Developing a Personal Learning Nework

In this class we have done a lot to develop our PLN or personal learning network. The tools we have used to do this so far are twitter, blogging, our RSS feed, and social bookmarking. So far, I think that these tools could be pretty useful. They each offer their own strengths and weakness that can be reflected upon.

Twitter allows tor immediate updates. It can be useful to get a small point across in the most efficient way. The tweet deck allows for constant updates on when someone just "tweeted." That way I can keep track of when my students or colleagues update their twitter. It is the best form to use if you want a fast response for something short. The draw back is that it only allows for so much writing. There is a word limit, so that you can't post an elaborate idea. This makes it hard to share some things at a quick way. Some ideas can't be condensed enough to fit within the word count.

This is where blogging comes in. I have really come to enjoy blogging. It is a great way to get an elaborate idea across and even get feedback. I found that I like to write my ideas or thoughts and see what other people think. It allows for constructive criticism so that others could help make your thoughts better. It can provide the opportunity for different points of view to be heard. This can help a misunderstanding or confusing topic, as if a bunch of people have other ideas, it can be pieced together. Reading blogs is also very beneficial to me. I like to see what other projects people are working on and what other people are thinking. It's cool to see the different blog topics and it even inspires some of my writing. Therefore, blogging ultimately helps the process of reading and writing, since that's essentially what it is. Although, there are drawbacks. One would be that it does not receive immediate feedback. Someone may be on at the same time and comment write away, but most of the time it takes a while. It can take days before someone notices and comments. Which is another drawback. It is hard to sift through all of the blogs and find some interesting enough to read. Although once they are added to the RSS feed it can make things much easier.

Ah, RSS feed, where would I be without you? Honestly this saves me with my ideas for my blogs. Whenever I feel like writing a blog, I head to my RSS feed to see what's new and interesting. The RSS is very beneficial as it is a great way to organize blogs you want to follow. It shows the most recent updates between all of the blogs in the feed. You can even click on each individual blog page to see their updates. It's great that it is all on one page, so I dont have to spend a majority of my time searching for ideas. It organizes the blogs very well, so that all you have to do is look through the feed. This can help update you with colleagues ideas, what the students are bloggin about, or any other topic of interest in the blog feed. The only drawback is actually building the RSS feed. To go and find blogs that will be updated enough and have interesting topics was harder than I thought. I spent hours trying to find blogs to put on my RSS, but once I added them, my life was so much easier.

One other PLN device we used is the social bookmarking through Delicious. To be honest, I haven't had to use this yet. BUT I know that when I do get the opportunity it will prove to be very beneficial. My bookmarks on my computer save me. They make it so much easier to access websites I use a lot. I havent had to use delicious yet becaue it really is the only computer I use. I use my work computer be we are only allow to do so much that isn't work related, so I never need other websites. But to have an account where I can open all my bookmarks on any computer makes me feel safe. I don't have to worry about going somewhere because I would have to search for websites. Instead I can just open My Delicious and have my bookmarks right in front of me. Drawbacks are that you have to update it. If I add a bookmark to my bookmarks now, then I have to go to my delicious account and add it there if I want to use it on another computer.

Overall, I think that PLN's are very beneficial. They allow for organization and to present ideas to receive feedback. We can use them to tell those in our networks what we are thinking and see their ideas. We can also organize our blogs or bookmarks, so no time is wasted. I think with all of them the drawbacks are the effort and time to start them and update them. At the beginning it doesn't see worth it because it does take a lot of effort to build the PLN. Yet, once it's built, it is very beneficial to keep updated!

Voiced Presentation

I was really nervous to post this, I hate my voice on a recorder (as I see a majority of the class also does!). But I had a lot of fun doing it! And it was so easy, I had never imagined it would be that easy. I was dreading doing it thinking it would take me forever to figure it out, but it really didn't!

Matter Presentation

For this slide show I decided to incorporate an idea I went over in SME this semester. I think making this presentation was really fun! It was a cool way to make a lesson. After reading the article on the BBP (beyond bullet points) approach I actually learned a lot. I learned that the less text the better because human memory can handle so much. I have always used bullet points in my presentations so this was definitely different. The article said to have a main headline for the text so that the students were capable of actually taking in what is on the slide. For that reason I simply had a general definition as the "headline" on the slide to make it easier understood. The article also stated that images help people to learn visually. Therefore for each state of matter I had a slide of images as examples. I really think this method is beneficial and hope to remember some of the techniques for my future classroom.

