Final Course Reflection

Week 8

This summer has flown by! I don't think I am ready for this summer or this class to be over. 

I have learned more about myself in social networking than I ever thought I would. I realized one very important thing: I was not using social networking to its full potential. With sites like Edweb.net and LinkedIn Groups, I could spend my time communicating with other educators rather than surfing Facebook to see what former friends are doing today. 

I plan on continuing taking webinars when I can. Unfortunately, most of the live ones occur during the day so I may not be able to actively participate in them. Fortunately, Edweb.net has all of the prior ones recorded and saved. I have already gone through the archive to view ones that I feel will be beneficial in my classroom. 

Although my district is super strict about students using social media (especially the elementary students in which I teach), I hope to adopt a classroom Twitter account to enhance the student learning. I will not be able to post anything that gives my location or student names, but I can make that information vague enough to still open the account. It is beneficial to have the students interacting with others. I am also going to get involved with Mystery Skype. I have already talked to my tech adviser and she is on board for my plans. They've already gotten me a web cam and the year hasn't even started yet. 

I'm excited to try to use different social media in my classroom, but know I am going to have to battle the forces that be in order to make it happen. Strict policies are not a teacher's friend. I am going to have to make my case and make it strong. Luckily, I have a lot of ammo from my learning within this course to use and make my point clear and persuasive. 

As far as my grade for my blogs are concerned, I would assess myself at a 73 out of 75 points. Although I did absolutely everything required of my in this blog and reviewing the blogs of my peer, I am not perfect and should not receive a perfect score. There are places in my blogs that I could have given more of an effort or written more. I want to give myself something to strive for in my next class. 

Ways Schools are Using Social Networking for Teaching and Learning

Week 6

This week we were asked to curate a list of links that lead to projects done in classrooms using different forms of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, etc. I used Pearltrees to group mine by the social media type. 

Social Media for the 5th Grade Classroom, by khegel

With the global job market as competitive as it is, the sooner we start teaching our students how to learn using technology, the better. That does not mean that teachers are going to become obsolete and robots will teach all children, but kids need to start learning the technology lingo at a young age to succeed after high school.

To start students in that process, teachers can use some different forms of social media within the classroom. If students can reach out and communicate with other students from around the world, they are already becoming versed in the language of technology.

I know that it is extremely difficult to get the approval from some districts to use social media in the classroom without having to give away crucial information. What I've seen from some of the projects above, there are ways to use these forms of social media without giving away any crucial information about the students. The resource that allows this the most is Mystery Skype. This lets you go on and video chat with students across the world to figure out where the other class is based on yes and no questions. Using regular Skype with other schools across the country or even within your district can get your students to think outside the walls of your classroom.

Personally, I have had my 3rd grade students Skype with 7th graders from our district. The students were editing each other's work and practicing their public speaking all through the webcam.

This year, I want to incorporate a lot more social media into my classroom. I plan to have a class Skype and Twitter to start with.

Social Media Policies

Week 6

This week we were asked to modify our school district's Social Media Policy or create one. 

The public school district that I work for does not have a Social Media Policy or even an Acceptable Use Policy for technology. Middle and High School teachers send an Acceptable Use Agreement form home with students to allow them to bring their own technology. This form must be returned to school signed by themselves and their parents. The Acceptable Use Agreement outlines what technology is and how it should be used at school for educational purposes. It also has students agree that they will only use the wifi provided by the school. (St. Charles Parish Public Schools, 2015) This helps to ensure that students will not used sites and apps that are blocked by the internet filter while on the premises.

As far as employees are concerned, in my district, there are no policies stating what can and cannot be accessed in regards to social media.

This document is my idea of what could be used within my school district as a Social Media Use Policy. It is going to be focused on student usage of social media in the classroom.

Student Social Media Policy

Our impact

1. Follow the school's code of conduct when writing online.  It is acceptable to disagree with someone else's opinions, however, do it in a respectful way.  Make sure that criticism is constructive and not hurtful.  What is inappropriate in the classroom is inappropriate online. (Cornwall-Lebanon School District, 2016)
2. Do your own work!  Do not use other people's intellectual property without their permission.  It is a violation of copyright law to copy and paste other's thoughts. When paraphrasing another's idea(s) be sure to cite your source with the URL.  It is good practice to hyperlink to your sources. (Cornwall-Lebanon School District, 2016)
3. Users are responsible for their own behavior when communicating with social media. They will be held accountable for the content of the communications that they state/post on social media locations. (Pottsville Area School District, 2011)
4. Remember your audience: Be aware that a presence in the social media world is or easily can be made available to the public at large. This includes prospective students, current students, current employers and colleagues, and peers. Consider this before publishing to ensure the post will not alienate, harm, or provoke any of these groups.  (Ball State University, 2009)
5. Strive for accuracy: Get the facts straight before posting them on social media. Review content for grammatical and spelling errors. This is especially important if posting on behalf of the university in any capacity. (Ball State University, 2009)

