Prevention, prevention, prevention.
It is all too easy and convenient for students and adults to publish untrue or exaggerated statements using social networking tools. I would imagine that most of the tools were made to create better and more efficient ways of communication. Although they are effective, there are those like predators who take advantage of students and even adults that don’t think about how much personal information they provide, giving the predators all the information they need to get their “fix.”
“Protecting children and personal data online is a legal responsibility (pg. 138).” The book addresses two major ways of doing so. In preventing students and others from being harmed, we must learn and talk about ethics. A step toward this is informing students about copyright issues. Technology these days makes it easy to share files which is becoming, if not, already becoming a major issue. People are illegally downloading music, videos, and programs on a regular basis. Granted some do it innocently. Within the schools administrators and teachers should pay close attention to legal issues and copyright laws and model them within their own examples. Like the book mentions, students just don’t know about all the legalities of copyrighting and files sharing. Teachers and administrators don’t know them either. That is why we should read up on them and pass them onto our students as we go along. Knowledge is power and it can keep you out of trouble, most of the time.
As a future teacher, one of my goals and standards will be to teach students how to correctly site information in a paper. This will provide me with the opportunity to go over, maybe review copy right laws with my students.
Another way schools try to protect students’ safety is by filtering and blocking potential unsafe material. Although the internet can be a wonderful tool to use, it has its dangers. Many sites are not appropriate for adults, let alone students. These sites are inundated with violence and drugs and pornography and should be blocked by schools. With the rise of cyber bullying, schools are blocking social networking and IM sites, and rightfully so. There is also the risk of blocking sites that could be helpful to students while blocking the ones that are harmful. But it is always safer to block too much than not enough when it comes to the safety of students.
Another point the book makes is to inform parents about Web usage, maybe by giving them tips about how to protect their child as well as themselves when using the internet, like signs to look for if being bullied on the internet, red flags that come up and lets them know something might be wrong, ways to contact the proper authorities, etc.
With the proper education, training, and even just being aware of these issues will help students, teachers, parents, and administrators become better and safer consumers of the internet.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Web 2.0 Chapter 6: leadership and new tools
“Leadership starts at the top (pg. 128).” In order for teachers to be expected to use technology in their classrooms, their administrators need to have (more) and effective training in integrating the new tools of technology.
In addition to being an educational leader with responsibilities for focusing thoughtful attention on intellectual growth of students and teachers and guiding classroom activities, is the role of promoting technology in the classroom. This is a HUGE job considering that the conditions are more difficult and more necessary than in the past. Not only do leaders need to understand that changes are happening but also how it’s happening and what will be the likely result as changes are made.
Like the text mentions, “district and school leaders must have a vision for success and communicate with others to make that a shared vision (pg. 120).” With most things in life, if no vision is present, then there is no expectation or goal to work toward and nothing will get done. I think communication is the key to everything and the most difficult skill to master because it encompasses many components and you never stop learning how to communicate effectively. Using blogs, among other tools is a great way to keep communication going and they have many good reasons to use them. They are great for public relations, timely and interactive, unlike emails and other forms of communication, and build communication, among others.
The text mentions nine things administrators and directors should consider before, during and after planning for using Web 2.0. Some include having a vision of how these tools could make a difference, agreeing on goals with other administrators, teachers and students, evaluating current infrastructure to see if it will support the new goals, and identifying new technology and instructional integration strategies. Besides having a vision, I think the most important ones include identifying professional development strategies that will help educators implement technology in the classroom, establishing a realistic timetable, developing a realistic budget, and planning for evaluation.
Furthermore, in a school system there needs to be a balance of new and old teachers working together. Wrongly, I have seen many excellent and experienced teachers replaced (regardless of tenure) with younger teachers. While I understand the need to hire younger teachers that have a better handle on new technologies and a fresher look at education, I still think the older, more experienced teachers have a lot to add to a school community as well. While new teachers bring enthusiasm to the classroom about technology and teaching, they do not have the wisdom and experience older teachers have; making it necessary for both types of teachers to work together and learn from one another. Doing this will hopefully create a better learning environment for all parties.