Perfecting Projects

Recently, I came across an article in my google reader, where the blooger is talking about a failed project. He starts off by talking about how his dream is to make a classroom that has lecture and more student involvement. In doing so, he is constantly trying to render up new projects where the students research, discuss, and involve themselves in order to learn. In order to create these projects his criteria is:

• It requires students to interact with material on their own.
• It seems to be a way for students to grab information that I otherwise would have had to convey through lecture.
• It requires students to manipulate the material in an individualistic level–that is, they can emphasize what strikes them as most important.
• It embeds much of the skill-work I try to teach, like writing and reading, and makes it seemingly more relevant.

In thinking of this criteria, he created a project for the students to learn about communication. Instead if lectures, he wanted students to be able to research online for tips on public speaking. The students were to take these tips and pick the most important to them, to complie a unique list of their own. Yet, after a short time the students began to turn in completed work. He was dumbfounded on how the students were getting this activity done so quick. Until he realize they had taken a short cut. The students had failed to reasearch online (since they weren't forced to list sources to make it more fun) and htey had just made up their own tips. At the end, the teacher was stuck with a variety of work. Some students actually put in the effort while some made it up, making the grading process very difficult. The blogger makes the generalization that with almost every project there can be shortcuts available, and students are persistent on finding those shortcuts. It left him in wonder if projects that actively involve students are any better than lecture.

This blog somewhat scares me, as I feel I am going to struggle with these same ideas. I too hope to have a classroom that is extremely active and less of me lecturing straight facts. I think it will make learning more fun and the involvement will keep the students intrigued for a longer period of time. I think his criteria for projects is exceptional. They really are the basis for activities that involve the students with hands on approachs that are very relevant. I am nervous that I may struggle to come up with quality assignments. I'm scared they will either be too easy or won't be understandable. I am going to focus so much on student involvement that I may fail to pay attention to the quality of the work. It seems that these dreams are very similar to current teachers and aspiring teachers. We all want to make the learning environment fun with less of us talking, yet as the blog shows, there are some drawbacks to this approach.

When I think of myself as a student, I can honestly say that if their is a shortcut that the teacher won't notice to get me the same grade, I am going to tak it. So sue me. It's probably safe to say that a majority of students feel the same way. It just seems to be a frame of mind, because we just want to get the assignment done. With this, I think it will be difficult as a teacher to judge whether a student took the shortcut or not. Unless they completely goofed, it is usually something that can be hidden and the teacher won't notice. For example, with this bloggers project, the students can easily make up their own tips and write them out. If they don't have to list sources, who is to say they weren't really found on the internet. This is the problem with trying to make projects fun and enjoyable. The more fun they are, the easier it is to bypass acually working. Like in the example, he didn't want them to have to list sources so it wouldn't be a hassle, but this allowed students to make things up. If sources were required, it would be almost impossible for them to not research, because each soruce could be checked. Of course, no teacher wants to be the mean one to make more work and make assignments more difficult. But it trying to make learning enjoyable means allowance for students to slack, is just simply not acceptable. I would rather be the teacher that they think is too hard, because I know I am doing my job. I don't want to be mean, but it is in my job description to make sure I am pushing these kids to learn. If I make it too easy, then what am I there for?

Overall this blog was very intersting to me because it shared real life struggles of a teacher. We want to make a fun, enjoyable, and active learning environment, but it can be hard when kids don't put in the work. It seems that we need to find the medium of the two and make it work. I know it will take quite a few failed projects to grasp this concept, but I just hope I can make it work!

Enjoy!

Readers Define Books

Today in my TE 348 class (seems to give me a lot of topics to blog about) we had one of our biweekly discussions about a book. The book discussion today was on Seedfolks, a narrative told through the eyes of 13 characters. The book takes place in an urban city, where the city is segregated. Nine year old Kim, who is Vitenamese, plants some lima beans in a trash lot. Other diverse characters join, and it forms a story around the garden that they all take part in. The themes include character development, overcoming diversity, and the transition from a neighborhood to a community.

For this book, I was the personal facilitator. That means my role while reading and thinking about this book was to figure out why I read it the way I did. I had to think about, and discuss, why my personal background and experiences shaped the way I interpreted the novel. After a while of brain scratching, I came up with a few ideas.