Access

6. Users should have no expectation of privacy in anything they create, store, send, receive, or display on or over the School District’s CIS systems, and the School DIstrict’s authorized third partiers’ systems, including their personal files or any of their use of these systems. (Pottsville Area School District, 2011)
7. Track your success. Analyze and organize your content to improve your social media account. Use analytic tools to assess your progress and keep track of posts that users respond to positively. (Kansas State University, 2015)
8. Families can be helpful partners. Share your digital footprint with your parents and consider their suggestions. Get your parents’ input about what information they feel should remain private and what is fine to post publicly.  (New York Department of Education, 2013)
9. Adjust your privacy settings appropriately. Privacy settings are automatically set by social media providers governing who can see your posts, how information is linked, and what data is available to the public. Each social media platform has different privacy setting defaults and some change those settings without making it obvious to you. (New York Department of Education, 2013)
10. Report the behavior and get help. If you are being cyberbullied or hear about/observe someone else being cyberbullied, report the behavior and get help. You can tell a parent, school staff, another adult family member, or a trusted adult. (New York Department of Education, 2013)

Feedback

Before this document is even distributed to parents and students, the technology team that oversees the district's use of technology must agree and sign off on the wording of the document. 

Once the document is fine-tuned enough to receive feedback, it should be given to the legal department to receive their feedback. Feedback from the law offices will decide edits before release to the public.

After the law offices have given their edits, the document is ready to be released in DRAFT form to the public. At the next board meeting, the Superintendent and Board members can release the DRAFT and the following Google Forms link to collect feedback: http://goo.gl/forms/7zFbUEO03R7boHyh2.

Feedback will be collected for a month. This allows members of the community, parents, and even students to voice their opinions on the chosen policies. Edits will be made based on appropriate feedback from the community. 

References

Ball State University. (2009). Ball State University Social Media Policy. Retrieved from https://cms.bsu.edu/-/media/WWW/DepartmentalContent/Library/Copyright/PDFs/BallState_SocialMediaPolicy.pdf

Cornwall-Lebanon School District. (2016). Social Media/Network Guidelines for Students. Retrieved from http://www.clsd.k12.pa.us/staff.cfm?subpage=624705

Kansas State University. (2015). Social Media Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.k-state.edu/socialmedia/bestpractices.html

New York City Department of Education. (2013) Student Social Media Guidelines. Retrieved from http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/9765B2DF-9BD5-42AA-8D85-005D0FC8AA23/0/Student_Social_MediaGuidelines_finalv3_20140128.pdf

Pottsville Area School District. (2011). Social Media Policy. Retrieved from http://www.pottsville.k12.pa.us/cms/lib07/PA01916599/Centricity/Domain/38/Social%20Media%20Policy%20-%20Students.pdf

St Charles Parish Public Schools. (2015). Bring your own technology - letter of agreement. Retrieved from

http://www.stcharles.k12.la.us/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=1287&dataid=1508&FileName=byot_letter_of_agreement.pdf

PLE Diagram and Comparison

Week 5

This week, after joining some Professional Learning Networks, I had to take all my social networking connections and create a diagram of my Professional Learning Environment. 

This is the image I chose to create to represent my Professional Learning Environment. The sharpies are represent the fact that even though all the sites and apps are different, they are still social networking sites. Just like all the highlighters are different, but part of the same pack.

I chose to split my PLNs into two categories: sharing and learning. When making a list of all my subscriptions and all the websites I have a log in to, the differentiation became clear. Half of the highlighters belong to websites that I go to frequently and involve an aspect of sharing. Of course, I can learn a lot of information from these sites, but I use them primarily to share information with other people. The other half are sites that I go to in order to learn something. Again, although I can and do sometimes share on these sites, I most often use them in order to gather information for personal and professional reasons.

 When reflecting on all the websites I actively participate in, I learned that my life revolves around either homework or social networking sites. Out of all these PLNs, I only used four of the ten before beginning the grad school adventure. Now, I feel more connected to teachers and leaders from all around the country and world.

