515 Wrap Up

Looking back at the last six to seven weeks, I am pleased with what I learned. I will be taking over all the computer classes at my school next year and look forward to use what I learned. For example, I will have students use online word processing, presentation, spreadsheet resources instead of going to Office right away. I am also looking forward to using the recipe activity as well. I thought Google Sites was definitely something that I will like to develop more, where I can have a classroom website. I liked Google Sites more than a wiki because others can not edit it. Finally, I found the 21st century skills that we talked about to be interesting especially since my school's professional development has been a sort of extension on these skills. I think these skills are important because they fit our students' learning styles.

Rethinking Facebook; School Yard Bully Now Comes Home

Our last chapter talked about how to support our students' futures and briefly focused on social networking. Now, I may be the only one that feels that I can make it through life just fine without Facebook and in fact I'm thinking that I might a T-shirt stating this ;)

In all seriousness, my school recently had a pretty big issue with students using Facebook. Granted these entries were written at home (allowing the bully to come home) but the repercussions carried into the school day/week. Students who are not 13 (which 13 is still too young) are on Facebook using it as a toy and not a tool it is meant to be used as. In my opinion using a birthday date as the sole way to check how old individuals are in order to get an account is completely inadequate. Facebook is a billion dollar company and needs to figure this out. Usually when people are not doing anything wrong or have nothing to hide, they have no problem giving additional information if it would keep others safe. Not to mentioned we are already completely tracked while using online resources, what's so hard about giving up a little more privacy. I don't know the answer to this issue but if I had a billion dollars, I would definitely be more innovative to solve this.

Not only are my 10-12 year old students are on Facebook, they are pretending to be 20 or 30 years old. I understand that it is a parent's duty to stay current and "police" what their child is doing on the Internet. These kids are so tricky they make 2 pages and share one with their family and the other with their friends. Parents don't even know about the second page existing. As cyperbullying increase, teenage suicide has as well and unfortunately Facebook has yet taken the civil responsibility to improve this severely flawed system. A true disservice!

Walking Through History

I decided to focus on a lesson called "A Walk Through History" on the InTime website because I teach middle school social studies (7th grade). This unit stated that it would be more appropriate for 8th grade, which makes sense because that grade focuses on American History. The unit is a historical video timelime that incorporates what students have learned in language arts, social studies, and science. Students were divided into teams to research one of three topics: school history, local history, or national history. Students were to gather information on important people, events, inventions, and fashion from colonial times to 2000 for their topic. They did this through collecting movie clips, pictures, anything that would help someone understand the important events over time. Students showed what it meant to be an American through a digital timelime and burying a time capsule.

I could use this in my social studies classes but on a scaled down version because 7th grade focuses on world geography. I would also have to scale down the collaboration because most teachers at my school don't collaborate. (That's sad but scheduling makes it impossible because teachers don't share same preps.) I could not only do it for America but other countries as well, like China. I think timelimes are a great visual to show highlighted events or material and that's what drew me to view this. Finally, the way this unit was set up held students accountable individually and collaboratively through group work. I think that is important because students need to be assessed both ways so not only one person is doing all the work.

Spreadsheets R Us

After thinking about spreadsheets, I realized that I use them more than I originally thought I did. I used them in my previous position at my school as Director of Enrichment and now in my teaching position to create vocabulary, math, or social studies documents, typing results, budgets, etc. The issue at hand is that I"M using them and not teaching them to students as much as I would like to. I feel that spreadsheets and excel are learning tools that many teachers run from...maybe it is because of formulas or creating charts. Who knows, but at my school I know many teachers don't use spreadsheets/excel as a learning tool for the students. Incorporating the use of spreadsheets by students will definitely become a goal of mine in my teaching.

Another thought I wanted to share was about creativity from the text. I feel that I know many "Ms. Groves" that expect students to do things the "right way". I strive to not be one of those teachers, but find the "Ms. Groves" comes out every once and again. Last year I was talking to a colleague at my work and she saw some literature circle worksheets that I was using in my class. She mentioned that she has used the same ones in the past and was in the process of updating them because kids won't give her the results/answers she wanted. Being a first year teacher, I said "Huh" to myself because I felt just fine about what my students replied on the sheets. Fast forward to this year, I was talking with my instructor for our professional development classes at our school, which focuses on classroom strategies for dynamic teachers. The instructor and I were discussing the same literature circle worksheets and I mentioned how a teacher wanted to "update" them because students weren't replying with the teacher intended responses. The instructor mentioned that it is not the sheets...and when I heard that, I had an "A Ha" moment. It goes back what I said before about how I strive to not be like "Ms. Groves". I realized that I fit into this creative teaching philosophy and style.

Gone are the days of the typewriter

When thinking back to my undergraduate studies in the late 1990's, it's amazing to see how far word processing has gone! My freshmen year of college I had to do my papers on a typewriter and what a mess that was. English 112 was especially a mess because I had to hand in the intro paragraph and then it would come back with teacher comments on it, which meant I had to retype it. Then we had to hand in the the first two pages and that would come back with teacher comments, and I had to retype that...and so on. I can't believe I survived. Needless to say I got my first computer that next year and it was awesome. The idea that a document could be SAVED was my new best friend. Now with the online word processing programs, I love the idea that a document is saved on the web so you don't have worry about your computer crashing. Another great feature is that you can collaborate with others in real time to work on a document. Who would have thought of that in 1999? :)

I definitely think I could and will use these online word processing programs. My only issue is that most of them require an email address. My school doesn't have school email addresses for students and it can get a little tricky when students use their own addresses. So I will most likely use Type With Me but that program is just word processing. I like Zoho as well because it has power point along with a spreadsheet option, but once again it requires an email address. I have posted this before for a different class but I repost it for this class. I have found a way to "trick" websites that require an email address into accepting new accounts for students. Here's how its done. You need a gmail account and after the teacher's login add a + and whatever the students decide (maybe their name) and then the @ gmail.com. This essentially is creating an umbrella email account that the teacher receives the emails and not the students because its the teacher's account. For example I created an umbrella email spreiss1211@gmail.com and students would use spreiss1211+jennifer@gmail.com I like google docs but probably won't use it because it doesn't allow the "trick", maybe because google docs and gmail are the same company. Zoho accepts the "trick" emails and students will have to get the web address for their document. This all seems confusing but it works like a charm for most Web 2.0 apllications. I feel that a teacher can never be too careful with adolescents and the Internet.

New post for new class CEdO515

At this point I have completed reading the two assigned chapters. I feel that the first chapter was
sort of a review and started to set the stage for a break up of each of the six 21st century skills. At my school we have some opportunities for professional development and have briefly discussed a few of the 21st century skills that were mentioned in the reading. Before these PD opportunities I thought just because technology was included, then 21st century skills were being used. Well, as I am continuing in my life long learning, I am finding that is not true. In fact, it can be far from true! I agree with our textbook when it stated that an effective technology enhanced task will use technology only when it is necessary and appropriate.

I have played around a bit with some of the graphic programs and am finding some cool things…I made a graphic “WANTED” poster of my little Pomeranian, LuLu, from image chef. I started to laugh out loud, printed it off, and now it’s hanging on my refrigerator. I can see how my students have so much fun on the internet. I do want to work more on ToonDoo or Toonlet because I think that is something my students will like to do in computer class. Hopefully I can figure them out.