Friday, September 25, 2009
Week 4 - Blog Posting #8 -Reflection on Blogging
Web 2.0 has a lot of features that appeal to me. Especially if they are open source. As a web developer I can add to the features if need be or even take away. There are many strengths that Web 2.0 has to offer as a teaching and learning tool including its ability to adapt to the times and making things easily updatable. Unfortunately the weaknesses are its lack of accountability for student learning which the educator must somehow mesh together. Within my educational setting, which at the present time includes P.E. and coaching Volleyball, mainly includes using YouTube to put up some Volleyball plays and some fun activities to do outside of P.E. (I teach grade-schoolers.) If I end up teaching Art History in the near future I’ll definitely be looking into some tools like Google Docs and such. I’m sure I’ll be using a lot though. Dim Dim is something probably worth using as well. As far as problems go I’m sure they will arise but the great thing about Web 2.0 tools is its adaptability as well as is ease of simply switching to another tool. So many exist out there that there are too many to choose from. I’m definitely excited about using these tools and I cannot wait to use them in the near future.
Week 4 - Blog Posting #7 -Second Life
I have not had much use for Second Life, but maybe that’s because I have not found great use for it as of yet. In one of my classes I’ve had to create a character and use him to have a class meeting a few times, but that’s pretty much it. When I took my class, it was a bit awkward having a class meeting but it did help being assigned groups. I will admit that it was an interesting experience text chatting to avatars.
After visiting the Blooms Taxonomy and Multiple Intelligence SL sites I must admit that it has peaked my interest a bit more. I’ve always known you can visit different worlds created by different people but I never knew the detail it can have. I was impressed and think I’ll be using SL a bit more now.
I’ve read Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence book and I liked what he had to write about. Seeing it live, however, was impressive to see. It was very well labelled and had lots of virtual things to explore. I like the possibilities that SL has to offer but being that I’m limited to what I teach (Sports, P.E.) I don’t think I have much use for it. However, I’ll be hoping to teach Art History sometime soon and I can see how SL will come in handy! Until then I’ll be exploring the possibilities.
After visiting the Blooms Taxonomy and Multiple Intelligence SL sites I must admit that it has peaked my interest a bit more. I’ve always known you can visit different worlds created by different people but I never knew the detail it can have. I was impressed and think I’ll be using SL a bit more now.
I’ve read Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence book and I liked what he had to write about. Seeing it live, however, was impressive to see. It was very well labelled and had lots of virtual things to explore. I like the possibilities that SL has to offer but being that I’m limited to what I teach (Sports, P.E.) I don’t think I have much use for it. However, I’ll be hoping to teach Art History sometime soon and I can see how SL will come in handy! Until then I’ll be exploring the possibilities.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Week 3 - Blog Posting #6 - Communities of Practice
I’m the Webmaster of my church. A few years ago I wanted to turn our website into a social networking platform that our members, regular attendees, and guests can log into and see just what our church is about. I wish I could say I finished the project, but unfortunately it was just too much work for myself. However, the idea is still there and now these other social networking sites, such as Facebook, would make it easier to implement their technology so our church can use it. A good example is Fan Pages. We can make a Facebook Fan Page of my church and spread the word that way. Another way we can spread the word is to advertise. The two most commonly used social networking sites, in my opinion, is Facebook and MySpace, with LinkedIn trailing third. Other tools that I can use to make an independent social networking site for my church are Google’s tools that they offer for free. I can use Google APIs to implement photo albums using Picasa, add blog support, etc. Finally, if I really had the time, money, and manpower, I can go with my original idea and make a completely independent church social networking site.
As a Web Developer, I’m learning new ways of doing things. It wasn’t until I signed up with Full Sail that I realized the full potential of these tools out there, and I know it’s only the tip of the iceberg. As an Educator, I’d like to create a mini-social network for my kids to go to. The idea is out there and I’m still contemplating it, and who knows, maybe I’ll expand and create the next big platform. Haha, maybe not. But in this life, anything is possible.
As a Web Developer, I’m learning new ways of doing things. It wasn’t until I signed up with Full Sail that I realized the full potential of these tools out there, and I know it’s only the tip of the iceberg. As an Educator, I’d like to create a mini-social network for my kids to go to. The idea is out there and I’m still contemplating it, and who knows, maybe I’ll expand and create the next big platform. Haha, maybe not. But in this life, anything is possible.