Looking at the diagrams of six of my peers, Amanda, Kjersti, Kimmy, and Megan all shared the idea with my that out PLN's almost revolve around us in an equal measure. Amanda's diagram connects her idea to a bigger theme, just like my Sharpie pack. We have eight sites in common. She included search engines like Google and Chrome to the list. Kjersti had all of her elements being included under one central theme, like mine. We have six of our PLNs in common. She has some of the different blogging sites that I chose not to use. Kimmy's color palette mimics mine in the fact that they all revolve around her central character. We also have six of the same sites listed in our PLNs. Megan categorized her sites in four chunks, but still had them revolving around her without the sites connecting to one another. We had a few in common, but she added some additional sites that I would not have thought would be a PLN, but I can see how they may be a part of one.

Julian and Allison had their original categories, but had their sites and apps connecting to one another and linking to more than one category. We have a lot of the same PLNs listed. I could have done my design more like theirs because as I mentioned above, I use some of the apps for sharing, but classified as learning and vice versa.

Real Time and Live Virtual Professional Development

Week 3-5

For the last few weeks, I had to participate in four live Twitter chats and four live webinars. I am going to list out the different online events I've attended and a summary of what I notices. 

Live Twitter Chats

1. June 29, 2016      #3rdchat

Summary: This was an awesome first experience in a Twitter chat. They moderator laid out the question and answer process for any new chatters. The chat was based around a book that they are reading for a book club. Although I didn't read the book, questions were based on ideas taken from the book, so my opinion on the topic of 3rd graders was still valid. It was great reading how 3rd grade teachers from across the world would get their communities involved in their classrooms. Of course, each of my answers incorporated some form of tech making the classroom a better place. Not all answers had to do with technology, since it wasn't specifically a technology based chat.

2. June 30, 2016     #games4ed

Summary: This chat was perfect for people who are looking to incorporate games into their classrooms. We discussed the different online personality types and how to reach each student through the use of different types of games. We also talked about ways we could get students involved in games that don't necessarily match their gamer type. Flexible grouping and personality type matching would have to be used to make games work in groups. I made a post about a virtual brag board to post at the conclusion of the game so students can show what they know. After the chat, I had one of the participants message me and ask me to get involved piloting a game he designed specifically for 3rd grade students. I have been in discussion about him and how we can make this work in my classroom.

3. July 7, 2016      #DENchat

Summary: Although I am not a member of Discovery Education Network, I am familiar with their product and was curious about the kind of information I would be able to gather from this chat. As part of the chat, we discussed different DEN strategies and how we use them in class. Based on the DEN archive and short descriptions, I was able to choose strategies that I actually do use in class and comment likewise. At the end of the chat, after tagging @edtechbsu about how I'm in the program but don't have enough tech in my room, the moderator referred me to one of her friends that assists people in grant writing to obtain more technology. We have kept in touch since the chat.

#4 July 7, 2016       #isedchat

Summary: This chat was supposed to be for people who teach in independent schools. Since I used to work for a small charter organization that could fit into the mold of independent, I joined in this conversation. I think I learned the most from this Twitter chat. There weren't many people in the chat which made it so much easier to follow the thread and respond to other people. We talked about new approached in tech ed and a lot of different ways to engage students in the classroom like quizzing with Kahoot, Google quizzes, and See-saw. I still have to do some research on Google quizzes and See-saw, but the other chatters seemed to love them. 

Live Webinars

1. June 30, 2016    The Medal of Honor Character Development Program

Summary: It was very hard to go through this entire Edweb.net webinar without crying. This character study was about Leroy Petry, who was an Army Ranger who sacrificed his own safety for that of his men and received the prestigious Medal of Honor for his dedication and sacrifice. As you can see in the first picture, Ranger Petry has a prosthetic hand due to his bravery in disposing of a grenade. There was a book written about this brave encounter called "Choosing Courage." This webinar could be used to teach students about bravery and the consequences of war. You could link this interview with other wars being studies in ELA or SS.

2. July 7 2016    Apps for Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Other Learning Disorders

Summary: This webinar was given by understood.org. This was all about 12 of the most updated or brand new apps on the market that will benefit students with Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, ADHD, ESL, Dyscalculia, and functioning issues. Some of the apps mentioned are free, some are a one-time payment, and other require subscriptions for services. I wish that I would have known some of these prior to this school year. I had a student with Dyslexia who would have benefit from the use of many of these apps.

