Week 3 Bog Posting#5 Social Media

From what I can see, Social Media makes things better. It fosters creativity and everyone can share and get a piece of the pie. Social media allows people to network, share ideas and create relationships like never before. Everything that one can do physically face- to- face can now be done instantly with people thousands of miles away from the comfort of one's own living room.

I use social media everyday. I hate to say it but If I do not login to Facebook at least once a day, I feel as if I have been left out of the loop... like I have missed out on something in the day's events. Social media has changed the culture of a generation phenomenally. There is a saying that two heads are better than one. Well, 50, 500, 5000, or 5,000,000 heads are better than two. The connections that can be made are endless.

I can't imagine the impact that social media, if utilized properly, can have on the classroom. Students can work collaboratively with students from around the globe in real time. They could travel to places that they might not normally see, due to economic reasons. Students can brainstorm, draft, revise and edit all online. Students can provide feedback, share experiences, and create lasting friendships. Because students are very social, the learning that takes place is more likely to stick because more areas of the brain are being used. The online platforms on which this media is housed becomes a valuable resource for a variety of subjects.

Week 2 - Blog Posting #4 -21st Century Skills & Lifelong Learning

The information presented for Blog 4 really intrigued me. As I was reading through this weeks content, I found myself reflecting even more so than usual on my own practices. I am 28 years old and I consider myself a “digital native “(Prensky,2001) . I was that kid that Marc Prensky was talking about that grew up watching Sesame Street, and playing video games. My gaming journey started with an Atari and has evolved accordingly. I grew up working with computers and creating multimedia presentations. Whenever someone in the family needed a computer hooked up

I was on the job! Working with technology in whatever capacity was as natural as breathing for me, it was and still is instinctual!

Unfortunately, I did run across teachers that were digital immigrants both in my personal and professional lives. I can remember zoning out in high school many times when a teacher was utterly boring. Professionally, I have worked in settings in which I was literally, the youngest teacher in the entire school, wanted to go against the grain and create more student centered and directed learning experiences, incorporate oodles of technology, and get shunned for it. The more seasoned educators just did not understand or want to even try to understand that listening to our students, who are digital natives, is good idea.

From reading Ruth Reynard’s article, 21 Century Teaching and Learning (2008), I realize that the courses at Full Sail University are designed with 21^st Century skills in mind. Our professors model these techniques with us, and we learn, retain, make connections, and synthesize information better. It also makes for an exciting learning experience! The experience becomes what we, the students, make of it. The group projects in the courses allow for self-direction, planning and managing, allows us to produce high quality products, etc. To be able to do such things we have to communicate effectively with one another… The list is exhaustive! At first, I was somewhat frustrated because other graduate courses I have completed were completely different, but now it is all starting to come together.

Blog Post Week 3 Media Literacy

Media Literacy

Media is a means of communication and media is the quality or state of being literate, the possession of education and a person’s knowledge in a particular subject or field. The question is perhaps, what are we doing as educators to ensure that our students acquire education that is meaningful and communicate that knowledge through media tools that are appropriate?

So what exactly is media literacy? An article on Wikipedia defines it as “the process of analyzing evaluating, and creating references in a wide variety of media modes, genre, and forms.” David Corsidine (2005) defines it as a skill that is needed to make today’s students prepared and competitive in the ever changing global market. Without it, our students will not function as productive citizens. So in order for students to be media literate they should create products using something other than pencil and paper perhaps? Go figure.

The fact of the matter is that many if not most of our students are already using media on an everyday basis via the social networking sites, their cell phones, iPods and etc. However, even if students are using these tools, it is probably safe to say that our students may not know of every tool available to them. That is where we, as educators come in. We have a responsibility to make sure our students are media literate. It is just as important as learning how to read and write traditionally, as more and more resources are being created and shared digitally. We can’t ensure that, if we as educators are media literate ourselves. I n my opinion, this goes way beyond PowerPoint and emails. In addition to teaching our content, we much also teach technology and along with that, responsibility.

I concur with fellow FSO student Becky Ivey Day who says that by blocking sites, we are actually counteracting media literacy. We need to be able to guide our students and trust that they will make the right decisions as to what is good content and what is not. . Children have to learn how to navigate the world. Good parents don’t shelter their children from every single thing; good teachers and administrators should not either. Instead of blocking, teach students media responsibility.

References

Corsidine, D. (1995). An introduction to media literacy:the what, why and

how to's. The Journal of Media Literacy, 41(2), Retrieved from

http://www.ced.appstate.edu/departments/ci/programs/edmedia/medialit/article.html#What%20is%20Media%20Literac

Media literacy. (2009, August 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved

06:25, August 1, 2009, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Media_literacy&oldid=305413104

Week 1 - Blog Posting #2 - Learning 2.0

I discussed learning 2.0 with my administrator while making the "sales pitch" to him regarding my action research project. Good teachers have always known that students learn by doing and teaching others. Great teachers allow students to do just that. While chatting with the principal of my high school, I made reference to how we should be preparing our students for jobs that do not yet exist and that one of the best ways to do that is to use the technology that students are already using so well, to our advantage. I think my exact words were: "Why don't we capitalize on what the students are doing? Instead of being so afraid of students their electronic devices, provide learning opportunities for them to use them and allow them to learn in a way that best suits them. They might even teach us something!" Surprisingly, my principal was behind me all the way and said that if I wrote up a proposal, he would back it, and seek special permission from the district. Unfortunately, I have not had the time to draft the proposal yet, but I am working on it, and will get it done right.

According to an article on Read Write Web, How web technologies are shaping education, some learning 2.0 tools include blogs, podcasting and social networking. Teachers around the world are using these tools in their classrooms and getting remarkable results. If your students are old enough to write, they can blog. I blogged about blogging in an earlier post. Student produced media, like podcasting, is a way that students can teach and learn. In this way, they are much more likely to remember the concepts taught.

References

OHear, S. (2006, August 8). Elearning2.0- how web technologies are shaping eduction. Read Write Web, Retrieved from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/e-learning_20.php

Week 1 - Blog Posting #1 - Web 2.0

Web 2.0 has literally changed how people communicate and collaborate with one another. Sometimes it is hard to fathom what possibilities are available to us. What once seemed capable only in the movies is now real! Web 2.0 tools can be used in education to make sure that students are prepared to be competitive and prepared for 21^st century jobs.

Brian Benzinger, editor of the now inactive, Solution Watch, has several pages on the impact of web 2.0 tools and its use in schools. Benzinger says that the blog is “one of the most effective learning tools in education.”

Some reasons for this may be because anyone can do it and it is far less formal than writing an essay. There are no restraints such as writing in third person, formatting the text in a certain way, or even minimum length requirements… unless an educator imposes it upon his or her students. Perhaps students are attracted to it because of the sheer freedom of it all. Blogs can be accessed from anywhere there is an Internet connection and people from around the world can read the random thoughts of any and everyone. Ironically, the students often know more than the educators when it comes to using these tools. We are trying to catch up!

Web 2.o is not software; it is a platform to be used in networking, collaboration, and sharing ideas. Tim O’Reilly says that it all began with a conference after the dot com crash. I guess it shows that like the phoenix, Web 2.0 arose from the ashes. Now, the term web 2.0 is seen and used everywhere! I can’t help but wonder what is next.

References

Benzinger, B. (2006, October 28). Back to school with the class of web 2.0.

Solution Watch, Retrieved from http://www.solutionwatch.com/519/back-to- school-with-the-class-of-web-20-part-3/

OReilly, T. (2005, September 30). What is web 2.0?.

Retrieved from http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html

Week 1-2 Delicious url

http://delicious.com/Deniela