Week 4-Blog Posting #8- Reflection on Blogging

Liz Dalton

Full Sail University

I defiantly enjoy learning new Web 2.0 tools, I think it is so cool all the things we can do via the Internet. I really like the ability to share with others. I have been putting my students in groups more to do assignments collaboratively and I have been so impressed with what I am getting. I also think students learn more from each other than just me lecturing. My childcare class is going to start blogging their reflections of our preschool. We start the preschool on November 10^th and I have been telling them that we will be reflecting via blog. I asked them if any of them have written on a blog before and none of the have so this should be a great experience for them and me. I know I have learned much from reflection. The blogging has made me summarize what I learned from the research and assignments. I am excited to try glogster (glogster.com) after listening to Tereza Vieira on wimba last night. In fact I might use schooldesk (schooldesk.net) as a web site for my action research project. Tereza has many great ideas that I would like to try. Which brings me to the problem with the web 2.0 tools. Some are very time consuming to learn such as second life. Second life also requires high speed Internet that is not available where I live. I can see value in using second life, but with the amount of time it takes to learn it, the speed of the Internet and the fact that it is blocked I don’t see me using second life. I will have to stick to Google and the other sites that are not blocked. I have been trying to talk to my administration about unlocking face book at least for the teachers so we can collaborate. I did get my Vice Principal to join face book and try it. He is one of my critical friends for my action research project. I have yet to have any of my critical friends comment on our group face book account about my action research project. I am going to send out an e-mail reminding them of it. Which is another draw back of social collaboration. I have tried to get 3 group face book accounts going and no one is interested which is another frustration. I am definitely a pioneer at my school and I will try to keep going forward.

week 4-Blog Post #7- Second Life

Liz Dalton

Full Sail University

I have a love/hate relationship with second life. I don't have fiber optics where I live and I have done everything possible to upgrade my Internet speed to the maximum but it is still slow. That coupled with my inexperience has made second life a frustrating experience. The first month in second life, I froze all the time. My team mates were probably really frustrated with me because I would always get lost. I just about threw my computer out the window a few times but the only thing that stopped me was my fascination with flying and trying to figure out what second life was all about. After watching the cool slide show Mind Map on Education 2.0, I realized there were many places I didn't realize were there. I just thought second life was to see, virtually, geographical places. I have learned after researching the second life assignments that there are many different educational opportunities. I am looking forward to visiting them. I have saved the slide show on my desktop and I would like to pick one place to discover for 1 hour per week. I would like to use second life as one of my options on my action research project. My problem is students not making up missed work when they are absent. My solution is to create a web site which will give the make up assignments. I would like to give students several multiple intelligence choices to make up their work. For example, I discovered a billboard in the cognitive process dimension in second life that gives information on hand washing. The assignment could be to have students go in to second life, find the bill board, take picture/s of important information and upload it on the web site or show to me.

I am so excited about Second Life Discovery Education Network. There is a seminar on September 30 on how to help students use digital resources. I am hoping this will help me set up my web site having students use the digital resources. The next seminar is on October 7 on having student using blogs. I want my Child Care students to reflect, via blog, on our pre-school activities once we start our pre-school (November 10). I want them to tell me how they thought the children likes the activities and what could we do different? I am hoping the blog seminar will help me with this. And the next seminar is on October 21 on help with second life. I hope that will increase my second life skills. I am so impressed with this site that I saved it on my net vibes page. There is so much to explore online I am really believing what I have been learning; give the students a computer and they will learn. Someone could spend day and night on the Internet and would not even come close to learning all you can on the Internet. Cyberspace is truly amazing.

References

http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/secondlife/

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Teaching%204/208/175/25

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jokay/sets/72157612171568581/show

Wee 3- Blog Posting #6- Communities of Practice

Liz Dalton

Full Sail University

From the moment we are born, we are in a community of practice. Our family is our first community of practice. It is in this safe environment that we learn how to survive. “Families struggle to establish a habitable way of life. They develop their own practices, routines, rituals, artifacts, symbols, conventions, stories and histories. Families do what it takes to keep going” (Wenger 1998). We learn how to function in a community of practice through our family experience. Then we move on to their communities of practice. They are all over. We start and end much community of practices over our lifetime. They are an important way we learn.