Week 3 - Blog Posting #5 -Social Media
Needless to say that we are in a culture where technology is bringing our ideas to new heights. The more I blog the more I come to realize that Web 2.0 is not so much technology as it is an idea. It’s the idea that can be backed and expanded by technology to further collaboration. After seeing the videos it gave me ideas on how to use it to collaborate with students and with my colleagues. One of the sites that I’ve actually begun to enjoy looking at is the Creative Commons site where we get some of the videos. It’s actually really interesting to see all the videos they have!
If you think about it, Rate My Professor.com is a social media website where students can not only rate their professors but also leave comments and even tag them as well. This gives students the ability to choose their professors (provided they are listed) based on performance. What an idea! What a concept! Think of the things we can do in that context alone!
So how can I use this for my students? I’m not exactly sure yet to be honest with you. I’m limited being that I’m a P.E. teacher and Volleyball coach at the moment, but why not use it if it will help, right? How can I use this for my colleagues? Not sure on that one as well. I’ll keep thinking though and see what I come up with.
If you think about it, Rate My Professor.com is a social media website where students can not only rate their professors but also leave comments and even tag them as well. This gives students the ability to choose their professors (provided they are listed) based on performance. What an idea! What a concept! Think of the things we can do in that context alone!
So how can I use this for my students? I’m not exactly sure yet to be honest with you. I’m limited being that I’m a P.E. teacher and Volleyball coach at the moment, but why not use it if it will help, right? How can I use this for my colleagues? Not sure on that one as well. I’ll keep thinking though and see what I come up with.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Week 2 - Blog Posting #4 -21st Century Skills & Lifelong Learning
I was most certainly NOT raised on MTV because when I was a kid MTV actually had music! Things have changed. I can say, however, that I was an original Nintendo kid. I had the original Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt with the toy gun and funny looking dog that would come up from the bushes when you didn’t hit a duck. I was introduced to computers in 1996 when America Online 2.0 was out. E-mail was foreign to me and none of my friends had it, so I had no reason to e-mail anyone. Times have surely changed.
I have to agree with Howard Rheingold’s view about Digital Natives. “And don't swallow the myth of the digital native. Just because your teens Facebook, IM, and Youtube, don't assume they know the rhetoric of blogging, collective knowledge gathering techniques of taggers and social bookmarkers, collaborative norms of wiki work, how to tune and feed a Twitter network, the art of multimedia argumentation - and, by far most importantly, online crap detection.” (Rheingold, 2009) Sure, they know how to do these things, however putting it into a context of learning is something that needs to be taught to them. Educators will always be needed to put knowledge into context for the student to process. Attention, participation, cooperation, critical consumption, network awareness as Mr. Rheingold states is needed to not to be used individually but work together for a student to properly adapt in the world.
The college I attended for my Bachelors degree has a Lifelong Learning program. Once a student has graduated, he or she is allowed to come back, free of charge, and take any class and as many classes within their program of graduation, for the life of graduate. How can you say “no” to that! We don’t stop learning because we graduate, if anything, we only learn 10% of what we use in school and the rest in the real world. The Jeffrey Gitomer sums it up when he states, “In order for me to have gained the mastery that I’ve had I could only have done it by remaining a student.” (Gitomer, 2008) We will be learning for the rest of our lives, and if we choose to stop learning we stop growing. So how can we teach this to our students? The answer may lie in the Classroom 2.0 theory, if properly handled.
External Sources:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/rheingold/detail?entry_id=38313#ixzz0REYrbyO8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh6yd6wfCgU
I have to agree with Howard Rheingold’s view about Digital Natives. “And don't swallow the myth of the digital native. Just because your teens Facebook, IM, and Youtube, don't assume they know the rhetoric of blogging, collective knowledge gathering techniques of taggers and social bookmarkers, collaborative norms of wiki work, how to tune and feed a Twitter network, the art of multimedia argumentation - and, by far most importantly, online crap detection.” (Rheingold, 2009) Sure, they know how to do these things, however putting it into a context of learning is something that needs to be taught to them. Educators will always be needed to put knowledge into context for the student to process. Attention, participation, cooperation, critical consumption, network awareness as Mr. Rheingold states is needed to not to be used individually but work together for a student to properly adapt in the world.
