Subject Survey

Journal 4 - It's Time to Trust Teachers with the Internet (NETS-T I, II, III, IV, V)

Schaffhauser, D. (2010, December 01). It's Time to Trust Teachers with the Internet: A Conversation with Meg Oriston. 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.

Summary: Schaffhauser, a writer for THE Journal, discusses how 21st teachers are asked to teach using current teaching methods but are denied many web-based tools to accomplish their goals.  It is a this point that Schaffhauser begins her interview with Meg Oriston, a former curriculum coach, school board member, conference presenter, professional specialist, and grant facilitator.  Oriston currently consults schools on how to best incorporate technology into the 21st century classroom.  During the interview Oriston reflects on the strict Internet policies of many schools, polices that Oriston believes go to far.  Oriston states that while schools block large amounts of sites, students other Internet sources such as cellphones and home computers remain unblocked.  In an age were cyber-bulling is becoming a relevant issue technology in the classroom allows teachers to address the issue.  21st century teachers, Oriston states, must not only teach the basic curriculum but should become responsible for teaching 21st century students Internet protocol and safety.  However the polices must first change before teachers give up on using the tools that are so readily available.

Question 1: Should social-networking sites be unblocked in schools, especially middle and high schools?  Why or why not? 

Answer 1: I believe social-networking sites should be unblocked in schools.  When the current population of the United States think of social-networking the idea of Myspace and Facebook immediately come to mind.  While both have the potential to be monumental time-wasters, they and many other sites can prove beneficial to a student's education.  Further when social-networking can be addressed in a classroom setting a responsible member of society, in this case a teacher, can address the protocol, a conversation a student may never hear if social-networking was unavailable in classrooms. 

 

Question 2: Should all sites be unblocked?

Answer 2: Absolutely not.  There are numerous sites on the Internet that should never be accessible on school grounds.  However those sites are either illegal for students to view or prove entirely detrimental to the learning process.  However far too many sites are blocked that do not fall under either one of those categories and can in fact be helpful to the student's learning.  Many times I have found myself in my mother's classroom attempting to prepare a lesson but unable to print out a crossword puzzle because the word "game" was blocked.  How can a teacher move forward in the 21st century when they are not provided with the tools they need?

Journal 3 - 100 Things That Make Me Happy (NETS-T II)

100 Things That Make Me Happy

Raul Kohl

1. My Parents
2. My Pets
3. My Friends
4. Zeta Beta Tau
5. Traveling
6. Taking Pictures
7. Flying
8. Driving
9. New York City
10. London
11. Rome
12. Coming Home
13. Reminiscing on Trips
14. Football
15. Baseball
16. Basketball
17. Sporting Events
18. The World Cup
19. The Super Bowl
20. The World Series
21. FC Barcelona
22. Denver Broncos
23. San Diego Padres
24. Reading
25. Studying World War II
26. Studying Historical Figures
27. Inspirational Quotes
28. Leaning Something New
29. Being Proactive
30. A's
31. Being on the Dean's List
32. Oreos
33. Jelly Sandwiches
34. Money Pit
35. Panda Express
36. Costco Pizza
37. Strawberries
38. Mangos
39. Cherries
40. Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
41. Live Theater
42. Movie Theater
43. Movie Marathons
44. Museums
45. Acting
46. Singing
47. Music
48. Live Concerts
49. Music Videos
50. Waling with No Place to Go
51. Swimming
52. Laughing
53. Camping
54. Smores
55. A's
56. Swimming
57. Rollercosters
58. Sleeping In
59. Flannel Sheets
60. Sitting in the Sun
61. Falling Asleep while Watching Television
62. Yawning
63. Scrubs
64. Family Guy
65. South Park
66. The Daily Show
67. The Colbert Report
68. Jeopardy
69. Criminal Minds
70. Old Cartoons
71. Geico Commercials
72. Hearing a New Song
73. Doing Something New
74. Jeans
75. Wearing a Dress Shirt and Tie
76. Video Games
77. Board Games
78. Deposting a Check
79. Staying Up Late Laughing With Friends
80. Inside Jokes
81. Facebook
82. Youtube
83. Listsofbest.com
84. Sporcle.com
85. Cruse and Grand in Escondido
86. Staying Inside When It Rains
87. Text Messages 
88. Letters in the Mail
89. My Computer
90. My Ipod
91. Technology
92. Christmas
93. Halloween
94. Fourth of July
95. Being Alone
96. Posters
97. Showers
98. Teaching
99. Smiles
100. Complicated Handshakes

Journal 2 - Join the Flock & Enhance Your Twitter Experience (NETS-T I, III, V)

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


Ferguson, Hadley. (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:  Due to the current stigma associated with Twitter many individuals involved in the educational field shy away from it, seeing it as merely a way to follow celebrities and athletes.  In their articles Miller and Ferguson address the unseen potential uses of Twitter for educators.  The primary focus of both articles is the importance of building a PLN, or Personal Learning Network.  Building a PLN is the primary goal of Twitter and is one major reason why Twitter can be entirely beneficial to educators.  A PLN can be built by following the steps Ferguson mentions in her article "Join the Flock!"


