Social networking seems to have become the glue that keeps everyone closely tied even though they may be far away geographically! I have been using Facebook for several years and use it for both personal and professional connections. Professionally, it has become an important part of my Personal Learning Network (PLN). I've connected with professional organizations, other teachers, and other technology coordinators and use Facebook to share resources and suggestions. It is a good way to keep these resources in one handy location, one that I visit daily as I connect personally with those on my "friend list".
I've not used Linkedin before. I have looked at it, but haven't invested the time in really exploring it too much. I guess for me it was just the "one site too many" that I really didn't have the time to commit to! Students today are using Facebook less and Twitter more. I do use Twitter, much in the same way that I use Facebook, but I don't comment as much on Twitter, but instead, use the resources shared by those I follow. I can see why students, especially high school age and beyond, are using Twitter. They can quickly type or tweet from their smart phones and those tweets pop up like texts. In using the 140 character limit of Twitter, they've started to develop their own shortcuts for language and find acronyms for many things.
Sites like Ning are interesting to me as well. I've had several teachers create Ning environments in which their
students became someone and carried on interactions as this persona
throughout the unit. Our junior high history teacher has students join a Ning about the Constitutional Convention and they each become founding fathers of the country. They participate as if they are the person and react as that person in history would have reacted. Our science teacher had students participate in a Ning environment as well. Students worked as a particular scientist and created an online museum displaying their findings. It was a huge hit with the kids as they got to create their own Ning page. The downside is that the Ning site is no longer free and the teachers have to pay to continue their projects.
Social networking does just what the title implies, it allows a place (or places) where people can share words, videos, photos, etc. with whom they choose! David Warlick compares social networking to an ecosystem of sorts. He says "we are working an information ecosystem in which we cultivate the information, we become information gardeners" (2 Cents Blog). I think I can really identify with that comparison. Those who cultivate their social network will see it grow and those who let it go or ignore it, will see that their personal learning network "withers" and doesn't thrive.
These are important tools that teachers can use to their advantage. As with all social networking, responsible use is important to maintain credibility as a professional. There are certainly negative drawbacks to using social media and I'm not sure at the elementary level, sites like Facebook are appropriate for students. Students at the elementary level still need much guidance on what is acceptable and how something typed can sound differently then when you say it in person. The ISTE standards of digital citizenship can be explored if you are interested in using social media with your students.
For Diigo, the group that I chose to join is "Classroom 2.0". I chose this particular group because I am very interested in how Web 2.0 applications are and can be used in the classroom. I still haven't become used to going to Diigo to check in on a regular basis as many of the sites that I follow I have in my Google Reader and get new RSS feeds through that application.
The biggest drawback to any use of social networking to me is the time involved. Sites that I can use on my phone are of the most interest to me. I can check my Facebook, send tweets, and check emails to stay connected to my personal learning network!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Gaming
I was really excited about this topic as I thought I didn't really know as much about this topic as other technological tools for the classroom. What I was surprised to find out is that even at the elementary level, we are already using some great gaming sites for educational purposes! Many schools are already using these tools. Although, as stated in the Horizon Report from 2011, "the scarcity of quality educational games is impeding more rapid adoption", there could certainly be more educationally rich games available at the grade school level. Software developers need to remain focused on developing good quality software for elementary students.
According to Katie Salen (2005), "games work as rule-based learning systems, creating a world in which players actively participate, use strategic thinking to make choices, solve complex problems, seek content knowledge, and receive constant feedback, and consider the point of view of others". Salen, a game desiginer and professor, started the Institute of Play in 2007 to help students learn by playing games.
Gaming has the potential to reach students who don't respond to traditional teaching methods. For students who have learning disabilities, the chance to learn by playing a game may make the school day and their learning of content more relevant and fun.
I've had experience with Second Life, but found that it was just too time consuming for me at that point in my life. I can see the benefit of such an environment and depending on the field that you are in, the potential to use these technologies as teaching tools is amazing.
Augmented reality (AR) was also a relatively new topic for me, although I have an understanding of what it means and entails. I can certainly see the benefit in using something like the ARSights, in which students can take a virtual field trip to a 3-dimensional object, like the Coliseum in Rome and not only study where it is at (by using Google Earth) but also get to manipulate around the object to see it from different perspectives.
Students again, potentially have so much experience already with using something like the Xbox 360 Live with Kinect, a gaming system that uses augmented reality in the camera system. Bringing these tools into the classroom can only continue to enhance the environment for students. That doesn't mean that these tools are necessary for all students all the time. As educators, it is our responsibility to determine when using these types of technology is appropriate in the curriculum. As I mentioned before, these tools might have great benefit for only a small portion of the student population (like special needs students), but teachers need to be aware of their availability and their implications for the classroom.
