Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Journal 10: Alligators in the Sewers? Really?
This article focused on building media literacy with English Language Learners. Media literacy refers to the ability not only to understand what you read, hear and see but also to evaluate and make good decisions about what various media presents. To become more media literate, teachers and students need to practice critical thinking skills, i.e. analysis, inference, evaluation, etc. English Language Learners have difficulty with gaining media literacy because of lack of exposure, misunderstandings about the veracity of Internet-based information, a lack of markers stating if something is meant as a joke or farce, and cultural backgrounds make it difficult for ELLs to understand what they have read.
This article discussed how teachers can build media literacy using critical thinking skills by using urban legends found on the Internet. The example that was used in the article was the urban legend about alligators in the sewers. The purpose of an urban legend lesson would be for students to a. judge the credibility of sources b. identify judgement, reasons, assumptions c. judge the quality of an argument d. develop and defend a position on an issue e. ask appropriate clarifying questions.
Question #1? What age/grade level can this type of lesson be used? I would recommend using this type of lesson for middle school students. In middle school they are beginning to explore the credibility of sources and I believe this type of lesson would be fun and interesting for the students.
Question #2: How can a teacher model critical thinking skills and media literacy? Teachers can perform think alouds while searching for resources and deciding how credible/truthful they might be, and ask essential questions.
Egbert, Joy (2009, May). Alligators in the Sewers? Really?. Learning and Leading, Retrieved 05/04/2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200905/
This article discussed how teachers can build media literacy using critical thinking skills by using urban legends found on the Internet. The example that was used in the article was the urban legend about alligators in the sewers. The purpose of an urban legend lesson would be for students to a. judge the credibility of sources b. identify judgement, reasons, assumptions c. judge the quality of an argument d. develop and defend a position on an issue e. ask appropriate clarifying questions.
Question #1? What age/grade level can this type of lesson be used? I would recommend using this type of lesson for middle school students. In middle school they are beginning to explore the credibility of sources and I believe this type of lesson would be fun and interesting for the students.
Question #2: How can a teacher model critical thinking skills and media literacy? Teachers can perform think alouds while searching for resources and deciding how credible/truthful they might be, and ask essential questions.
Egbert, Joy (2009, May). Alligators in the Sewers? Really?. Learning and Leading, Retrieved 05/04/2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200905/
Journal 9: The Kids are All Right
This article was based on digital media and learning initiative that the JOHN D. AND CATHERINE T. MacArthur Foundation started three years ago. This study,
“Kids' Informal Learning With Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures," was looking at the impact of digital media and communications technologies on how young people will learn in the future/now. A team of 28 researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley, interviewed more than 800 young people and their parents over a three-year period. They spent more than 5,000 hours observing teens on websites such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other networked communities. The researchers believe that their findings will help educators understand how young people learn and develop social skills online. The awareness gained by the study will allow teachers to better understand their students’ motivation, and shorten the gap the digital age has created between teacher and student.
There are three levels of kid’s online participation; Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out. Hanging Out refers to the basic level of kids socializing, researchers call it lightweight social contact. It's the use of mobile phones, Facebook, and MySpace. Messing Around refers to self directed exploration where students are exploring an interest. They are learning about the process of finding and retrieving information. Geeking Out is intense interaction and a high level interest in media and technology. Researchers call it "intensive mobilizing" where people share resources and information.
Question #1: Should kids be spending a lot of time online; on Facebook and MySpace? The research shows that this type of learning is empowering for students. It is creating a tech-savvy generation that participates in self-directed learning where students are learning on their own terms and schedules.
Question #2: Is online learning transferable to the classroom? Yes, teachers need to relinquish control. The research shows that what students learn in the virtual world (the skills) are transferable to the classroom and real world application.
Waters, John, K (march, 2009). The Kids are All Right. T-H-E Journal, Retrieved 4/27/2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/24104
“Kids' Informal Learning With Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures," was looking at the impact of digital media and communications technologies on how young people will learn in the future/now. A team of 28 researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley, interviewed more than 800 young people and their parents over a three-year period. They spent more than 5,000 hours observing teens on websites such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other networked communities. The researchers believe that their findings will help educators understand how young people learn and develop social skills online. The awareness gained by the study will allow teachers to better understand their students’ motivation, and shorten the gap the digital age has created between teacher and student.
There are three levels of kid’s online participation; Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out. Hanging Out refers to the basic level of kids socializing, researchers call it lightweight social contact. It's the use of mobile phones, Facebook, and MySpace. Messing Around refers to self directed exploration where students are exploring an interest. They are learning about the process of finding and retrieving information. Geeking Out is intense interaction and a high level interest in media and technology. Researchers call it "intensive mobilizing" where people share resources and information.
Question #1: Should kids be spending a lot of time online; on Facebook and MySpace? The research shows that this type of learning is empowering for students. It is creating a tech-savvy generation that participates in self-directed learning where students are learning on their own terms and schedules.
Question #2: Is online learning transferable to the classroom? Yes, teachers need to relinquish control. The research shows that what students learn in the virtual world (the skills) are transferable to the classroom and real world application.