I decided that I can understand that a garden would encourage character development due to my own experiences with my character. My personal experience is that I played softball, so taking part in such a sill ything seems unimportant, but I formed relationships, hardwork, and dedication just as the characters did in the book. Yet, my group members failed to see something as simple as a garden to alter life ways. They had no personal experiences that could make them more understanding, so we didn't really see eye to eye.

Another idea that I had was that I was shocked of all the diversity of characters in one area. There were 7-8 different ethnic groups mentioned (out of only 13 characters), which was a surprise to me. I came from a community that was so small I could count other ethnic groups within hundreds of people on one hand. In my high school there were maybe 3 people of another race (Mexican and African American). Due to this, it is safe to say that I am not used to diversity and any opportunity to explore it is something new to me. When I brought up this point in our discussion, another girl had gone to a high school where there were a diverse amount of students. She said sh probably had a majority of the ethnic groups listed in the book attending her high school. Reading the book to her wasn't as big of a culture shock to her as it was to me. She was used to the idea that there was a vast array of people in one area. Whereas I have had it stuck in my mind that in one area there are only a few "outsiders."

This whole idea of everyone reading the story really got me thinking for when I become a teacher. Teaching a book seems pretty simple. There are implied themes, character traits, morals, etc. The teacher just needs to make them known and discuss the importance. Yet, what happens when two students interpret a book totally different. Each student will think their interpretation is right. It may be confusing for them to understand that people read differently. Yet, if this were to happen, it would provide for a great learning experience. The studens could learn to understand each other. They could also learn to challenge each other. I feel that challenging and understanding are two very concrete ways to get through a book. The students can learn from each others ideas to either formulate or edit their own ideas. It will be a great way to get the students thinking critically and question why was the book read differently when it is the same words on the page for everyone. Overall, this process will provide the children with deeper analysis to better understand themselves, and to better understand each other.

Overall, I think this discussion really opened my eyes to reading. It is very appareant that background culture and experiences can shape the way we think about a book. It doesn't mean that we are right or wrong, it is just how we think. Through this process we can learn more about ourselves and about our peers. This process really made me enjoy reading more. I was able to critically think about who I am and what does that affect. At the end I had a better understanding of myself on character development, community, and diversity. All in all I really enjoyed this process of reading, and it really makes me want to read this way more often so that I can develop a stronger sense of who I am!

Google Docs

When I first read this weeks assignment, I questioned what google docs was. I assumed some prgoram that I would simply use to complete this weeks assignment and forget about. Much to my surprise, it is actually something I see myself using in the future. I really feel like if google docs becomes more popular, microsoft office may have to watch out! Google docs offers very similar programs, and there are quite a few advantages.

First, it is all free! What a surprise and relief. It's hard to believe that these programs are free! I mean, I paid over $100 for microsoft office for my macbook, yet google docs offers almost the exact same thing for no charge at all. Now that is what every college student wants to hear! It's almost shocking that something like this is free, when it offers so many programs and utilities.

Second, it is available from virtually anywhere. Last night, I was working on my resume, when I got way too tired. I went to bed and gave up on editing. Yet today, here I am, right where I left off and I'm editing at work without saving to a disk or emailing it to myself. It was so nice not having to hassle to find my USB or e-mail the document myself. It seems it saved a lot of time and frustration. Especially since it automatically saves periodically. It allows for almost no way of losing your work, and allows for easy access anywhere.

Third, you can save your work for others to access and edit. Too, this is genius. I am always wanting someone to read over and edit my paper, but I always seem to have to bring it to them or e-mail it. Through google docs they can simply sign in and view my work. This is also amazing for group projects. I don't know how much I can express my hate for group projects in college. With everyone having different class and work schedules, it is always so hard to find a time to meet. With google docs, one powerpoint presentation can be available to the whole group. Everyone can get on, review what others have done and even add to it themselves. What a life saver! This is going to be very sueful for my next class project. I no longer need to worry about where and when my group is going to be able to meet!

