Friday, March 4, 2011

Journal #4- "It's time to tust Teachers with the Internet" (Nets 1,3,5)

Schaffhauser, D. (2010, December 1). It's time to trust teachers with the internet: a conversation with meg ormiston. Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/Articles/2010/12/01/Its-Time-To-Trust-Teachers-with-the-Internet-A-Conversation-with-Meg-Ormiston.aspx?sc_lang=en&Page=1

Summary: Meg Ormiston works with schools to help incorporate technology into the classroom.  In this article she talks about how hard it is to get schools to allow 21st century technology, like social networking sites, into the classrooms.  Ormiston states that schools are not trusting teachers to know what types of sites should be blocked from their computers or not.  When schools tend to block a bunch of sites it restricts the teachers from bringing in technology into the classroom.  It makes it hard for teachers to try and incorporate technology when they are being blocked all the time.  Ormiston is a firm believer that we should protect our children form bad sites such as porn but we should also teach them how to use technology responsibly.   In Ormisons interview she says that when schools tend to be more restrictive it will discourage teachers from bringing technology in and they will most likely give up. One thing that is highly overlooked is that kids now days have access to smart phones and computers that don't have all these filters on them.  Who is teaching them what sites are appropriate and what sites are not if the schools aren't.  Ormiston states that education is the key and that by blocking students from technology we are missing important opportunities to teach.

Question 1:  Do you think teachers should be given the opportunity to decide whether sites should be blocked or not?

Yes I think that teachers should be trusted enough to make that decision.  Like Ormiston said if we cant trust our teachers to decide if a websites appropriate then how can we even trust them in the classroom. Students should be limited from certain sites and monitored while on certain sites but the teacher should have enough good judgment to do so. I think that by putting so many restrictions on technology it is limiting the amount of learning going on inside the classroom. 

Question 2:  How do schools make sure that teachers have the right tools to integrate the technology appropriately?

 I think that a good way to ensure that teachers know how to integrate the technology would be to educate them on certain sites that may be valuable to their curriculum.  Maybe a class to teach them ways that they could use different sites as tools in the classroom.  Especially for teachers that have been teaching for a while and may be stuck in their ways and may not be familiar or comfortable with new technology.

Journal # 3- 100 Things that make me Happy!

1) Family
2) Friends
3) BBQ's
4) My Husband
5) My job (most of the time)
6) My Baby Boy growing inside me
7) My dads jokes
8) sun shine
9) the beach
10) horses
11) the outdoors
12) swimming
13) my puppies (goober and Shane)
14) my iphone
15)saving money
16) paying off credit cards
17) my apartment
18) tax refunds
19) cousins
20) Going to the Desert
21) watching my husband ride his dirt bike
22) staying home in the rain
23)Watching my TV shows
24) getting HW done
25) Traveling
26) shopping
27) Christmas morning
28) getting my nails done
29) getting a massage
30) reading
31) going to the movies
32) date nights
33) Happy Hour
34) a clean appartment
35) the day after finals week
36) payday
37) My Tundra
38) music
39) dancing
40) girls night
41)getting an A
42) Holidays
43) Celebrations
44) alone time
45) summer time
46) Spring break
47) shopping for my baby
48) ice cream
49) Frozen yogurt
50) Starbucks
51) Jamba Juice
52) picnics
53) weddings
54) cuddling with the hubby
55) learning new things
56) Disneyland
57) road trips
58) Anniversaries
59) fishing
60) hot baths
61) Family get togehers
62) childhood memories
63) walking to the park
64) walks with my dad
65) hanging out with my brother
66) talks with my mom
67) getting to hear my babys' heart beat
68) going to the lake
69) surprises
70) pedicures
71) bike riding
72)  laughing
73) the idea of graduating
74) teaching
75) solving problems
76) Texting
78) Facebook
79) Reconnecting with old friends
80) New friends
81) Super-cross
82) Rodeos
83) singing
84) clean laundry
85) when the husband does the dishes
86) my nephews
87) laying out
88) Christmas lights
89) getting things done
90) peace
91) full tank of gas
92) babies
93) good hair days
94) being organized
95) swimming
96)back up camera in my truck
97) Weekends
98) finding money in my pocket that i didn't know i had
99) opportunities
100) Life in General!