Journal 7: Grow Your Personal Learning Network
PLNs, Personal Learning Network, are not new and in this ever-changing, technology rich environment and it is imperative as an educator to educate yourself about these new (or old, depending on how technologically savvy you are) technologies and learning networks. There are three main types of PLNs: Personally Maintained Synchronous Connections, Personally and Socially Maintained Semisynchronous Connections, and Dynamically Maintained Asynchronous Connections.
Personally Maintained Synchronous Connections this is the traditional network that includes the people and places you go to answer questions and solve problems. Now, you can enhance this PLN tool by using instant and text messaging, Twitter, chat, and teleconferencing.
Personally and Socially Maintained Semisynchronous Connections refers to Twitter, texting, personal Facebook profiles and Syndicaster. They are conversations, but not really conversations. Semisynchronous is the idea that collaboration does not have to happen in real time.
Dynamically Maintained Asynchronous Connections refers to the information coming to us mainly by the RSS aggregator. The first two PLNs described connect us with each other, but with this PLN it connects us with the content and information we find valuable and important. One of the most useful PLN tools is social bookmarking by Delicious. Once a person organizes their tags, that information becomes available to a whole community.
Creating and using your PLN is a learning experience. You are constantly reflecting upon the knowledge gained, the experience of using and being engrossed in others PLNs, participating in learning activities and reflecting upon those learning experiences and reintroducing those ideas and experiences back in the learning community. It is a discipline and a responsibility to use your PLN because you are involved and engrossed in other people PLNs.
Question #1: What is a potential weakness for PLNs? PLNs can become limited in their range of perspective. Since poeple are creating PLNs it is only natural to obtain and seek out information that agrees with our personal point of view. It is important to include all view points in order to have the whole argument and truth of the matter available to viewers.
Question #2: What does a RSS aggregator do? A RSS aggregator train relevant content to come to you so you don't have to go looking for it.
Warlick, David (2009, March/April). Grow your personal learning network. Learning and Leading with Technology, Retrieved 04/01/2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/
Personally Maintained Synchronous Connections this is the traditional network that includes the people and places you go to answer questions and solve problems. Now, you can enhance this PLN tool by using instant and text messaging, Twitter, chat, and teleconferencing.
Personally and Socially Maintained Semisynchronous Connections refers to Twitter, texting, personal Facebook profiles and Syndicaster. They are conversations, but not really conversations. Semisynchronous is the idea that collaboration does not have to happen in real time.
Dynamically Maintained Asynchronous Connections refers to the information coming to us mainly by the RSS aggregator. The first two PLNs described connect us with each other, but with this PLN it connects us with the content and information we find valuable and important. One of the most useful PLN tools is social bookmarking by Delicious. Once a person organizes their tags, that information becomes available to a whole community.
Creating and using your PLN is a learning experience. You are constantly reflecting upon the knowledge gained, the experience of using and being engrossed in others PLNs, participating in learning activities and reflecting upon those learning experiences and reintroducing those ideas and experiences back in the learning community. It is a discipline and a responsibility to use your PLN because you are involved and engrossed in other people PLNs.
Question #1: What is a potential weakness for PLNs? PLNs can become limited in their range of perspective. Since poeple are creating PLNs it is only natural to obtain and seek out information that agrees with our personal point of view. It is important to include all view points in order to have the whole argument and truth of the matter available to viewers.
Question #2: What does a RSS aggregator do? A RSS aggregator train relevant content to come to you so you don't have to go looking for it.
Warlick, David (2009, March/April). Grow your personal learning network. Learning and Leading with Technology, Retrieved 04/01/2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/
Journal 6: Mining for Gold
RSS (Real Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) allows information to come to you. Internet users control what they receive and view by subscriptions. A program known as an aggregator collects new information posted on the internet and the user can access this information (all new information in their aggregator) from one page. As your interests change, so can your bookmarks and RSS feeds. There are numerous ways RSS can be used in the classroom; subscribe to student blogs, subscribe to social bookmarks, and feeding content to HTML pages.
Subscribe to student blogs by using a feed aggregator. Bloglines and Bloglines Notifyer enable one to track blog subscriptions. An icon pops up on the computer when students post new content. Most search engines have the ability to share content through RSS subscriptions.
Subscribe to social bookmarks like Delicious. Delicious allows you to keep all of your favorite Internet sites online and it supports multiple tags. By organizing your tags and creating a class tag, allows students to access all class related information on one site. Social bookmarking is a great collaborative tool.
Feeding content to HTML pages; you can find any feed online and create a JavaScript that you can place on a Web page or on your LMS. This script pulls the dynamic content into the course and you don’t need a code to access the information. You can build custom feeds using a tool called Feed2JS.
Question 1: What is RSS? RSS is two-fold; feeds and aggregators. Each feed is defined with channel tags, which contains specific information that defines individual items. Aggregators read these special tags, track each subscribed page, and notify you when new items are added.
Question #2: What is LMS? Learning Management System (i.e. website)
Bigenho, Chris (2009, March/April). Mining for Gold. Learning and Leading with Technology, Retrieved 04/01/2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/
Subscribe to student blogs by using a feed aggregator. Bloglines and Bloglines Notifyer enable one to track blog subscriptions. An icon pops up on the computer when students post new content. Most search engines have the ability to share content through RSS subscriptions.