Since, “Schools have a moral obligation to prepare students for their technology –infused, globally interconnected futures (128),” administrators cannot simply avoid leading in this area because they simply don’t feel comfortable with it. Just because we are not comfortable with something it doesn’t mean we don’t have to (or shouldn’t do) it. I say, if it is beneficial to all involved, do it, we will take the challenge and learn together.
In addition to being an educational leader with responsibilities for focusing thoughtful attention on intellectual growth of students and teachers and guiding classroom activities, is the role of promoting technology in the classroom. This is a HUGE job considering that the conditions are more difficult and more necessary than in the past. Not only do leaders need to understand that changes are happening but also how it’s happening and what will be the likely result as changes are made.
Like the text mentions, “district and school leaders must have a vision for success and communicate with others to make that a shared vision (pg. 120).” With most things in life, if no vision is present, then there is no expectation or goal to work toward and nothing will get done. I think communication is the key to everything and the most difficult skill to master because it encompasses many components and you never stop learning how to communicate effectively. Using blogs, among other tools is a great way to keep communication going and they have many good reasons to use them. They are great for public relations, timely and interactive, unlike emails and other forms of communication, and build communication, among others.
The text mentions nine things administrators and directors should consider before, during and after planning for using Web 2.0. Some include having a vision of how these tools could make a difference, agreeing on goals with other administrators, teachers and students, evaluating current infrastructure to see if it will support the new goals, and identifying new technology and instructional integration strategies. Besides having a vision, I think the most important ones include identifying professional development strategies that will help educators implement technology in the classroom, establishing a realistic timetable, developing a realistic budget, and planning for evaluation.
Furthermore, in a school system there needs to be a balance of new and old teachers working together. Wrongly, I have seen many excellent and experienced teachers replaced (regardless of tenure) with younger teachers. While I understand the need to hire younger teachers that have a better handle on new technologies and a fresher look at education, I still think the older, more experienced teachers have a lot to add to a school community as well. While new teachers bring enthusiasm to the classroom about technology and teaching, they do not have the wisdom and experience older teachers have; making it necessary for both types of teachers to work together and learn from one another. Doing this will hopefully create a better learning environment for all parties.
Since, “Schools have a moral obligation to prepare students for their technology –infused, globally interconnected futures (128),” administrators cannot simply avoid leading in this area because they simply don’t feel comfortable with it. Just because we are not comfortable with something it doesn’t mean we don’t have to (or shouldn’t do) it. I say, if it is beneficial to all involved, do it, we will take the challenge and learn together.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Web 2.0 Chapter 5: professional development
Professional Development or PD became a topic of discussion in some shape or form, no matter where I substitute taught.
As with many other professions, teachers are required and expected to develop professionally. This requires a lot of effort from all parties involved in the process. The book addressed what I observed as a substitute taught in two different school districts about PD.
One school district I subbed for had money given to them to use for professional development for their administrators and teachers that had to be used by a certain date. They had a professional speaker come to the schools and district office to present a new teaching strategy. However, the teachers had to take a day off of school (meaning the principles had to find subs to fill in) or go on a specific Saturday and get paid. Needless to say, the teachers were not happy with the way things were handled because they were given short notice and the speaker, from what I heard, was not that impressive. I think the school district would have been better off in this particular situation to have some technology training instead, since “teachers are expected and required to use technology in the classroom.” The teachers at this school appeared to be excited about technology, but had no way of learning about it unless they did it on their own plus the kids did not have access to computers. I hope that will change when they move into their new school this fall.
To be honest, I think this class is a type of PD for me because I wouldn’t have known about these free tools and the Web 2.0 technology. I am enjoying leaning about these so I know the kids will too. Which brings me to say, if we are enthusiastic about what we teach, our students have the possibility of learning more.
In addition, teachers need to be given the opportunity to appropriately learn about this technology and how to make it apart of their classroom environment. Even though, I am sometimes skeptic about trying new things, if it will help me connect with my students, I am willing to try it so long as it’s beneficial to all parties involved. In addition to implement this technology it will be a process and take some time, but we don’t have to do it all at once.
Professional Development involves structure, funding, hard work, and the willingness to try new things on everyone’s part. With a positive attitude and an open mind it is hard to tell what could happen. It should be implemented gradually so that we don’t get overwhelmed and give up too quickly. Professional development is a never ending process and will be a part of our lives forever.
