My Personal Learning Network

To start my personal learning network, I contacted three people. I was looking for information about classroom managment. The first person I contacted was Tim Fredrick. He has a blog on various tips about teaching. There are several posts about classroom managment. The second person that I contacted was Mark Karadimos. He is a math instructor and has a blog on teaching. The third person that I contacted was a blogger who is a teacher and has a blog dedicated to the subject of classroom managment. Reading through this blog helped me to learn some good tips that I will use in my classroom one day. I would suggest that future teachers check this blog out by clicking here.

Goodbye Class!

I just want to say that I really enjoyed this class and everyone who was in it. Hopefully I'll see many of you in some of my other classes. Good luck with the rest of your time in college and in your future careers! Mr. Wakeman, you are a good teacher. Thanks for making this class as nice as it was.

Mandatory Post

1. I learned a lot in this class. Although many of the things I had to do stressed me out, I did them. I enjoyed doing the blogs. I like to write in a journal, so I think that I will use blogging for more than just making a good grade in this class. When I started this class, I knew nothing about Google Docs. I am glad I learned about that becasue it is something that could be very helpful if I did not have access to Microsoft Office. Doing the podcast was interesting. I don't think its something I'll ever want to do again, but at least now I know how it works. I didn't have a YouTube account before this class, and it may or may not be something that I use again. In my opinion, I did not benefit from the PLN becasue no one that I contacted ever got back to me. I didn't have a Twitter account before this class either. I will not use Twitter after this class because it gets on my nerves! Making a professional blog is something that can be useful. I think it is a great idea. All in all I enjoyed this class. There are some things that I could care less about.

2. There is nothing that I wanted to learn in this class that I did not learn. I think that this class covered alot and maybe it was too much. I had this class one night a week and sometimes it felt like we didn't get to learn as much about some things becasue we had so much to cover in a short period of time.

3. There is not something that I hated so much that I wish that I had not learned about it, but I did not enjoy having to make so many different accounts. I feel like I have an account for everything under the sun!

4. This class did not excite me in any way. I don't really enjoy technology. I do think that it is useful, but it is not something that I get excited about. It's just something I use.

5. There were some challenging things in this class, but not one particular thing. I think I made some of the things seem harder than they were. I tend to stress easily and get overwhelmed when I do not know how to do something, or I have to do something new. I made it though!

6. I was not bored in this class. It kept me quite busy.

7. If I could change something about this class, I would have seperate classes for elementary and secondary ed majors so that we could focus more on how to use the technology with the age group we will be working with. Using technology with seniors in high school is way different than using it with kindergarteners!

8. I am somewhat technologically literate. I would say I'm probably medium.

9. I will maintain my technologyical literacy throughout my time in college and when I start teaching by using the knowlege I've learned to complete projects, keep up with classmates, learn from others, and gather information. I will make it a habit to take advantage of some of the things that I learned about, like Google Docs.

7 Stupid Mistakes & 7 Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology & New Classroom Rules by Education Innovation

Seven Stupid Things Teachers Do With Technology
Seven Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology
New Classroom Rules by Education Innovation

I read each of these lists and I feel that they are all important. If I must choose the two most important I would choose the Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make With Technology and New Classroom Rules by Education Innovation. I would choose the first one because I know that there are teachers out there who really do the things on this list. They should be fired. This list shows the example of how not to be a technology literate teacher. These things really happen every day and people need to be aware of it. I would also chose the list called New Classroom Rules by Education Innovation. I choose this one because I think it is a good model of how technology is changing everything we know about how school use to be. This list shows that by using technology, learning can be fun. It's not all about sitting still in your seat with your hand raised when you have a question. It's about having options. With technology, you can go to school in your pajamas while eating breakfast if you want to, get up and go to the bathroom when you want to, and talk when you want to. Technology also allows a person to have many sources at their fingertips. All three of the lists were important, but the two that I chose seemed to really show some important things that people need to be aware of.

At the Teacher's Desk

The blog At the Teacher's Desk is a very interesting blog about teachers using technology. I read five posts from this blog and learned a new perspective on a few things.I read the posts from October 20, September 24, September 18, September 13, and September 10.

In the October 20th post, the author discussed the need for teachers to become social networking experts. This is problably the post that I got the most out of. The author said that they had to cover for a teacher who was sick. The sick teacher's class would be testing in the lab. However, many of the students were already finished with the tests and needed something to do. The sick teacher said that they had been covering probablilty. So, author said that they sent out a tweet which said "Quick, I need some websites for students to do probability games. Sick teacher needs some help." Within minutes responses flooded in. The author of the blog said that this is a not only a positive pin story, but it is more. "It is a hint of what we will soon see in education." The author also stated that Students need a link to what they will learn, and that teachers are that link. I think that being experts in social networking is a great asset for teachers and this story proves how it can be.

The September 24th post was titled "How Do I Know I'm Not Just Being Selfish." The author discussed whether or not the he is imposing his belief that learning about blogging, creating media, and connecting with others or not. Is he forcing his intrests on others? Is technology better than traditional content? In my opinion too much of a good thing is not good. Everything needs to be in moderation. So, by combining technology and traditional content, students and teachers can benefit.