Subscribe to social bookmarks like Delicious. Delicious allows you to keep all of your favorite Internet sites online and it supports multiple tags. By organizing your tags and creating a class tag, allows students to access all class related information on one site. Social bookmarking is a great collaborative tool.
Feeding content to HTML pages; you can find any feed online and create a JavaScript that you can place on a Web page or on your LMS. This script pulls the dynamic content into the course and you don’t need a code to access the information. You can build custom feeds using a tool called Feed2JS.
Question 1: What is RSS? RSS is two-fold; feeds and aggregators. Each feed is defined with channel tags, which contains specific information that defines individual items. Aggregators read these special tags, track each subscribed page, and notify you when new items are added.
Question #2: What is LMS? Learning Management System (i.e. website)
Bigenho, Chris (2009, March/April). Mining for Gold. Learning and Leading with Technology, Retrieved 04/01/2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Journal 8: Virtual Worlds
Technology Tool: Virtual Worlds
What is a Virtual World? According to ask.com, a Virtual World is an interactive simulated environment accessed by multiple users through an online interface. Virtual worlds are also called "digital worlds," "simulated worlds" and "MMOG's." There are many different types of virtual worlds, however there are six features all of them have in common:
1. Shared Space: the world allows many users to participate at once.
2. Graphical User Interface: the world depicts space visually, ranging in style from 2D "cartoon" imagery to more immersive 3D environments.
3. Immediacy: interaction takes place in real time.
4. Interactivity: the world allows users to alter, develop, build, or submit customized content.
5. Persistence: the world's existence continues regardless of whether individual users are logged in.
6. Socialization/Community: the world allows and encourages the formation of in-world social groups like teams, guilds, clubs, cliques, housemates, neighborhoods, etc.
Inclusion of Students with Special Needs in Online Learning Environments: Students with special needs can check the learning community's accessibility guidelines to see if their technology tools will work and are compatible with that system. Students with visual impairments can use a screen reader to access virtual worlds and online learning communities. Students with hearing impairments would need a text equivalent to any audio. This discussion listed several helpful websites as resources for information on web accessibility.
Educational Uses of Second Life: In this discussion thread people asked many questions, but got few answers on how to use Second Life in the classroom and with students. The general consensus about using Second Life with students was that it was difficult to use due to age restrictions. A teacher posted on the discussion thread that he did use different virtual environments with his students, Opensim and Edusim.
What is a Virtual World? According to ask.com, a Virtual World is an interactive simulated environment accessed by multiple users through an online interface. Virtual worlds are also called "digital worlds," "simulated worlds" and "MMOG's." There are many different types of virtual worlds, however there are six features all of them have in common:
1. Shared Space: the world allows many users to participate at once.
2. Graphical User Interface: the world depicts space visually, ranging in style from 2D "cartoon" imagery to more immersive 3D environments.
3. Immediacy: interaction takes place in real time.
4. Interactivity: the world allows users to alter, develop, build, or submit customized content.
5. Persistence: the world's existence continues regardless of whether individual users are logged in.
6. Socialization/Community: the world allows and encourages the formation of in-world social groups like teams, guilds, clubs, cliques, housemates, neighborhoods, etc.
Inclusion of Students with Special Needs in Online Learning Environments: Students with special needs can check the learning community's accessibility guidelines to see if their technology tools will work and are compatible with that system. Students with visual impairments can use a screen reader to access virtual worlds and online learning communities. Students with hearing impairments would need a text equivalent to any audio. This discussion listed several helpful websites as resources for information on web accessibility.
Educational Uses of Second Life: In this discussion thread people asked many questions, but got few answers on how to use Second Life in the classroom and with students. The general consensus about using Second Life with students was that it was difficult to use due to age restrictions. A teacher posted on the discussion thread that he did use different virtual environments with his students, Opensim and Edusim.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
NETS K-2 PowerPoint Presentation- NETS 2, 3
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
EDU422 NETS-ppt
View more presentations from erconnors.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Journal 5: Collaboration in a Web 2.0 World
This article focused on web syndication in a 2.0 web world. The difference between web 1.0 and web 2.0 is that in a web 1.0 environment the user finds the information and explores various websites by going to those websites. In a web 2.0 environment, the information comes to the user through web syndication. Web syndication is a method that makes a portion of a websites available to other sites. RSS, Really Simple Syndication, refers to the availability of a web feed. This is changing the way students can collaborate in classrooms. There are numerous classroom opportunities for web syndication including following multiple student postings, facilitate collaborative writing, share images associated with class projects, and track new topics related to a subject area. The article mentioned numerous programs/technologies that make web syndication available to users.
Following Multiple Student Postings can be achieved by having students create an individual blog where they post different classroom assignments, and the teacher would have access to view all student blogs. Web based readers mentioned in the article include; Firefox, Thunderbird, the next version of Outlook, and bloglines.
