Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Journal 4



Ferguson, H. (2010, June/July). Join the flock. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), 12-16. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/DigitalEdition/digital-edition-june-july-2012.aspx

Summary: Learning and Leading with Technology creates awareness about the benefits of using Twitter in the educational sector. The article mainly talks about developing a Professional Learning Network (PLN), and the reasons that using a PLN can make you a more efficient educator because you can rely on others for resources and do not have to do all the research on your own. The article talks about using Twitter to find people to follow, and then creating a presence in your PLN. You can remain invisible for as long as you like, but creating your PLN takes time and effort that will be worth it in the long run.

Q1: How would one begin their journey in creating a PLN?

A1: The article lists a few contacts in the Twitterverse that have thousands of followers that use authentic and increasingly important research in the educational sector. After you create your twitter, start following these people and searing hashtags that you find interesting. You can simply read these peoples posts for as long as you want, but you must begin retweeting and commenting in order to make yourself known in your PLN. By doing this, you will get follows back, and can build from there.

McClintock, S. (2010, June/July). Enhance your twitter experience. Learning and Leading with Technology37(8), 15-16. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/DigitalEdition/digital-edition-june-july-2012.aspx

Summary: Learning and Leading with Technology's June/July 2010 Issue addresses how to enhance your twitter experience by using even more free tools on the web. Shannon McClintock suggests that you also subscribe to a website such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. These tools can help you organize your followers and people in your PLN into lists that will help you channel the abundance of information that is constantly uploading onto your feed. 

Q1: What types of columns or lists would I want to create that would help me to stay organized on Twitter?

A1: It would obviously depend on the people you follow, but assuming that you are using Twitter for mostly educational purposes, but also personal interest or hobbies. I would start by creating a list for just your hobbies and personal interest. That way you know you are probably not getting any educational information from these Twitter friends. I would also create one for Education Technology, one for New Teachers, and maybe one for policies, and laws, and news in the educational sector. Such as new budget cuts, or additions to NETS-T. 





Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Journal 3



Fulton, K. (2012, June/July). Upside down and inside out: Flip your classroom to improve student learning.Learning and Leading with Technology, 38(8), 12-14. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/DigitalEdition/digital-edition-june-july-2012.aspx


Summary: Learning and Leading with Technology features an interesting article titled Upside Down and Inside Out ,which addresses how to "flip" a classroom. At first, when I read the title, I did not know what to think, nor had I ever heard of it being done. After reading the article by Kathleen Fulton, I now understand that it means that the students study up on the material/lessons at home and then work on the "homework" or actual assignments in class with their peers and teacher. By sharing ideas, being able to zone out with headphones, and use the technology of their choice to watch videos and complete the homework, the students stay engaged and are sure to do their homework as long as they are in class. 


Q1: In your opinion, what are the drawbacks of flipping a classroom?


A1: A few drawbacks I can think of revolve around my personal experience in secondary school. When I remember back, I was always the girl that did my homework in the classes I was good in (Statistics, Math, English), but in History and Spanish, I had to copy my peers' homework. It wasn't because I didn't try or put in the effort, it was because I really did not know the answers. My peers copied off of my homework in my classes, too. A lot of times I felt lost and confused but just really wanted to get the credit for the assignment. So, when I heard that students could work together on the homework, it made me think that the "smart" kids would be doing all the work, while the slacker got the same amount of credit. Also, I did not like that the teacher would seem to be just monitoring the classroom, rather than actually teaching. I feel like that time in classroom is so that the teacher can teach, not watch the students teach themselves. If you have an active teacher, this probably wouldn't happen, but it seems a lot of teachers are lazy and uninventive. 
I also feel like this technique could only work in advanced classes, or with students who really are motivated to learn. The others would get left behind and able to copy off of their neighbor.


Q2: What might be the positive effects of this technique? Would you use it in your classroom?


A2: I liked that the teacher would give pop quizzes with clickers as a way to test that the students are actually reading up on the lesson at home. I like that using a clicker, the teacher could know who was slacking, or which questions the students are having trouble with. 
In addition, I liked that the students could watch video lectures at home, with the ability to pause, rewind..etc. I think the use of technology is a great and exciting idea. Again, I do feel like this would be a problem in an inner city school where you have many homes without computers. 