We enter a community of practice when we get together with other people that share a problem, goal, or interest. We enter a community of practice when we go to school, go to work, join a club or organization, join a crusade or want to help. When that common interest is no longer an interest a person leaves that particular community of practice. Communities of Practice are very important and a large part of our learning comes from Communities of Practice. We are all constantly learning from each other even when we don’t realize it. I teach childcare and I tell students that if they never have children, for whatever reason, they will still be an influence on children. Children watch adults and try to learn from them. They will have children in their neighborhood and in public places that will be watching them and learning from them. Because we learn so much more from each other especially in groups, we as educators should encourage communities of practice by having our students work together. We should have students using web 2.0 tools so they can share with other students. I am going to have my child care class blog once every 2 weeks about our pre-school and what they have learned from it. Next year I hope to be able to use it to teach next years class. I also hope other people online can learn from it. In the Social Networking in Plain English video (2007) states, “networks make it happen, but the connections are hidden. Social networking and using web 2.0 tools make the connections visible so more people can learn from them. I think working in a Community of Practice using 2.0 tools can facilitate learning of the Community of Practice and the entire world. We solve problems

In our communities of practice and we share them with others. That is what makes our life better.

References

leelefever (2007, June) Social Networking in Plain English [Video File]. Video posted to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc


Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice:learning. Cambridge

University Press. New York, NY

Week 3- Blog 5- Social Media

Liz Dalton

Full Sail University

I learned the same lesson that I have been preaching to others since… forever. I get the same question asked of me every year, several times a year, “why do you run marathons”? Other similar questions I get asked, “aren’t you afraid you will get arthritis in your knees”? “Why would you do that to yourself?” “Do you win?” They (I think) are well meant questions and I try to answer them as best as I can with answers such as: “I am weird, I am driven, I love to run”. But what I would really like to say is, “ hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it”. I had the same experience in reverse with face book and twitter. I made fun of my children and my friends for “wasting” their time on face book. When my boys were about 12 and 14 there was a segment on the news about how pedophiles were using my space to lure young children into meeting them. I asked my boys if they knew anything about my space and they both told me they had accounts. I “freaked” out and told them to get rid of them immediately. I new nothing about social media except the bad I heard on the news. When I was assigned to create a face book account and a twitter account I tried to think of a way out, of course, there wasn’t one. I begrudgingly set up my face book and twitter accounts. My friends and kids all made fun of me that I set up an account. I hated it, at first. After face booking for about a month, I saw the value in it. I was able to collaborate with my classmates. I have been able to find out what people I haven’t seen for years are up to. I can follow my children’s lives without seeming that I am prying. Just 2 days ago my friend that I grew up with had her birthday. I downloaded a birthday video from YouTube and wished her happy birthday on face book and it saved me $5.00! I also love twitter. I have been following several educational tweets and it is helping me with this class as well as my teaching. I really liked the social ice cream analogy from the Social Media in Plain English (2008, May) video. I totally feel like after 3 months of face booking I have multiplied my knowledge of people that I knew in the past, know now, and that I have met through my masters program. I feel like I am connected. I should have tried it before I knocked it!

I agree with Gordon Brown (2009) that social media binds the world together so that we can find solutions to problems. In the video Collective intelligence, The Vision (2007, May) it states through social media, people who have problems can get connected with those who have the solutions. I was so impressed with the Gold Challenge website. The owner of a gold mining business had the problem of his geologists not fining the gold. He decided to give that problem to the world on the web and offered half-million dollars to anyone that could solve his problem. 77 different people responded and solved his problem. This is an example of how powerful many heads are. I also have found this out, first hand, in working in my groups during my masters program. I believe our projects have turned out much better together than if I would have done it alone. Because I see this in my masters program, I have been having my students doing much more group work. Social media is a very powerful tool. I can see this is our future. I am sold on social networking.

References

Brown, G. (2009, July) Gordon Brown: Wiring a web for global good [Video File]. Video posted to

http://www.ted.com/talks/gordon_brown.html

leelefever (2008, May) Social Media in Plain English [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE

psbobj (2007, May) Collective Intelligence - The Vision [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQe8dWTbE2U

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

Liz Dalton

Full Sail University

For the last 11 years I have taught a class called Career and Technical Education Introduction. It is a required class of all 7th graders in Utah. Our goal is to help students prepare for their adult life by introducing and giving them hands on experiences to prepare them for the world of work and adult life.