Facilitate Classroom Writing can be achieved by having students collaborate on classroom projects/assignments by using Writely which is blog friendly. Writely allows students to jointly create and edit a document from any location. Also mentioned in the article are Web 2.0 to do application TaDa which allows students to make checklists for project planning, and has a RSS feed; and Web 2.0 photo sharing Flickr which allows students to select images and tag the images with an agreed upon descriptor. Flickr provides a RSS feed for tagged descriptors. The applications mentioned are free to users, store information on the web, and have RSS feeds.
Following a topic of interest is easy with syndication. Major newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post offer RSS feeds for every story they cover, and in Bloglines, you can create a RSS feed that provides an updated search for a topic of interest.
Question #1: What does following multiple student postings look like? I am doing this in my EDU 422 class. My professor had all the students in the class create an individual blog, using blogger.com, where we post journal entries and various classroom assignments. My professor created a class blog where students can obtain information relating to the course, as well as view other student blogs.
Question #2: What does the Web 2.0 desk offer? The services of a Web 2.0 desk are live; the newest mail appears in the mail window, the latest Flickr image appears in the photo window, and the current/local weather is listed in the weather banner.
Bull, Glen (April, 2006). Collaboration in a Web 2.0 Environment. ISTE, Retrieved 03, 07, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=April_No_7_&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=2642
Following Multiple Student Postings can be achieved by having students create an individual blog where they post different classroom assignments, and the teacher would have access to view all student blogs. Web based readers mentioned in the article include; Firefox, Thunderbird, the next version of Outlook, and bloglines.
Facilitate Classroom Writing can be achieved by having students collaborate on classroom projects/assignments by using Writely which is blog friendly. Writely allows students to jointly create and edit a document from any location. Also mentioned in the article are Web 2.0 to do application TaDa which allows students to make checklists for project planning, and has a RSS feed; and Web 2.0 photo sharing Flickr which allows students to select images and tag the images with an agreed upon descriptor. Flickr provides a RSS feed for tagged descriptors. The applications mentioned are free to users, store information on the web, and have RSS feeds.
Following a topic of interest is easy with syndication. Major newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post offer RSS feeds for every story they cover, and in Bloglines, you can create a RSS feed that provides an updated search for a topic of interest.
Question #1: What does following multiple student postings look like? I am doing this in my EDU 422 class. My professor had all the students in the class create an individual blog, using blogger.com, where we post journal entries and various classroom assignments. My professor created a class blog where students can obtain information relating to the course, as well as view other student blogs.
Question #2: What does the Web 2.0 desk offer? The services of a Web 2.0 desk are live; the newest mail appears in the mail window, the latest Flickr image appears in the photo window, and the current/local weather is listed in the weather banner.
Bull, Glen (April, 2006). Collaboration in a Web 2.0 Environment. ISTE, Retrieved 03, 07, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=April_No_7_&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=2642
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Social Bookmarking- NETS 1, 3
When creating my tagroll for my blog, I visited and tagged numerous educational sites. These sites had a range of materials that will be useful in my classroom. The content range of my tagroll covers numerous content areas and provides a new medium for teaching and providing information to my students.
The National Archives website is a great way for students to view primary resources in the classroom. They can actually view a real picture of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. My 1st graders were studying National symbols and I went to the National Archives website and was able to show them various American symbols. Being an election year, I enjoyed viewing the political cartoons depicting Presidents and past elections.
Becoming a culturally competent educator is of the utmost importance, especially living in Southern California. We need to be sensitive and embrace the different cultures of our students. From the NEA website, I chose 3 areas that fit into my teaching style:
1. 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. My school is lacking a cultural competence committee. I think the students and their families would greatly benefit from a committee like this. My school's mission statement is also lacking language addressing the cultural needs of students.
2. Build and use a network of "natural helpers" at school and in the community as well as "experts" who have knowledge of the culturally, linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse groups served by your school. We have great families at my school. There are several parents at my school who help relay information to our English Language Learners and their parents. Also, we have a new custodian who speaks Spanish and loves to get involved and help wherever she is needed.
3. 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. We have an ELD coordinator who coordinates the testing schedule for our ELLs. Part of this coordinator's job could be to inform parents of the services available to them, and then follow up with the individual families.
Kids Click is a great website that addresses various reading levels. I teach SDC 1-3 and I have ranging reading and ability levels in my classroom. The ABC Toon Center is a great link that allows students to go to a carnival where they play various learning games. My students are always engaged when they are playing (learning) games on the computer.
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is an amazing site! It has everything an educator could possibly need. Being a Special Education Teacher, I found her page for Special Ed, Counseling & School Psychology most useful. There were numerous links for SPED teachers on topics ranging from sign language to assistive technology to disability resources, etc. I used this site and incorporated numerous clip art for my Classroom Newsletter.
The Theory of Multiple Intelligences states that intelligence cannot be measured by an IQ test, but that there are many different kinds of intelligence. I have studied the 8 multiple intelligences in my credential program, but I was surprised to learn that there are actually nine. There is one more intelligence that Gardner is researching; existential intelligence. This intelligence focuses on the importance of the sense of who we are in the world, and that all of us come to terms with this idea in some way. Gardner is making room for this intelligence among the others because it is such a fundamental aspect of being human, and some people are quite adept at understanding themselves in relation to a sense of the spiritual or something beyond ourselves.