As with many other professions, teachers are required and expected to develop professionally. This requires a lot of effort from all parties involved in the process. The book addressed what I observed as a substitute taught in two different school districts about PD.
One school district I subbed for had money given to them to use for professional development for their administrators and teachers that had to be used by a certain date. They had a professional speaker come to the schools and district office to present a new teaching strategy. However, the teachers had to take a day off of school (meaning the principles had to find subs to fill in) or go on a specific Saturday and get paid. Needless to say, the teachers were not happy with the way things were handled because they were given short notice and the speaker, from what I heard, was not that impressive. I think the school district would have been better off in this particular situation to have some technology training instead, since “teachers are expected and required to use technology in the classroom.” The teachers at this school appeared to be excited about technology, but had no way of learning about it unless they did it on their own plus the kids did not have access to computers. I hope that will change when they move into their new school this fall.
To be honest, I think this class is a type of PD for me because I wouldn’t have known about these free tools and the Web 2.0 technology. I am enjoying leaning about these so I know the kids will too. Which brings me to say, if we are enthusiastic about what we teach, our students have the possibility of learning more.
In addition, teachers need to be given the opportunity to appropriately learn about this technology and how to make it apart of their classroom environment. Even though, I am sometimes skeptic about trying new things, if it will help me connect with my students, I am willing to try it so long as it’s beneficial to all parties involved. In addition to implement this technology it will be a process and take some time, but we don’t have to do it all at once.
Professional Development involves structure, funding, hard work, and the willingness to try new things on everyone’s part. With a positive attitude and an open mind it is hard to tell what could happen. It should be implemented gradually so that we don’t get overwhelmed and give up too quickly. Professional development is a never ending process and will be a part of our lives forever.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Web 2.0 Chapter 4: new tools in schools
One purpose of schooling in the United States is to educate children so that they may become effective leaders and members in society.
To help students become effective members of society they should be educated and well rounded individuals. Many school system curriculums are geared to help students become well rounded. For example, most schools have liberal arts programs such as band, chorus, and drama in addition to industrial technology, computer (Web 2.0 tools), business, and agriculture programs or classes to introduce students to a wide variety of ideas and occupations. I think the integration of Web 2.0 tools in schools will have a positive effect in doing so.
In addition to these programs, schools have the basic subject area classes such as Math, Language Arts, and Social Studies. These programs are (or should be) taught by highly qualified teachers in these discipline areas. In these classes, students are taught the skills they need to be effective communicators. For example, learning to work with others is a skill thought through group work or projects. During group work, students get a chance to encounter various types of conflicts that may occur in the “real world,” meaning, students might learn to compromise when there are disagreements in order to accomplish the task at hand. This in turn will help students learn new skills or improve ones they have already learned and be able to apply them later in life.
Therefore, the way school curriculums are set, especially now with schools becoming more open to the idea of using Web 2.0 software in the classrooms, not only encourage cognitive development, but also physical, social, and spiritual development to produce well educated leaders and members of society.
Using Web 2.0 software in the classroom provides a chance for more interaction among students and about the subject/content area being taught. When students are excited about learning they will try to go beyond the call of duty so to speak. Furthermore, if they are excited about learning then we as teachers will have better success at producing “self- directed lifelong learners and communicators” which in turn will make effective members of society.
To help students become effective members of society they should be educated and well rounded individuals. Many school system curriculums are geared to help students become well rounded. For example, most schools have liberal arts programs such as band, chorus, and drama in addition to industrial technology, computer (Web 2.0 tools), business, and agriculture programs or classes to introduce students to a wide variety of ideas and occupations. I think the integration of Web 2.0 tools in schools will have a positive effect in doing so.
In addition to these programs, schools have the basic subject area classes such as Math, Language Arts, and Social Studies. These programs are (or should be) taught by highly qualified teachers in these discipline areas. In these classes, students are taught the skills they need to be effective communicators. For example, learning to work with others is a skill thought through group work or projects. During group work, students get a chance to encounter various types of conflicts that may occur in the “real world,” meaning, students might learn to compromise when there are disagreements in order to accomplish the task at hand. This in turn will help students learn new skills or improve ones they have already learned and be able to apply them later in life.