One of the concepts from the curriculum is: "Identify and practice the attitudes, knowledge, and skills that contribute to effective learning in school and across the life span, including recognizing that completion of high school with essential academic and CTE coursework provides a wide range of substantial post-secondary and career options" (UEN 2009). I have been teaching students to be life-long learners and to learn something new every day. I am such a strong supporter of being a life longer learner which is part of the reason I wanted to get my master's degree. I wanted to a model of lifelong learning not only for my students but for my own children. My daughter received her master's degree 2 years ago and I would like my 2 other sons to do the same. I feel like I couldn't encourage my son's to addend graduate school unless I had set the example.

I totally agree with Jeffrey Gitomer (Youtube video file 2008) that everyone should spend 30 minutes per day learning something new. Especially with how easy it is to learn with 21st century learning. We can search on a search engine for answers. Blog or social network and learn from each other. We can collaborate with others to do a project that is better than anyone could do themselves. And we can do all this sitting in the comfort of our home or wherever we want and whatever time we want. It allows the learner to explore and learn just what the learner wants to learn. Learning and doing together is power (Reingold 2009). John Field (2006) says, " to cope with rapid change and the challenge of the information and communication age, we must ensure that people return to learning throughout their lives. We cannot rely on a small elite, no matter how highly educated or paid. Instead we need the creativity, enterprise and scholarship of all people. As well as securing our economic future, learning has a wider contribution. It helps makes ours a civilized society, develops the spiritual side of our lives, and promotes active citizenship. Learning enables people to play a full part in our community. It strengthens the family, the nation and consequently the nation. It helps us to fulfill our potential and opens the door to a love of music, art, and literature. I think it is so important that we are productive citizens. We feel good about ourselves when we contribute and are projective. Each person in this world has something different and special to contribute and then we learn from each other. I will continue to be committed to teaching livelong learning in and out of my classroom, especially by example.

References

BuyGitomer (2008). Life Long Learning (Video File). Video posted to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh6yd6wfCgU

Field, J. (2006). Lifelong Learning And The New Educational Order. Trentham Books

Limited, Oakhill, Va. Retrieved September 14, 2009 from http://books.google.com

/books?hl=en&lr=&id+lXLSgYUzwoAc&oi=fnd&pg=PP8&dq=lifelong+learning

&ots=mlFCVAG6tRy&sig=EHZNcB5jw78xScmpslBUht2ljE#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Rheingold, H. (2009 July) 21st Century Literacies (Video File). Video posted to

http://HowardRheingold.blip.tv/

Utah Education Network (2009). Career and Technical Education Introduction. Retrieved

September 14, 2009 from http://www.uen.org/ctecore/core.do?

courseNum=130001

Week 2-Blog Posting 3-Media Literacy

Liz Dalton

Full Sail University

I have really enjoyed working in teams during this master's degree experience. I have learned that the old saying, two heads are better than one, is so true. While I have worked in the three groups so far, I have learned so much from the other group members. I can't believe how great our projects turn out, what one team member forgets the other remembers. It truly has been an amazing experience. I am on the shy side so I have had to get out of my comfort zone to work in a group. My attitude wasn't the best to start when required to work in a group, but my classmates have been great collaborators and very caring people. I really feel like I have new friends from this experience. We worked hard together and created a bond. I can't think of anything negative from these experiences.

I decided that working in groups have been such a great learning experience that I would incorporate group work at school. So far, it has been all that I have expected it to be. I put my child care students into groups and asked them to come up with rules for our pre-school and to create a registration form to e-mail it to me. I just barely got a portable computer lab so next year I will have the students do this on google docs. We then created one set of rules and a registration form from their group idea. I couldn't have done a better job if I had done it myself. My students work went way beyond my expectations. When I saw the video of James Surowiecki's The Wisom of Crowds (2006), I was really excited because I was able to experience this first hand with my Child Care students.

I loved the Ted video of Gever Tuley Teaches Life Lessons Through Tinkering(2009 July). My Child Care students must come up with lesson plans to present to 3-5 year-olds in a pre-school. I have given my students time to "tinker" with all the toys and supplies to help them brain storm activities to present. It is so fun to see their creativity at work as they come up with creative, different ways to play and teach the 3-5 year olds.