Teaching Tolerance: My lesson is about teaching the importance of having respect for one another and not naming calling. Being a primary grade teacher, I deal with name calling issues quite often. Reading stories (social stories) is a great way for students with special needs to identify appropriate social interactions and to develop social skills. In the story Dreamtime, the animals get in a quarrel and everyone starts name calling. The day and the night get so upset, that the sun hides behind the clouds and the night starts to hurl lightening bolts at the Earth to make the animals stop. So whenever there is lightening and thunder, someone is using unkind words and name calling. I would use this story during my social skills/social story time.
EdChange Equity and Diversity Quiz: I got 14/15 questions wrong on this quiz! I could not believe that the US and UK rank lowest in the UNICEF study that rated the treatment of children in the 23 wealthiest countries. That is a scary thought considering the US is the leader of the free world. Being a new mom, I found the statistic that African American women are 4x more likely to die in childbirth than white women due to the lack of prenatal care. This statistic makes me sad. We need health care available to all children and Americans no matter the color of your skin.
Netiquette is an important skill that teachers need to teach to students. Technology is moving forward and it is important that our students know how to communicate appropriately with/in media and technology. :-D (I'm laughing).
The National Archives website is a great way for students to view primary resources in the classroom. They can actually view a real picture of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. My 1st graders were studying National symbols and I went to the National Archives website and was able to show them various American symbols. Being an election year, I enjoyed viewing the political cartoons depicting Presidents and past elections.
Becoming a culturally competent educator is of the utmost importance, especially living in Southern California. We need to be sensitive and embrace the different cultures of our students. From the NEA website, I chose 3 areas that fit into my teaching style:
1. 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. My school is lacking a cultural competence committee. I think the students and their families would greatly benefit from a committee like this. My school's mission statement is also lacking language addressing the cultural needs of students.
2. Build and use a network of "natural helpers" at school and in the community as well as "experts" who have knowledge of the culturally, linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse groups served by your school. We have great families at my school. There are several parents at my school who help relay information to our English Language Learners and their parents. Also, we have a new custodian who speaks Spanish and loves to get involved and help wherever she is needed.
3. 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. We have an ELD coordinator who coordinates the testing schedule for our ELLs. Part of this coordinator's job could be to inform parents of the services available to them, and then follow up with the individual families.
Kids Click is a great website that addresses various reading levels. I teach SDC 1-3 and I have ranging reading and ability levels in my classroom. The ABC Toon Center is a great link that allows students to go to a carnival where they play various learning games. My students are always engaged when they are playing (learning) games on the computer.
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is an amazing site! It has everything an educator could possibly need. Being a Special Education Teacher, I found her page for Special Ed, Counseling & School Psychology most useful. There were numerous links for SPED teachers on topics ranging from sign language to assistive technology to disability resources, etc. I used this site and incorporated numerous clip art for my Classroom Newsletter.
The Theory of Multiple Intelligences states that intelligence cannot be measured by an IQ test, but that there are many different kinds of intelligence. I have studied the 8 multiple intelligences in my credential program, but I was surprised to learn that there are actually nine. There is one more intelligence that Gardner is researching; existential intelligence. This intelligence focuses on the importance of the sense of who we are in the world, and that all of us come to terms with this idea in some way. Gardner is making room for this intelligence among the others because it is such a fundamental aspect of being human, and some people are quite adept at understanding themselves in relation to a sense of the spiritual or something beyond ourselves.
Teaching Tolerance: My lesson is about teaching the importance of having respect for one another and not naming calling. Being a primary grade teacher, I deal with name calling issues quite often. Reading stories (social stories) is a great way for students with special needs to identify appropriate social interactions and to develop social skills. In the story Dreamtime, the animals get in a quarrel and everyone starts name calling. The day and the night get so upset, that the sun hides behind the clouds and the night starts to hurl lightening bolts at the Earth to make the animals stop. So whenever there is lightening and thunder, someone is using unkind words and name calling. I would use this story during my social skills/social story time.
EdChange Equity and Diversity Quiz: I got 14/15 questions wrong on this quiz! I could not believe that the US and UK rank lowest in the UNICEF study that rated the treatment of children in the 23 wealthiest countries. That is a scary thought considering the US is the leader of the free world. Being a new mom, I found the statistic that African American women are 4x more likely to die in childbirth than white women due to the lack of prenatal care. This statistic makes me sad. We need health care available to all children and Americans no matter the color of your skin.
Netiquette is an important skill that teachers need to teach to students. Technology is moving forward and it is important that our students know how to communicate appropriately with/in media and technology. :-D (I'm laughing).
Classroom Newsletter- NETS 1
I created this newsletter using a word document. It shows my ability to promote and model creative thinking.
Newsletter Final
Newsletter Final
Monday, February 23, 2009
Journal 4: Create, Collaborate, Communicate
Riedel's article was based on a speech given by Howie DiBlasi speaking at FETC 2009 in Orlando, FL. DiBlasi is a retired district CIO and he shared his thoughts about the need for educators to infuse 21st century skills into their curriculum in order to motivate and inspire their students. He shared numerous statistics the most astonishing being that according to a study that ranked 55 industry sectors by their level of IT intensiveness, education ranked 55 ... below coal mining.
