Journal 10: “Collaboration Makes the Ed Teach World Go Round” (NETS 5)

Knezek, G. (2011). Collaboration makes the ed tech world go round. Learning and Leading, 38(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-march-april-2011.aspx

The authors of this article discuss the collaboration that goes on among members of the international ed tech community. The collaboration happens in three main areas, which are standards, conferences and research. The authors state that it is common these days for more developed countries to adopt technological standards for educators. In the United States there are the National Education Technology Standards for Teachers. These are standards that every teacher must exemplify in their classrooms. Conferences play a major role in bringing leaders in technology for education from around the world to share their ideas, research and practices in the field. People who attend these conferences come from around the globe and are sometimes put into “working groups” depending on their level of education to focus in on the needs of their specific grade levels. The article also discusses the impact of collaborative research. Important research has been done to determine the level of impact technology has had on today’s classrooms and the importance of continued support for pushing technology in education. The collaborative research presented gives valuable information about every aspect of technology use in education including teacher competence, gender bias, and statistics of technology access for schools. The article discusses the importance of collaboration and how it is a driving force in technology for education today.

           

Question 1: What specifically has the collaborative research shown?

            The article states that research has shown teacher competence and confidence in technology use is growing, which is directly related to the use and support of IT programs provided by school districts. Research has also shown that attitudes and knowledge of technology among students are gender related, especially at the postprimary level. The article states another aspect of research shows a rapid increase in the percentage of schools around the world with computer access. This collaborative research can give statistics of not only schools in the United States, but also schools around the world who are incorporating technology into the classroom.

Question 2: What does the article mean by collaborative?

           

            The article states that when it comes to technology in education it is highly more beneficial for researchers and leaders to come together and share ideas on ways in which technology can be used and incorporated. The massive spread of technology in education is made possible, not only by one person, but by thousands of people coming together and promoting the benefits and positive aspects of using technology in the classroom. Technology has made it convenient and quick to collaborate over the Internet, but by coming together at these conferences for technology in education, people can really get excited about their cause. Without collaboration, technology would not be as effective in education today.

Journal 9: "Teaching Green" (NETS 4)

Waters, J. (2011). Teaching green. The Journal, 38(4), Retrieved from http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/1105/ journal_201104/#/14

The journal article written by John Waters that was published in The Journal this month was regarding ways in which teachers can incorporate learning about the environment into the classroom. Waters presented many online websites that gave information, activities, and games students and teachers would be able to use to enhance their environmental education. For each website he gave a good overview of what they site had to offer and the grade level it would be best suitable for. The site I liked the most is a website I have personally experienced myself, which is myfootprint.org. This website engages user in a quiz called The Ecological Foot Print Quiz. It asks a series of questions about one’s life and determines how many “earths” would be needed to sustain that one person’s consumption patterns and absorb their waste each year. It measures the users housing, carbon, and goods and services to determine the user’s ecological footprint. This website would be too advance for lower grade students, but is perfect for students in high school. The quiz questions make you examine aspects of your daily life that you have never thought about before and the outcome of the quiz can make a big impact. Another website that Waters recommends is a site called “A Walk in the Woods”. This site is geared toward younger students who live in urban areas and have little access to the natural world. It gives them the experience of the forest through a virtual world. The site not only provides documentation of what the students have seen on their virtual trip, but it provides links to additional websites were they can learn further information. This website also gives teachers resources to use enhance their lessons plans when using the site.

Question 1: How would a teacher be able to use these websites if they did not have access to computers during class time?

            Some of the websites provided were not necessarily for students’ interaction, but for the teachers to have access to information and resources regarding environmental education so they would be able to successfully incorporate it into their daily lesson plans. One of the websites mentioned in the article was for students and had a magazine like set up. A teacher could use this site to either create a classroom environmental magazine or have the students make their own magazine and the teacher can print off pages from the website for ideas and environmental information. All of the websites can be beneficial to a classroom teacher even if computers are not readily available.

