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Journal #5

Bull, G (2006). Collaboration in a web 2.0 environment. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved 03/04/2009, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=April_No_7_&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=2642

Web syndication, how a portion of a Web site is made available to others, has transformed the way we think about and gather information. The little orange icons that are found on Web pages indicate an RSS, Really Simple Syndication, is available. This allows for collaboration in entertainment, business, social, as well as education circles. Some of the ways syndication can be used in education are to follow multiple student postings, collaborative writing, sharing images being used in group projects and to track subject-related news topics.

For example, students can create blogs where they will post assignments or activities. Teachers will have immediate access to those posts as soon as they are posted. This is effective because it's a way that teenagers are already used to communicating. The Pew Foundation reported that three out of five teenagers already use blogs to keep in touch with their friends and create online networks, so why not bring that skill into the classroom. This is not always a simple task, but there are tools out there to help. Some of the resources that use RSS include, Firefox, Outlook and Thunderbird. Eventually most applications will have RSS capabilities, which will increase the number of options we have. Bloglines, which is one of the older and more advanced Web-based readers will also make blogs easier to use. It captures all of the blogs into a convenient location and updates them as students change or collaborate on their blogs.

There are also several resources to help students collaborate on projects together. Writely, is a Web-based word processor that allows students to jointly write and edit a document. Since it is Web-based students can be in different locations when writing and editing. It is also simple to post this document to a blog with Writely. There are also To Do List resources which allow students to have a checklist of what needs to get done on their project. One such To Do List application would be TaDa. Students can also share photos and images through Flickr. All of these applications share some of the same characteristics, they store both application and data on the Web, they are free to users and they provide an RSS feed.

There are more and more Web 2.0 desktops out that, like Google, which allows people to create a personalized home page. From the homepage they can start accessing all the Web 2.0 applications. NetVibes is one that uses Gmail for mail, Flickr for photos, Writely for wordprocessing, Web notes for bookmarks and provides access to RSS feeds. These are simple to use and contract drastically from the Web 1.0 applications that provided links to other applications.

The syndication that Web 2.0 allows, makes it easy to follow topics that are related to the information you are looking for. Newspapers and periodicals offer RSS feed for all major topics. Bloglines, allows you to get ongoing updated information through RSS feed. FeedDigest gives you the latest news each time the site is visited. Del.icio.us allows you to bookmark your favorite topics and share them with others through social bookmarking.

Although RSS feeds are becoming more and more prevalent, only a handfull of people are actually making use of this resource. RSS feeds and syndication make the educational possibilities endless.

Question #1 - How can a Web 2.0 make learning more fun and interesting for students? I think there are endless possibilities within a Web 2.0 environment. Because of this educators have more access to new ways of presenting curriculum, new activities and assignments, and new topics that will be more interesting and educational. There's more opportunity to create, collaborate and communicate withing a Web 2.0 environment. It also is more covenient because it is Web-based. Students can sit at Starbucks, access the Web and work on projects from any computer. Homework over coffee is always better.

Question #2 - How does working in a Web 2.0 environment make it easier for educators? The same characteristics that make it better for students can also make teaching easier, faster, and more efficient for educators. It creates a more creative, collaborative, and communicative environment. If students are posting their projects on a blog, teachers can access that information from any computer and at anytime. They can have a quicker response to the students with comments on areas they need to work on. If there are changes or updates to assignments they can communicate to students faster and easier. They have access to more information and resources to select topics and assignments that will be more engaging for students. They also have the ability to collaborate with their peers, sharing ideas and getting feedback.

Journal #4

Riedel, C (2009). Create, collaborate, communicate: empowering students with 21st century skills. The Journal, Retrieved 02,28,09, from http://thejournal.com/the/printarticle/?id=23872

Chris Riedel summarizes Howie DiBlasi's speech from the 2009 FETC in Orlando, FL. The main topic of his speech is that in order to motivate and inspire students, educators need to infuse 21st Century skills into their curriculum. At the time of this speech, education was ranked 55 out of 55 industry sectors for their level of IT intensiveness. We need to change the curriculum and develop and use 21st Century skills in order to be competitive. Educators need to start asking several questions about the tools and technologies that need to be a part of everyday instruction. One of the most important questions should be "how do we prepare our students to become not only readers and writers of content, but editors and collaborators", since this is what their future employers will be looking for. In a survey, 50 corporations were asked what they look for in new recruits. It was determined that the top three things are creative problem solving, critical and analytical thinking skills and information gathering and evaluation.