The September 18th post discussed using Skype to connect Mrs. Baker's ESOL class and Mrs. Whittier's Spanish class. I thought that this was a great thing. It shows how using technology can enhance learning and give people opportunities that they might otherwise not have. Mrs. Whittier wanted her class to learn about schools in Mexico and to have an authentic experience with the Spanish language. Mrs. Baker's class got an opportunity to see what attending a private school in Virginia is like. The classes were able to learn from one another and never have to leave their own classrooms.

The September 13th post discussed using technology efficently for communication. The author said that Twitter is good for quick communication, but that not enough parents access it to make it worthwhile. So, by combining it with the class blog by putting a Twitter feed on the sidebar of the blog, a few more parents access Twitter. However, he said that many of the parents do not access it enogh to get the updates on time. The author suggested giving out your cell phone number so that parents can easily access you. Some people are concerned that if they do this they will never be able to "turn off" work. The author said that he prefers speaking to the parents. The author also said that if "turning off" work becomes a problem, he is perfectly capable of not answering a call. I agree with the author here. I think that many parents would prefer speaking to the teacher if there was a real problem. I'm not talking about calling to find out petty things. I would let parents know that they can call me on my cell phone if there is something really important that they need to talk to me about. The technology of cell phones allows a person to be available at all times, which is why I think that this is a great way to use technology to communicate effectively. The author also suggested that teachers try using faceboook. Many parents have facebook and check it each day. By making a facebook account for the class, parents can have access to information on what is going on in their child's class.

The last post that I read was from September 10th. It stated that people are trying to ban pencils and crayons from school because they are dangerous. Now that there are colored penicls, the notes that students pass have drawings on them. There is also something new coming out called a ballpoint pen. People are afraid of this becasue it cannot be erased. This made me laugh. It reminds me of the way people are afraid of technology. It is important for teachers to not be afraid of learnig about and using technology in their clasrooms.

With blogging teachers can keep a professional collaborative blog such as this one. The author has links to his collaborators, which allows him to click and learn new information from peers. It is important for teachers to collaborate so that they can get new ideas and opinions. This will help teachers to stay excited about their job. It will allow them to provide an up-to-date education for their students.

Michael Wesch

I watched the Michael Wesch video called "Toward a New Future of Whatever". In this video he discussed how there is a strong bond between media and culture. When media changes, our conversations change. He showed a picture of his college class. The students looked like they were not paying much attention, and seemed very disinterested. Then he showed a picture of an American Idol casting call. Everyone seemed excited, and very interested in what was going on. He said that the difference was in the word "whatever." "Whatever" has changed into a word that describes our culture today: people think that the world is about them. They are self absorbed and miss opportunities to help others. People lose sight of what is really important and they seem to not actively work on their relationships. Mr Wesch said that things like youtube and blogging is a great way to keep connected. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace are other ways to keep in touch with friends and family. I use myspace to communicate with friends from high school, and my sister-in-law who lives 4 hours away. I also use blogging and twitter to communicate with my classmates and to ask questions about homework. As a future teacher I can see how these things will help me communicate with students and parents. They can use these new technologies to ask questions about homework, projects and other important information. It could also be a quick way for parents to write me a note concerning their child's progress in school. It opens up many doors for educators.

Student's Posting Their Work to Blogs

I think that it is important for students to post their work to blogs and in other ways because it opens up doors and presents opportunities that might otherwise not come to them. A great exapmle of this is how the elementary school students of thePS22 Chorus brought Stevie Nicks to tears as she watched a video of them singing a version of her song "Landslide." She invited the chorus to sing at Madison Square Garden for the Fleetwood Mac Show. If the students had not posted their song on the internet, they never would have been given such a great opportunity. Another example of this is Dear Kaia, a blog that Jabiz Raisdana keeps about his daughters. In one post, he shared about the importance of children spending time outdoors and connecting with nature. He had just finished reading The Last Child in the Woods, which gave him the idea to let his daughter take pictures outdoors and post a photo essay about what she saw. A group of eighth graders in Missouri was commenting on Mr. Raisdana's blog and he noticed their comments. They talked with him on Skype and decided to do a voicethreadfor Kaia about how her photo essay was used to help them learn.

Students who are graduating from college can use blogs to post their work as a type of resume for future employers. They can add videos and other content which would help to show how qualified they are for a job. I think that this is a great idea because one can learn a lot about a person by reading things that they have written, or by looking at pictures and videos of them. A future employer might be able to get a better idea about a person's personality by looking at a blog than they would during a thirty minute interview. A site called Zoli's blog discusses this topic. It says that resumes are dead, and that a person's blog is their new resume.

Another great thing about students posting their work to blogs is that it can give other teachers ideas for things to do with their students. It could be part of a teachers Personal Learnig Network.It is also a great way for parents to see what their child is doing in school. Even though I'm in college, my dad wanted to read my blog posts, so I gave him my blog address. He has been reading them and talks to me about things that I've written. It is a great way for students to share what they've learned in school.