Blog Post 5

"Driving Questions"

1. WHY should teachers use technology to communicate with students, parents, and peers?

Teachers should use technology to communicate with students, parents, and peers because technology is much quicker and easier to access. Students are learning new things with technology everyday and are comfortable with it that it might be something they prefer to use to communicate. It also is much easier for parents to find out about upcoming important dates if they are reading the school blog. Also, if school is cancelled due to weather it would be convenient for the school to post this information right away on their blog or send out emails to parents and the community. If teachers are concerned about a student in their classroom and want to know the availability of a parent they could email the parent and by the end of the day hopefully have a date planned to meet. Technology is moving and changing at a fast pace and I think it is important for teachers to engage their students in the latest updated stuff.

2. WHICH technology tools have the greatest potential to improve communication between teachers and others?  

I believe that the technology tools that have the greatest potential to improve communication between teachers and peers is the internet. With the internet you have access to almost everything and can find any information you are looking for. I also think that if teachers started more blogs it would be a great technology tool to communicate. A blog could help parents feel more connected to the classroom by posting their classroom rules and expectations in the class. I also think smart boards and laptops could be a huge potential to improve communication between teachers and students. Students would feel more independent while working on assignments if they have an opportunity to have their own laptop during school hours.

3. HOW do these tools improve communication?

These tools improve communication by having a one on one relationship with a person. Using emails and blogs aren't face to face time but definitely a relationship you feel connected by. When students feel comfortable enough to ask questions about a lesson or activity through technology they are building a relationship with their teacher. Students and teachers have email on their phone and it could be much more convenient to reach one another than having to wait before or after school to have a conversation. If a classroom has a smart board in the class room students will be building relationships with one another by working together to answer questions as a group. They are learning from one another by experimenting the tools they are using and building personal relationships by communicating with each other. 

Blog Post 4 ( In Defense of Gadgets)

10 gadgets

1) Search
2) Profile
3) Pages
4) Blog Archive
5) Followers - I choose this gadget to make it easier to click on my followers and read their blog posts and compare thoughts.
6) Video bar- This gadget is to help my readers access a video that is related to a post that I have written and help them become familiar with the topic.
7) Picture- This gadget is to keep my readers entertained and not make my blog look dull.
8) Text- This gadget is to give my readers an introduction to what they are about to be reading and give them a welcome note into my blog.
9) Total page views- This gadget is to help me know if my blog is being viewed a lot.
10) Labels- This gadget is to help my readers access my blog topics in an easier way and choose what interests them.

Sustainability

 Today in class we took a look into sustainability and what the needs of teachers are to become better educators for their students to strive to the potential they deserve. Voicethread gave a really good insight into (un) sustainable educational technology.

Accountability

Click to enlarge

Blog Post 3

 Works- http://misterkindergarten.blogspot.com/

     As I was searching for blogs that worked and caught my attention I was really interested in the blog "Mr. Kindergarten." This blog looked simple but also had a professional layout that caught my attention in various ways. This blog had a good text size that went along with a good font that was easy to read.   Mr. Kindergarten had various videos and pictures that would be helpful to parents reading the blog about their children. Which I thought was very helpful if parents wanted an insight into their daily curriculum. The layout in general would be easy to read for anyone at any age. Mr. Kindergarten also stayed focused on the purpose of dedicating the blog to his classroom. The posts and pictures were all student centered throughout the blog design. The images that were chosen all tied in with the subtitles that were being explained. The only suggestion I had for this blog was that color that Mr. Kindergarten chose for the background. I thought he could of incorporated another color into the blog design other than pink. I don't know if Mr. Kindergarten is using the color pink as an example that it's not just a girl color. But I think he could of used another color with the pink to make the blog design look more neutral. Other than that I thought this blog showed a good example that works.

Needs Work- http://literacyandlaughter.blogspot.com/

     As I was searching for blogs that needed work I stumbled on the blog "Literacy and Laughter." This blog didn't have a font color that stayed consistent throughout the blog design.  The font was very bright on my eyes and distracting from what was being said in the posts. I thought this blog could of worked on making the subtitles a little more clearer to let readers know what was an important announcement or topic. Literacy and Laughter blog had too many youtube videos without any explanation on why they were chosen. I also thought there was a lot of gaps between the text and that this blog was just trying to fill up space with the videos. Towards the end of the blog there were pictures of students but not enough explanation to describe what was happening in the pictures. I think the blog Literacy and Laughter could of worked on organizing the blog better with subtitles. The blog would of been easier to read if a font color was consistent and not so bright. Overall, I wasn't impressed with the Literacy and Laughter blog and it definitely needed work in various places for it to be a successful blog.