When presenting his list of the top 16 things educators need to do in order to prepare their students to be effective leaders of the future, DiBlasi used a range of new/current technologies. His list included: Hug a Geek- ask for help, Create a Social Network- web based platform, Develop Problem-Solving Skills- brainteasers/puzzles daily, Start Collaborating- interacting with curriculum and other students, Use Project-Based Learning- real world scenarios, Develop Information Processing Skills- how to assess the validity of the info, Give Kids a Global Voice- use a platform to collaborate with other students around the world, Discover RSS, Improve Critical Thinking Skills, Teach Our Kids to be Self-Directed- invested in the final product, Create, Collaborate, Communicate- create a school blog, Discover Social Bookmarking, Use Interactive Video Conferencing- IVC and virtual field trips, Integrate Web 2.0 Tools into Every Aspect of Curriculum, Promote 1:1 Computing, Staff Development is Fundamental
Question #1: What is an example of a social network? Ning; you can create a social network about your classroom/school/district and/or /join an existing network that incorporates education. I checked out Ning and there was a great social network called Babble for parents.
Question #2: What can I do to improve critical thinking skills? DiBlasi recommended FantasticContraption.com. where students can participate in online physics projects. I checked out the tutorial and it was pretty cool. My students might even be able to do it.
Riedel, Chris (2009, January). Create, Collaborate, Communicate: Empowering Students With 21st Century Skills. T-H-E JOurnal, Retrieved 02/23/2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23872_1
When presenting his list of the top 16 things educators need to do in order to prepare their students to be effective leaders of the future, DiBlasi used a range of new/current technologies. His list included: Hug a Geek- ask for help, Create a Social Network- web based platform, Develop Problem-Solving Skills- brainteasers/puzzles daily, Start Collaborating- interacting with curriculum and other students, Use Project-Based Learning- real world scenarios, Develop Information Processing Skills- how to assess the validity of the info, Give Kids a Global Voice- use a platform to collaborate with other students around the world, Discover RSS, Improve Critical Thinking Skills, Teach Our Kids to be Self-Directed- invested in the final product, Create, Collaborate, Communicate- create a school blog, Discover Social Bookmarking, Use Interactive Video Conferencing- IVC and virtual field trips, Integrate Web 2.0 Tools into Every Aspect of Curriculum, Promote 1:1 Computing, Staff Development is Fundamental
Question #1: What is an example of a social network? Ning; you can create a social network about your classroom/school/district and/or /join an existing network that incorporates education. I checked out Ning and there was a great social network called Babble for parents.
Question #2: What can I do to improve critical thinking skills? DiBlasi recommended FantasticContraption.com. where students can participate in online physics projects. I checked out the tutorial and it was pretty cool. My students might even be able to do it.
Riedel, Chris (2009, January). Create, Collaborate, Communicate: Empowering Students With 21st Century Skills. T-H-E JOurnal, Retrieved 02/23/2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23872_1
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Journal 3: Keep Them Chatting
This article discussed the growing trend of collaborative online classes for K-12 students. While I have a hard time imagining kindergarten students participating in an online discussion, I think that online discussion boards and collaborative classrooms are a reality in the high school and middle school settings. The article detailed strategies about how to keep the discussions flowing and student interest high in the topics and assignments posted, in order to have maximum student learning and student gains.
The first step that one needs to take to create meaningful discussions online is to outline instructional objectives and outcomes for learners’. Next, one needs to force and pose questions that force the learners to interact and learn course content by doing research and using collaboration. These are the five strategies that were discussed in the article: high level open-ended questions; the inquiry method; the discrepant event inquiry method; personal examples; and using illogical comparisons.
Question #1: What are wikis? I know we are supposed to answer our own questions, but I don’t know what wikis are. I know what Wiki Sticks are. I use them in my classroom with students who have fine motor difficulties. I outline lines and have the students write between them, and I have students make shapes with the Wiki Sticks.
Question #2: What would a discussion board using illogical comparisons look like? The teacher would post a question comparing the life of Richard Henry Dana to ELMO. How are they similar? How are they different? Rewrite Two Years Before the Mast using ELMO as the main character and have it be set in modern times. What would happen?
Cole, Jennie (February 2009). Keep Them Chatting. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36, Retrieved 02/12/09, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200902/
The first step that one needs to take to create meaningful discussions online is to outline instructional objectives and outcomes for learners’. Next, one needs to force and pose questions that force the learners to interact and learn course content by doing research and using collaboration. These are the five strategies that were discussed in the article: high level open-ended questions; the inquiry method; the discrepant event inquiry method; personal examples; and using illogical comparisons.
Question #1: What are wikis? I know we are supposed to answer our own questions, but I don’t know what wikis are. I know what Wiki Sticks are. I use them in my classroom with students who have fine motor difficulties. I outline lines and have the students write between them, and I have students make shapes with the Wiki Sticks.
Question #2: What would a discussion board using illogical comparisons look like? The teacher would post a question comparing the life of Richard Henry Dana to ELMO. How are they similar? How are they different? Rewrite Two Years Before the Mast using ELMO as the main character and have it be set in modern times. What would happen?