Question 2: How can a math teacher incorporate environmental information into the lesson plan?

            This article discusses specific resources teachers can use for ideas on how to incorporate environmental learning into their everyday lectures. For example, a math teacher, when teaching students about dimensions can use a recycle bin for the students to measure and have them find out how many bottle it would be able to hold. The teacher can out an emphasis on the importance of recycling, while teaching the students about math at the same time. It also has the students apply math in a real world type of situation. This article gives a wide variety of ideas, like the one just mentioned, on how to tie in environmental learning in the everyday classroom.  

Journal 8: "Point/Counterpoint: Should Schools Be Held Responsible for Cyberbullying?" (NETS 4)

Bogacz , R., & Gordillo, M. (2011). Point/counterpoint: should schools be held responsible for cyberbullying?. Learning and Leading, 38(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-march-april-2011.aspx

This article takes a look at who is to hold the responsibility and correct cyberbullying. The author first examines how the school holds the responsibility. The argument here is that even though cyberbullying may take place outside of the school, it still effects the school environment. Therefore, the schools need to manage the problem. Teachers need to be educated on what cyberbulling is and the consequences it cab have. They also need to not turn a blind eye on the situation and brush it off as something teens "just go through". When a student brings it to the teacher's attention that this is going on, the teacher needs to be able to report the situation and take it seriously. The administrators of schools need to establish and have in place serious consequences for students who violate the rules and stick firm to following through. Students of schools who are victims of cyberbullying and those who are witnesses need to understand the seriousness of the matter and not be afraid to report the situation to teachers or administrators.
                 On the other hand, the article examines the parental responsibility. The argument here is that education comes from the family first. Schools can only do so much to tackle the issue of cyberbulling, but the parents are who have the main control. Parents should have complete transparency when it comes to their child's Internet and phone usage. Parents have the ability to monitor their child completely on the Internet. If this issue is taken seriously at home, parents have control to put a stop to it at the source.
Overall, this article brings up a great point that it is simply not one individual or institution that is responsible to put a stop to cyberbullying, but it is a collaborative effort by students, teachers, administrators and parents that will decrease the instances of cyberbulling and start a movement towards tolerance and respect amongst today's youth.

Question 1: Is it possible cyberbulling can take place on school grounds and if so how can this be prevented?

Yes. With technology increasing in schools today, more and more students have access to computers on campus. With this access comes the possibility of cyberbulling. To prevent cyberbulling from happening on school grounds, students need to be properly monitored during their time spent on the computer. Schools can also restrict the Internet access students have by blocking certain sites.

Question 2: Does the article discuss the deeper reasons for why children choose to take part in cyberbulling and how that can be addressed?

Yes. The article discusses that one issue that causes cyberbullying to happen is a lack of love. The dynamics of families in our society is changing, and not necessarily for the better. Many children come from broken homes or parents who both work which causes lack of attention they need. Lack of love and attention from the parents can be a deeper reason children decide to take part in cyberbullying. To prevent this from happening parents can be educated of the importance of giving there child love and support and schools can be there for support.

Journal 7: My Personal Learning Network (NETS 5)

 My Personal Learning Network (PLN) is a way in which I am able to gather information using Internet networking sites to communicate with others, gain information, and collaborate with teachers around the world. My PLN currently consists of a Twitter account, Diigo book marking, my blog, and Classroom 2.0, a digital discussion forum for educators.

            On my Twitter account I follow fellow classmates to keep up to date assignments and to be able to ask any questions if need be. I also follow the professor, who post information and links related to class and the field of education and technology. Another great thing about Twitter is you can use it to participate in ongoing chats to collaborate with others in real time. I participated in the new teachers chat on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 5PM. When the discussion first began a new teacher had a question about setting up a classroom library. Many people had comments about how to get books in a way that is cost effective, what kind of books they collect, organization systems, systems to check out the books, and one person suggested assigning a student to be the class librarian for the week. This question really kicked off the chat and many people where eager to share their ideas. During the chat, I was merely an observer. It was a little hard to follow at times and some people would take on conversations to just one another instead of the chat as a whole, but I do think it could be a useful tool to get information and ideas. In the future, as a start out teaching as a new teacher, I think it would be fun to share new things I learn and collaborate with other new teachers.

