Blog Post Five

Driving Questions Revisited:

Why should teachers use technology to communicate with students, parents, and peers? 

      
        Technology provides teachers with a large opportunity to connect with students, parents, and peers outside of the classroom. It can help lessen the gap between the classroom and the home. Often times students may describe their school days as "boring" or when asked what they did, they may say "nothing." These responses are deceptive to the families and do not properly represent the accomplishments in the classroom. By creating a classroom blog (and actively updating it) parents are able to see what happens in the classroom. They can follow along through the blog and participate in a virtual classroom. Technology can also help assess the different learning levels that students are at. By using different programs you can measure where students are and find a specific way to best help them. Lastly, using technology has proven to be very effective among peers. By using Google Docs or sharing different documents and programs, teachers are able to share their successful lessons with their peers. If the lesson proved to be effective then it would be beneficial to students to share it with coworkers.

Which technology tools have the greatest potential to improve communication between teachers and others? 

AND How do these tools improve communication?

         I think the most effective technology tool to improve communication between teachers and students is Edmodo. This online classroom is simplistic and easy to navigate. It allows a safe environment for students to participate in group discussions, as well as individual discussions with the instructor. Though Edmodo students are able to easily submit projects and receive grades. Using the program Digo or Diigolet teachers are able to provide direct feedback on the students work. This allows precise correction or praise, and the opportunity to remove comments so that they do not clutter the paper.
        Effective technology tools for communication between teachers and parents is Blogger. As I said in the question above, the blog provides a virtual classroom for the parents to follow along. This can also help develop the students at-home-learning-environment. Parents can participate in the lessons and continue the learning at home. The blog serves as an effective way to send out the News Letter. This can easily be created in Desktop Publisher. Although hard copies should always be available, it allows parents to stay up-to-date with classroom activities and there is not the concern of losing the paper copy news letter.
        Lastly, I find the AuthorStream to be a great technological asset. I have experienced the panic of exceeding email capacity with my PowerPoints, and AuthorStream solves this problem. It allows anyone to view the slide show, even if they do not have the program that it was created on. This can be used by parents and students to progress the at-home learning environment.

Blog Post Four

In Defense Of Gadgets:

When looking at blogs I often find gadgets to be distracting and overwhelming. They can make a good blog seemed cluttered or unorganized. While adding gadgets to my blog I looked for gadgets that would enhance the quality of my blog. The gadgets chosen will help the reader understand the issue of Plagiarism in schools.

1. Pages: I added Pages as the first gadget. I wanted the reader to easily see the different pages of the blog. This allows them to easily navigate the blog and instantly find the page that they want.
2. Search: This gadget will also help the viewers navigate the blog. If they do not know the title of the page they are looking for, then they can type in key words and locate the page. I wanted to put this at the top of blog so that the readers do not get frustrated if they cannot remember the blog post's title.
3. Poll: This poll surveys how much the readers think that college undergraduate students admit to cheating. The actual answer is 36%. This statistic was provided by PlagiarismDotOrg.
4. Link List: This gadget allowed me to list the links to helpful websites. I linked it to PlagiarismDotOrg, a helpful website that provides many facts about plagiarism, as well as tips for preventing plagiarism. I also linked it to the Purdue Online Writing Lab. This provides step-by-step instructions on MLA formatting. Students can use this link to make sure that they document their sources correctly and do not plagiarize.
5. List: I created a list about books on plagiarism. This gadget differs from Link List because it does not involve linking the list to websites. For this list I included two books aimed towards high school and college students, they talk about preventing plagiarism. I also included a children's book that explains plagiarism in a simple way.
6. Slide Show: I linked the website to a classroom slide show that I created. This would be ideal for a teacher's blog. It showcases classroom events, artwork, and daily activities. The slide show was created using Picasa.
7. Profile: About Me, this section allows the reader to get to know the author. While reading my professor's blog I found it helpful to read a bit about him and his purpose for the blog. It allows the reader to "get to know" the author without actually meeting them. For the parents of students they might find it reassuring to know about the teacher.
8. Blog Archive: This allows readers to find previous blog posts. They can look at them by date and title. I wanted the reader to easily see the different blog post. This allows them to easily navigate the blog and instantly find the page that they want.
9. Follow By Email: This gadget allows constant followers to be notified when there is a new post. It can be extremely helpful in a classroom blog because it allows the parents to be immediately notified when new information is posted. It can inform parents of upcoming events that are posted on the blog. It also can be useful if parents forget to check the blog because they receive an email, and this helps encourage the parents to interact with the online classroom.
10. Video: I posted three videos about plagiarism. One video was created for a school project, another video presents the issue of plagiarism in a very visual way, and the last video is from a news station. The video link allows viewers to look at specific videos chosen by the blog author. This can help eliminate wasted time that the viewer would have spent trying to find credible videos online.

Accountability

I used a Bubble Mind Map to chart a pros and cons list on the topic of technology accountability in the classroom.

Sustainability

We used VoiceThread to create an interactive slideshow. This program allows students to enter their thoughts through text or voice recording. The interactive program allows students to actively participate with a powerpoint.