Cole, Jennie (February 2009). Keep Them Chatting. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36, Retrieved 02/12/09, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200902/
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Journal 2: Museums in the Classroom
What a great teaching tool and a way for schools to save money on field trips. In this economy, teachers are going to need to get creative in bringing hands on experiences and extending learning enrichment activities to their students. Don’t get me wrong, I love field trips. It is such a great opportunity for kids to have real life experiences and connect to what they learned in the classroom. With field trips, learning comes alive and is internalized. My students remember all the field trips we have taken together over the last three years.
Resource Central-Museum Resources http://www.resourcehelp.com/qsermuseum.htm is a comprehensive search engine that offers links to hundreds of museums around the US and the world. I checked out the Exploratorium: The museum of science, art, and human perception. It was a great (online) museum. They had several tabs linking to live video about various topics (i.e. Global Climate Change, Science of Music, Hubble, etc.). What was really cool and a great resource for home fun activities was the link to After School Activities. There are 8 activities on the side of the screen with a short video about each activity. The activity then has 3 separate pages; Intro, Step by Step Demonstration and What’s Going On. I showed this link to my 6 year old nephew and he loves it! He wanted me to run out and get all the materials needed to make the Jitterbug.
No matter what grade you teach, there is a museum with an exhibit that will enrich your unit/lesson.
Question #1: I can’t display the links to the museums? You need to deactivate your pop up blocker.
Question #2: Are the museums featured on this site only in the US? No, there are links to museums around the world; you can search by country. Check out the link to the Vatican Museums. You can view the online collection, zoom in for details on the artwork, paintings, and frescoes, and take a virtual tour of the museum. Having been to the Vatican Museums while in Rome, I wanted to see if this idea of an online museum experience lived up to the real thing. While nothing compares to viewing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in person (seeing it, the smells of the art), showing your students who probably will never see it live it is a good option.
Reissman, Rose (2009). Museums in the Classroom. Learning and Leading in Technology, 38, Retrieved February 7, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200902/
Resource Central-Museum Resources http://www.resourcehelp.com/qsermuseum.htm is a comprehensive search engine that offers links to hundreds of museums around the US and the world. I checked out the Exploratorium: The museum of science, art, and human perception. It was a great (online) museum. They had several tabs linking to live video about various topics (i.e. Global Climate Change, Science of Music, Hubble, etc.). What was really cool and a great resource for home fun activities was the link to After School Activities. There are 8 activities on the side of the screen with a short video about each activity. The activity then has 3 separate pages; Intro, Step by Step Demonstration and What’s Going On. I showed this link to my 6 year old nephew and he loves it! He wanted me to run out and get all the materials needed to make the Jitterbug.
No matter what grade you teach, there is a museum with an exhibit that will enrich your unit/lesson.
Question #1: I can’t display the links to the museums? You need to deactivate your pop up blocker.
Question #2: Are the museums featured on this site only in the US? No, there are links to museums around the world; you can search by country. Check out the link to the Vatican Museums. You can view the online collection, zoom in for details on the artwork, paintings, and frescoes, and take a virtual tour of the museum. Having been to the Vatican Museums while in Rome, I wanted to see if this idea of an online museum experience lived up to the real thing. While nothing compares to viewing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in person (seeing it, the smells of the art), showing your students who probably will never see it live it is a good option.
Reissman, Rose (2009). Museums in the Classroom. Learning and Leading in Technology, 38, Retrieved February 7, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200902/
Journal 1: Passport to Digital Citizenship
Ribbel, Mike (December 2008-January 2009). Passport to Digital Citizenship. Learning and Leading with Technology, 36, Retrieved February 7, 2009, from www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/EducatorResources/YourLearningJourney/DigitalCitizenship/36414r.pdf
This article discussed the importance of teaching our students how to be responsible digital citizens. It reviewed the refreshed NETS standard focusing on social, ethical, legal, and human issues to digital citizenship. What is digital citizenship? Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. There are 9 elements of Digital Citizenship: Digital Access, Digital Commerce, Digital Communication, Digital Literacy, Digital Etiquette, Digital Law, Digital Rights ands Responsibilities, Digital Health and Wellness, and Digital Security. It is our job as teachers to facilitate this learning of digital citizenship not only in the classroom, but to assist our students in becoming responsible digital citizens at home and in society.
In order to address these nine elements, we need a process of implementation that we can use daily with our students. The four stage cycle of technology integration was created to help users internalize the use of technology. It is a cycle that is continuous because in education we are constantly learning. The first stage is Awareness-engaging students to become technologically literate, understanding what is appropriate and in-appropriate technology behavior; stage two Guided Practice-provide students with an opportunity to practice appropriate behavior under their teacher’s guidance, students should not be afraid to explore; stage three Modeling and Demonstration-teachers need to model appropriate technology behavior for school, home and society, students need to see teachers acting appropriately; stage four Feedback and Analysis-students and teachers discuss their use of technology and offer constructive criticism.
This article was very true. We are moving into a digital era where most people feel naked if they forget their blackberry or iphone for a day. Being that my husband can work from home has been both a blessing and a curse, well annoying at the least. On one hand, when I gave birth to our daughter 6 weeks early and I was in the hospital for over a week, it was nice that he was so digitally connected. He could work from my hospital bed, literally, and be home with me and our daughter during the weeks that followed. On the other hand, when we are having a family day or a relaxing weekend, it is really annoying when he is constantly receiving emails from work and calls from clients. Technology can be a catch-22.