DiBlasi highlights his top-16 things educators need to do to prepare today's students to become tomorrow's leaders.

1. Hug a Geek - find someone who is successful in the digital world and get help from them.
2. Create a Social Network - use Web-based platforms to create a social network that can cross over into the district, schools and classrooms.
3. Develop Problem-Solving Skills - take time everyday to challenge students with problem solving activities and puzzles.
4. Start Collaborating - use collaborative vehicles to get students to interact with each other and the curriculum.
5. Use Project-Based Learning - teach younger students traditional skills through real-life activities.
6. Develop Information Processing Skills - teach students the skills to assess the validity of information.
7. Give Kids a Global Voice - allow the curriculum to go beyond the classroom by collaborating on assignments with other students across the country or around the world.
8. Discover RSS - understand the power of RSS and the ability to collect information and publish for other people.
   
9. Improve Critical Thinking Skills - research and understand the resources that help to improve critical thinking skills.
10. Teach Our Kids to be Self-Directed - help students be invested in projects, so they will see them to completion and be excited about the finished product.
11. Create, Collaborate, Communicate - encourage a collaborative environment, for example a classroom blog where students are responsible for the production including creativity, content, publicity and public relations.
12. Discover Social Bookmarking - understand what social bookmarking is and how to share information with many people.
13. Use Interactive Video Conferencing - use this technology to connect classrooms and take virtual field trips.
14. Integrate Web 2.0 Tools into Every Aspect of the Curriculum - make sure that Web 2.0 concepts like social-networking, video sharing, wikis, blogs are integrated into every assignment or activity.
15. Promote 1:1 Computing - have a can do attitude about 1:1 computing.
16. Staff Development is Fundamental - it is imperative that staff is following up on the changes that are being made over time.

Basically, educators need to realize that our skills need to change, so that we can change the way our students think and learn.

Question #1 - What things mentioned in DiBlasi's speech do you need to explore more to be able to benefit your students? I need to "Hug a Geek", so that I can improve my technological savvy. I need to understand RSS and 1:1 computing better.

Question #2 - Why is it so important that technology be a part of our curriculum today? Technology has become a huge part of so many aspects of our world. It allows us to communicate and collaborate with people around the world. It allows us to instantly find answers or information we need. It allows us to be more competitive in a constantly changing job market. It allows us to study, discover and create cutting edge advances in areas such as medical, scientific, technological and environmental. It also allows us to be more creative in areas such as the arts, entertainment, publishing and broadcasting. In order for students to be prepared to go out in the world and be competitive they need to have a strong understanding of technology. Teachers need to be armed with the knowledge and ability to pass this information on to students.

Journal #3

Cole, J (2009). Keep them chatting. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved 02,15,09, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200902/

Jeannie Cole discusses some of the challenges and the solutions to on-line courses for K-12 students. Some of the challenges around achieving exciting, deep discussions on line include lack of student responses, students losing interest, instructors' fears that students are copying their work from the web, or students doing only what is required and not stretching themselves.

Some examples of how to keep students engaged in online courses include:

High, level, open-ended questions Ask students an open-ended question put them in groups with a rubric of requirements. Each student needs to contribute their part and add comments and suggestions to other groups' projects.

The inquiry method Students are asked a question that they have to research, problem solve and answer. They need to be able to support their answer with research. They are also asked to look at other students projects and evaluate them.

The discrepant event inquiry method Students look at a video, photo, demonstration or simulation without an explanation. Then are asked a question that requires detailed research. Again, they are given detailed instruction and then are required to comment of other students work.

Personal examples This assignment takes something that is personal to the students and creates an assignment around it that requires research and problem solving. They are expected to comment on each others work.

