Wednesday, January 30, 2013
A Typical 21st century Student: Connections
How many connections does a typical high school student have... I really have no idea! Below is an image of what I think a typical high school student's learning network looks like. Am I way off base here?! To start this visual I thought back to when I was in high school. What did I use? Well what I used most (in the younger years) was MSN Messenger. Now the reason for the question mark on the image; is that still around?? Next most frequently used social device for me (as I grew older) was Facebook. I would use my home desktop computer to access these, where I would also check my Hotmail account, YouTube, etc. My question is, how much have students evolved? How much do they know about? What other tools do they use? My visual seems small.. what am I missing?!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
My Connections: A Visual
Let me start by saying - Wow! Below is a visual I created using MindMeister of my PLN/PLE. Honestly, I did not realize how many connections I really had until I started creating this visual. It just kept growing! Of course credit for a lot of this goes out to Mike. If I had not taken the ICT course last year, some of these connections would be non-existent. Some of these connections also came from my learning so far in this new course with Mike, which I have only been in for 3 weeks! A big thanks to my friends and my peers also, because several of these tools I learned from them.
Presentation by Alec Couros
This past week we had the pleasure of having Alec Couros speak to our class. Alec Couros is a professor of educational technology and media in the Faculty of Education and the University of Regina. Once again this class began with me witnessing yet another amazing communication tool available on the internet! Alec spoke to us through Adobe Connect. We did experience a few problems with the microphone where he would occasionally cut out, but overall I think this tool is great! We were part of a private group where we could not only listen to him speak, but also see and follow his presentation on the screen and contribute to a group chat (which was great to let him know when we were having trouble hearing him!).
I really enjoyed listening to Alec's presentation. He spoke about different tools to use in the classroom, such as Edmodo, polleverywhere, remind101, etc. Then he discussed the movement of technology into the classroom. As for the rest of the talk.. well he summed up his ideas very well! He focused on teaching us to:
Two things I'd like to weigh in on:
1. As Alec mentioned in his presentation, kids are becoming increasingly familiar with all kinds of electronic devices and online social media. Even kids under the age of 13 have facebook accounts. By age 11 many kids have smartphones. Alec briefly discussed how many schools are moving towards the BYOD motto; ie. Bring Your Own Device. Students will bring smartphones, tablets, iPads, laptops, etc. to class. This seems crazy to me. Don't get me wrong - crazy in a good way! I remember when I was in high school.. "no cellphones allowed in class!" is what I would hear from every teacher. Nevermind the idea of bringing in a laptop or an ipad. And that was only 6 years ago! Come to think of it... I didn't even own a cell phone until I was 16 (Imagine that!), nor did I have a laptop until I entered University. Nowadays kids are getting tablets at age 5 and cell phones at age 11!
But complaining and jealousy aside... this is a good thing, in terms of the educational opportunities it creates. There might be negative aspects as well, but for the most part I think the movement towards electronic devices in the classroom is a great idea. There is so much learning that can be done using these devices. Sure, there is the worry that students will be spending their time on Facebook or texting their friends during class. There is also the importance of using the internet to share and learn in an appropriate and respectful way. But the way I see it, it's more rewarding to embrace it; not fight it! Teach and model digital citizenship and appropriate classroom behaviour. From there, it's nothing but quality learning!
Hooray for change!
2. "It's no longer enough to do powerful work if no one sees it" - Chris Lehmann
This is a quote Alec shared with us to highlight his point that learning needs to be made visible. If you do amazing work, share it with the world! Alec really got me thinking about the aspect of give and take involved in social networking. It is important to remember that you should share just as much as you receive. This got me thinking about my own online sharing. I find a lot of useful information and fantastic resources online, but how much do I actually share?
So what did I take away from this? Online learning is a two way street; I need to give back just as much as I take. But the best thing I took away from it... a new goal! - Share, share, share!
Thanks for presenting Alec!
Oh and on a side note: another special thanks to Alec for introducing me to Kid Snippets. Should I be embarrassed that I had never head of/seen these videos?! I love them. These videos are hilarious, and so creative. A script written and spoken by kids, acted out by adults; enough said, right? If you are like me and have never heard of these videos (but have now!), I highly suggest watching them. My favourite so far: Driver's Ed
I really enjoyed listening to Alec's presentation. He spoke about different tools to use in the classroom, such as Edmodo, polleverywhere, remind101, etc. Then he discussed the movement of technology into the classroom. As for the rest of the talk.. well he summed up his ideas very well! He focused on teaching us to:
1. Embrace technology tools,
2.