Gaming sites explored:
Our students regularly use Starfall Reading to listen to and interact with stories of many different types. This is used primarily with our Kindergarten and first grade students. Students are able to navigate this site easily and they have little difficulty with figuring out what to do.
Our junior high science students have used the NDSU Virtual Cell Learning Environment as they studied the cells in physical science. Students after using the Virtual Cell then created their own cell model based on some of what they had seen during their experience.
Lastly, I explored Whyville. This site has been around for quite a while (in technology years), launching in 1999. Whyville is an online presence in which children can become a citizen and actively participate in different activities. They can create an avatar and interact with other members in a safe setting. It seems very similar to Club Penguin, an online presence sponsored by the Disney company. In Club Penguin, a monthly membership can be purchased and children can create their own "igloo" for their penguin, travel around the area and interact with other penguins. My own children have played Club Penguin in the past and really seemed to like it.
According to Katie Salen (2005), "games work as rule-based learning systems, creating a world in which players actively participate, use strategic thinking to make choices, solve complex problems, seek content knowledge, and receive constant feedback, and consider the point of view of others". Salen, a game desiginer and professor, started the Institute of Play in 2007 to help students learn by playing games.
Gaming has the potential to reach students who don't respond to traditional teaching methods. For students who have learning disabilities, the chance to learn by playing a game may make the school day and their learning of content more relevant and fun.
I've had experience with Second Life, but found that it was just too time consuming for me at that point in my life. I can see the benefit of such an environment and depending on the field that you are in, the potential to use these technologies as teaching tools is amazing.
Augmented reality (AR) was also a relatively new topic for me, although I have an understanding of what it means and entails. I can certainly see the benefit in using something like the ARSights, in which students can take a virtual field trip to a 3-dimensional object, like the Coliseum in Rome and not only study where it is at (by using Google Earth) but also get to manipulate around the object to see it from different perspectives.
Students again, potentially have so much experience already with using something like the Xbox 360 Live with Kinect, a gaming system that uses augmented reality in the camera system. Bringing these tools into the classroom can only continue to enhance the environment for students. That doesn't mean that these tools are necessary for all students all the time. As educators, it is our responsibility to determine when using these types of technology is appropriate in the curriculum. As I mentioned before, these tools might have great benefit for only a small portion of the student population (like special needs students), but teachers need to be aware of their availability and their implications for the classroom.
Gaming sites explored:
Our students regularly use Starfall Reading to listen to and interact with stories of many different types. This is used primarily with our Kindergarten and first grade students. Students are able to navigate this site easily and they have little difficulty with figuring out what to do.
Our junior high science students have used the NDSU Virtual Cell Learning Environment as they studied the cells in physical science. Students after using the Virtual Cell then created their own cell model based on some of what they had seen during their experience.
Lastly, I explored Whyville. This site has been around for quite a while (in technology years), launching in 1999. Whyville is an online presence in which children can become a citizen and actively participate in different activities. They can create an avatar and interact with other members in a safe setting. It seems very similar to Club Penguin, an online presence sponsored by the Disney company. In Club Penguin, a monthly membership can be purchased and children can create their own "igloo" for their penguin, travel around the area and interact with other penguins. My own children have played Club Penguin in the past and really seemed to like it.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Open Content and Ethical Issues
Educators have throughout history been "sharers" by nature! If a teacher finds a good resource, it is often shared with others. It is this sharing that makes an educational community a great one! The issue of "open content" takes sharing to another level. According to the Horizon Report (2011), open content "allows and even encourages the re-purposing and reusing of scholarly works". As we enter even more technological pervasiveness in the educational community from early education to higher education, it is clear that the digital resources that come to the forefront in any discussion of open content are even more relevant. On the OER Commons website, teachers can find numerous resources that are meant to be shared, modified, and reused. One of particular importance is the Common Core Aligned Resources. As we move toward more integration of the Common Core, teachers are going to be looking for and finding more resources. The searchable nature of this particular website (and I know there are others, but I really like the ease of this one), allows teachers to search depending on both the resource they are looking for and the grade level.
