I have used many Web 2.0 tools during this EMDT course. Many of these tools are not available to me for use at my school either to collaborate with my peers, or to use with students. I am excited about using Screenflow to create videos and tutorials for my students to use. I am now
working on a way to play them in class since I have limited video equipment access. It would be great to have a one-to-one computer program in my county so that students and staff could have access. Many of the staff members that I work, and parents of my students, do not have computers at home, or cannot afford reliable high speed internet access which is required to use many of these tools, and view video. Screenflow and YouTube would be great tools to use in my special education classroom because it would make creating individualized lessons and activities easier. Students would be able to review the videos and complete the activities at their own pace. I would also like to create a web based after school remediation program. Having a free web based program would solve the issues of transportation, staff, and extended building hours. However, the lack of computer and Internet access is proving to be an impediment once again.
I plan to use these Web 2.0 tools such as Screenflow, YouTube and whiteboard programs for my Discovery Student Adventure classes and meetings prior to our trip to Costa Rica next summer. These tools are appealing because they eliminate the need to coordinate multiple schedules, and make meeting and teaching easier.
Finally, I would like to use blogging in my classroom. This tool does not appear to be blocked, and I would like to use it for vocabulary development and collaboration. I will post a word of the day, and students will add synomyms, antonyms, examples, and sentences to the blog to create a class vocabulary resource.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Second Life
The DEN site for Second Life and Discovery Student Adventures is great. I plan to create a video in Second Life of my group's trip to Costa Rica next summer so that I may use it as a virtual field trip with my classes.
Although Second Life has wonderful educational features, I would like to see a Second Life specifically for educational use with only relevant and safe content for students. My county blocks most of the sites that I have learned about in the EMDT program, including Second Life. As a Star Discovery Educator, I would like to work with my local Den LC chapter to promote the safe use of, and access to technology for schools in my county. I believe that if more administrators knew about technologies like Second Life and how they can be used to educate safely, there would be fewer restrictions on use. I strongly believe that we should be using social networking sites to teach social networking skills, just as we do social skills in the physical world.
I have joined several Second Life groups. One of my favorites is DaVinci Isle. Second Life has many wonderful cultural resources like the Museum of African American Experience, DaVinci Isle, and math and science locations that can support and engage students in academic curriculum.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Communities of Practice
Tapped is a wonderful tool that I will definitely use! Communities of practice such as Tapped are just what my school needs to assist teachers and staff to collaborate and share resources. As a special education teacher, my time is very limited. I teach multiple subjects and grade levels simultaneously, and I have special education paperwork to complete. I also work with students in various stages of crisis, which is emotionally draining. All of the teachers that I work with are in the same situation. Having a professional community of practice at my school to allow us to connect with and learn from each other would be wonderful. Having a place to upload and share resources, articles, lesson plans, ideas, and materials could allow us to develop a collective mind, vision, and unified sense of purpose. The ability to effectively share resources and solve problems could free up time, resources, and energy that can be redirected into teaching and working with students. In addition, teachers and staff members would have less stress and more time to accomplish the many tasks that are required each day.
Communities of practice are great ways for educators to connect and collaborate with each other, and form communities that extend beyond their individual schools. Educators can collaborate with other schools all over the world. Communities of practice can also include parents and community stakeholders in new and innovative ways. Community members and businesses can work together in exciting new ways to provide customized services to schools, students, and educators without the constraints of time and physical boundaries. These social networks could even include educational psychologists, law enforcement agencies, community business partners, universities, and social services agencies. These networks are of particular importance to the lives of students that are at risk for academic failure, students with disabilities preparing to graduate from school, and people preparing to enter assisted living situations. Social network sites have enable professional learning communities to grow exponentially, and to include more people and resources, benefitting more students, families, communities, and schools.
