Journal 5: Try Twitter

I have had a teacher twitter account for years. One of the reasons I actually created my account was so that I could participate in group tweets about conferences that I was attending. It allows me to stay up to date with my favorite presenters and get great ideas on topics I teach. I love following @DoInkTweets and @annkozma723. She always has great ways to use green screen in the classroom and inspired me to change my boring old 4th grade mission reports into fun animated green screen projects. Twitter also allows me to stay up to date with what other teachers and administrators in my district are doing and how they are innovating in their classrooms. While I love to use twitter for my personal professional development I do not use it in my classroom due to the age of my students (4th grade). I can see this being an extremely valuable tool in high school and even middle school as seen in the video “Twitter in the Class.” After looking the list of 35 interesting ways to use twitter I think I would like to adapt some of the ideas into an offline version so students are exposed to social media tools without having their own accounts. I think they would really enjoy creating tweets for historical figures we are studying! I was also thinking about using tweets as “tickets to recess” or “one thing you learned today.”

Q: Can twitter be used in an offline capacity when students are too young to have their own accounts?

A: Absolutely! Students of all ages hear about or are exposed to social media; their parents and older siblings use it and they see it on TV. I believe teachers should utilize what students are interested in to engage them in what they are learning. By creating offline versions of twitter or Facebook students can gain the benefits of social media without the dangers that can come from such accounts.

Q: How can I keep up to date with all of the people and hashtags I follow?

A: I love using TweetDeck! This is an website or chrome extension you can use to “organize and build custom timelines, keep track of lists, searches, activity and more—all in one interface.” If you have more than one account you can manage them all with tweetdeck and you can even schedule tweets. I really enjoy using this dashboard app during conferences so I can see what sessions I should be going to, what people are saying about what they are learning, and all of the great ideas that are being exchanged.

Journal Post 4: Project Plan

• Site title - Richards' Room 20

• Developer - Ciara Richards

• Rational or focus - 
• Statement of Purpose: To create a one-stop location for students and parents to get information about my classroom rules, procedures, and regular goings on to not only use at back to school night but throughout the year as well. 
• Goal: The site will make it easy for students and parents to get information about my class. I am hopping that it will be the first stop when a questions should arise rather then immediately contacting me. 

• Main features outline - 
• welcome page with student and parent links
• getting to know you form
• easy to access pages for course information 

• Content - 

1. Welcome
2. Students 
• About Me Form
• Daily Schedule
• PE/Music
• Grading
• Homework
• AR Reading
• Awards
• Dress Code
• Upcoming Events 
• Online Resources 
• daily links
3. Parents
• Confidential Form 
• Daily Schedule
• PE/Music
• Curriculum 
• Grading 
• Homework
• AR reading
• Awards
• Dress Code
• Upcoming Events
• Field Trips
• permission slips
• volunteer forms
• School Wellness Policy
• Wish List/Donations
• Online Resources
• Educational Apps
• Contact Info

• Target audience - 
• Parents and students in my class. 

• Design considerations. 
• Easy navigation
• Accessibility from mobile and desktop
• Inviting, but not overwhelming
• Incorporate classroom theme - (easy to change if my classroom theme changes)
• Limiting factors - 
• Making sure parents can access it from phones without losing content
• Having the getting to know you forms only available when first going to the site
• parents only accessing the site at back to school night

Site Map:

Wire Frame:

Journal 3 Blog Post: Social Media

Journal 3 Blog Post: Social Media

Friesen, N. (2010). Education and the social Web: Connective learning and the commercial imperative. First Monday, 15(12). doi:10.5210/fm.v15i12.3149

Coffin, T., & Fournier, J. (2015). Social media in the learning setting: Opportunities and challenges. Retrieved from https://itconnect.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Social-Media-in-the-Learning-Setting.pdf

Reflection:

While reading, Commercial Concerns in the Social Web, I felt a little confused as to how this affects using social media in the classroom. Yes these web companies make their money from sending us advertisements that are tailored to our individual likes, but should that diminish these tools in the classroom?

The learner may not be “at the center of networks of knowledge and expertise,” but I have to disagree with Friesen and say that there is still potential for “leading to new forms of learning and education.” As a teacher I would use these differences in advertisements to teach a lesson on acceptance and inclusivity. Furthermore the advertisements could be used to teach digital citizenship. As Internet users we are constantly being watched; we have to be careful about what we do and say because it will always be there even if we delete it.

As stated in Social Media Concerns and Opportunities, “students and instructors alike worry that social media is a distraction in the learning environment.” As a 4th grade teacher I do worry about the Internet being a distraction but my worry does not surpass the opportunities I see for student achievement.

Knowing that my students get easily distracted I use Chrome extensions like Lights Out and Work Flow to aid their learning while using technology. Lights Out prevents my students from seeing the advertisements and related videos that pop up on the side of a YouTube video by blacking them out altogether. Work Flow gives them a set time to work (disables social media sites) than a set time to explore (all sites open). Knowing that they have a scheduled “free time” helps increase their productivity while working on the computer. As an educator I see the value of technology in the classroom so I try to make it as seamless as possible for my students to use.

Questions:

Q: Should we stop using social media to aid our instruction because it has advertisements?

A: No, students are surrounded by advertisements everywhere they go. If they come to be expected they will become less distracting. Furthermore, if we teach our students digital citizenship and explain why they are seeing these advertisements they can gain a greater understanding of this powerful tool.

Q: Could the challenges that teachers face with social media be prevented or changed to opportunities with PD training?