Textbooks are also another important piece of the open content puzzle. As the standards change, teachers need to be able to find resources that may not be available in the textbooks they are given. Textbooks are expensive and become quickly outdated by the changing standards. The ability of a teacher to use an "open" textbook means that when a specific topic is needed, there may be a text online that meets the needs. As we try to differentiate instruction, this again, is a helpful way to make sure that teachers are able to reach all of their learners. E-Readers are making a splash in the textbook arena. Both e-readers and tablet computing offer users the opportunity to read books, downloaded or stored in the cloud, on their own time. I can see that schools are going to start looking seriously at the practicality of using online textbooks with student e-readers or tablets. Imagine the possible savings. Over time, it could be a money saver for districts who want (and need) for their students and teachers to have access to current material that can be tailored to meet their specific curricular needs. As a teacher, I've used Google Books to preview books that I may want to use with my students and as a student, I've previewed books that I may consider purchasing for my own use. My own children use their e-readers daily for the personal reading. We've had so many students start to bring their own devices (BYOD) to school that we are constructing a new policy to cover the use of the e-readers or tablets in school.
Just because the technology makes it very easy for us to find and use what we are in need of, teachers need to be respectful of the rules that govern the copyright of the online resources. Creative Commons provides guidelines for those wanting to use/contribute to the multitude of resources (including images, video, music, documents, etc) now readily available on the Internet. Creative Commons offers creators of content a "bridge from content to community" in which anyone can enter. There are differing levels of use, mostly dependent on giving the creator the control over how their content is used and ultimately shared. The attempt of the Creative Commons is to make copyright easier and more "user-friendly". These are important topics that educators who use technology should be aware of. ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) includes this "digital citizenship" category in the student standards revised in 2007 (ISTE, 2012).
It is clear that these are important topics that are going to continue to come to the forefront in education. As our access to technology continues to improve and our students come better equipped, teachers and administrators will need to understand the implications (both positive and negative) for these issues. Open Content can provide schools with a viable alternative to spending thousands of dollars, assuming they are practicing the ethical, digital citizenship we expect from our students!
Resources
Adams, S., Haywood, K., & Johnson, L. (2011) The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.
Creative Commons. (n.d.). Licensing. Retrieved February 3, 2012, from http://creativecommons.org/licenses.
International Society for Technology in Education. (n.d.). ISTE: NETS for Students. Retrieved February 4, 2012, from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx.
OER Commons. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2012, from http://www.oercommons.org.
Textbooks are also another important piece of the open content puzzle. As the standards change, teachers need to be able to find resources that may not be available in the textbooks they are given. Textbooks are expensive and become quickly outdated by the changing standards. The ability of a teacher to use an "open" textbook means that when a specific topic is needed, there may be a text online that meets the needs. As we try to differentiate instruction, this again, is a helpful way to make sure that teachers are able to reach all of their learners. E-Readers are making a splash in the textbook arena. Both e-readers and tablet computing offer users the opportunity to read books, downloaded or stored in the cloud, on their own time. I can see that schools are going to start looking seriously at the practicality of using online textbooks with student e-readers or tablets. Imagine the possible savings. Over time, it could be a money saver for districts who want (and need) for their students and teachers to have access to current material that can be tailored to meet their specific curricular needs. As a teacher, I've used Google Books to preview books that I may want to use with my students and as a student, I've previewed books that I may consider purchasing for my own use. My own children use their e-readers daily for the personal reading. We've had so many students start to bring their own devices (BYOD) to school that we are constructing a new policy to cover the use of the e-readers or tablets in school.
Just because the technology makes it very easy for us to find and use what we are in need of, teachers need to be respectful of the rules that govern the copyright of the online resources. Creative Commons provides guidelines for those wanting to use/contribute to the multitude of resources (including images, video, music, documents, etc) now readily available on the Internet. Creative Commons offers creators of content a "bridge from content to community" in which anyone can enter. There are differing levels of use, mostly dependent on giving the creator the control over how their content is used and ultimately shared. The attempt of the Creative Commons is to make copyright easier and more "user-friendly". These are important topics that educators who use technology should be aware of. ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) includes this "digital citizenship" category in the student standards revised in 2007 (ISTE, 2012).
It is clear that these are important topics that are going to continue to come to the forefront in education. As our access to technology continues to improve and our students come better equipped, teachers and administrators will need to understand the implications (both positive and negative) for these issues. Open Content can provide schools with a viable alternative to spending thousands of dollars, assuming they are practicing the ethical, digital citizenship we expect from our students!
Resources
Adams, S., Haywood, K., & Johnson, L. (2011) The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.
Creative Commons. (n.d.). Licensing. Retrieved February 3, 2012, from http://creativecommons.org/licenses.
International Society for Technology in Education. (n.d.). ISTE: NETS for Students. Retrieved February 4, 2012, from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx.
OER Commons. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2012, from http://www.oercommons.org.
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