Animoto Video

Sorry for the delay I totally forgot to put this in here.  Here is my Animoto!

21st Century Educational Vision

7.4 Google Apps

• Reflect on the use of Google Apps in schools with students as well as professional development with other educators. Also reflect upon your experience using Google Apps with your classmates in this course.

There are numerous benefits with using Google Apps the main being that you can access them from any computer with internet access.  Students often do not use the same technological devices in their homes as are provided for them in the classroom.  If teachers rely solely on machine based software then students are required to either use the same machine every time.  Under this system files must be stored on flash drives which are easily misplaced or destroyed.  By utilising Google Apps’ auto-saving feature student work is secured online and easily shareable and collaborative.  

Google Apps enable students to create and share information in a variety of formats, they are as adept at helping students research data as they are processing it and creating products of student learning.  From the Google search, which can be customised through Google Custom Search, to the Research tool in Drive Google brings information to students at amazing speed.  Maps enable learners to do so much more than just use GPS from their phones.  The My Places tool in Google maps can be used by teachers and students to teach and demonstrate mathematical problems, to demonstrate the travels of a character in a novel in an English class and a host of other possibilities.    

Google Drive is a students mobile office suite.  All of a students projects and papers, notes and images once stored in Drive are available at the touch of a mouse.  Drive opens with a basic set of tools: Docs, Slides, Spreadsheets, Forms, and Draw.  If a student opens these Apps with the Create button he has access to a wide range of additional applications in order to create a fully customizable digital office. Additional programs can be added to either the teachers or the students toolkit from the Chrome Web Store.  If a student has an idea for a project there is probably a google app that can handle the job.

Modern teaching requires collaboration from at many levels. Professional development, once only conducted in grade level meetings and on teacher workdays is now the product of real time digital communication.  Teachers build lesson plans and track student data through shared documents and spreadsheets.  Teachers gain additional degrees while communicating through Google’s Blogger platform and use it to share their ideas with the world.  Digital Application such as Google Apps, and Zoho’s digital suite give transparency to classroom walls.  Students and teachers create knowledge with instant access a world full of information.

Solomon, G. and Schrum, L. (2010).  Web 2.0 how-to for educators:  the indispensable companion to web 2.0:  new tools, new schools.  Washington, D.C.:  ISTE

5-5 Social Networking

• In your Blogger blog, outline the pros and cons associated with allowing social networking in schools.

Social networking is an ever growing element in the digital world.  People from all walks of life are “tapped” into some form of technology and most likely communicating as well.  It really is not a question of whether our students of today could handle an assignment utilizing social networking or whether they understand the concept but rather how much better could they learn and collaborate utilizing what they already know - the digital realm?  Questions that may need to be considered in addition are how do we make the broadened community safe and free of conflict and what is the best way to implement such measures?  These are questions that are always being pondered and steps are continually being taken to improve educational conditions for our students.  Solomon and Schrum state that “the point of communicating with others is to learn, develop, and expand all that we know; to share ideas and information; or just to enjoy social interactions” (2010) and that my friends it precisely what we should do -  allow our students to share, develop and communicate their ideas on a global level.

Unfortunately there are cons to every great opportunity.  There are digital creepers that prey on our youth and we must be very aware of all that can penetrate the sites that they use.  There is also a trend of utilizing social media for bullying and taunting.  However, good teaching and instruction and the proper use of social media will allow it to be greatly beneficial to student learning.

Resources:

Solomon, G. and Schrum, L. (2010).  Web 2.0 how-to for educators:  the indispensable companion to web 2.0:  new tools, new schools.  Washington, D.C.:  ISTE

3-4 Reflection on PLNs

• In your Blogger blog, reflect upon the need for a PLN. Use the module lectures Thoughts to Ponder as well as the module resources to assist with your post. Review at least two of your classmates posts (refer to the Student Information course wiki to obtain links to their blogs) and comment on their posts.

Everyone has a  Personal Learning Network (PLN).  Learning cannot happen in a vacuum, from an infant learning to walk, a child learning to read, or a graduate student learning to master educational technology learners and learning leaders have and fulfill roles in a learning network.  Past networks existed as teacher and student, or master and apprentice, but as technology speeds communication in the 21st century the PLN has taken on a life of its own through social media and online learning.  

Social networking tools and application s have expanded learners abilities to gather and aggregate information, and made it possible for learners to develop conversations across the globe in real time (Stevens 2008).  Using video services such as Skype and Google Hangouts  learners can participate in conversation with people in their PLN.  Microblogging services such as Twitter and Google+  allow learners to start conversations with their PLN to develop and create an understanding on any subject that they can imagine.  