Experiment with new forms of Expression,
3. Teach digital citizenship,
4. Connect and learn via
social networks, and
5. Make learning visibleTwo things I'd like to weigh in on:
1. As Alec mentioned in his presentation, kids are becoming increasingly familiar with all kinds of electronic devices and online social media. Even kids under the age of 13 have facebook accounts. By age 11 many kids have smartphones. Alec briefly discussed how many schools are moving towards the BYOD motto; ie. Bring Your Own Device. Students will bring smartphones, tablets, iPads, laptops, etc. to class. This seems crazy to me. Don't get me wrong - crazy in a good way! I remember when I was in high school.. "no cellphones allowed in class!" is what I would hear from every teacher. Nevermind the idea of bringing in a laptop or an ipad. And that was only 6 years ago! Come to think of it... I didn't even own a cell phone until I was 16 (Imagine that!), nor did I have a laptop until I entered University. Nowadays kids are getting tablets at age 5 and cell phones at age 11!
But complaining and jealousy aside... this is a good thing, in terms of the educational opportunities it creates. There might be negative aspects as well, but for the most part I think the movement towards electronic devices in the classroom is a great idea. There is so much learning that can be done using these devices. Sure, there is the worry that students will be spending their time on Facebook or texting their friends during class. There is also the importance of using the internet to share and learn in an appropriate and respectful way. But the way I see it, it's more rewarding to embrace it; not fight it! Teach and model digital citizenship and appropriate classroom behaviour. From there, it's nothing but quality learning!
Hooray for change!
2. "It's no longer enough to do powerful work if no one sees it" - Chris Lehmann
This is a quote Alec shared with us to highlight his point that learning needs to be made visible. If you do amazing work, share it with the world! Alec really got me thinking about the aspect of give and take involved in social networking. It is important to remember that you should share just as much as you receive. This got me thinking about my own online sharing. I find a lot of useful information and fantastic resources online, but how much do I actually share?
So what did I take away from this? Online learning is a two way street; I need to give back just as much as I take. But the best thing I took away from it... a new goal! - Share, share, share!
Thanks for presenting Alec!
Oh and on a side note: another special thanks to Alec for introducing me to Kid Snippets. Should I be embarrassed that I had never head of/seen these videos?! I love them. These videos are hilarious, and so creative. A script written and spoken by kids, acted out by adults; enough said, right? If you are like me and have never heard of these videos (but have now!), I highly suggest watching them. My favourite so far: Driver's Ed
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Twitter - Yay or Nay?
People everywhere now know the symbol of the social media tool known as Twitter. Similar to Facebook this icon is now seen on
personal websites, online newspaper sites, university
websites, you name it.
Until recently I have avoided this new fad like the plague. Why?
Honestly... I didn't really have a good reason! I guess I just didn't really
see the benefit of it; just another place to share funny stories or quotes (or "tweets"). Needless to say I was definitely a Nay as opposed to a Yay as far as joining the Twitter bandwagon goes.
Due to my enrollment in the Internet for Educators course, I have now joined Twitter. Surprisingly enough... I am thankful for this! I knew I should join, keep up with the times and what not. But if you've read my previous blogs you know that technology and I are not often close friends! This is yet another piece of the world of technology I shied away from. Now that I am on Twitter, I am trying to learn the ropes. I have not yet "tweeted"... that will be a big step. I am to my surprise starting to see the benefits; mainly the idea of finding all kinds of useful information and resources, as well as sharing my own with others. Another thing I think I will enjoy once I get used to it is all of the humour that exists on it. A little something else to brighten my day!
All that being said, I can't say I am fully a Yay for twitter just yet (I can hear everyone saying boooooo.. but hold on!). I feel as though it is probably just because I am not used to it yet.. not totally confident on how to navigate through it, share, find, etc. But I feel confident that I will turn into a yay soon! After all, there must be a good reason why everyone out there is addicted!
...
Updates on that to come!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Presentation by John Evans
On Thursday our class had the privilege of having John Evans come in as a guest speaker. John is a web technologies consultant with Manitoba Education. I could see that John is very passionate about integrating technology into all areas of education. He provided a very informative session filled with tons of great resources, and great tips on how to build a Professional Learning Network (PLN). He spoke passionately about the importance and usefulness of building a PLN, and I found that he made a very good case! As I have mentioned before, I definitely consider myself a beginner when it comes to all things technology. When it comes to searching the internet for ideas for the classroom, I will be honest: I use the simple (and what I used to consider quickest) methods such as google, Pinterest, etc. Now I am thinking.. WHY!