Accessibility

1.  Is it important for all people to have access to the Internet? Why or why not?

2. Will eliminating the digital divide create new global, national, and or local social problems?

3. What might these problems be?

Blog Post 2

1) Is it fair to scrutinize teachers’ private lives (either online or offline? Explain/defend your position.

         I think it is only fair to scrutinize lives if there is a probable cause. The only problem is how do we define what a probable cause is. Teachers need to take responsibility for their career and accept that they are going to be held to a higher standard than other professions. Therefore they need to be careful in what they choose to expose to social media or in public because one little doing can ruin their career. Teachers have equal rights just like anyone born in the United States but they are also role models to someone else's child. Teachers shouldn't be exposing pictures where they are drinking any sort of alcohol, especially if they have their students on their friends list. Teachers should be aware that the parents of your students are not going to approve of a picture taken at a bar or a party. If this is what a teacher is choosing to do during her private life, they need to be more careful and choose to go to a bar that isn't in the town you teach in. Be aware of the pictures you are taking that could haunt you if they were to be exposed into social networking.

        I believe teachers should be closely examined in their private lives. I think there are far too many teachers already that are licensed to teach that should probably not have that right. The students they are teaching and setting examples for are the future generation of our world. Parents and administration should be watchful of what type of leaders are being chose to take that role. I'm not saying I think teachers that have a glass of wine with dinner can't take on that role but definitely shouldn't be snapping photos of themselves with the beverage in their hands and a huge smile on their face. It's just something a elementary or middle school student shouldn't be seeing their teacher doing. If this is something a teacher doesn't agree with or has a hard time following then maybe they should stick to private emails where they could still send photo albums to their close friends and it's more of a private setting. I just think that teachers accepted the profession as teachers and they should take the responsibility that comes with the job and the job is to be a good example to children.

        

2) Should teachers maintain a presence on social networking sites? Why or why not? As a teacher, what steps can you take to protect yourself from criticism and/or sanctions when using social media sites?

     Teachers shouldn't maintain a presence on social networking sites. I think it's an easy way in for anyone to have access to your personal life. The internet is very entertaining but it can also be very dangerous and everyone should be aware of that. Once a teacher has a social networking site anyone can say they are someone else and add you as a friend and you wouldn't even know it. If a teacher wants to have that sort of connection with family and friends that are far away they should keep all their settings private. They should think about just adding their close loved ones and keep pictures to very minimum. I think teachers should be aware that there is also going to be a parent or someone that is going to have a watchful eye on everything they expose or post and it could be a simple thing but be aware that it could be taking into consideration as a probable cause. Even now as a student I am careful with who I add and what I decide to share with networking sites and for the most part I think I've done a good job on exposing very little information.

    Steps that teachers can take to protect themselves would be by first setting all their information to private. I would say not adding students to be their friends. Keeping their friends list to a minimum of people they are really close to. I know some teachers like to keep an eye out on what their students are doing on social networking sites but kids are going to be kids. Parents and communities are the ones that are going to be looking at what teachers are involved in. I think if you even have a little thought in your head that maybe you shouldn't have a social networking site then you probably should get rid of it. With technology we have a lot of different ways to stay connected with friends and family and if social networks are going to be a reason you lose your job or getting criticized then you shouldn't have it. 

Blog Post 1

1. Your Tech Past: During my K-12 education I would say I didn't have much experience with technology. In elementary I don't have one memory of using technology during my education. I don't know if it was because teachers weren't experienced or if our school district didn't have the funds for technology use.  I remember in middle school going into the computer lab once a week for basic typing skills and working on typing racing games.  Other than that I didn't use technology during grade school. It wasn't until junior and senior year that we were required to hand in typed assignments for writing but even then it took me awhile to type because I was slow from not having much knowledge. Everything was very independent and we didn't have a teacher we would feel comfortable asking questions to. I remember going over to my friends house and asking her dad for help because I knew he was a college graduate and could help me with my computer skills. 
2. Tech For Teachers: If I began to teach tomorrow I would start with basic typing skills at a younger grade level. I would want my students to start working on their typing skills before I began working with any type of technology. I would want to show them how to use a smart board in the classroom. I think the interactive screen would keep students focused and engaged. Also, with a smart board students could use an IClicker and I think that students would feel more important and included if they were able to answer questions with their clicker in the classroom. This could be used for any math or reading lesson, which usually are the hardest subjects to keep students engaged in. I would communicate with parents and peers through email if it was available. I also think it would be really fun to make a classroom video with all of my students and a short biography about them and post it on our classroom blog. 

EDST 220 Driving Questions

1. Why should teachers use technology to communicate with students, parents and peers?
2. Which technology tools have the greatest potential to improve communication between teachers and others?
3. How do these tools improve communication?