Therefore, the way school curriculums are set, especially now with schools becoming more open to the idea of using Web 2.0 software in the classrooms, not only encourage cognitive development, but also physical, social, and spiritual development to produce well educated leaders and members of society.
Using Web 2.0 software in the classroom provides a chance for more interaction among students and about the subject/content area being taught. When students are excited about learning they will try to go beyond the call of duty so to speak. Furthermore, if they are excited about learning then we as teachers will have better success at producing “self- directed lifelong learners and communicators” which in turn will make effective members of society.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Web 2.0 Chapter 3: new tools
“Eventually every student may get a detailed learning plan that is adjusted automatically, based on new data.” I wonder if this will become a true statement in my lifetime. It is amazing to me to see how things change so quickly. Just when I think I have a handle on basic computer software like word processing and creating power points, something else comes along that has new features or a better way of doing something. Over the past few years, I have just been able to understand and use the different features while surfing the Web. Now I am becoming aware of and using some Web 2.0 tools that are prospects in adding to a classroom setting. Every day there is something new to learn which I find exciting most of the time, however, a bit overwhelming at other times.
Using the web as a platform is a great idea in that it provides a foundation for many new ideas and tools that are found in Web 2.0 services. Web 2.0 services provide unique benefits for all parties involved. For teachers, they can set high standards (Shouldn’t they be doing that already?), monitor performance any time, and focus more on students excellence rather than the completion grade per say. The students are not restricted to the school day to work on assignments, but can collaborate on evenings and weekends where they live. Parents can access student work and monitor their child’s progress. I wonder if this would be a new way of conducting parent teacher conferences.
The fact that these Web 2.0 services are free, even though there may be a select few that are not, are great for everyone, but are especially great for school budgets.
Besides the basic Web 2.0 tools like wikis, podcasts, and blogs; social bookmarking, photo sharing, video showcasing, mapping, and 3D modeling (sounds fun) services and software provide many opportunities for students, teachers, administrators, and parents to be more active in the learning process while acquiring skills vital to function in the 21st century.
Using the web as a platform is a great idea in that it provides a foundation for many new ideas and tools that are found in Web 2.0 services. Web 2.0 services provide unique benefits for all parties involved. For teachers, they can set high standards (Shouldn’t they be doing that already?), monitor performance any time, and focus more on students excellence rather than the completion grade per say. The students are not restricted to the school day to work on assignments, but can collaborate on evenings and weekends where they live. Parents can access student work and monitor their child’s progress. I wonder if this would be a new way of conducting parent teacher conferences.
The fact that these Web 2.0 services are free, even though there may be a select few that are not, are great for everyone, but are especially great for school budgets.
Besides the basic Web 2.0 tools like wikis, podcasts, and blogs; social bookmarking, photo sharing, video showcasing, mapping, and 3D modeling (sounds fun) services and software provide many opportunities for students, teachers, administrators, and parents to be more active in the learning process while acquiring skills vital to function in the 21st century.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Web 2.0 Chapter 2: students and learning
Since this chapter is jammed packed with a lot of valuable information, I will choose a few items to discuss.
As future teachers, I agree that we need to effectively “integrate technology into student learning (pg. 31).” The question is how to integrate the technology effectively without hindering other important forms of learning. Just the thought of learning these new tools well enough to incorporate them in a classroom setting frightens me a bit, however, I like the challenge it presents.
Knowing students come to school comfortable using the Internet and “knowledgeable about the web and its potential (pg. 31),” how knowledgeable are they? Do they have all the knowledge necessary to use the web to its fullest potential? Can the students effectively use the right procedures to safely use and evaluate what they discover on the web? Depending on each student’s prior knowledge and uniqueness, some may or may not know the procedures needed to safely use the Internet. That is where our role as educators comes into play. We should teach and model how to process and use information they come across wisely. By doing so, it allows us to grow as professionals and students to grow as learners.