John also gave the class a tour through the new program Maple, and signed up our whole class. This is a Professional Learning Network tool exclusively built for teachers. My initial impression of this tool is very positive. It seems very easy to navigate, which is great for people like me.. who are not very advanced internet users! I also noticed that it is layer out in a very organized fashion, which fits my personality very well. Maple has tons of different groups you can join which cover a very wide range of topics, and offer tons of resources. You can also upload your own resources and find friends. The part I like best about Maple is that you can create your own library. Using this, every resource I find I can just add it right to my library; this way it is all going to one place. On top of that, the library is already organized into specific topics such as Images, Videos, Blogs, etc. I am in organizational heaven! (I am sure you can tell from this I am a bit of an organizational nerd!)
Just listening to John speak about PLN's, I started wondering why haven't I been doing this the entire time. Think of how large my online PLN would have been by now, and how many resources I could have available to me with just a few clicks! Just as John said PLN's help us to connect with people all over the world, and create an easy and efficient way to not only find great resources, but share our own with the world. The great thing about using technology to build your own PLN and creating that online presence is that it is unique to each individual. You create it to fit your own needs, and make it work for you. It is all about sharing and collaborating; creating a community of learners. Professional learning has never been easier! I look forward to building my own PLN and embracing this beneficial, while still somewhat overwhelming aspect of technology!
Website: joevans.pbworks.com
John's website is loaded with links covering a wide range of topics in education. There are videos, articles, wiki's, etc. Topics/links I found particularly interesting and useful were IPads in Education, Social Bookmarking, and Literacy with ICT, just to name a few. You could get lost for hours on this site!
Great presentation - Thanks John!
John also gave the class a tour through the new program Maple, and signed up our whole class. This is a Professional Learning Network tool exclusively built for teachers. My initial impression of this tool is very positive. It seems very easy to navigate, which is great for people like me.. who are not very advanced internet users! I also noticed that it is layer out in a very organized fashion, which fits my personality very well. Maple has tons of different groups you can join which cover a very wide range of topics, and offer tons of resources. You can also upload your own resources and find friends. The part I like best about Maple is that you can create your own library. Using this, every resource I find I can just add it right to my library; this way it is all going to one place. On top of that, the library is already organized into specific topics such as Images, Videos, Blogs, etc. I am in organizational heaven! (I am sure you can tell from this I am a bit of an organizational nerd!)
Just listening to John speak about PLN's, I started wondering why haven't I been doing this the entire time. Think of how large my online PLN would have been by now, and how many resources I could have available to me with just a few clicks! Just as John said PLN's help us to connect with people all over the world, and create an easy and efficient way to not only find great resources, but share our own with the world. The great thing about using technology to build your own PLN and creating that online presence is that it is unique to each individual. You create it to fit your own needs, and make it work for you. It is all about sharing and collaborating; creating a community of learners. Professional learning has never been easier! I look forward to building my own PLN and embracing this beneficial, while still somewhat overwhelming aspect of technology!
Website: joevans.pbworks.com
John's website is loaded with links covering a wide range of topics in education. There are videos, articles, wiki's, etc. Topics/links I found particularly interesting and useful were IPads in Education, Social Bookmarking, and Literacy with ICT, just to name a few. You could get lost for hours on this site!
Great presentation - Thanks John!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Technology.. Not my close friend!
Technology and I.. We aren't the best of friends. Often I find myself frustrated by the hardships and confusion I nearly always feel when it comes to anything technologically related. I tend to think I just wasn't born with that gift! When it comes to blogging, web related social networking, etc. I tend to steer clear. However recently I have come to realize that technology, while difficult at times, is nearly always worth the fight. Even though I have my fair share of hair-pulling experiences with technology, it really is the best and most efficient way to gain and share educational resources.
Thanks to my ICT courses I was able to finally reach this conclusion! I have already gained a ton of web resources, and learned of new tools to use in the classroom. This blog will be a place to share my new experiences and insights into the world of technology. I may have said it before.. But I am excited and committed to this new journey!
Here is to change!
Thanks to my ICT courses I was able to finally reach this conclusion! I have already gained a ton of web resources, and learned of new tools to use in the classroom. This blog will be a place to share my new experiences and insights into the world of technology. I may have said it before.. But I am excited and committed to this new journey!
Here is to change!
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