The college I attended for my Bachelors degree has a Lifelong Learning program. Once a student has graduated, he or she is allowed to come back, free of charge, and take any class and as many classes within their program of graduation, for the life of graduate. How can you say “no” to that! We don’t stop learning because we graduate, if anything, we only learn 10% of what we use in school and the rest in the real world. The Jeffrey Gitomer sums it up when he states, “In order for me to have gained the mastery that I’ve had I could only have done it by remaining a student.” (Gitomer, 2008) We will be learning for the rest of our lives, and if we choose to stop learning we stop growing. So how can we teach this to our students? The answer may lie in the Classroom 2.0 theory, if properly handled.
External Sources:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/rheingold/detail?entry_id=38313#ixzz0REYrbyO8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh6yd6wfCgU
Monday, September 14, 2009
Week 2 - Blog Posting #3 - Media Literacy
I was taught in a school where “literacy meant the ability to read, write and present cogent arguments on paper.” (Barish, 2009) Sure, there were some teachers that thought outside the box at the time (late 90’s) by making me go out and do my own research but they never pushed me into doing so. To my knowledge there were no “tinkering schools” and if I got something wrong I would definitely be disciplined for it either by a lower grade or punishment by my parents. Of course, a lower grade is a form of accountability for the student and a way for a teacher to evaluate the progress of his or her student and I truly do believe that parents need to encourage their children to do their best. These new tools that are being developed as time goes on can and should definitely be used to help the student and help the teacher keep track of the student’s progress as he or she learns while in school.
I like the idea of play being used as a way to better the students problem solving skills via experimentation. If you mess up, you simply hit the “RESET” button or simply start the game over. What comes to my mind, however, is that if we’re training our kids for a future in the “real world,” they must be aware that failure is a possibility. I saw that failures did happen in the Tinkering School video and they problem solved their way out of that failure, which is great! But not everything is about fun and games. We as adults know that life can be boring and difficult and we must use these tools to prepare them for that as well. School should be fun and well rounded, sure. However, a school should also teach a student about the realities of the future, one of which should include that life has no “RESET” button and sometimes you can’t start a level over.
I like the idea of play being used as a way to better the students problem solving skills via experimentation. If you mess up, you simply hit the “RESET” button or simply start the game over. What comes to my mind, however, is that if we’re training our kids for a future in the “real world,” they must be aware that failure is a possibility. I saw that failures did happen in the Tinkering School video and they problem solved their way out of that failure, which is great! But not everything is about fun and games. We as adults know that life can be boring and difficult and we must use these tools to prepare them for that as well. School should be fun and well rounded, sure. However, a school should also teach a student about the realities of the future, one of which should include that life has no “RESET” button and sometimes you can’t start a level over.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Week 1 - Blog Posting #2 - Learning 2.0
“Web 2.0 tools will transform our learning, the institutional learning system of yesterday, does not work anymore. We need to transform our educational system in order to compete in the future.” (Siegel, 2009)
I agree with the above statement, that Web 2.0 tools will transform our learning. I also agree that our current learning system is out dated and used at a time that required such methods to be used. However, one thing that the videos listed did not really touch on was accountability.
We, as educators, are accountable to the student. As the students in the “No Future Left Behind” video stated, “We want your wisdom.” Are we then supposed to simply comply with the demands our our youth, the youth that is asking for our wisdom, and do what they want us to do? It is not our job to raise these kids (unless they are our own kids) but to make sure that they learn what is required of them in what we know to be their future. Yes, it involves technology, or the arts, or something else that has not been invented yet, but one thing that everything in the future holds is accountability. Our youth will be responsible for their actions and their work ethic when they reach college and the real world. So how are we doing them a favor if we don’t hold them accountable for their learning while in school?
I’m not saying that standardized testing is the solution to these but it memorization is something our students need to be used to because they will need to memorize things in their future. So how can we use Web 2.0 to make sure they are learning what they are learning while not slacking off and not doing what they are told? I like the idea of using iPods in school, but what if a student is not doing what they are doing by listening to music instead of a lecture or instructional podcast? Do we brush it off and simply think Oh, its okay, he’s using technology that he already knows how to use? I hope not.
Am I off in this? Am I stuck on 20th century pedagogy? Someone help me out here. Did anyone else catch on to this? We are their future. Let’s use these new technologies to reach out to them but not at the cost of our souls! Accountability and responsibility are also in their future, lets hold them at their word but have consequences ready when they goof around because the consequences of goofing off in the real world are more dire than when they are in school. “Character is more important than intellect.” (Gardner, 1999)
Gardner, H (1999). Intelligence reframed. New York,
NY: Basic Books.
