My Personal Learning Network

            The Personal Learning Network I have built by using various social media, blogs, and RSS newsfeeds have increased my knowledge with the field of Education and has given me countless resources to utilize for my own benefit as well as students’ benefit. I use the RSS Newsfeeds to help keep myself up to date on news and current issues within the field of education. The different RSS newsfeeds helps illustrate issues that I may have been unaware of and brings these issues to my attention. Feedly.com provides great resources for teachers in their RSS newsfeeds to help them develop all areas of their pedagogy such as teaching styles, instructional materials, technology, activities, psychology of student learning, and even how to relate to students and help them become more engaged in their education. I have subscribed to many feeds on feedly.com but the most beneficial feeds I have found is the Edutopia RSS newsfeed and Education Technology newsfeed. These are great resources to help teachers become more aware of the technology available and how these resources can increase student learning as well as make themselves a more efficient and educated teacher. Students can also benefit from the RSS newsfeeds by being exposed to specific topics and issues within education and help them gain a perspective of their environment and how they fit into their environment. Overall, I am able to research and learn about almost everything within the field of education to help me refine and perfect my pedagogy for my future students.  

            Twitter has also been a useful tool to learn and explore different areas within education. Twitter allows me to search for specific areas within education such as common core, education news, or various resources and follow the conversation regarding that specific issue. Once I have followed the conversation, I can then either add to the conversation or just read and learn from what is being said within the conversation. Resources such as articles, websites, blogs and other sites are posted on Twitter as external links, which can add to my learning and can help me develop my pedagogy further. Some of the feeds I am following on Twitter that I have found beneficial are Education week, Discovery Education, KPBS News, Huffington Post Education, DML Research Hub, Edutopia, and National Geographic Education. These have been shown to offer various resources for both teachers and students and can also illustrate issues within the field to help broaden students’ perspective and develop their critical thinking skills. Since I am fairly new to Twitter, the only discussion or hash tag I currently follow is our class hash tag #422sp14 and school #csusmedu. Since I have signed up for a Twitter account, I have only tweeted once for our class. I have not had any responses from that particular tweet, however I plan to use Twitter for my personal and professional growth in the future to help keep me up to date on current issues within education. Overall, I believe Twitter is a great tool that can help teachers collaborate and communicate with each other on various issues and help keep the lines of communication open between teachers and people within the field of education.   

            Diigo is another tool I found to be useful for developing educators’ pedagogy and professional development. Diigo allows educators to join different networks that are interesting or useful in their profession, research these issues or topics, and contribute to their network through articles or other forms of information. This helps educators gain perspective and knowledge within a specific area. Also, Diigo offers educators research articles within either their network or even community to help them in their teaching profession. Some of the groups in my Diigo library are EduBlogs, Wikis in Education, and Teachertube. These pages offer many different resources to help teachers understand the nature of school and help students achieve their full potential. I have learned from these pages that there are many different methods to teaching and resources available to help teachers with their professional development and pedagogy. Overall, Diigo provides resources to teachers to help them develop professionally and provides a community for educators to collaborate and communicate resources with one another.

            The Ning Group I explored was the “Classroom 2.0”. I also applied for a membership with both Educators PLN and Classroom 2.0. The most interesting part of Classroom 2.0 were the blogs and articles posted within the site. There were over 1000 blogs to search and vast amounts of data within each blog discussion. These blogs provide endless amounts of information for educators to perfect their pedagogy and help their teaching become more efficient and engaging for students. Articles and blog posts include technology in education, classroom management, teaching styles, activities and lessons, and even resources to help students better understand what skills will help them succeed in school. I found articles within the site relating to the common core, which would help educators transform their lessons to meet the new common core objectives for their subject and class. These are all great resources to help teachers gain the knowledge they need to help students to the best of their ability. As well, teachers are better equipped to convert their teaching methods and material over to the common core. Overall, The Classroom 2.0 site has shown to be an excellent resource for helping educators prepare their students so they achieve their best in school and helping teachers provide the necessary tools and information to their students to assist them with their educational careers.