3. July 7, 2016    Embedding Music in the Early Childhood Inclusion Classroom

Summary: I was hoping that even though I do not teach Early Childhood, I would be able to get something out of attending this Edweb.net webinar. As it turns out, I did. During the Q & A, my question about having students transition into the Elementary classroom was answered. Basically, for some students, it can be very difficult moving from Early Childhood classrooms into the Elementary classrooms. By adding songs to make moving from one place to another go smoothly, students will be able to follow expectations without yelling or consequences.

4. July 8, 2016     A Roadmap for Women's Leadership

Summary: This was an extremely information Edweb.net webinar about two very strong women and their encouragement for other women to take superior roles within education. Dr. Darlene P. Robles is a Superintendent of a school district in California and has been "shattering the glass ceiling" on the idea of women in traditional educational roles. She has joined forces with other strong women in education to write the book "A Culturally Proficient Society Begins in School." Here she discusses her struggle as a female Latina student and eventually a Latina woman in administration roles.

Tips For Developing Your Positive Digital Footprint

Week 3

When venturing into the vast land that is the world wide web, there are some ways to make sure that what you leave behind reflects back positively. The following list is ten ways to make sure you are managing your digital footprint in the most positive light. The path of footprints you lead is of your choosing.

1. Search yourself frequently. By using a variety of search engines, you will be able to see results from across the internet. When do you search yourself, try using different varieties of your name, such as your first and last or full legal name. The usage of different names when you sign up for sites will yield different results. (Waldman, 2016) Seeing what is listed under your name can help to control what your reputation is.

2. Control your privacy settings. There is a time and a place for fun and silly posts, but in the eye of potential employers or important people is not one of them. On social platforms, such as Facebook, that can be seen by both friends and people in the professional community, it is best to control your privacy settings so only friends can see your posts. "Most social networking sites have privacy settings to help you manage the content you share and who you share it with," (UK Safer, 2015). Also, you can change who can view your photos and see the posts you make on other peoples' walls. 

3. Strong passwords are crucial. "You need to make sure your online accounts are secure by using the strongest passwords you can," (Davidson, 2016). Having strong passwords are going to prevent people from gaining access to your accounts and posting things that you would not want posted. Some sites require you to have lower and upper case letters, numbers, and special symbols. Even if a site doesn't require all those security measures, take it upon yourself to protect your image with an impossible-to-guess password.

4. Promote yourself. If you are someone who has a business or is selling product, "Instead of harassing family and friends through your personal account, create a new account for your business and allow the traffic to grow organically," (Stewardship Team, 2015). Set up that professional account on social media to allow people to follow or interact with that side of you if they choose. Having those separate accounts allows your family and friends to support your business while still getting to post about you at home and out in public. 

5. Keep your information locked away. When signing up for a new social media site or discussion forum, make sure not to give away too much personal information. If a site is asking for information that is not common knowledge, don't keep signing up! Free social networking sites should require a minimum amount of information to get started. You can choose what information will be published once you gain access to your site. (Granville, 2016)

6. Up-to-date keeps you safe. Whether you are part of an internet site or using a mobile app, keeping your site and information up-to-date will make your digital footprint a current one. "From time to time, review the apps on your phone or tablet. What are their privacy or information-sharing settings? If you don’t use an app anymore, delete it," (Kovacs, 2015). Leaving out-of-date information on the internet that you've completely forgot about can come and haunt you later. Stay on top of the information you expose to the public and make sure it is current.

7. PG 17 language only. When commenting on a thread or complaining about something that happened today, make sure your language is PG 17. You don't have to post as if you were on a children's show, but keep the foul language to the privacy of your own home. (Scambusters) Your opinion matters in terms of the internet, but using foul language makes other people think less highly of what you have to say.

8. Post when appropriate. Sitting in a board meeting about posting about your boredom is not appropriate. Whether you are friends with your boss on social media or not, posting at the wrong time can break a career or friendship. "Make sure your social media use isn’t simply a diversion from other more important things like chores and relationships," (Stewardship Team, 2015). If there is something or someone you are supposed to be focusing on, make sure to put Facebook and Instagram aside. 

9. Post what's appropriate. With politics raging rampant on the internet right now, people are coming out of their shell and posting opinions in discussion boards and all over social media. Before posting something that may hurt others due to a difference of opinion, think about what you're going to say and try to say it differently. "Respect the opinion of...If you feel the need to disagree, do so respectfully and acknowledge...arguments," (Touro College, 2014). No matter the issue, there are going to be people who disagree. Realize that not everyone will agree with you, and post your opinions thoughtfully.