Education in the United States has been struggling to reinvent itself over the past decade to attempt to improve student's test scores and abilities.  High stakes testing and teacher evaluations have been used as fear tactics with the ever present mantra "training students for jobs that haven't been invented yet".  Of course the jobs haven't been invented because our learners haven't created them yet.  The issue should be -training students to use their creativity to invent their own futures.  The PLN answers all of these fears and should guide the changes in 21st century education.  The classroom is no longer the cell of learning.  Learning has become a global enterprise which asks a new question.  "How far can learning take our children, how far are we letting the reach into their future?"


-Stevens, V. (2008) Trial by Twitter: The Rise and Slide of the Year's Most Viral Microblogging Platform. Retrieved from: http://www.tesl-ej.org/ej45/int.html

2-2 Digital Footprint and Citizenship

• Reflect on your own digital footprint and personal thoughts on digital citizenship, as well as the necessity of teaching students about digital citizenship in school. Also, discuss your thoughts on an appropriate age of introduction to digital citizenship.

My digital footprint is pretty boring and small.  I am very careful about what I share with invisible viewers.  Unfortunately, it took a major scare in my life regarding my oldest daughter that made me very aware of unstable and obsessed people.  My daughter was 13 when she started being stalked by someone who was older.  We went through years of torment before someone finally listened and it stopped.  However, the potential and threat is still there because the offender lives close by. I am very outgoing in person but digitally I am very private.  I have learned a lot about technology and implementation of technology in a very effective and meaningful way.  I have become more aware that technology should have a true purpose or meaning rather than being there just to say it's there.  Again, personally for personal use I do not utilize technology as much as people think but for educational purposes I believe in utilizing it at every opportunity, in every subject and for many different reasons.

Digital citizenship is very important.  People do not realize that what they print is permanent and traceable.  Not to mention that words can be misconstrued because there is no human interaction. Not only can words be damaging but pictures can be as well.  There is also the necessity to give credit when credit is due.  There are many facets to having netiquette and being a good digital citizen.  Making it a point to not say anything you could regret or re-writing something without giving proper credit to the original author is critical.  Anything that you put in digital format can be viewed by many people and you must be proud to say that you wrote that or produced that.

It is necessary to teach students the importance of digital citizenship.  This is something that I believe should be taught as soon as students are allowed to start producing digital work.  The earlier they know the importance of being a good digital citizen the easier it is to avoid unnecessary circumstances.  Students need to be informed that even though something may be deleted such as Myspace and Facebook sites does not mean that it is gone.  We just need to be more cautious and aware of how things are more easily manipulated and misused than ever before.  It comes down to just being "plain smart".  

1-3 Technology Integrator Role

• What are your ideas of what a technology integration specialist is as you previously learned in other SNHU courses? Also, discuss today’s students and teachers as related to their use of technology in and out of the classroom. Use the module resources to assist you in completing this assignment.

**Sorry for the delay here I am getting over the flu and am not processing my days correctly**

I believe the role of a TI in the school system is someone who can help an educator facilitate and enhance their ideas utilizing technological tools that serve a true purpose.  They should be able to assist is developing meaningful lessons that meet the schools guidelines with regard to Common Core and NET-S and NET-T. Making sure that the technology is an enhancer and that the technology fits the lesson rather then the lesson fitting the technology is crucial.  The TI should make themselves available for educators to ask questions and work on ideas but within reasonable limits -  sometimes 30 teachers for 1 TI can be a bit much so making arrangements with educators to email or have meetings for Q&A sessions is a huge plus.  Being willing to assist educators in all aspects of technological implementation is crucial.  If the desire to help make the learning experience well-rounded and meaningful to students is not there then the presence of the TI is meaningless.  

Students and teachers are always connected to some form of technology in today's world.  They are always "plugged" in to finding out what is happening or what someone is wanting to chat about at almost any given moment.  It does not make any sense to expect students to shut off their way of doing things just because they have entered into a classroom.  Making sure that educators find what interests the students and themselves for that matter, makes the difference in whether the tech. tools that are being used are going to be beneficial.  If instructors just put in some form of technology for the sake of saying "I use technology" it is not a true benefit.  For example, if a teacher wants the students to create a spreadsheet to show data collected for a specific assignment the students can be bored because creating a spreadsheet isn't anything different than they have done in a simple keyboarding class.  BUT, if students are allowed to take that data and input it into a different tool/program and they can see a difference or output more energetic and eye-catching data then they become more engaged and dedicated to the assignment.   society depends on technology more than they want to admit but if we removed the simplest piece of technology from our everyday life then we would almost notice a complete crumble in our daily activities because we have become so reliant on the now and instantaneous information that we require.