I agree with the above statement, that Web 2.0 tools will transform our learning. I also agree that our current learning system is out dated and used at a time that required such methods to be used. However, one thing that the videos listed did not really touch on was accountability.
We, as educators, are accountable to the student. As the students in the “No Future Left Behind” video stated, “We want your wisdom.” Are we then supposed to simply comply with the demands our our youth, the youth that is asking for our wisdom, and do what they want us to do? It is not our job to raise these kids (unless they are our own kids) but to make sure that they learn what is required of them in what we know to be their future. Yes, it involves technology, or the arts, or something else that has not been invented yet, but one thing that everything in the future holds is accountability. Our youth will be responsible for their actions and their work ethic when they reach college and the real world. So how are we doing them a favor if we don’t hold them accountable for their learning while in school?
I’m not saying that standardized testing is the solution to these but it memorization is something our students need to be used to because they will need to memorize things in their future. So how can we use Web 2.0 to make sure they are learning what they are learning while not slacking off and not doing what they are told? I like the idea of using iPods in school, but what if a student is not doing what they are doing by listening to music instead of a lecture or instructional podcast? Do we brush it off and simply think Oh, its okay, he’s using technology that he already knows how to use? I hope not.
Am I off in this? Am I stuck on 20th century pedagogy? Someone help me out here. Did anyone else catch on to this? We are their future. Let’s use these new technologies to reach out to them but not at the cost of our souls! Accountability and responsibility are also in their future, lets hold them at their word but have consequences ready when they goof around because the consequences of goofing off in the real world are more dire than when they are in school. “Character is more important than intellect.” (Gardner, 1999)
Gardner, H (1999). Intelligence reframed. New York,
NY: Basic Books.
Week 1 - Blog Posting #1 - Web 2.0
Before attending Full Sail I was not fully aware about Web 2.0. To my knowledge it was simply upgrading CSS styles to make things more designer friendly. I was completely off! I had no idea what the possibilities for collaboration were until my first class. Not only that, but now I have more tools to teach my kids… even in P.E.! At first it was mind-boggling what I could do and as the classes went on I was introduced to more Web 2. 0 tools.
I've recently introduced Google Docs in my workplace. I am the Assistant Athletic Director for a small private school and since my implementation of this our response time has more than doubled. Not only that, it has given us a one-stop-shop to put all our information and is accessible via web enabled mobile phones. It has not completely eliminated the use of e-mail but it has dramatically reduced the need of e-mail use. I share my Google Doc with the Athletic Director and the School Administrator and things streamline a lot better. Collaboration tools are definitely a source that saves time and money.
I am also the Boys Volleyball coach and got the idea of using YouTube to record some drills, plays, etc for my team to look at outside of practice. I was not aware at the time that I was engaged in using a Web 2.0 tool. Since then, I have come up with ideas on how to use collaboration tools to better help my team. This includes putting up more YouTube videos, using MySpace (since most if not all of my team uses MySpace), and, of course, using Google Docs to collaborate with my assistant coach. A new feature that is coming out soon is Google Voice, where I will be able to have one phone number that will ring my cell phone, work phone, home phone, etc. Using Google Voice I wont have to give out my personal phone numbers and only having to worry about giving out one phone number as well. The tools are getting better as time goes on!
I've recently introduced Google Docs in my workplace. I am the Assistant Athletic Director for a small private school and since my implementation of this our response time has more than doubled. Not only that, it has given us a one-stop-shop to put all our information and is accessible via web enabled mobile phones. It has not completely eliminated the use of e-mail but it has dramatically reduced the need of e-mail use. I share my Google Doc with the Athletic Director and the School Administrator and things streamline a lot better. Collaboration tools are definitely a source that saves time and money.
I am also the Boys Volleyball coach and got the idea of using YouTube to record some drills, plays, etc for my team to look at outside of practice. I was not aware at the time that I was engaged in using a Web 2.0 tool. Since then, I have come up with ideas on how to use collaboration tools to better help my team. This includes putting up more YouTube videos, using MySpace (since most if not all of my team uses MySpace), and, of course, using Google Docs to collaborate with my assistant coach. A new feature that is coming out soon is Google Voice, where I will be able to have one phone number that will ring my cell phone, work phone, home phone, etc. Using Google Voice I wont have to give out my personal phone numbers and only having to worry about giving out one phone number as well. The tools are getting better as time goes on!
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