The first step to building a successful PLN is to merely undergo the process of joining Twitter.  Twitter is an excellent tool because of how little effort is necessary to create and maintain an account.  After developing an account the next step is to follow people who have similar interests.  For example, Ferguson states she follows educators, history teachers, and middle school teachers because she teaches history in middle school.  Instead of going through the process of searching endless pages for people to follow Ferguson suggests looking at a well established member who has very similar interests as oneself.  From there simply following the people they follow will give a user vast resources without sifting through garbage.    The next step to creating a successful PLN is to learn from those one follows.  If a tweet is interesting enough simply retweeting it will allow other users to see your interests and follow you.  Once one has gathered a large enough following one can begin posting their own thoughts that followers may wish to retweet, continuously growing an users PLN.


Both Ferguson and Miller advise educators to use Twitter as a tool to expand one's knowledge of the field.  Instead of attending massive conventions Twitter allows a user to stay at home and network without spending a penny.  In this way Twitter is an exceptional tool for teachers.


Question 1: Both articles state that Twitter is an excellent way for teachers to find teaching resources.  How can a student utilize Twitter?


Answer 1: In the same way Ferguson and Miller advise teachers to use Twitter I believe students can use the tool.  A student can also create a PLN to discover excellent resources to assist with homework and create interesting projects that many other students may not know about.


Question 2: How can a high school history teacher utilize Twitter?


Answer 2: In the same way Ferguson uses Twitter to find interesting resources for a middle school history teacher a high school history teacher can use Twitter.  By creating a PLN that includes multiple high school history teachers one can enjoy vast resources that give an educator ideas on presenting history using technology, videos for certain topics and projects for students.

Journal 1 - Do Web 2.0 Right (NETS-T I, II & IV)

Light, Daniel. (2011). Do Web 2.0 Right. Learning and Leading, 38(5), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Feature_Article_Do_Web_2_0_Right.aspx

Summary:  In his article "Do Web 2.0 Right," Daniel Light, working with colleague Deborah Polin, investigated and analyzed a wide variety of American educators utilizing Web 2.0 tools in their classroom.  In doing so Light and Polin determined which uses of Web 2.0 tools benefited student learning and which uses did not generate the desired student participation.

Light and Polin designed their article to address the three major points that make the use of a Web 2.0 tool beneficial to the classroom.  The first of these points is to institute daily practice of the tool.  According to Light and Polin Web 2.0 tools are not as effective or beneficial if only used sparingly.  Instead they suggest the tools should be utilized daily, such as creating blogs to serve as daily journals.  The second major point to use Web 2.0 tools effectively is to make the audience matter.  Using blogs as daily journals, Light and Polin suggest, is an exceptional idea.  However these blogs should be kept private in order to promote true and honest responses from self-conscious students.  The final point that makes a Web 2.0 tool beneficial to the classroom is one that promotes appropriate behavior, a point that has the potential to carry over into a student's personal life.

Question 1: How do I as an educator make Web 2.0 tools, particularly blogs, appealing to high school level students?

Answer 1: When I was in high school I can recall students having a wide variety of personalities.  A Web 2.0 tool that is highly customizable has the potential to make every student enjoy using that tool.  For example a blog that allows a custom picture for the background, custom colored text, and the option for media allows any student to make their page his or her own.  By empowering a student to make something of their own a teacher gives that student a sense of ownership and that student wants to see their project succeed.

Question 2: How can students who come from low-income families utilize Web 2.0 tools when their families do not have the resources?

Answer 2: Throughout my lifetime I have had numerous friends who come from nearly ever financial background.  Using a technological tool in the classroom has the potential to embarrass a student who does not have full access to technology in his or her home.  However the amazing thing about technology is its capability to exist anywhere.  A student can visit a local library or the school's computer lab to visit the Web 2.0 tools I will utilize in my classroom. Further as computers and the Internet become less expensive the amount of families without both resources will continue to plummet allowing even more integration of Web 2.0 into the classroom.