Question #1: Should students and teachers be the only ones exposed to digital citizenship? No, parents and community members should all have access to resources about digital citizenship. There needs to be a home school connection with technology. To often there is a disconnect between what is happening in schools vs. what can be done at home.
Question #2: How can we talk about digital citizenship to the parents? There needs to be a common language in order to discuss digital citizenship. There needs to be clear expectations drawn out for both parents and students stating what students are to learn, know and follow.
This article discussed the importance of teaching our students how to be responsible digital citizens. It reviewed the refreshed NETS standard focusing on social, ethical, legal, and human issues to digital citizenship. What is digital citizenship? Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. There are 9 elements of Digital Citizenship: Digital Access, Digital Commerce, Digital Communication, Digital Literacy, Digital Etiquette, Digital Law, Digital Rights ands Responsibilities, Digital Health and Wellness, and Digital Security. It is our job as teachers to facilitate this learning of digital citizenship not only in the classroom, but to assist our students in becoming responsible digital citizens at home and in society.
In order to address these nine elements, we need a process of implementation that we can use daily with our students. The four stage cycle of technology integration was created to help users internalize the use of technology. It is a cycle that is continuous because in education we are constantly learning. The first stage is Awareness-engaging students to become technologically literate, understanding what is appropriate and in-appropriate technology behavior; stage two Guided Practice-provide students with an opportunity to practice appropriate behavior under their teacher’s guidance, students should not be afraid to explore; stage three Modeling and Demonstration-teachers need to model appropriate technology behavior for school, home and society, students need to see teachers acting appropriately; stage four Feedback and Analysis-students and teachers discuss their use of technology and offer constructive criticism.
This article was very true. We are moving into a digital era where most people feel naked if they forget their blackberry or iphone for a day. Being that my husband can work from home has been both a blessing and a curse, well annoying at the least. On one hand, when I gave birth to our daughter 6 weeks early and I was in the hospital for over a week, it was nice that he was so digitally connected. He could work from my hospital bed, literally, and be home with me and our daughter during the weeks that followed. On the other hand, when we are having a family day or a relaxing weekend, it is really annoying when he is constantly receiving emails from work and calls from clients. Technology can be a catch-22.
Question #1: Should students and teachers be the only ones exposed to digital citizenship? No, parents and community members should all have access to resources about digital citizenship. There needs to be a home school connection with technology. To often there is a disconnect between what is happening in schools vs. what can be done at home.
Question #2: How can we talk about digital citizenship to the parents? There needs to be a common language in order to discuss digital citizenship. There needs to be clear expectations drawn out for both parents and students stating what students are to learn, know and follow.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Intro Letter About Me...Eryn Connors
Hi, my name is Eryn Connors. I enjoy doing yoga, walking my dog in the harbor or on the beach at North Beach, snorkeling/scuba diving and travelling. My husband and I have been married for 3 ½ years and my baby girl just turned 1. I can’t believe she is 1 already; the time really flies! I was born and raised in Orange County. I grew up in Dana Point and now live in San Juan Capistrano. I am a product of the Capistrano Unified School District; I went to Del Obispo Elementary, Marco Foster Middle School and graduated from Dana Hills High School where I received a soccer scholarship to Cal Poly SLO (Go Mustangs)! I graduated from Cal Poly with my BA in Speech Communication. After taking some time off to travel (I went to Europe and did the whole back-packing/Eurorail thing for 2 months) I decided to become a teacher. I took an aide position in a Structured Autism class and loved it! I enrolled in the CSUSM intern/concurrent program and have been teaching for 7 years in Capistrano Unified. I teach SDC 1-3. I have great kids who teach me something new everyday, and I feel very fortunate to have a supportive principal and wonderful colleagues who welcome me and my kids with open arms into their classrooms.
I feel pretty comfortable with technology, as long as I have someone walking me through new applications and/or programs. I’m not a totally techie, but I do use technology on a daily basis. For instance, at school, we have ABI attendance (online attendance), I use GENESEA for IEPs (online IEPS), I have work and home email accounts where I like to send pictures of my daughter to friends/family, and I know how to download songs from itunes to my iphone and ipod (maybe some would say I'm technologically challenged if this is all I can do. You be the judge). I’ve done Power Point presentations, as well as made a slide show on iphoto for Open House. I have not graduated to making an imovie, yet. I own and use both Macs and PC. At school, I primarily use a Mac, but when doing IEPs GENESEA runs better on a PC. I use the old Microsoft Office, 2003.
Preparing thoughtful educators and advancing professional practices is an important piece of the CSUSM Mission Statement. Having been a special educator for several years now and I see the importance of these words. I am the youngest teacher on my staff. I work with very experienced and amazing teachers, but it is difficult (at times) to get my students in the mainstream, into the general education classrooms. CSUSM teaches, as a best practice, the importance of inclusive education at all levels. Special Education is growing and changing and all teachers need to know how to reach all learners.
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