Thursday, February 24, 2011

Journal #2- NETS-T: 2a


Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock!. Learning and Leading with Technology, Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/Leading_and_Learning_Docs/June_July_2010_Join_the_Flock.sflb.ashx


In the article, "Join the Flock!", Ferguson uncovers the advantages to joining the "twitter" team.  I personally strongly agreed with the part focused on creating a community of individuals who are learning together.  I will admit that before taking this course and reading this article, I wasn't very impressed or too excited in joining twitter.  I was trying to avoid being "sucked in".  However, I must say that now I am beginning to see the advantages of such a system if used the appropriate way.  I also like the 140 character limit so that "there isn't much room to make a fool of yourself", that is genius.  It allows people to not beat around the bush with nonsense and get straight to the point.  We are all busy and sometimes, often times, less is more anyway.  Especially when leaving a link to something cool you discovered.  It allows for others to form their own opinions rather than just reading about yours.  I think hash tags are pretty useful.  It creates an even more intimate community where a certain group can talk even deeper about a particular subject.  I have become a fan of twitter and have already come across some pretty cool information and links.  I am excited to possibly use this as a tool in the classroom =)


Q:1: How would you incorporate Twitter into your classroom?

A:1: I would let students share any cool videos, pictures or ideas on a particular subject covered in class during that time.  I think that it is a great way for students to share information and learn from each other.

Q:2: In what ways could your teaching be improved through Twitter?

A:2: By using hash tags, I could have groups work together.  For group projects this would be most helpful when passing information between only a selected few students rather than having the entire class receive information that is not relevant to a particular project.

Journal #1 NETS-T: 2c

Light, D. (2011). Do web 2.0 right. Learning and Leading with Technology, Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/Leading_and_Learning_Docs/February-2011-Do-Web-20-Right.sflb.ashx

The article on Learning and Leading with Technology was interesting.  I think it would be a "no brainer" to most in determining if technology is helpful to have in the classroom.
The article talks about daily practice in the classrooms.  I think with technology these days it is important for students just to get aquanted with a computer and how to work with it.  Teachers did stress that it was difficult to get meaningful blogs from students, but I guess some of that would depend on the age group you are working with.  If students are less likely to post something because of emberassment or fear, then a solution would be to leave the posts anonymous which leads to the next topic of, appropriate audience.  I like the idea of giving students the option, but not forcing them to post their blogs so that all can see.  This creates a sense of trust, that in my opinion, would help the student open up and write his/her thoughts exactly how they feel without most of the fear of judgment from other peers.  Appropriate behavior is a concern.  Because of the access to internet, student must be supervised and stay on task when using technology.  

Q:1:  What would be key in keeping students engaged and interested in projects and blogs?

A:1: I think that no matter what, it will be challenging to keep students on task and interested, especially at a younger age, however, I think that by creating an environment of individuality and creativity and uniqueness, would help tremendously.  I would like to incorporate a lot of creativity into the classroom and go outside of the norm.  I would encourage students, and hold a classroom environment whose focus, on embracing differences.

Q:2:  In what ways is technology a powerful tool to have in class?

A:2:  I think that by incorporating technology and blogs into the classroom, could successfully result in a better connection and bond with teacher/student and peer to peer.  I think that we forget that part of the learning process is not only the various subjects we must learn like math, but also the social aspect.  We must learn how to communicate with each other effectively and learn from one another.  In other countries, peer to peer bonds are highly focused on.  I believe that with the help of technology, it can encourage some to come out of their "shell" and begin the communication process, even if through a computer, it is a start in the right direction.

Technology Self-Assessment: School 2.0


 



I chose NETS-T #1.  I chose this particular standard to investigate because I strongly believe in finding different ways outside the norm to help educate children.  I think we are becoming to robotic in our ways and need to refocus on individuality of a child and not take that away from him/her style of learning.  I also believe that we need to make more things available for the child to explore his/her talents and shine in something that they are good at.


What a powerful speech about creativity.  Sir Ken Robinson made some interesting points that I strongly agree with. 
“All kids have tremendous talents and we squander them”, public education holds math and humanities at the top and art and music in the bottom.  Some children may not be the best at any one of the subjects so highly focused on in the system, but that does no mean that they must have a learning disability.  I liked the example he used of the woman who had choreographed Cats, back when she was in school around the 1930’s her teachers had spoken with her mother concerned that she had a learning disability.  She went to seek help, when the counselor noticed there was nothing wrong with her other than she learned in a different manner than other kids.  Some people have to move to think.  Her mother stuck her in a dance class, and she later became a multi-millionaire. 
I agree with Robinson in that there are many gifts of human imagination and we must learn to educate our children’s “whole being”. 
Kids are not afraid to be wrong or make mistakes, until it is “educated” out of them.  The system has taught us as adults to be afraid of making mistakes, which in turn, hinders human creativity. We need to rethink the view of intelligence.

Loved this video!!! I recommend all future educators to watch  =)

Monday, February 14, 2011

Journal 3 100 things that make me Happy! =)


1.sun
2.beach
3.waves
4.sunsets
5.sunrises
6.sand between my toes
7.running on the beach
8.happy hour
9.avocado crab salad from Dini’s
10.macaroni dish from Elephant Bar
11.mango iced tea
12.mom
13.dad
14.sisters
15.niece Alaina
16.niece Natalee
17.Marc future husband
18.Bruno the pet dog
19.australian cattle dogs
20.bulldogs
21.mastifs
22.snow
23.snowboarding
24.the beach bar at Big Bear
25.live music
26.amos lee
27.jack Johnson
28.dave matthews band
29.sleeping in
30.clean sheets
31.new socks
32.new sweatshirt
32.new sweatpants
33.ice cream sandwiches
34.mint n chip ice cream
35.hot fudge sundaes with brownies
36.froyo
37.traveling
38.thailand
39.monkeys
40.elephant riding
41.baby tigers
42.new foods
43.thai food
44.yellow curry
45.coke
46.skinny vanilla latte
47.black ice tea
48.soy chai latte
49.brownies
50.chocolate chip cookies
51.oreo cookies
52.girl scout cookies
53.thin mints
54.somoas
55.peanut butter
56.peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
57.movies
58.warm blankets fresh out of the dryer
59.slippers
60.smiles
61.walks on the beach
62.hiking
63.wake boarding
64.laying out in the sun
65.brigantine taco Tuesday
66.buffalo tacos from the Brigantine
67.fish tacos from the Brigantine
68.hot tea with honey
69.tamales
70.cupcakes
71.sprinkled cupcakes
72.BJ’s restaurant
73.Dessert from BJ’s with cookie and ice cream
74.beer
74.new castle
75.negro modelo
76.corona
77.merlot
78.cabernet
79.field hockey
80.coaching
81.tutoring
82.teaching
83.learning
84.working with kids
85.road trips
86.Palm Springs
87.lake tahoe
88.las vegas
89.encinitas
90.strawberry smoothies
91.twix           
92.chococolate kisses
93.snickers
94.almond joys
95.almonds
96.craisins
97.icees
98.hot dogs
99.nachos
100.churros =)