            My overall Personal Learning Network experience has taught me that there are great resources online for teachers and educators of all types and as long as educators are flexible and open to new information, educators can benefit from developing a Personal Learning Network. These resources can help educators develop professionally by providing tools, such as lesson plans, behavior management plans, communicate and collaborate with other educators, ask questions, assist other educators, share experiences or information, learn how to integrate technology into classrooms, and more. Educators can become prepare themselves to shift their lessons and material over to common core standards and use technology within the classroom to help guide instruction and engage students’ activities. I have learned from developing my own personal learning network that I can find almost any resource within my personal learning network for developing my teaching strategies and pedagogical practices to better my students’ educational experience. I have also learned through developing a personal learning network that education is a profession of continuous learning and that I am committing myself to a lifelong commitment to my education as well as my students’ education. Overall, I have learned that my personal learning network will continue to grow as I continue my education in the teaching credential program and develop my pedagogy as an educator. 

Classroom 2.0 Badge

Visit Classroom 2.0

Classroom 2.0 Badge

                                      

Mobile Learning for Education

Mobile Learning (iPad)

Student Pledge for School iPad Use

1. I will always keep my iPad cover on my iPad at all times.

2. I will always keep my iPad with me at all times, if I don’t, it must be safely and securely locked up (i.e. in a locker, backpack, or other secure area).

3. I will care for my iPad (ex. carefully plugging in cables, cleaning the screen only with a soft clean cloth, NEVER using water or any solution to clean the screen, ect.).

4. I will not download or remove any applications without prior permission from authorized personnel (Teacher, Teacher’s Aide).

5. I will ONLY use my iPad for educational purposes (i.e. Educational games, educational research, and other activities related to my education).

6. I understand that my iPad is subject to inspection at any time, for any reason, without notice.

7. I will NEVER bring my iPad into the cafeteria for any reason or have food or drinks near my iPad, as this may cause significant damage.

8. I will be the only person using my iPad and will not let anyone else use my iPad for any reason, unless my teacher gives permission.

9. I will charge my iPad every night so it is charged for school the next day.

10. I will NEVER use my iPad for cheating, plagiarism, or anything construed as dishonest or inappropriate.

Printed Name:__________________           Signature:____________________   Date:______________

Application Evaluations

Conent Based App Evaluations #1

Conent Based App Evaluation #2

Content Based App Evaluation #3

Criterion Based App Evaluation #1

Criterion Based App Evaluation #2

Criterion Based App Evaluation #3

          

422B-Reading Reflection #3: Build an Assistive Technology Toolkit

Build an Assistive Technology Toolkit

            The article “Build an assistive technology toolkit” and the video “Universal Design for Learning” communicate the importance of building a curriculum that fits all types of learners. We can achieve a “Universal Design” curriculum that accommodates all learning styles by incorporating various tools and assistive technologies, and by practicing flexibility within our lesson planning as educators. Since all students’ learning styles are unique, educators need to incorporate different tools and techniques to accommodate students’ individual needs, strengths, and interests. Educators need to support students’ unique learning style through demonstrating flexibility within their lessons to allow for students to learn in their own way. Educators can accomplish this by being flexible in their techniques and presenting their lessons using a variety of different instructional materials such as verbal content, visual content, animations, pictures, and videos, and highlighting important content in the lesson. Presenting varied representation of the material in a lesson is extremely important so it can accommodate all types of learning styles. Visual captions, animations, and graphics can be utilized in lessons to accommodate all types of learners as well as students with varied disabilities to help fit their needs and create the least restrictive learning environment possible. Demonstrating flexibility in their action and expression is also important in the development of all learners. Allowing students to demonstrate what they know in different ways and supporting their unique expression of the material is important to their development and autonomy as an individual. As educators, we can support their individual expression through positive feedback and allowing freedom of expression in assignments by promoting creativity and innovation in the classroom. Also, giving students options for engagement helps maintain students’ interest and allows students to stay engaged. Offering students different choices, while engaging them in activities permits students to find what interests them the most and what teaching methods and environment create the best learning environment. As educators, we should strive to minimize the barriers while maximizing the learning experience for all students to help reinforce an effective learning environment for all students. Overall, flexibility and accommodation are key components to creating an effective learning environment in which all students have the opportunity to learn and develop their skills.

            I completely agree with both the video and the article and believe all educators should advocate for creating the best learning environment for all students’ individual learning styles. Educators should inform themselves and seek professional development opportunities to better their students’ learning experience and increase their opportunity for growth in the classroom. Educators need to be flexible and open to new ideas and approaches of instruction to create this atmosphere for students. This would not only help educators find the best approach for teaching individual students, but would also help educators find the most effective and efficient method of instruction, which would increase students’ learning opportunities and development. I also believe educators need to be open to self assess their instructional techniques and methods to create a universal design for learning. This requires constant self assessment of an educator’s communication style, instructional techniques, instructional materials, activities, and the tools used throughout instruction and activities. Educators should be open and flexible to changes that could positively influence students’ learning opportunities. Educators’ self-assessment should drive their instructional approach in their classroom. Overall, I believe the more educators remain flexible, open to change, and committed to their students’ as well as their own education, the more engaging students’ education will become and the more learning opportunities will develop.