Social Media
Social media networks have changed the world and the marketplace. Students today need to learn to interact with each other, and to create products online. A major component of professionalism and competence in the work world of the future will be media literacy. The ability to connect with customers and partners in a social networking environment will be imperative. Netiquette is an important social skill that we must teach our students in school. Often our students use social networking sites and technology at home, but we cannot be sure that they are developing the netiquette and social networking skills that will be required to be professional in the world of work and adult life. Just as we must often teach our students to use socially acceptable behaviors in the everyday physical world we must teach our students to do the same in cyberspace. The anonymity of cyberspace makes it more likely that people will feel freer to act in more extreme ways than they would in face- to f-ace encounters. Students often feel invincible and are often more bold in their behaviors. Teachers and parents must take the time to teach students how to use social networking sites appropriately, and to use them for positive self -promotion.
Students in my county are prohibited from using social networking sites at school. This is a tragedy because social networking sites are a good way of teaching students to respect others and themselves in various online environments. These lessons can also carry over to everyday life, providing a relevant context for the importance of respecting the opinions and rights of others. Social networking sites like Ning and Facebook provide great opportunities for students to get to know each other and to collaborate on various products and projects that can improve their lives, education, and the live of others. Social networking sites hold particular promise for people with disabilities and people with mental health issues. These sites provide great opportunities for people to connect, relate, and share resources without being limited by physical borders.
If social networking sites were allowed at my school, I would have a wonderful social studies tool. Students could connect with students on the other side of the world, and gain insights into other cultures not possible without genuine cultural sharing and communication. Social media networks are also great tools to create service learning communities and opportunities. As students learn about issues of global import, they will be able to organize and create groups to enact change and to impact the world in which they live. There are so many wonderful experiences to be had in the world, and social networking sites can be the doorways for the average person to change the world.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
21st Century Skills and Lifelong Learning
21st Centruy Skills will definitely include media literacy. Media literacy has been dubbed the new digital divide. The new line of demarcation is drawn between people who know how to create, edit, and manipulate media products, and those who don’t. In the article “Kids attack digital divide” it is stated that people who use the internet at work make on average $100.00 per week more than those who do not. Students will have to have a skill set that includes the ability to learn quickly, and to create and analyze products. By the time the students in classrooms today enter the workforce they will change jobs often during their working years, and will often enter positions that are unrelated and completely different than the jobs they held before. It is important that we teach our students how to learn, and to analyze and filter the information that they find.
Students today are often classified as digital natives. Educators must remember that although students are more comfortable and familiar with technology applications than ever before, most students still need to be taught how to use them. Just because students know how to find information using digital tools and applications, does not mean they are aware of all of the tools they will need to know how to use in the future. Technology will continue to develop at warp speeds, with applications morphing and technologies becoming obsolete quickly. The tools we use in class today will be obsolete when our students enter the workforce. What is important is that we introduce our students to the digital world of work and collaboration. It is important to expose them to the many ways technology can be used to collaborate and solve problems. Students that become comfortable using technology at school will progress with the developing and changing technology, and lead the changes in the future.
http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article540.html
The Media Literacy website provides resources for teachers on inquiry-based media education, including a free media literacy curriculum and articles for teachers.
Students today are often classified as digital natives. Educators must remember that although students are more comfortable and familiar with technology applications than ever before, most students still need to be taught how to use them. Just because students know how to find information using digital tools and applications, does not mean they are aware of all of the tools they will need to know how to use in the future. Technology will continue to develop at warp speeds, with applications morphing and technologies becoming obsolete quickly. The tools we use in class today will be obsolete when our students enter the workforce. What is important is that we introduce our students to the digital world of work and collaboration. It is important to expose them to the many ways technology can be used to collaborate and solve problems. Students that become comfortable using technology at school will progress with the developing and changing technology, and lead the changes in the future.
http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article540.html
The Media Literacy website provides resources for teachers on inquiry-based media education, including a free media literacy curriculum and articles for teachers.
Media Literacy
Today’s students will be expected to participate in a collaborative online culture and to possess collaboration and communication skills. They will be expected to collaborate and fit into various social roles via new media. New media allows people to role play and experience situations from a variety of perspectives. Now more than ever our students need to be taught media literacy skills, including how to get along well with others when collaborating. As a teacher I teach social skills to my students with behavior disorders and anger management issues. Media literacy should definitely include an online social skills component. It is imperative that these students learn to interact effectively in online environments, just as they must learn to use appropriate social skills and conflict resolution skills to cope in the physical world.