10. Post wisely. "If you wouldn’t want a potential employer seeing something, don’t post it," (Pfeffer, 2014). When deciding whether to post that really funny picture from last night or not, consider who could potentially see it. If you wouldn't mind a potential employer seeing the image then consider what your grandmother would say. Sometimes, it is beneficial to go "old school" in your thought process when trying to determine if posting is a good idea.

References:

Create a positive digital footprint online. (2015, October 19). Retrieved from http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/news/create-a-positive-digital-footprint-online

Davidson, P. (2016, May 09). 8 Tips To Effectively Manage Your Digital Footprint | JUST™ Creative. Retrieved from http://justcreative.com/2016/05/09/8-tips-to-effectively-manage-your-digital-footprint/

Kovacs, N. (2015, November 19). How to Clean Up Your Online Digital Footprint. Retrieved from https://community.norton.com/en/blogs/norton-protection-blog/how-clean-your-online-digital-footprint

S. (2015, July 20). 10 Dos and Don'ts for a Positive Social Media Experience. Retrieved from http://www.stewardship.com/articles/10-dos-and-don-ts-for-a-positive-social-media-experience

T. (2014, May 19). 15 Rules of Netiquette for Online Discussion Boards [INFOGRAPHIC] - Online Education Blog of Touro College. Retrieved from http://blogs.onlineeducation.touro.edu/15-rules-netiquette-online-discussion-boards/

My Digital Footprint

Week 3

The best description I've found about digital footprints is comparing them to tattoos. Once they are impressed into the online world, they are nearly impossible to erase. Even if you can manage to "erase" the footprint, just like a tattoo, it will always leave a mark behind. But knowing this, it is your job to determine what that footprint will look like. The websites you join, the pictures you post, and the comments you make all point fingers right back in your direction. Online users must be aware of their posts and the impact it could make on their footprint in the long run. You cannot control the fact that your digital footprints are made each time you type on your keyboard in an online capacity, but again, you can control what it is you are adding to your footprint. 

When I Google search my name, the first thing that pops up is all the images I have allowed to be used as profile pictures or have been published of me. The first seven images are actually of me. Five of the images are profile pictures for Google or LinkedIn and other public sites. One image is the picture from my school's website and one image is a school-related article published in an online newspaper. There are no videos connected to my name.

On the Google web tab, the first page consists of all the public sites I am linked to. The first two are the links to my school's webpage and faculty list. The next couple are from social sites like The Knot and LinkedIn. One of the links on the first page actually connects right back to this very blog. Some of the links go back to articles published about my for community service or volleyball stats in college all the way back to published track meet results from high school. 

To search even further, I decided to look back into the posts I've made on Facebook, my longest running social networking site of ten years this month. Back when Facebook only existed for people with college email addresses, mine was born. Over the years all of my pictures and posts have been positive. There isn't any alcohol or embarrassing pictures on Facebook, as I don't let those get taken. Most of the posts I make now are about my upcoming wedding, but before that, for the last 5 years, a majority of posts are made about my beautiful pit bull and breaking stereotypes about Breed Specific Legislation. I very rarely post about work and have never posted pictures of my students' faces. I know how my footprint looks, but I don't want to be the person who impacts someone else's footprint in a negative way. 

Twitter for Professional Development

Week 3

For this Module, I had to follow five new-to-me educational hashtags. I looked through some of the more popular ones, but decided to go with the hashtags that meant the most to me and what I am currently teaching. The hashtags that have been added to my Tweetdeck are: #kidlit, #ELTchat, #elemchat, #spedchat, and #gbl.

In just a few minutes of scanning #ELTchat, the phrase WORD DOMINOES stuck out like a beacon. There is a link for a resource of how to make your own word dominoes for students to use in class. These are awesome! You can choose question words, like the example gives, or adapt to spelling words, story words, or vocabulary words. There are so many ways I can adapt this into my centers in my classroom.

Looking through #kidlit, I'm finding that there are so many resources on book lists for kids or up and coming authors. This one book list gives students a whole bunch of books to read about summer vacation, while they are on summer vacation. I wish I had this list in hand before we let out for summer break. I could have given the link to students so they can find high interest books for the break. I'll be able to use this hashtag during the school year to dig up some current books to introduce into my classroom.

Although I'm not currently teaching Special Education, I will always see through the sped lenses. #spedchat is filled with current articles about all the newest research and trending topics in Special Education. One that caught my eye directly relates to some of the struggles I saw students experience in my classroom this past year. I would have referenced this article about the signs of Dyslexia in struggling readers.