Using Illogical Comparison Students are asked to compare and contrast two very different subjects, in this example Miss Piggy and Guinevere and complete a study of Arthurian legends.

These examples are meant to challenge and engage students. The key is to let students discover their own content, because they will feel more ownership. By sharing their work with their peers they will work harder knowing other students will see their work.

Question #1: What is the key to getting students invested in online courses? The key to getting students to feel invested is to make the content of the course/assignment exciting and interesting. The assignments should require students to discover their own content and share it with other. By sharing it with other they will fell more invested because they know their peers will be looking and commenting on it.

Question #2: Which one of the above techniques do you feel fits with your teaching style? I think the Personal Inquiry would fit best with my teaching style. It's important to get students to feel personally invested in their projects. If they can draw from personal experiences or topics they feel are important to them, they will be more engaged and contribute more to their project.

Journal #2

Reissman, R (2009). Museums in the classroom. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved 02,15,09, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200902/

In her article, Rose Reissman delves into the realm of online museums. Although not the same as visiting a museum in person, online museums can provide interesting activities and artifacts to add to a student's research. Probably the greatest positives how convenient (anytime & anywhere) and cheap (free) they are. Reissman briefly introduces four different resources for exploring museums online.

The first, Resource Central - Museum Resources, provides links to hundreds of museums, from the San Diego Aerospace museum to the Pilgrim Hall Museum. With such broad access to so many museums, students could create a museum out of their classroom, creating brochures, banners, exhibits and souvenirs all from research they get from the websites found on this search engine.

The second online resource introduced is Great Museums, which allows students to design their own "cybermuseum" and also get creative ideas for classroom exhibits. I can see this website being helpful alongside Resource Central - Museum Resources, mentioned above.

If students need to find museum definitions to better understand, they would find the next resource very helpful, Discovering the Museum Glossary.

Lastly, Reissman introduces a great website, specifically for the educator, Going to a Museum? Resources for Educators. This website will help teachers plan step-by-step how to use museums as "vehicles for student-centered content and investigatory collaborative learning".

Question #1 How would using an online museum be more beneficial than a real museum? Although nothing can beat the experience of visiting a real museum, there are some benefits to using an online museum. Students would have access to more museums in a much shorter amount of time than visiting each one in person. Another benefit would be the cost savings of not having to pay admission to each museum that you get to visit online. In this economic climate that is a huge benefit.

Question #2 What are some assignments you could do using online museums? I love the idea of a classroom museum using information gathered at online museums. One assignment I would do would and Impressionist art assignment. I would have students study about Impressionistic art and gather samples to display and then have them create their own Impressionistic art to display alongside. Another would be to have the students select a culture and gather information and artifacts that represent that culture to display in a classroom museum.