            Diigo is a site that can be used for book marking websites. When you had a site to Diigo you can “tag” them with key words, which becomes your tag roll. I choose to "tag" a few sites for my PLN. I tagged a few blogs of educators who post teaching tips and techniques. I also tagged a website called "Teachers Teaching Teachers" which hosts a weekly webcast to provide development within the profession, and implemnets teachers' knowledge. You can also follow people on this site to see what others are finding on the Internet. On Diigo, I’m following a few different educators. I decided to follow John Evans and John Faig because I find the information they have to be resourceful and interesting. I’m also following a high school teacher, Casey Mayfield because not only is she an educator, but she has a passion for technology as well and has tagged some good information in that regard. I follow Deven Black because he is a middle school teacher, which is the level I’m interested in teaching and I follow Isabelle Jones because she is a teacher from England and I think it would be cool to see what information and links she provides on her tag roll.

            I decided to become a member of Classroom 2.0 because I like the way their website is put together. It is easy to access and find interesting and fun information. I came across a blog post while exploring the site. A former teacher, who had become a Technology Integration Specialist, reflects on her discovery of her own PLN and how it has opened the doors for her to learn and have access to new and innovative information. 

Journal 6: “Grow Your Personal Learning Network” (NETS 5)

Warlick, D. (2009). Grow your personal learning network. Learning and Leading, 36(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-march-april-2009.aspx

Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) are changing the way we learn about the world. This article discusses the new ways in which we, as educators, are learning information today. In the past, we would rely on our families, colleagues, newspapers, books, television, and radio to seek and gather our information. In today’s technologically advanced society, we can use the internet to break down the geographical barriers of finding information using our PLNs. The author discuss the three main types of PLNs. The first type is instant connections we make over the Internet using tools such as Skype. This type of connection allows us to communicate with one another during real time. The second type of connection would be made in “nearly now” time. This means the communication we make is not necessarily made in real time but very close to real time using tools such as Wiki, Google Docs, or group discussion boards. This type of PLN, the author notes, allows people to collaborate together regardless of their schedule, or geographical time difference. The third type of PLN the author mentions is not a PLN that connects us to one another, but one that connects us to information using tools such as Diigo (a website bookmarking tool). Having this type of PLN allows the users to gather specific information and have that information, and all new information relating to the topic, delivered directly to them as oppose to the user having to search for the new information themselves. This article states that creating a PLN is important as an educator to foster our desire for lifelong learning.

Question 1: How can teachers use their PLNs to relate to their students directly?

                Having a PLN as an educator allows you to gather information that you can use in the classroom. For example, you can use your PLN to get ideas for lesson plans to use, you can gather information on classroom management techniques or get ideas on classroom activities. There is much information you can access using your PLN that will enhance a student’s learning experience. Also, by creating a PLN as an educator you are utilizing Internet tools and social networking sites in a way that fosters education and learning. By experiencing this, you are modeling for your student’s ways in which they can take learning into their own hands.

Question 2: Are there any negatives aspects to creating a PLN?

                Because we are responsible for creating our own PLNs, it is common for us to gather information on a limited perspective. We will most likely look up information that aligns with our own opinions and beliefs, and communicate and make connections with those who think in the same way we do. It is important that we examine perspectives and communicate with those who may have a different way of viewing things because that is how we become more knowledgeable. As a learner, it is important to not shy away from those who may have a different perspective than our own.  

Inspiration NETS-T

NETS 2

This is a diagram I created to represent the five NETS-T standards. For each standard, I connected two corresponding artifacts I have created throughout this semester.