Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Journal 4

This relates to NETS-T V. Ferguson, H. (2010, June/July). Join the flock!. Learning & Leading, 37(8), 12-15. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20100607

When building your Personal Learning Network, it is important to gather information from a wealth of sources. Using Twitter connects yourself to an enormous network, which can help in your professional development. The use of Twitter starts with the creation of an account and making it personal; by adding a picture and a short bio that describes yourself to people who may want to follow you. If you have ever been an individual that hasn’t been included in a group, there is a certain amount of anxiety in approaching the group. Twitter dissolves this anxiety and makes it easier to be included. As the article states, “you are invited from the start”.
After following people, you can retweet their tweets, which will increase the number of people able to view it. By using hashtags, tweets will be given even more exposure. After passively participating in Twitter by viewing your followers’ tweets, you should begin adding your own tweets which will assist your PLN by including it in your thinking.

McClintock Miller, S. (2010, June/July). Enhance your twitter experience. Learning and Leading, 37(8), 14-17. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20100607/

There are also Twitter organizational managers, such as HootSuite and TweetDeck. These tools organize your twitter streams into columns, which can be sorted and organized. This way, your favorite hashtags or groups can be closely followed. There are also tools, such as Hootlet, which allow you to create a “bookmarklet”. This bookmarklet is a retweet of a link and can be a useful tool when sharing a resource with your PLN. Using these tools can help you be strategic when using Twitter and ensuring that the majority of your experience is used to share ideas.

Q1: Are there drawbacks to using Twitter to develop your PLN?
It seems that the impersonal nature of Twitter is a positive aspect in that it is easier for people to share information and become involved in groups that they normally would not be included in. However, this aspect of twitter might limit the sharing and limit the quality of the information. If people do not actually know the people that are in their PLN they might be less likely to respond to requests or discussions.

Q2: Is there information on Twitter that I am interested in or that can be useful to me?
There is nothing in the world that isn’t on Twitter. Everything from exotic cat clubs to organic shade gardening seem to have a corner in the tool. If there is information you are looking for it, there are most likely resources you have not been acquainted with on Twitter.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Journal 3

This relates to NETS-T I.
Fulton, K. (2012, June/July). Upside down, and inside out: Flip your classroom to improve student learning. Learning & Leading, 39(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Upside_Down_and_Inside_Out.aspx
The article Upside down, and inside out, discusses the concept of the “flipped classroom”. Developed a few years ago by science teachers in Colorado, the concept describes an environment in which lessons and lectures are provided to the students electronically and viewed at home. The students then work through what was presented the night before in class with the help of the teacher. The teachers are able to spend more time one on one with the students and the feedback they receive regarding students’ progress is immediate.
    A high school in Minnesota decided to initiate the “flipped classroom” concept for their math department. The program proved to be successful as they saw increases in student learning and achievement as well as improvement in external standardized exams. The positive results went beyond the measurable student gains. They found their staff developed a closer bond as they worked through the development of the program, and it assisted their professional growth, as the teachers were able to view their colleagues lessons and compare them to their own.
    There were challenges that were presented during the program, including classroom management. In a typical classroom, teachers goal is to get the students to listen to their lesson and be quietly engaged. The flipped classroom is an environment where the students are actively, and loudly, working which can prove hard to keep everyone on track. A challenge that the parents had was the access the students needed to the home computer.
Q1: Can the program be implemented in areas of lower income, where families may not have the hardware at home for the students to view the lessons?
This would be a large concern for any teacher attempting to “flip” their classroom. As discussed in the article there are other ways than the internet for the students to receive the lessons. However, in some low income areas families may not have a computer or a DVD player. It would need to be ensured that these students had access to a computer at a library or community center before “flipping” the classroom.
Q2: Would the lessons viewed at home increase the time spent at home on school work?
It seems like this would and the risks should be considered before starting this program. Depending on how long the lessons were there could be hours of time in front of a computer instead of engaged in extra curricular activities. This is a concern with the increase in childhood obesity and the need for more exercise. 

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Journal 2: School 2.0 Reflection Tool

This relates to NETS-T IV.
For the School 2.0 reflection, I chose the NETS-T 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. I chose this module because of the importance of creativity and my opinion that a creative environment facilitates learning. I also chose the module because of my feeling that my creativity has not always been able to be used to its fullest. The resource I chose to go to was the video of Sir Ken Robinson’s talk of creativity in school. Sir Robinson discussed how creativity was limited in children due to them not being prepared to be wrong. I agree with this position, and I believe that too often the way classrooms are structured require the students never to be wrong. Students do not get credit most times for their effort, but only get rewarded for a correct response. Sir Robinson’s story of the dancer also revealed the importance to differentiate between students. He showed that not all students should be approached the same way, and children learn in different ways. Stepping away from the standard academic approach allows teachers to see the potential in every student.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Journal 1

1. My wife
2. Kalea
3. Malia
4. My brothers
5. My mom
6. The beach
7. Glassy ocean
8. Surfing
9. A fun wave
10. Hearing my daughter laugh
11. Watching Kalea's gymnastics
12. The smell of a tent
13. Sailboats
14. College friends
15. Airplanes
16. Traveling somewhere
17. In-n-out on road trips
18. My dog
19. Kids on a slip 'n' slide
20. Summer
21. Offshore winds
22. Colorado mountains
23. Good beer
24. Nice scotch
25. The backyard
26. Quiet
27. A book
28. Jumping in the waves with my daughter
29. Daughter's preschool
30. Grandpa's house
31. The smell of burning oak wood
32. Oak trees
33. The central coast of California
34. Airports
35. Pictures
36. Watching family movies
37. Playing pick up basketball
38. Soccer
39. Watching the sunrise
40. Hammocks
41. Watching the sunset
42. Going for a run by the beach
43. Road trips
44. Barbecuing
45. Dinner with family
46. Disney movie with the kids
47. A warm swimming pool
48. Hot tubs
49. Fishing
50. Coming home after a trip
51. Hotel rooms
52. My house
53. Story hour at the library with my daughter
54. Watching my newest daughter smile at me
55. Reading books to my daughter
56. Going on a date with my wife
57. Reading a book at a coffee shop
58. Listening to Pandora
59. Taking a nap outside
60. Coffee
61. Hiking
62. Baseball games
63. Throwing a baseball
64. Going for a bike ride
65. Family walks
66. A new surfboard
67. Snorkeling
68. Disneyland
69. Fresh fruit
70. Gardening
71. The hour after the kids go to sleep and before the adults go to sleep
72. Big Sur
73. Rain
74. Lightning
75. Soccer tournaments
76. Fireworks
77. Watching my daughter learn to swim
78. Waking up to sun
79. Walking on the pier
80. Sitting on my mom's patio
81. Reading an actual newspaper
82. My running shoes
83. The occasional cigar
84. Live music
85. Homegrown food
86. Farmer's market
87. Sandcastles
88. Mission Beach
89. Mission Bay
90. Roasting marshmallows
91. Trick or treating
92. Easter
93. Christmas with the kids
94. Carving pumpkins
95. Looking at Christmas lights
96. Ice cream at Thrifty's
97. Bates Nut Farm
98. Fireworks
99. The Sandlot
100. Noseriding