As I have observed my students at "play", I think I can pick out whether they are right/left brained dominate and what their dominate intelligence is. Through letting students play and discover on their own or in groups aids in student learning. Eric Jensen (2000) in Brain Based Learning says, "authentic, meaningful learning requires that students process information in their own way, along their own time line, and in relation to their own perceptional maps. Sorting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions in the context of one's own life are what make information stick". Using media and collaboration give students a variety of ways to make the learning relevant. " Teachers, therefore, should think of all intelligences as equally important (Levine, Scherer, 2006). "Teachers should try to structure their lessons to meet the learning styles of the majority of their students. Also, teachers should incorporate a bread range of teaching methods as well as assignments to give students the opportunity to strengthen thier strengths and strengthen their weaknesses". I have certainly been trying the last 3 weeks of school to incorporate as many different learning methods as I can including media. I know that given enough time, I will be teaching the way I want giving students many different opportunities to "tinker" with what works best for them to learn the most.

References

Jensen, E. (2000). Brain-Based Learning The New Science of Teaching & Training.

San Diego, Ca. The Brain Store

Levine, M., Scherer, M. (Sep. 2006) Celebrate Strengths, Nurture Affinities: A Converstaion

With Mel Levine. Educational Leadership. Vol. 64, Issue 1, pp. 8-15. 8p, 6 color.

Surowiecki, James, (2006, Feb 26) The Wisdom o Crowds (Video File). Video posted to

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3245963984462339517&ei=pgBqSq3aOKH

aqAKFxZzmBQ&q=James+Surowiecki+and+The+Wisom+of+Crowds&hi=en

Tulley, G. (2009, July) Grever Tulley Teaches Life Lessons Through Tinkering (Video File).

video posted to http://www.ted.com/talks/gever_tulley_s_tinkering_school_in_

action.html

Week 1- Blog Posting 2- Learning 2.0

Liz Dalton

Full Sail University

When I started teaching 12 years ago my mentor teacher's first piece of advice to me was "keep them busy". He went on to explain " with television and video games it is hard to compete with the amount of entertainment these students are experiencing, they get bored easy". Because of that advise, I kept waiting for the complaining and boredom and worried how I was going to combat this. It never came, my students seemed excited and engaged to be in my class. I didn't feel I was in competition with what they were doing outside school. Over the years, especially doing my master's degree in media design and technology, I have realized why. I teach Family and Consumer Science which includes: foods, clothing, child care, interior design, fashion, consumerism and personal finance. These classes are all taught by hands on method doing labs. Students are learning, understanding and then doing. Students want the doing part, they want to experience it for that is how they understand best. Students come to my class begging when are we going to cook, or sew, or have the pre-schoolers come? When they experience it, they make relevance of it and relate it to their life. Maybe they just learn that they don't like it, but isn't that good? Wouldn't you hate to be stuck in a job you hate for many years? When students are engaged in doing, there is less behavior problems because there is no boredom. In the Pay Attention Video (2007), children state that they are bored. That is true when there are 30-40 students in a class and the teacher is lecturing and maybe engaging one student at a time in a discussion. When all the students are doing, maybe they make mistakes, but I bet the next time they won't make the same mistake. We remember and learn from mistakes more than successes.

Learning 2.0 is using web 2.0 tools to engage students in their learning. Students have the opportunity to take what is being taught and reflect in a blog, create a project, collaborate with other class members or with other students from all over the world. Also when students are engaged in doing, they can relate it to their lives. This in turn could encourage them to dig deeper to learn more and gain a richer knowledge. I am taking a seminar by Jim Knight and he is one of four authors of Coaching Classroom Management(2006). Dr. Knight's son is doing work in Africa and Dr. Knight went to visit his son. Dr. Knight's son along with others were putting in water pumps because the water was filthy. They interviewed the villagers and the villagers said that they did not believe these people would really help them by putting in a pump until it was finished and they drank the water. People have a tendency to ignore or do the opposite of what you ask them to do or teach them unless they actually do and find out for themselves that what you are saying or teaching is right. Solomon and Schrum (2007) state "We use to talk about reading, writing, and arithmetic as the essential skills for literacy. To be literate today involves acquiring new skill, including those of using technology, understanding science, having global awareness, and most important, having the ability to keep learning, which involves gathering, processing, analyzing, synthesizing, and presenting information as well as communicating and collaborating. Free, online tools play a large roll in helping students acquire these skills". We, as educators, need to step up to the plate and help prepare students for the job market that will be in place when they are adults. The job market of jobs that require technology skills.

References

Knight, J. McKale, T, Reinke, W, Sprick R. (2006) Coaching Classroom Management.

Pacific Northwest Pulblishing.

Solomon G. & Schrum L. (2007). Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools,

International Society for Technology In Education.

teachertube (2007, November 01) Pay Attention Video (Video File). Video posted to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-336pDWoM