A: From experience in talking to my fellow teaching colleagues I do believe that many of the challenges that they have with technology could be changed into opportunities with support and training. So often I hear teachers say, “the district wants me to use this new tool but has not given me the time to learn it or provided training on how to implement it.” PD is so important in teaching as we are constantly trying new things to improve our pedagogy.

Journal #2 - Affinity Groups and RSS feeds

The Internet, especially social media, has made communication amongst professionals quite easy. No longer do we have to struggle to find others who we can bounce our ideas off of or exchange advice with when needed.

RSS feeds and Affinity groups have made this task seemingly more stress-free.  

This past week we were tasked with finding and joining an affinity group related to our line of work. When searching for a group specifically dedicated to teaching 4th grade I found myself becoming frustrated. The few that I did find were not very active and seemed to have information that I did not need. Feeling my stress level rising I decided to just turn to twitter, which I already use and love, to find a new 4th grade hashtag to follow. For me, Twitter is a quick way to get lesson/specific subject advice from fellow teachers from all over the world. If I am struggling to teach a certain topic I will send a tweet out and am almost always guaranteed a quick response with helpful tips.

While I did not find anything grade specific, I previously subscribed to a few affinity groups related to teaching. One affinity group I like is Renaissance Royals. It is a group tied to the Renaissance Place software I use in my class daily. They have suggestions on how to use the program in different ways, activities for teachers to complete to earn royal points, and advice from other teachers currently using the program as well. Although I find this group useful when I need help, it is not something that I check daily or even weekly. In short, affinity groups are great when I need them.

Similarly, the Digg feed that I cultivated specifically for 4th grade teaching was more cumbersome than useful. I needed quick subject specific information that I just couldn’t seem to find in any blogs or websites that I subscribed to.

I do however, enjoy using the chrome extension TweetDeck to follow all of my hashtags in one place at one time both for education and personal interests.

In summation I found my subject specific affinity groups and Digg feed to be more of a hindrance than help. I do love using both of these in my personal life, but professionally I will continue using them on an as-needed basis.

Q: Can I see RSS feeds and Affinity groups being used for PD within my district?

A: Yes! I would love to see these types of digital resources being used as PD opportunities within my district. Over the summer the tech department opened up a paid opportunity for teachers and administrators alike to earn a Google Certification. I along with many of my colleagues jumped at this opportunity. It was the first time I saw my fellow teachers excited about PD. This is where I would like to focus my learning as I move through the EMM program.

Q: Why do some users find RSS feeds useful while others don’t?

A: RSS feeds use “standard web feed formats to publish frequently updated information: blog entries, news headlines, audio, video.” For some this simple plain text format is useful and easy to sort through mass amounts of information. That is why so many people love Reddit.com. For others, like me, I need something more visually stimulating. 

Journal 1 Blog Post: Chapters 1-3

Journal #1: Chapters 1-3 

Robbins, N., & J. (2012). "Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics" (4th ed.). Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media.

Reflection: Chapters one and two gave me great insight into possible part-time job opportunities as well as benchmarks for filling the holes in my “computer/web-design knowledge.” Being in my first quarter in the EMM program, I was relieved to read that web designers do not learn all aspects of web design, or at least not all at once. (Side note: As a female and an educator I loved that Jennifer used the pronoun “she” when describing the different job descriptions of web designers!)

The chapter that struck the largest cord with me was chapter three. As an Educator, many of the chapter three’s topics apply in my own classroom. A web designer never really knows exactly how the pages they create will be viewed, who will be viewing them, or what accessibility limits, if any, their consumer base may have.

So how can we cope with the inescapable element of the unknown? Web designers should follow the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript standards as documented by W3C. As teachers we also follow a set of standards so this was very linear for me. Progressive enhancement is another strategy where developers start with a baseline experience then build on more advanced features for browsers that can handle them. This same methodology is also a great strategy when creating a lesson plan. I always start with a basic lesson then layer higher-level thinking based on the student’s needs and experiences.

Finally a designer must build for accessibility. Strategies developed for accessibility also benefit other users with less-than-optimum browsing experiences. Many of the English Language Learners (“ELL”) strategies I use in my classroom, such as visual vocabulary, movement based instruction, and think-pair-share benefit all of my students not just my ELLs.

Q1: After reading the futurefriend.ly site I found myself asking, how can I make my teaching “future friendly” not “future proof"?

A1: Every educator knows that every ten years or so there is a shift in educational practices. While we can’t know what is coming we can acknowledge and embrace unpredictability. Just like when a student asks a question and takes the lesson in a totally different direction than what I had planned. I have to realize that that is not only acceptable but should be encouraged. My lesson plans need to be adaptable.

Furthermore, I always love teaching with technology but I should also remember to make plans that I can adapt to new technology or no technology (you know for those days that technology decides it just doesn’t want to work). By making sure my lessons have meaningful content I can ensure that I can use them no matter what comes my way.  

Q2: How can educators avoid our own "Zombie Apocalypse" as stated in Scott Jensen's article "The Coming Zombie Apocalypse?"

A2: In the article Jensen states, we need "to embrace this coming zombie apocalypse not because we need to invent the future, but that our past is holding us back." Educators need to shed their old school thinking of not sharing lessons and keeping what they do in their classrooms secretive. Educators who don't change can be replaced, if not by a younger generation than by a machine that can do their job better (we have apps for that!). The more we share and communicate the more we can learn and improve. Take advantage of your colleagues experience. Try something new you heard another teacher trying at a different site. Use digital media and online resources to update and refresh lessons. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Finally, always reflect either on your own or as a team.