstrating. In this step, educators take time to demonstrate to the students how to appropriately use the technology in different environments such as school, home, and society. The fourth step is feedback and analysis. In the last step, educators and parents give students constructive criticism on their use of technology. Educators and parents give students information on what is appropriate and inappropriate use of technology in the home, school, and society.
I found this article very interesting to read because digital citizenship is something that we should all be knowledgeable about because technology is such as huge part in our everyday lives now. I think that it is also very important to teach and model to the younger generation how to appropriately use technology when they are in different situations and environments because it is very easy to misuse technology.
Question 1: In what ways can we bridge the gap between home and school expectations of technology use?
One way to bridge the home and school expectation of technology use is to inform both educators and parents the appropriate ways of using technology. When parents and educators are knowledgeable, they would be better able to make judgements on if the student or children is abusing the technology or if they are indeed using it appropriately. If both educators and parents are on the same page about the appropriate use of technology, then the standards at home and at school will not be at odds with one another.
Question 2: How can we we as educators and parents help our students and children to obtain full digital citizenship?
The first step to helping our students and children in obtaining full digital citizenship is to become digital citizens ourselves. It would not make sense for us to preach appropriate use of technology if we do not know the functions of technology ourselves. Knowing what is out their and how to use the different technology is very important. Another way we can help is to model how to appropriately use technology. Modeling how to use technology with our children and student will give them an idea of what is appropriate and what is not. We also need to give our students and children the chance to explore the different technology so that they practice appropriate use of the technology. We also need to talk to our students and children about the use of different technologies, how to appropriately use them, and how not to abuse them.
Friday, January 23, 2009
intro letter of lana van
Hi everyone! My name is Lana Van. I was born in Thailand and came over to the United States when I was 4 years old. I have lived in San Diego for the majority of my life. I did however lived in Fresno for 1 year when I was in eighth grade. I went to so many different schools and most of them were in the San Diego School District. I went to Oak Park Elementary for K-4 and transferred to Carver Elementary School 5th grade. Then I went to Monroe Clark Middle School for 6th and 7th grade. During the beginning of 8th grade, my family moved to Fresno and so I went to Scandinavian Middle School. I started high school at McLane High School but then my family moved back down to San Diego. I then attended Crawford High School during 9th grade. I went to Kearny High School for 10th and 11th grade and then went back to Crawford H.S. for my senior year. It's kind of weird and coincidental that I always seem to change schools during the last year of the grade block. I graduated from Crawford High School. I then went to San Diego Mesa College for 2 and a half years and received my AA from there. From Mesa, I transferred to San Diego State University and attended for 2 years and just recently received my BA in Liberal Studies.
I am very familiar with technology. I wouldn't say that I am an expert but I know my way around a computer. I used to be a PC person but just this past summer, I purchased my first MacNotebook ever and I absolutely love it!!! I am totally a Mac person now. Not only are the computers cute, its just really user-friendly and there are so many built in software that you could just sit on your computer and play around with all the different software without and internet. Before I bought my MacNotebook, the only times I would use the computer was on school campuses to complete my homework. I rarely browsed around or did anything else. Now that I have my Mac, I use it everyday to do online banking, check my emails, do research, and so many others things that I did not use to do. I am currently using Microsoft 08. I really like this new version because it looks pretty and it's pretty easy to catch on to. I also really like how the toolbars are on the right of the document for the Microsoft version for Macs. I am definitely one of the people who depends on technology, ALOT! I have a cell phone that I use daily to contact people and I use my computer daily to check emails, research information and other random things. I think that technology is one of the best inventions ever!
The part of CSUSM/COE's mission statement that really stood out to me was when it speaks out a commitment to student-centered education and diversity. I think that it is really important to learn how to teach a diverse classroom because the United States is an extremely diverse country. Each culture brings in something unique and we as future teachers need to learn how to accomodate to each child's needs because of their background. Another part that really stood out to me was CSUSM's commitment to advancing professional practices. I took this as they are comitted to teaching their students the latest technology practices used in classrooms so that the future teachers and armed and ready to teach the younger generation.
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