Tool 11- Finished!
I feel a great sense of accomplishment having finished 11 Tools. I made a 90 on the Atomic Learning Assessment, so very pleased with that!
1. What are your favorite tools you now have in your personal technology toolbox? Briefly describe a particular activity that you will plan for your students using at least one of these new tools.
I have used Dropbox regularly- we use it in the office to share and to collaborate on documents. Additionally, I have used it personally to share pictures with friends and family. I love it when they join dropbox and I get more space!
Additionally, I have enjoyed using Blogger. I definitely want to move college-going counseling into the 21st century, so am planning to use a blog and a facebook page for getting information to more students next school year.
2. How have you transformed your thinking about the learning that will take place in your classroom? How has your vision for your classroom changed? Are you going to need to make any changes to your classroom to accommodate the 21st Century learner?
As I get more comfortable with different technology resources, I am definitely more likely to incorporate it into the guidance and counseling services we offer at Westchester. I'm hopeful that this will help us work smarter. The difficulty will be finding time to implement things such as a Facebook page or a blog and then maintaining it. I plan to make these things a priority in the 2012-13 school year, believing it will help to position our students even better in the college application process.
3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I think what surprised me most (and probably those who know me best) is that I actually finished (and I made a 90 on the test!). I refer to myself as a 20th Century Girl- I do not see myself as terribly technologically minded. Yet, I was able to complete the tools on my own. I really liked learning about some of the resources available to me professionally (and personally), and I look forward to incorporating them at work and at home.
Mixbook
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Tool 10- Digital Citizenship
1. Discuss at least three things you would want to make sure your students understand about being good digital citizens.
I think it is critical that students understand their "digital footprint" and are mindful of the image they are building online. Students can often be short-sighted about the future, and do not always consider that pictures, posts, etc. can later impact whether they receive admittance to a university, a job, a scholarship, and more. In the past I've had former students who were applying for internships connected with high security areas, and the background check was very thorough, including interviewing me- even though I had not worked with the students in a few years. I'm fairly confident that in addition to checking in on their high school reputation, their digital reputations were also thoroughly examined.
A second area of digital citizenship that is critical for students is simply safety- protecting themselves and protecting their property. Students need to be aware of how their information can be used and how to protect themselves from predators. At the same time, students shouldn't be fearful, but should be aware and cautious.
Finally, students need to know how to find trustworthy sources, and not believe that just because it is on the internet, it is true and accurate. I'm reminded of Alan November's example of the website, martinlutherking.com which is actually published by a white supremacist group, and filled with hatred and lies. Students need the skills to identify what sites are appropriate for research and offer safeguards for their readers.
2. Share at least one of the resources mentioned above or on the Ed Tech website that you plan to use instructionally.
I like the digizen.org site, and it has many resources available to parents, educators and students. I'm particularly interested in the social networking information, including information on cyberbullying. I think it would be a good idea to use these resources in guidance lessons on bullying and on digital safety.
3. Explain briefly how you would "teach" the idea of digital citizenship to your students.
In my role as a counselor working with students on the college going process, I would focus on the "digital footprint" and share examples of what not to post and why. I would enlist the help of college admissions representatives who could speak specifically as to how sites such as facebook and twitter factor into their admissions decisions. Additionally, I would enlist students. Recently, I've had students talk about how they picked their roommate for college after "stalking" their facebook pages. I think they could share good insights on how digital impressions matter.
4. Explain briefly how you plan to share the idea of digital citizenship with your parents.
With parents, I would want to share the same resources that I would share with our students. With our older students (juniors and seniors) the emphasis would be on their "digital footprint." With our younger students (especially middle school), the emphasis would be on safety and cyber-bullying. This could be done in parent presentations (we do talk about cyber-bullying in our middle school sessions, but I think we should also share some of the online resources for parents) and through handouts and informational emails.
1. Discuss at least three things you would want to make sure your students understand about being good digital citizens.
I think it is critical that students understand their "digital footprint" and are mindful of the image they are building online. Students can often be short-sighted about the future, and do not always consider that pictures, posts, etc. can later impact whether they receive admittance to a university, a job, a scholarship, and more. In the past I've had former students who were applying for internships connected with high security areas, and the background check was very thorough, including interviewing me- even though I had not worked with the students in a few years. I'm fairly confident that in addition to checking in on their high school reputation, their digital reputations were also thoroughly examined.
A second area of digital citizenship that is critical for students is simply safety- protecting themselves and protecting their property. Students need to be aware of how their information can be used and how to protect themselves from predators. At the same time, students shouldn't be fearful, but should be aware and cautious.
Finally, students need to know how to find trustworthy sources, and not believe that just because it is on the internet, it is true and accurate. I'm reminded of Alan November's example of the website, martinlutherking.com which is actually published by a white supremacist group, and filled with hatred and lies. Students need the skills to identify what sites are appropriate for research and offer safeguards for their readers.
2. Share at least one of the resources mentioned above or on the Ed Tech website that you plan to use instructionally.
I like the digizen.org site, and it has many resources available to parents, educators and students. I'm particularly interested in the social networking information, including information on cyberbullying. I think it would be a good idea to use these resources in guidance lessons on bullying and on digital safety.