Blog Post Three

A classroom blog that works: Patterson's Pack
Mrs. Patterson's blog, Patterson's Pack, is a good example of showcasing student's work online. One thing that immediately caught my eye was the professional, yet friendly appearance of the blog. It was easy to navigate and very interactive. She has posted her students' work in a variety of ways, for example she posted pictures, followed by the artist's (the student's) story about the picture. My personal favorite was the posted video that showed a typed poem a student wrote about his father, while I read the poem I also was able to listen to a recording of the author reciting his poem. By displaying the students' work in a variety of ways, Mrs. Patterson had allowed the classroom to enter the home and for the parents to actively participate in the classroom on a daily basis. Although Mrs. Patterson's website has some good elements, it is cluttered. There are many gadgets on the side of the blog. These gadgets are aimed at children and adults. The problem with this is that children might access the adults' gadgets and not know how to properly use them. In addition, some of her gadgets are only for children and may be distracting to adults. Some examples of her gadgets include an electronic pet hamster, Mrs. Patterson's favorite books, a live traffic feed, an electronic tree frog, etc. She can easily fix this by eliminating some of the unnecessary gadgets, or by providing a specific page dedicated to adult gadgets and another page for student gadgets.


A classroom blog that does not work: Denton Dynamo's Discussions
It is clear that Denton Dynamo has put a lot of time and effort into Denton Dynamo's Discussion, the blog for his 5th grade class. Unfortunately the lack of template and design has created a blog that is visually unappealing and hard to read. On the sides of his blog, Denton has listed "Related Links" and "My Classes and Students," these lists use a very small font that requires one to squint at the screen. The length of the list is overwhelming due to the small print. Your eyes cannot focus and pick up key words, instead you are just trying to read any word that is large. Another problem with the blog is the color scheme. Due the lack of template there is a mixture of sky blue, neon yellow, white, red, and blue. The mixture of these colors is not comfortable to look at and it creates a challenging environment for noticing key points or new post. He also uses a variety of fonts in his post. There is not a consistent font or font size throughout the blog and it is hard to follow. Denton Dynamo has spent a lot of time on the design of the blog, but could save time and work by using a pre-made blog template. This would solve all of the issues of fonts, colors, backgrounds, and display.

Digital Divide

   

  Is it important for all people to have access to the Internet?

Yes, because everyone should have a fair chance at accessing the resources. If not it creates a bigger gap between gaps. If people came to America and weren’t up to date with the technology we use, they’d be at a big disadvantage. But there also is the issue of illiteracy, if they cannot read, how can they use it. But, how can they use it if they don’t even have the opportunity to use it. There are many factors, prices, accessibility, priorities…


Will eliminating the digital divide create new global, national, and/or local social problems?

Yes, we need to lessen the separation between the US and other counties that is created by the digital divide. It would greatly affect the US, and it could empower people. If people have full access to the Internet they have more access to learning and finding resources. As for the people that don’t want to use it, despite access, we need to do a better job marketing it to them. It is a source of information and should not be feared or seen as an inconvenience.


What might these new problems be?

It would create social problems. If the digital divide was eliminated, it could upset people who are opposed to Internet. If they are against the idea of the Internet and the entire town becomes Internet dependent, they could be upset. But, once the older generation passes, all other generations are raised familiar with access or at least knowledge of the Internet in the United States. Another problem is that it is a distraction. If a family is focusing on just getting enough money to stay alive, the distraction of the Internet could take away from working, thus hurting the family. One disadvantage of technology is that many people misuse it or abuse it and this can cause disruption to their learning and their lives.

Blog Post Two

1) Is it fair to scrutinize teachers' private lives (either online or offline)? Explain/defend your position.

Over the past few years technology has changed the "playing field," and by playing field I mean all aspects of one's lives. Privacy is invaded the minute that something hits the Internet, and at times there is not control over what is posted about one's self online. This new issue has appeared so quickly that it has created a grey area as to how it should be handled in the work place. As for non-educational jobs, applicant's online existence is often viewed by the company during job applications, and then checked on sporadically once the employee is hired. The company may want to present a certain image, thus they want their employees to represent the company's reputation online. As for educators, the electronic freedom is more limited. An educator's online life is subject to viewing at any point by a co-worker, student, or adult. This aspect creates a level of professionalism that the educator should uphold. The educator's private life, both on and off line, needs to uphold the values that they represent to the students. They are role models, and if they act inappropriately that could have a negative effect on students. The content that they provide online should be very private and appropriate. If a picture needs to be defended, it should be deleted. If a comment is questionable, don't post it. Ultimately, educators are held to a higher standard because of the great impact they have on students, and they need to meet these standards.

2) Should teachers maintain a presence on social networking sites? Why or why not? As a teacher, what steps can you take to protect yourself from criticism and/or sanctions when using social media sites?

Teachers can exist on social networking sights, but their presence should be minimal. They should think of it as a reflection of their values. I had teachers in high school who would accept your Friend Request upon graduating. This allowed us to maintain our teacher-student friendship with the occasional catch-up online. Yet, their profiles are very professional. All pictures of them are ones that could easily be hung in their classrooms. All comments on their pages are very clean and even educational at times. Teachers are allowed to have an online existence, but everything on their page should be appropriate enough to have displayed in their school classroom. This means, no pictures of partying or wild nights, fully clothed, and appropriate settings. Not only that, but you are responsible for monitoring all of your friends comments and interactions with you. If they jeopardize your reputation, you should consider blocking their online friendship. Some people like the idea of having two online profiles, one for students, one for friends, but I think this could hurt the educator in the long run. If the "friends" profile displays inappropriate information, it could be exposed at some point. Teachers should keep their profile basic, this means limit the personal information provided, carefully inspect each picture posted of the educator, make all comments only visible to the educator. By limiting the amount others can see or potentially access, the teacher is protecting themselves. Ultimately, when in doubt, delete all social networking profile.