            The ideas in the article and video about integrating various types of assistive technology and tools to accommodate students’ unique learning styles and create a universal design for learning connects to a number of NETS standards. The first standard illustrated is NETS standard #1, creativity and innovation. Through changing curriculum to minimize barriers and maximize the learning opportunity, students can explore more options and develop their creativity and innovation with the various activities and assignments introduced in the classroom. Also, when educators are flexible in allowing students to approach learning tasks and demonstrating their knowledge in their own way, students increase their creativity and innovation in other learning experiences as well. The second NETS standard addressed is #6, technology operations and concepts. While educators need to incorporate assistive technology and other tools in their classroom to increase students’ capacity for learning, students need to demonstrate their ability to use these different tools and assistive technologies. Students need to learn how to effectively transfer the knowledge they are learning to new technologies to help create a less restrictive learning process to effectively complete tasks. Students will also need to use these new technologies effectively and productively within the classroom to ensure the learning environment is safe and effective for all students. Although assistive technology may only be used by a small population of the class, the use of this technology affects all students and should exhibit a positive influence on the entire student population. Overall, educators need to promote an effective learning environment through the use of various tools and assistive technology to support students’ needs, interests, and strengths to create an effective universal design for learning, which minimizes barriers while maximizing the learning for all students.                     References

Ahrens, K. (2011).  Build an assistive technology toolkit. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(3),             22-24.

422B-Reading Reflection #2: One Man's School is Another Man's Prison

One Man’s School is Another Man’s Prison

            The article “One Man’s School is Another Man’s Prison” questions the purpose of our education system and argues the position for increasing the quality and diversity of education rather than the quantity of education. The argument that children should be in school six days a week twelve hours a day was introduced by the U.S. Secretary of Education,  Arne Duncan, and ignited debate over what our education system needs in order to encourage and sustain a leading economy and society in the world. The argument for increasing the quantity of education in our schools asserts that students should not have three months off in the summer and vacations if students are falling behind as a nation. The U.S. Secretary of Education claims that to compete with China and other nations, students need to be in school longer and participate in more rigorous testing and assessment to catch up to other nations in the subject areas of math and science. The counter argument for increasing the quality and diversity of children’s education arose as a response to the Secretary of Education’s comment. Clearly, many people within the field of education did not agree. Their position argues that students don’t need more time spent in schools doing the same things that are not working or more standardized tests or assessments, but rather students need a more diverse education from teachers who are more qualified to increase the quality of the students’ educational experience. They argue that increasing teachers’ professional development and students’ educational experience through introducing a wider variety of subjects is more likely to increase the quality of education within our society, which would influence our educational standing around the world. Overall, education is a key component of our society and as a society we have to decide what the purpose of education is in our society and what we want to gain in providing education to our society.

            I completely agree with the position of the article that children don’t need more time spent in a classroom but rather more qualified teachers in the classroom along with a more extensive curriculum that covers a broader range of subject areas, such as art and music. This introduces them to the subject matter of a wide range of disciplines, helps them develop a broader perspective by integrating different learning experiences, and increases their range of knowledge. This foundation of diverse experiences will help students find a subject area or discipline they feel passionate about, which will increase their overall interest in school and learning. Educators should encourage this personal growth and passion within students to explore new ideas. This will help students in their future to keep exploring new areas of interest and further their education, which will increase their commitment to lifelong learning. Encouraging students’ exploration of their interests and supporting their personal growth to create educational experiences is one of the most important roles of educators in our society.     