3. Explain briefly how you would "teach" the idea of digital citizenship to your students.
In my role as a counselor working with students on the college going process, I would focus on the "digital footprint" and share examples of what not to post and why. I would enlist the help of college admissions representatives who could speak specifically as to how sites such as facebook and twitter factor into their admissions decisions. Additionally, I would enlist students. Recently, I've had students talk about how they picked their roommate for college after "stalking" their facebook pages. I think they could share good insights on how digital impressions matter.
4. Explain briefly how you plan to share the idea of digital citizenship with your parents.
With parents, I would want to share the same resources that I would share with our students. With our older students (juniors and seniors) the emphasis would be on their "digital footprint." With our younger students (especially middle school), the emphasis would be on safety and cyber-bullying. This could be done in parent presentations (we do talk about cyber-bullying in our middle school sessions, but I think we should also share some of the online resources for parents) and through handouts and informational emails.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Tool 9: Incorporating the Technology
1. Why do you think it is important to tie the technology to the objective?
Technology should be incorporated into the classroom lessons- not just be something cool for the students to use. Since the objective drives the classroom lesson, the technology aspect should be part of that objective- otherwise you run the risk of losing the value of adding technology to the classroom, thus it just is something fun to do but not applicable to real-world situations.
2. Why should we hold students accountable for the stations/centers?
Each station should add something different to the lesson- maybe a different skill, a different application, a way to differentiate the learning, etc. Therefore, each station should contribute to the whole objective. Therefore, if students are not held accountable, they miss out on key pieces of the lesson, the learning, and/or the content.
3. Visit 2 of the applicable links to interactive websites for your content/grade level. Which sites did you like. How could you use them as stations? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations?
Thinkfinity seems to have lots of different kinds of tools, depending on the classroom. Since I do not have a classroom, I was drawn to the essay writing activity to see if it would be a good way for students to work on their college essays. Although it seemed a bit "young" for juniors and seniors in high school, I think it could be an effective tool for younger learners. Depending on the content, you could use this site for many things- as part of a station where students get initial information about a specific topic (i.e. The Spanish-American War) or as a way to practice a skill that has been taught (i.e. figuring percents). Additionally, the site could be used to re-teach a particular topic or to differentiate for gifted and talented students.
I also checked out the SBISD database- a great way to see all the different tools available to teachers.
4. List two to three apps you found for the iPod Touch/iPad that you can use in your classroom. What do you see that station looking like? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations?
I was particularly interested in the apps that allowed students to create a product, such as Bit Strips, Create a Graph, and DoInk. The accountability is built in if students must create a product- they have something to show for their time. Apps such as BBC, History Buff and Geo Cube are tools that could be used for initial learning and research.
5. What about other ways to use the iPod Touch/iPad? Share another way you can see your students using the device as a station.
Students can connect with those not in their classroom and work collabortively on projects, communicate about their learning, and learn more about the topic at hand using IPads and IPod Touches. By designing specific tasks and using rubrics, students can grow as independent learners.
Technology should be incorporated into the classroom lessons- not just be something cool for the students to use. Since the objective drives the classroom lesson, the technology aspect should be part of that objective- otherwise you run the risk of losing the value of adding technology to the classroom, thus it just is something fun to do but not applicable to real-world situations.
2. Why should we hold students accountable for the stations/centers?
Each station should add something different to the lesson- maybe a different skill, a different application, a way to differentiate the learning, etc. Therefore, each station should contribute to the whole objective. Therefore, if students are not held accountable, they miss out on key pieces of the lesson, the learning, and/or the content.
3. Visit 2 of the applicable links to interactive websites for your content/grade level. Which sites did you like. How could you use them as stations? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations?
Thinkfinity seems to have lots of different kinds of tools, depending on the classroom. Since I do not have a classroom, I was drawn to the essay writing activity to see if it would be a good way for students to work on their college essays. Although it seemed a bit "young" for juniors and seniors in high school, I think it could be an effective tool for younger learners. Depending on the content, you could use this site for many things- as part of a station where students get initial information about a specific topic (i.e. The Spanish-American War) or as a way to practice a skill that has been taught (i.e. figuring percents). Additionally, the site could be used to re-teach a particular topic or to differentiate for gifted and talented students.
I also checked out the SBISD database- a great way to see all the different tools available to teachers.
4. List two to three apps you found for the iPod Touch/iPad that you can use in your classroom. What do you see that station looking like? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations?
I was particularly interested in the apps that allowed students to create a product, such as Bit Strips, Create a Graph, and DoInk. The accountability is built in if students must create a product- they have something to show for their time. Apps such as BBC, History Buff and Geo Cube are tools that could be used for initial learning and research.
5. What about other ways to use the iPod Touch/iPad? Share another way you can see your students using the device as a station.
Students can connect with those not in their classroom and work collabortively on projects, communicate about their learning, and learn more about the topic at hand using IPads and IPod Touches. By designing specific tasks and using rubrics, students can grow as independent learners.
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