Although there are many challenges faced by educators, one of the most prominent is standardized testing. Since the result on standardized testing sadly determines the amount of success educators have, it is hard to go beyond the traditional ways of teaching. This leads to “teaching to the test” which presents some danger of “narrowing instruction to the exclusion of anything more than test materials and “one is not measuring what really matters even if it will matter in the future (pg. 41).” This also leaves teachers who want to use technology in their classrooms in a bind. As a future teacher I know I will face the same situation, but I hope that I will be able take the challenge and find ways to support- in depth learning and increase students learning while providing them with skills to do well on standardized test. Many web 2.0 tools and resources can be helpful in doing so, but getting the administration and others to branch out and look beyond the cover of a book, so to speak, presents a whole other challenge.
I think teaching is an art. It requires a lot of hard work and skills among other things, but we can do it!!
As future teachers, I agree that we need to effectively “integrate technology into student learning (pg. 31).” The question is how to integrate the technology effectively without hindering other important forms of learning. Just the thought of learning these new tools well enough to incorporate them in a classroom setting frightens me a bit, however, I like the challenge it presents.
Knowing students come to school comfortable using the Internet and “knowledgeable about the web and its potential (pg. 31),” how knowledgeable are they? Do they have all the knowledge necessary to use the web to its fullest potential? Can the students effectively use the right procedures to safely use and evaluate what they discover on the web? Depending on each student’s prior knowledge and uniqueness, some may or may not know the procedures needed to safely use the Internet. That is where our role as educators comes into play. We should teach and model how to process and use information they come across wisely. By doing so, it allows us to grow as professionals and students to grow as learners.
Although there are many challenges faced by educators, one of the most prominent is standardized testing. Since the result on standardized testing sadly determines the amount of success educators have, it is hard to go beyond the traditional ways of teaching. This leads to “teaching to the test” which presents some danger of “narrowing instruction to the exclusion of anything more than test materials and “one is not measuring what really matters even if it will matter in the future (pg. 41).” This also leaves teachers who want to use technology in their classrooms in a bind. As a future teacher I know I will face the same situation, but I hope that I will be able take the challenge and find ways to support- in depth learning and increase students learning while providing them with skills to do well on standardized test. Many web 2.0 tools and resources can be helpful in doing so, but getting the administration and others to branch out and look beyond the cover of a book, so to speak, presents a whole other challenge.
I think teaching is an art. It requires a lot of hard work and skills among other things, but we can do it!!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Web 2.0 Chapter 1: new world, new web, new skills
WOW! Technology has come a long way since the early days. While I was helping some Senior Saints log on to a computer to check their email, I wondered if they ever thought that computers would be used as a main source of communication instead of writing letters or phoning.
In addition, I remember teachers mostly used overhead projectors and chalk boards to give notes. Now they use white boards and SmartBoards. I substitute taught in a pre-K classroom where the students interacted with a Smartboard. It made sense after I thought about it, but I couldn’t believe that pre-K students were able to interact with a SmartBoard with the help of the teacher. Who would have thought a few years ago that we would have access to this type of technology? We even have access to eBooks and can take classes online, something that I just learned about within the last five or six years.
On to the text for today and not trying to point out flaws or pick on a county, I came across a section stating that China is refocusing history textbooks from “wars, dynasties, and revolutions to economics, technology, social customs, and globalization.” While I can see some of the logic behind the reasoning for doing so, this statement made me wonder how much of future textbooks will leave out important historical facts, ideas and themes that are not only fundamental to ones understanding of local history, but also essential to an understanding of global history? How will they create textbooks that cover the important material while adding the current revolutions of today’s world? The sentence following this statement says that an author of new textbooks states that alterations, “‘reflect a sea of change in thinking about what students need to know…The goal of our work… is to make the study of history more mainstream and prepare our students for a new era.’” Also being able to see some reasoning behind this statement, however, by making textbooks cover what students “need to know” who is going to make the decision about what students “need” to know and will those decisions be skewed or based on a consensus? And by preparing them for a “new era”, will students inquire a schema that will be holistic in thought or skewed in some way?
In light of all these questions, I would like to hope these textbooks would integrate material and information that would allow students to learn skill sets needed to advance their personal knowledge in all areas,inclusive of technology, and apply them to advance the ever changing world in which they will live.
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