Conclusion: In short, I am a little skeptical of this process of flipping a classroom. I think that each class, each year, is different. It would probably work for some, and fail miserably for others. I think, as an educator its important to treat each class independently and understand that they will respond to different methods individually as well. 







Journal 2



School 2.0 Reflection Tool




NETS-T 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning: Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.


After taking the Reflection test, I realized all the different aspects of teaching that we are constantly trying to fulfill. Of course I know that I want to be technologically savvy so that I can keep up with my students and also to keep the classroom fun, exciting and up to date. But, this tool was great because it had tons of resources to help actualize my desires of integrating technology into the classroom. I read a couple of the resources, but my favorite was one called Picasa. Picasa is a website where students can use their Smartphones to take pictures and the whole class can be in an album uploading pictures from field trips. When I think back to my field trips for biology (at a regional park), or science (museum of modern man)...etc, I remember that we would get these boring, annoying worksheets to "prove" that we attended the field trip and what we learned or found interesting. When I think of how popular Instagram has become, its because its easy and visually pleasing to just take a picture of whatever it is you are seeing rather than writing about it. With Picasa, the teacher can give the worksheet out with the questions but it can be questions more like:

1) Go to the dinosaur exhibit, take a picture of your favorite model dinosaur and include in the caption why you chose this.

2) Take a picture of the "fun fact" next to the information about T-Rex. 

The teacher can even break the class into groups so that the whole museum is covered without too many picture repeats. I think this is a great tool that the students would love! 

here's the link to the website if you want to check it out yourself!
https://sites.google.com/site/thingstolearnwith/10-take-a-phone-field-trip---picasa



Monday, July 9, 2012

Journal 1




100 things that make me happy


  1. Froilan
  2. New Years
  3. My puppy
  4. My family
  5. Christmas 
  6. Chocolate
  7. Running
  8. Boxing
  9. Beer
  10. Exercising
  11. Sauna-ing
  12. Reading 
  13. The Beach
  14. Happy hour
  15. Salads
  16. Food
  17. Poached Eggs
  18. Bacon
  19. Inspiring others
  20. Self motivation
  21. Justin Bieber
  22. Music
  23. Concerts
  24. Red Hot Chili Peppers
  25. Football season
  26. NBA finals
  27. Coffee
  28. Cupcakes 
  29. Grocery Shopping
  30. Whole foods
  31. Farmers Markets
  32. Charmant Loop
  33. Thanksgiving Dinner
  34. Mac
  35. Ipods
  36. Treadmills
  37. Good hair days
  38. Lulu Lemon
  39. Gym shoes
  40. Sunsets
  41. Sunrises
  42. Massages
  43. cuddling in the rain
  44. Speaking Spanish
  45. Learning new things
  46. Vampire Diaries
  47. Bachelorette
  48. Traveling
  49. Mexico
  50. Turquoise waters
  51. Fashion
  52. Ray Bans
  53. Achieving fitness goals
  54.  Sushi
  55. Muscles
  56. Yoga
  57. Parks
  58. Walking my dog
  59. Coming home to my dog
  60. Trail Mix
  61. Raw Almond butter
  62. Taking pictures
  63. Going on Date nights
  64. Movies
  65. Renting movies at home
  66. Making dinner
  67. Getting ice cream
  68. Frozen thin mints
  69. baskin robbins
  70. Planning my wedding
  71. Awaiting my engagement (this year!)
  72. Jewelry
  73. Poker
  74. Slot Machines
  75. Ice cold water
  76. Baking
  77. Giving gifts
  78. Teaching my dog new tricks
  79. Snuggling with my dog
  80. Independence
  81. Technology
  82. Massages
  83. New Make-up
  84. Snickers
  85. Quinoa
  86. Hot Showers
  87. Coffee early in the morning
  88. Waking up early to get the day started
  89. Reading the news online
  90. Pinterest
  91. Twitter
  92. The Internet 
  93. My iPhone
  94. Weather apps
  95. Calculators
  96. Getting my degree
  97. Continuing my education
  98. setting new goals
  99. new shoes
  100. love