Social Bookmarking

1. I chose the American Women Exhibit. I read about amazing women who made significant contributions to different areas in our history. The contributions ranged from feminism to style, motherhood to leadership and glamour to athleticism. Women are powerful and have shaped our American History. The value of using primary sources is that they are the original document that all secondary sources come from. They give you the first look at the topic they represent.
2.The three areas I feel fit my teaching style are 1)Engage school staff in discussions and activities that offer an opportunity to explore attitudes, beliefs, and values related to cultural diversity and cultural competence. 2)Gather and organize resource materials related to culturally diverse groups for use by school staff. 3)Network with parent, family, minority community, and faith-based organizations concerned with the needs of diverse students. Solicit their involvement and input in the design and implementation of initiatives for culturally, linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse groups. The reason I picked these three areas is because I always feel strongly about gathering information about a topic, in this instance cultural diversity, so one can be more informed. I feel that resources come in many forms including articles, books, people and organizations and it's important to tap all of those resources. I also feel that it is important to encourage others to gather information and have discussions amongst each other to come up with action plans to promote and support cultural diversity.
3. I chose a brief biography about Neil Armstrong that was provided by NASA. It told of his Personal Data, Education, Special Honors, Experience and NASA Experience. This link was for reading levels 3-6. I selected it because my son, whose in 3rd recently did a book report on Neil Armstrong and has had a real passion for space and astronomy this year.
4. I used the puzzle makers section. I think this is a really cool link. I have always loved word and number games and feel that it is an important and fun part of education. Many adults still find enjoyment and challenge in doing the weekly crossword puzzle, wordsearch or Sudoku. This website provided a simple way to tailor puzzles towards whatever topic or level you are working with. I would definitely use this section to make learning fun, but challenging.
5. I found the topic of Multiple Intelligences fascinating. I knew that people learned in different ways. I've witnessed it in my own children, but I never knew how many different intelligences existed. It is extremely important to investigate these differences and understand how to best teach to these differences. In the past the accepted way of learning has been in line with High Linguistic, Logical- Mathematical, and Intrapersonal Intelligence learners, leaving out several other types of learners. It's wonderful that educators are looking at the less traditional intelligences and starting to teach to those intelligences. I think we could start to see a lot less frustrated students, as well as teachers and parents.
6. I chose a lesson plan where students create an Identity Poster explaining who they are and information about names, heritage and family history. This helps students to understand each other better and hopefully lessens the amount of teasing and name-calling that goes on. I would use this as a beginning of the year lesson, in order to set the stage for what is not tolerated, as well as a way for students to get to know each other.
7. All of the questions in the EdChange Equity & Diversity Awareness Quiz were enlightening. I was surprised about most of them. The two I found most interesting were the ones about how much the annual earnings of the average full-time U.S. worker is roughly equal to the daily earnings of the average CEO in the U.S. and how even though crack cocaine (largely used by lower income people) and powder cocaine (largely used by wealthier people) have the same amount of the drug per gram, the amount of the drug required to get a sentence of a mandatory of 5 years in prison is hugely different - 5 grams for crack cocaine and 500 grams for powder cocaine. I think these standards are very unfair. Although I do believe people deserve higher wages based on education, job responsibilities, time in position, I don't believe there should be such a huge gap in the amount the average full-time worker makes and a CEO. I also think it's discriminatory to have different sentences for basically the same crime. The law seems to definitely lean in favor of wealthier people, who can also afford better attorneys and less often will end up serving those sentences anyway.
8. Netiquette score = 80%. It is important to teach students proper netiquette because they need to know the appropriate ways to function in a cyber community. They need to understand that just because it is a virtual world, that they still have responsibility to be upstanding citizens in that world.^5

Journal #1

Ribble, M (2008-2009). Passport to digital citizenship. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved 02,03,09, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=December_January_No_4_3&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4193&ContentID=22675&DirectListComboInd=D

In his article, Mike Ribble points out that with all the advancements in technology comes a responsibility to define, model and teach what is "appropriate technology behavior". At the 2007 National Educational Computing Conference, ISTE introduced new updates to the student standards of NETS (National Educational Technology Standards), where changes were made to the wording to redefine what is appropriate. Ribble then goes on to introduce the Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship that are key to understanding Digital Citizenship. These nine elements are only a beginning to how we start opening the lines of communication about Digital Citizenship. Not only is it important to understand what Digital Citizenship is, but also how we use it globally and how to provide resources for students, as well as teachers and parents. Next, Ribble introduces the four-stage cycle of technology integration in order to explain how this process can take place. The four-stages are Awareness, Guided Practice, Modeling and Demonstration, and Feedback Analysis. These will help to get people talking about the use of technology in schools, homes and communities, therefore creating a safe environment for all digital users. Ribble stresses the importance of Digital Citizenship and sums it up by stating "there needs to be a common language between our schools and homes that clearly outlines what we expect our children (as well as ourselves) to know and follow".

Question #1: How will I integrate Digital Citizenship into my classroom? First of all, I would have an age-appropriate lesson explaining what it is and the importance of everyone's participation. Then, I would follow up with lessons/assignments throughout the year that would reinforce this concept. There would also be visuals in the classroom that would spell out the rules of Digital Citizenship in our classroom.

Question #2: How could we get parents and communities involved in this process? We could have Technology Fairs (similar to Science Fairs) or nighttime assemblies that encourage parents and members of the community get involved. Ultimately, if there is excitement behind it from schools, as well as students, I think you can accomplish more involvement from parents and members of communities.