As far as using Twitter as Professional Development is concerned, I feel like it could be used as a good resource, but needs to be monitored. I know in completing this assignment, I took frequent breaks to check in on my favorite celebrities and the juicy gossip. There would have to be some way to hold people accountable to their own personal, professional development. If you are someone who just wants to learn new things to further your education without having to attend class, Twitter is an awesome way to develop professionally. I surfed Twitter for about ten minutes without interruption and wrote down nearly seven different resources that I would like to bring into my classroom. Twitter can be beneficial to someone who wants to grow professionally.

Creative Expression of Communities of Practice, Connectivism, and Personal Learning Networks

Week 2

For Module 2, I had to create a piece that shows my creative expression of Communities of Practice, Connectivism, and Personal Learning Networks.

When I think of the connections made over the internet in regards to working with other people, everything connects and is equally independent at the same time, just like the lines of a Subway system. This system in particular, Tokyo, is one of the most complex systems I've seen in map form. There are so many lines that the colors needed to be varied by shade in order to link a color to each line. These remind me of the invisible lines created when people share knowledge over the internet. I added the three major theories that are the basis of learning through the use of social media, Communities of Practice, Connectivism, and Personal Learning Networks. 

When I image those three theories, I almost visualize them as the different lines you can take to get you to where you want to be. The stops on each line are the apps or sites. Facebook, for example, is a stop that could be access from all three of the theory lines. It is the prime example for Connectivism in that you are connecting with others to gain and share information. "...found that distant education students significantly outperformed classroom students when media-supported collaborative discussion tools were used among students in asynchronous undergraduate courses."(Hogg & Lomicky, 2012) Although Facebook isn't always seen as a site that could be used for learning, but with video tutorials, chats, and links, people are able to connect with one another.

For people who get together to solve problems in a Community of Practice, a site like Google Groups is perfect. It allows the user to experience "experiential learning, social constructivism, and connectivism can be combined, illustrating the limitations of trying to rigidly classify learning theories." (Bates, 2014)

When one wants to link different sites and make an academic connection, people can experience the "...seven factors play a pivotal role in professional learning through networks: sharing, motivation, perceived value of the network, feedback, personal learning, trust and support, peer characteristics and peer value." (Sie, 2013) 

Some sites can only be accessed by one of the theory lines, while other stops share two, or even all three theory lines.

References:

Bates, T. (2014). The role of communities of practice in a digital age. Retrieved from http://www.tonybates.ca/2014/10/01/the-role-of-communities-of-practice-in-a-digital-age/

Hogg, N., & Lomicky, C. S. (2012). CONNECTIVISM IN POSTSECONDARY ONLINE COURSES An Exploratory Factor Analysis. Quarterly Review Of Distance Education, 13(2), 95-114.

Sie, R. L., Pataraia, N., Boursinou, E., Rajagopal, K., Margaryan, A., Falconer, I., & ... Sloep, P. B. (2013). Goals, Motivation for, and Outcomes of Personal Learning through Networks: Results of a Tweetstorm. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 16(3), 59-75.

Thoughts On Using Social Media For Professional Learning And For Student Learning

Week 1

What are you initial reactions about joining these social networks for use in this course?

Overall, I am excited about having to join many different social networks over the course of this summer. I am already a Facebook user, having to stay in touch with family and friends from across the USA when I moved from New Jersey to Louisiana. I am a little nervous about this Twitter thing. I had a Twitter account with my former 8th grade class and they loved it. We posted under a classroom name and they students were able to tag the people relevant to their posts. My current class of 3rd graders may not understand the gist of posting Tweets as well as the 8th graders did. I look forward to introducing this writing platform to them. I'll be able to teach the summarizing skill through use of the Tweets: short, sweet, and to the point. 

What is your experience in using social media for your own professional development?

I've never really dabbled in using Social Media to develop myself professionally. I have taken webinars, but I didn't have to communicate with anyone else, just sit and listen to the presenter. I would classify myself as a willing rookie. I look forward to finding and using social media resources to focus on sharpening my craft.

What is your experience in using social media as an instructional strategy in your learning environment?

Since Facebook has been on the block list for every school system I've taught in (5 different ones), I've never gained the opportunity to use Facebook as a tool for learning. As I go through my coursework in this program I am learning more about "fake Facebook" sites that have the same social media experience, but with an educational focus. That is something I will be using. I have used Twitter in class. The students created their own class Twitter handle and we would live Tweet on the Promethean Board for all to see. They would have to respond to literature, voice opinions about current events and political views, as well as write poetry all within the allotted characters. They loved the chance to tag the people that they were speaking about or responding to. It showed them that their voices can be heard in a positive and academic way, rather than cyberbullying and social nonsense. 