As far as classrom use goes in my future teaching career, I think the possibilites are endless. First off, like I've noted, it is great for editing. This is someting I feel really important to learn at a young age. Editing is crucial to papers and other work, so students should jump right into the idea. They need to be able to know how to edit. Too look for grammatical mistakes, incorrect sentence structure, and others. Not only is the editing process important, but also the allowing of editing is important. Too many students submit work without a run through (guilty!). It is important to teach them that although they may not want too, it is only beneficial to them to allow others to look at their work. This process can point out their mistakes so maybe they will learn. It can help them to improve on their writing and editing skills, which will only be beneficial in the long run.Also, this allows for various forms of programs to be used at no cost. It can allow for a variety of projects in the classroom, so it is not always boring worksheets. Since it is free, it allows students to creat cool powerpoint projects at home or in a library, where they can be creative. It can allow students to create their own presentations, and post for others to see. It is not something that students will have to pay for, which is what a lot of parents are concerned about. Another use for the classroom, is group projects, like I stated for college use. It allows for group projects incorporating technology to start at a younger age. This give students the opportunity to work together on a project, and even add too it outside of school.Google docs also allows for the teacher, myself, to review work as students post it. It can allow for immediate feedback to the students so they can improve their work. Teachers can review the work and give a quick response. This can give students the opportunity to improve their work before it is actually submitted. This allows for improvement of mistakes, and a better grade, which is the ultimate goal. Google docs also is very important in the technology factor. It is a very basic program that can be put in use at a younger age, for free. It introduces students to technology, and it is not too difficult to grasp. It is a great introduction to the world of technology, which is an idea that needs to be learned as soon as possible. It shows them how to scces the internet, make presentations online, type, submit work, look through other peoples work, edit online, and create spreadsheets. It incorporates technology ideas that are very basic and need to be realized at a young age.

After all of these advantages of google docs, there are always drawbacks. One thing I had a problem with was formating. While constructing my resume, I had an extremely difficult time with formating in the document section of google docs. I struggled for a long time trying to fix every detail. Still to this day I cannot make it work. It seems like it is a waste of time trying to figure out all of the formating issues, and it just leaves me feeling frusturated. Although I feel the urge to give up, I know with all of the advantages of google docs, I should learn how to use it properly.Also, I feel that people are going to become too reliable on the system. I don't think it should take over in any way. I still think pencil and paper technique should be used. Technology isn't always reliable, and sometimes it is a struggle to work with, so I think everyone should keep that in mind.

Overall, I am a fan of google docs and am looking forward to taking advantage of what it has to offer.

That's nonfiction? Really?

Yesterday in my TE 348 class, we discussed nonfiction. Of course, I immediately started to dread this discussion. Ever since I was a kid, I hated nonfiction. Every nonfiction book I read, or was forced to read, was too boring. I don't want all of the facts. I want creativity and imagination. I wanted to read what the dog said to the cat, or what happened when the school bus shrank. I didn't care how a certain conversation played out in a war, I was a kid! So, as I grew older I never gave nonfiction a chance. I always thought of it as the boring and bland books that were simply facts. Yet, after class yesterday, I realized that I actually didn't mind nonfiction!

The Magic School Bus is classified as nonfiction! I was shocked. I guess I should have assumed, it is very educational. But the whole shrinking school bus to go into a human body through me off I guess. It seemed that it may have some weird classification since it is a mixture. Yet, the book says it was nonfiction, it just had some fiction ideas. Which, after the discussion it all makes sense.

I guess the thing for me, was how nonfiction was presented to me in my first interaction. My first presentation of nonfiction was that it was strictly facts. It couldn't be a creative or elaborate story, it was simply hard facts. Boring, right? I was immediately turned off and everytime I heard the word nonfiction I cringed. Also, growing up it seems that when I was presented with nonfiction in school, it was the boring kind. The type that was page after page of straight facts that wasa chore to read. The only time I was presented with something interesting was at home, because I was able to choose what to read. If my teachers would have made nonfiction seem more interesting, maybe I would have a want to read it now. But now, I am stuck in this idea of nonfiction being boring facts.

Ultimately, this got me thinking of how to present nonfiction when I am a teacher. I am without a doubt going to do everything in my power to make it interesting and fun. I don't want my students to be biased just because I am. I also don't want them to be biased because I don't present the material in a good way. I want to open their eyes at a younger age of all of the possibilities of nonfiction. It doesn't have to be all facts. It can be a creative story that has facts embedded them. I want them to see that nonfiction can be creative. It can consist of fake characters or events that are not possible. As long as the sole information is truthful. I don't want them to go through school thinking that nonfiction is boring. I don't want them to turn out like me, and only read nonfiction when it is required for class. Nonfiction books offer so many opportunities for children, and I need my students to be in reach of those opportunities. Ultimately, I hope to show my future students that nonfiction can be fun to read, and shouldn't be a genre that they avoid!