Question 1- Did you enjoy thinking of 100 things that make you happy?
Yes I did like this journal.  I think that people dont take enough time to think about things that make them happy.  Life is full of ups and downs that sometimes we get caught up in all the bad things that happen to us.  It is nice to think about how good my life really is and that problems I may have seem little to the bigger picture.

Question 2-  What is the number one most important thing that makes you the happiest?
 It would definitely have to be my family.  I am so lucky to have such a close and supportive family.  I would not be anywhere even close to were i am today without them.   
 

Journal #2- Join the Flock! / Enhance Your Twitter Experience! (Nets 1,3 &5)

Miller, S. (2010). Enhance your twitter experience. Learning & Leading With Technology, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20100607#pg16

Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock!. Learning & Leading With Technology, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Join_the_Flock.aspx

Summary: This weeks journals are based on two articles that informs people on how to build and make the most out of your PLN (Personal Learning Networks) and Twitter Accounts.  The techniques discussed in these articles will help you get a better understanding of technology tools that are out their.  PLN is a community of individuals who learn together and from each other. It takes time to set up your PLN but once you have it their will be so many tools available to you.  You can follow people that have the same interests and people that you would want to learn form.  If you are into education and would like to learn more about it you would follow other people that also want to learn more about education. PLN allows you to ask questions or post links and articles that would be helpful to others in the same field. Another great thing about this is that it allows you to only post 140 characters which will eliminate a lot of junk that you don't need.Twitter can be used as a tool for teachers to collaborate and share ideas with one another. 

Question 1-  Can you see Twitter as being a useful tool for you?
Yes I could definately see myself sing it inside and outside of the classroom. I think it is a great tool to help expand your knowledge on certain subjects.  By being able to follow other people in the same profession as you and collaborate ideas and links is a very valuable and awesome tool.


Question 2-  Have you ever had an interest in Twitter before this class?
 I would have to say that I have never had an interest in twitter.  I never really new what it was and though it was just another facebook or Myspace.  After reading these articles I know that it is much more than that.  It could be very useful for anybody that wants to expand their knowledge on a certain subject.  I am glad that I have been exposed to it and look forward to learning more about it!

Journal #1- Do Web 2.0 Right ( Nets 1, 4 & 5)

Light, D. (2011). Do web 2.0 right. Learning and Leading, 38(5), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-february-march-2011.aspx

Summary: "Do web 2.0 Right" discusses the challenges that teachers have had with bringing blogs into the classroom and why some lessons were unsuccessful.  Daniel Light also talks about how teachers have overcome these challenges and the benefits of bringing blogs into the classroom for not only the teacher but also the student.  Light Breaks up the success for Web 2.0 into three elements; daily practice, focus on audience and appropriate behavior.

The first successful element that Light discuses is Daily Practice.  Teachers used blogs in the classroom in two different ways; individual blogs and classroom blogs.  The individuate blogs were used as communication between the teacher and student which eliminated students fears about having their peers critique their individual work.  Classroom blogs on the other hand were shared so students could comment and respond to the teachers prompts as well as other students.This type generates discussions among students about what they are learning.

The next element that Light discusses is  the Focus on Audience.  Audience is important to consider when a teacher creates activities for the students to participate in. Every student and classroom is different from one another and when planning activities a teacher should think about how it will benifeit this particular group the most.

The last element that Light talks about is Appropriate behavior.  Having students interact in other ways than face to face runs the risk of having students bully each other or make rude comments to each other over the net. Its important for a teacher to monitor comments and make sure that students are giving one another appropriate feedback.

Question-1 In what ways do you think its affective to bring blogs into the classroom?

I think that technology 2.0 is a great tool to bring into the classroom if it is done the right way.  I think that there are many things to consider when making lesson plans and creating activities for your students.  The elements that Light mentions are important to consider when integrating the technology.  I think that by bringing blogs into the classroom it can advance the learning of not only the students but the teacher.  It is a way that teachers can get feed back from their students and get them to interact in other ways that just face to face. 

Question 2- How will you incorporate blogs into the daily activities of the classroom?

I would like to incorporate this technology into my classroom by having a combination of individual and classroom blogs.  I think that classroom blogs are beneficial in that students can get ideas from each other and interact with each other inside and outside of the classroom.  I also think that Individual ones are important so that the teacher can get feedback on the classroom without students feeling the pressures of their peers being able to look at their personal opinions.