What are your expectations for this course?
I expect to leave this course with an arsenal of social media platforms to infuse into my classroom curriculum and the knowledge to do so flawlessly. I want to truly enrich the students' educations by showing them how to use their devices for positivity and academic enlightenment. I would love for them to leave my classroom with the confidence to continue using social media to have a voice and search for knowledge. 

Final Blog Entry EDTECH 541

Part 1: Course Reflection

Over the course of this semester, the most prominent thing I've learned is that I love bringing technology into my classroom. I always knew this could be an enjoyable process, but I've never been motivated enough to invest the time into making my current curriculum technologically-enhanced. Within the requirements of this course, I have taken my content speciality and infused it with engaging, technology-rich assignments into my EDTECH 541 website. Each and every project created links back to the AECT standards listed on the syllabus for this class. The projects are designed specifically to recall on your specific content pedagogy, in my case 3rd Grade English Language Arts, and incorporate the knowledge of technology to blend the two into creative lessons for use by the students.

I would like to say that I've grown professionally, but I don't think this is the case. My district is about uniformity within the classroom, so much so that I wouldn't be able to implement any of these projects without my partner teacher being able to do them as well. Unfortunately, with only one lab and simultaneous classes, there is not enough technology to go around. I have been able to display some of the true content and lessons for my students, but they have not been able to apply those lessons in their own technology based projects. With the conclusion of summative grades coming within the next week, I hope to use the remaining two weeks of school as a way to let me students explore my site and choose the project they would like to complete.

In an ideal world and classroom, I would take the time each day to plan technology-rich lessons to engage my students. I believe I have learned enough to transform a stagnant curriculum into a vibrant work of technological art. Keeping in mind the learning theories about how students learn, a majority of my projects touch on the theory of connectivism. Since 3rd Graders spend so much of their time trying to talk to their peers and seeking approval from their friends, creating projects that require communication with peers around the world gives them that sense of community and connection. 

Part 2: Self-Assessment

Using the Blog Grading Rubric, I would guess that I've earned 125 out of 140 points, which is an 89. Although I spent a lot of time writing my blog and making the connections needed to the projects of each Module, I don't think I included enough information from valuable sources or the textbook. Often, I used the blog as a way to express my ideas about the topics at hand, instead of using it as a way to express someone else's findings. Each blog entry was completed before it was due and I've never failed to comment on the works of two of my peers. 

Assistive Technology

For the past 6 years, I have had the newest version of the iPhone, but have never taken the time to look at the accessibility features. My iPhone 6 is running on the most recent software update, iOS9.3.1. After taking the time to explore the accessibility features, I found that there are over 29 ways to change your iPhone's setting to accommodate a variety of disabilities. Within those 29 or so options, some of the options go further with a number of sub-options. With all of these different features that can be modified, where do you start?

Using Apple's website to dig a little deeper into how they categorize their features, I've learned that they clump their features into four categories: vision, hearing, physical and motor skills, and learning and literacy.

Vision

Under this category heading are features like zooming, color inverting, and gray-scaling. These types of features change the way the text and images appear on the page so it is possible and easier for a person with visual disabilities to manipulate. For people who have difficulties with the shapes and design of this technology, there are features like button shapes and motion reduction. This allows some of the more advanced and moving features appear in such a way that is more pleasing to the eye.

Hearing 

For people who have disabilities that involve hearing loss, the iPhone has a variety of features that can accommodate any need. Just as if someone would connect their speakers through the use of Bluetooth, those with hearing aids can wirelessly sync their hearing devices to their phone. With this technology, people with hearing devices will be able to hear any noise that the phone may make, including text to speech software. The iPhone also has a feature that includes subtitles and captions to match any verbal sound as well as audio descriptions. To notify the user of incoming messages or alerts, there is a feature that allows the LED camera light to be used as a warning device. 

Physical and Motor

For people with disabilities such as Muscular Dystrophy, the iPhone has features that can make using their products accessible and convenient. For those who love to text, the predictive text feature gives suggestions of possible words that can be used based on what the topic of the message is and the first letter of the word that you're typing. This allows the user to type the minimal amount of letters and still have an in-depth conversation. Another feature is key short cuts that will automatically include phrases or sentences based on one or two letters typed. Touch accommodations allows users to program different directives for the iPhone to follow based on how long the user touches the screen. Tapping three times on the screen could order the iPhone to open the messages app. It can also be programed to ignore repeated touching and only acknowledge longer touch times.