Too often the focus on adolescent use of social networking sites is negative. I see social networking sites as an opportunity to add a new dimension and tool to teaching social skills. We often hear about bullied students committing suicide because of nasty posts on social networking sites and ostracism at school. But what if these tortured students had learned to connect with other people like themselves on a social networking site? Would this have made a difference? Could they have made a friend, or created a virtual support group so that they would not have felt so alone? Many students lacking in social skills enjoy using technology. Teaching them about cyber terrorism, respecting the rights of others, and finding others with similar interests are wonderful social skills lessons that can be applied to online environments, but will also have an effect on student behavior in the physical world.
Too often the focus on adolescent use of social networking sites is negative. I see social networking sites as an opportunity to add a new dimension and tool to teaching social skills. We often hear about bullied students committing suicide because of nasty posts on social networking sites and ostracism at school. But what if these tortured students had learned to connect with other people like themselves on a social networking site? Would this have made a difference? Could they have made a friend, or created a virtual support group so that they would not have felt so alone? Many students lacking in social skills enjoy using technology. Teaching them about cyber terrorism, respecting the rights of others, and finding others with similar interests are wonderful social skills lessons that can be applied to online environments, but will also have an effect on student behavior in the physical world.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Learning 2.0
Web 2.0 tools can be used to enhance learning by students, and contribute to learning 2.0. However when we should be teaching our children to use the web correctly and safely, we are banning its use. While the world is collaborating and teaming up, and our students are using social networking sites at home, we are banning the use of these tools in school. If it weren’t so tragic it would be amusing to me that districts block social networking and video sites. All websites are moving in this direction. They might as well block access to the Internet all together with this sort of strategy. All websites are moving to the model of interaction, communication, and social networking. This is the evolution of the net. We will not go back to Web 1.0. We will never gain control of the communications on the Internet. To ban the use of these tools is to create dinosaurs of our students and put America’s economic future at risk. This is especially tragic as research shows that school administrators that make the decisions to ban video and social networking sites are afraid of activities that are just not really occurring that often in cyberspace. According to recent research, students report being vicitimized on the net less than 10% of the time, and spend 50% of their time using social networking sites to communicate about learning and school work. The banning of the use of social networking sites can be seen as tantamount to a First Amendment free speech violation, resulting in chilling effect on speech. This seems Draconian given the tools available to teach the safe and effective use of social networking sites and the internet such as those listed below. We need to spend time teaching our students to be safe, just as we do in other areas of life (like driving, dating, eating healthy, etc.) not banning them from the world. The following articles show statistics about how students really use the net, and provide tips for using social networks and learning 2.0 tools effectively in the classroom.
The Official School Administrator’s Guide to Understanding MySpace and Resolving Social Networking Issues
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is about collaborating, teamwork, access to information, and problem solving. Web 2.0 tools can be used to solve problems in a variety of settings including education. As a special education teacher that teaches in a self-contained middle school classroom, and is responsible for all subject matter standards for 6th-8th graders in my class, as well as teaching social skills and behavior modification, my time is extremely valuable and limited. Web 2.0 tools such as those listed below can help keep me organized, save time, and provide instant access to suggestions and information for problem solving. In fact, I have a solution for my school that will save all of the teachers and administrators time, help facilitate our professional learning community, and provide instant access to suggestions from other teachers to help teachers solve problems they are having in their classrooms. Unfortunately, this tool is a Web 2.0 tool called Ning. Ning is blocked by my school district because there is a total ban on social networking sites in my county. Please see blog post number two for more information on this.
This is a free online virtual classroom. You can join the premium version to accept payment for online classes that you teach. You can teach classes and use most of the tools with the free account. I would like to use this tool to offer after school or weekend remediation to my students that will not otherwise receive this because of the cost and transportation issues surrounding after school programs at my school.
Free online assignment submission and grading platform. This is a program similar to FSO that can be used to provide feedback to students and their families on assignments.
Free online assignment submission and grading platform. This is a program similar to FSO that can be used to provide feedback to students and their families on assignments.
Online schedule, calendar application, and information organization tool for students.
The blocking of many Web 2.0 tools by school districts is very distressing to me. Please see blog two for more information on this subject and learning 2.0.
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