            The ideas in this article debating whether students should spend more time in school or not and the purpose of our education system does not specifically identify any NETS-S standards. However to better our education system and find out the purpose of our education system, students’ education should encompass all the NETS Standards. The position that is supported within the article connects with NETS standards #1, creativity and innovation, because instead of spending more time in school practicing rote memorization, this article supports spending less time in school to support creativity and innovation in various student and teacher led activities. Innovation and creativity are supported through learning a variety of subjects and providing a well rounded education that introduces many different subjects to students at an early age. Students spend time applying existing knowledge to new ideas to create new processes and products as a result. This helps students develop a broad perspective and keep an open mind when they encounter new situations. The position in the article also supports NETS standard #2, communication and collaboration, which supports socialization skills and communication skills among peers and even students and teachers. Supporting collaboration and communication between peers opens up new opportunities for students’ growth and interest in new ideas. Students also develop social skills and learn effective communication by interacting in group activities with their peers. By increasing the quality of education, this article also connects with NETS standards #3 and #4  by requiring students to support their opinions and positions with research and through requiring critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills to evaluate their research and develop conclusions. In school, students should be involved in critical thinking during every activity instead of mere rote memorization. The article’s views that quality of education outweighs quantity supports why students are involved in critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and activities that support creativity and innovation in school rather than rote memorization or long hours in school. Overall, education is a continuous process that requires educators to be highly qualified to teach a quality education and requires students’ motivation and interest to create a quality educational experience.  

References

Fingal, D. (2009). One man’s school is another man’s prison. Learning and Leading with   Technology,               36(8), 40. 

422B-Reading Reflection #1: When Will We Ever Use Math in Real Life?

When Will We Ever Use Math in Real Life?

            The article “When Will We Ever Use Math in Real Life?” illustrates how students may incorporate the concepts learned in the classroom in everyday activities with various professions and how mathematics can be applicable in future situations. Although students are asking the question, when will we use math in real life? Educators are now better equipped to respond to their question by using technology to support their answers. Educators can now help motivate and teach students through the use of various videos of different individuals from diverse professions demonstrating how mathematics is used in their profession. An example of this is an architect, who illustrates how he uses mathematics when he makes blueprints for a building or home. These videos illustrate that mathematics can be applied to a broad range of different professional areas and learning these different concepts has a real application within their lives. In the videos, professionals even added their own experiences in high school math classes to relate to students’ experiences. This illustrates to students that, although mathematics may be a weak subject now, students can always build up a strong foundation to help them increase their chances of success in various professional areas in the future. After displaying how mathematics can have a real application outside the classroom through videos, teachers have reported an increase in students’ interest in mathematics and even an increase in students’ test scores. Overall, teachers have successfully found a way to illustrate the application of concepts within mathematics outside the classroom, which has established a positive impact on their motivation and interest to learn mathematics.

            I believe this is a great method to illustrate the application of mathematics outside of the classroom to students. Although educators may understand the application of mathematics outside of a math class, students may not understand. Verbally explaining to students how mathematics is used outside of the classroom is not always the most effective technique for all types of learners. The videos of different professionals sharing their experiences with mathematics and how they use mathematics within their profession may be a more effective tool in giving all types of learners a better understanding of the real application of mathematics outside the classroom. This helps educators by allowing them to incorporate these videos into their curriculum and lesson plans. Rather than having one or two guest speakers coming into one classroom, videos provide a variety of guest speakers to reach a larger audience of students. These videos also help reach a bigger audience of students. After presenting the videos, students can then make connections between the lessons they are learning in the classroom and situations outside the classroom. This will not only increase their awareness of the broad applications of mathematics, but will also help students realize how many connections are present with what they learn within the classroom to the situations they experience outside the classroom.

            The ideas within the article of videos and visual aids being incorporated within the classroom regarding how mathematics can be applied in real life situations and professions integrate a number of NETS-S Standards. The first standard that is addressed by integrating videos into curriculum and lesson plans to connect with students is NETS Standard #3: Research and Information Fluency. Students who watch these videos are required to apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use the information within the videos. Students have to gather and evaluate the information presented in the videos and apply the information to their own experiences. Although students’ experiences differ, the various professionals presented in the videos and their different experiences with mathematics will help ignite students’ interests and help ensure the videos reach the diverse types of learners that are in a classroom. Another NETS Standard addressed in the article is #4: Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. Students need to identify and investigate questions, such as how mathematics can be applied in their lives currently and potentially in the future. Students will have to investigate the different ways they may apply mathematics outside of their class and explore diverse perspectives to gather information so they can educate themselves on the application of mathematics within their environment. Overall, using technology to reach a broad range of learners is an excellent method to help students increase their interest in a subject and understand the application of a subject within their current and future environments.                   

References

Ware, J & Stein, S. (2012). When will we ever use math in real life? Learning and Leading 
           with Technology, 39(8), 34-35.