Learning and Literacy

For the students who have difficulties staying on task, there is a feature called Guided Access that allows the instructor or guardian to temporarily disable to home button and keyboard. Without the option of straying from the task, a person with struggles to maintain attention to tasks can become successful in more immediate time periods. There is also a feature called Safari Reader that removes all the distracting ads and images from the text. Without all the distraction, students will be able to focus on the text itself, increasing their chances for success. 

Obstacles and Solutions for Integrating Technology in 3rd Grade ELA

When reflecting on my classroom experience so far this year, my first year in a 3rd Grade ELA classroom, I have noticed more obstacles than anything with technology integration. For the past 3 years, I have had the pleasure of teaching at the Middle School level in a technology-driven environment. When trying to implement technology into that curriculum, there were so many options in the app store and with sites on the internet that it was easy to get the students engaged and create lessons that were easy to scaffold. These lessons and projects were intriguing to students on every level of learning. There are so many educational resources on that high of a level. 

Also, students of this age are tech-savvy and privacy issues aren't necessarily a major issue. Students and parents sign the waiver promising to use the technology appropriately in school. With this, it is easy to get students on sites that allow project sharing and communication with the outside world.

Where I struggle with implementation on the 3rd Grade level is with the minimal number of resources available. Scholastic has a list of apps that teachers can use for free, but even looking through some today, they were already removed or just not what I needed to enhance my lessons. To do some of my projects for this class, I would have to search for hours trying to make some connections between sites and apps that would somehow become one cohesive lesson. That's not how technology integration should be. 

Solutions to this matter would be to think of the final assessments on a larger scale. Focusing on what the students should know will lead the designer back to how that can be accomplished with some creative searching. To create a project, I start with a general outline of the steps needed to get the all-encompassing idea of what the students should know. From there, I try to plug in the apps and sites that can be used as a possible resource. It may take shuffling and replacing, but teachers are adaptive creatures, we can make it work.

Privacy concerns also hinder the possible usage of some sites and apps within the classroom. If the site or app requires the students to sign up and put any information about themselves, including a valid name, it is not allowed in my district. If the site allows students to be labeled with a code name, that site is allowed. As a teacher, I am not even allowed to include location information when I sign up for a teacher account that can eventually lead to my students. This hinders a lot of possible options. 

For the privacy issues, I just have to be careful about which sites and apps I pick and choose. If I ask my district to purchase a license for me, I am free to use the student information, but those free sites are the ones to be careful about. I just have to sign up and design my class well before having my students even tinker with the sites. Having that planning and preparation will save a lot of time and hassle in the long run. 

Relative Advantage of Using Technology to Enhance Content Area Learning

There is a major difference between integrating technology into the classroom and actually using technology to enhance what is being taught and learned in the classroom. By integrating technology into the classroom, a teacher can hit the part of the COMPASS rubric that measures student engagement in learning. Using technology to enhance student learning can lead to higher evaluations because the technology is hitting different aspects of the rubric at the same time. In my view of technology, integrating technology may look like a teacher sticking in pieces of technology where they happen to fit into the curriculum. Enhancing the curriculum by using technology may start with the technology and building the lessons around that piece of technology and the standards being addressed. 

If an activity about writing a biography centers are the completion of a Storybird, students will use all sources of technology to create their final project. An example of that can be seen in my Language Arts Learning Activity. I designed my activity to start with a model Storybird that explains the main components of building their own biographical Storybird about their influential person. The students have to use technology to gather their information from credible sources and incorporate images into their work. They can be assessed on their ability to use information gathered from a text (online encyclopedia), integration of images into their biography, proper features of a biography, and their final product.

The relative advantage of using technologies like the example above is that students learn 21st Century technological implementation skills needed for their future education and in the workforce. Sara Bernard, from Edutopia states, "If every class could use some type of blog or Web page, students could post their questions and the teacher would be able to respond for the whole class to see. This means the teacher wouldn't have to answer the same question multiple times, and students would understand homework better." Now this quote seems like an advantage purely for the students, but the students will gain understanding of blogging, asking deeper questions, and using the thoughts of other students to gain a better understanding of their own thinking. Having the students create a blog alone is an advantage when considering the trends of blogging and vlogging on the internet. 

Right now, for my Graduate degree, I am writing a blog. This is a blog. I never learned how to blog when I was in Elementary School, but am now being required to write this blog. How could introducing this type of technology in Elementary School not be an advantage? Students using how to positively use social networking and other forms of online resources will lead them to success.


References:

Bernard, S. (2009, May 27). How to Teach with Technology: Language Arts. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-language-arts-lessons