Blog #6- Twitter and Blogs in the Classroom

50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom is an interesting article. Some of the ideas are genius and some I am not so sure about. Number 1, "Tweet about upcoming due dates or assignments," is such a great idea. I know that I, as a current student, would benefit from this. It is so easy for students to forget about assignments and this would help a lot of students remember that they have homework due. Another good tip is number 10, "Live tweet field trips." This would be a great way to keep parents who couldn't attend in the loop. Some are not the best ideas in my opinion. Number 50 is, "Summarize." This encourages students to type a 140 character synopsis of the lesson. First of all, kids don't want to tweet about class. Second, if students get their phones out in class it can and probably will cause a slew of distraction. Another point I don't quite understand is "Compare Religions," number 31. The last place I want my students making decisions about their religion is social media. There is way too much misinformation to assume that this would be a scholarly discussion. If religion is going to be brought into my classroom it will involve reliable resources and studied presentations.
15 Awesome Ways to use Blogs in Your Classroom is full of helpful information that is new to me. I had never thought to use a Blog in my lesson plans but this article lists some really cool ways to do so. It suggests that  teachers create a blog for substitute teachers. This is an awesome idea for art because it is very difficult to find a substitute that knows the content for art well enough to adequately teach or continue a lesson. A blog would give them a brief synopsis of what they need to know to avoid a movie day every time a substitute is needed. Another good idea is, "Illustrate an Activity." This is designed to help parents help their children at home or help older students at home. I could write an article, create videos and incorporate images that help students problem solve while not in the classroom. What a great idea.
Visible Narratives: Understanding Visual Organization is an article that explains that when it comes to visual communication content needs to not only be artistic and visually interesting, but it also needs to follow certain brain patterns. Some examples of this include objects that are close together on a layout are grouped together in the brain whether they are meant to or not. Also, items of different color and texture are differentiated and separated in the brain. I can use these psychology facts to make my website more interesting to viewers. I can change fonts to draw the eye to something I feel is important. I can color-code sections so that the brain can process and group things that are supposed to be together...the possibilities are endless.






Resources
50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom
15 Awesome Ways to use Blogs in Your Classroom 
Visible Narratives: Understanding Visual Organization

Blog #5- Technology Action Plan

Scott Steinberg's article "Technology and Schools: 10 High-Tech Lessons Every Teacher Should Know" makes excellent points. This article pointed out things to me that I can work on and things that I am pretty good at. I will be the first to admit that I am not the most technologically advanced person in the world by any means, in fact I'm pretty goofy with technology BUT one thing I can do is ask for help when needed. Steinberg points out the importance of this quality in his article. The school that I teach at will have a technology staff and other very capable employees. There is no reason not to ask for help when I need it! I am also good at "Keeping up with the lingo" as Steinberg calls it.  I am a fan of pop culture and I truly believe that writing off pop culture is ignorant. This moment is an important time in history. Sure, the terms "OMG" or "selfie" do not seem at all significant or worthwhile things to say or be apart of but these are the things that we will look back on in 25 years with nostalgia and endearment. So, I think it is important to know these things about kids and embrace it rather than try to be the uber serious, no nonsense teacher 100% of the time. It's okay to throw a "YOLO!" out there every now and then to get the students' attention and remind them that despite common belief teachers are real human beings.
Now I also realized that there are things that I could improve on through this article. Steinberg stresses the importance of knowing how to "operate popular apps, gadgets and online services"...Um, I don't even have a smart phone. This is an area I need drastic improvement in. Another area I can improve in is troubleshooting basics.  Not only am I a a Mac user, I have absolutely no knowledge of how to troubleshoot a Mac OR PC. If something is wrong I pay one of my computer science major friends to fix it. Maybe I should have them teach me the basics of troubleshooting next time.
Symbaloo is an awesome way to put many valuable links to various websites all in one setting. On the Bring Your Own Device days I plan on having in my classroom once in a while, I think it would be great if students could have one tab open to a Symbaloo that I have created at all times. This way less class time would be taken up due to students trying to navigate pages.
Another great resource is Jose Bowen's idea of Teaching Naked. He is very wise in that he knows that universities will have a hard time keeping up with online degree programs. He says students need to know that the time and money they pour into an on-campus university is worth it. Bowen proposes we solve this by basically adopting the flipped classroom model. He agrees that universities should be technologically well rounded, but he also believes that technology serves a better purpose outside of the classroom. He proposes that students watch online lecture materials and do schoolwork and homework during class time. I tend to agree with this way of thinking. I like the idea of using class time to do the hard work as a collaboration and save the lecturing and note taking for outside of class.

Resources
Steinberg's Article
Symbaloo
Jose Bowen Video

Blog #4- Responding to Changes

Free Online Instructional Videos for K-12
The Kahn Academy is an online classroom of sorts designed to help make learning math and science (history and language in the future) easier and more accessible.  It is a free resource that anyone can use worldwide. Every lesson is simply a video by Kahn Academy creator Sal Kahn or one of his employees.  The videos walk the student through problems step by step.  You can pause, fast forward, rewind, or start all over at any point in time.  I use a website that is similar called Duolingo, which is a free online resource that teaches second languages.  These kinds of websites are successful because they tap into what a student needs most: to feel like someone is working through problems with them and not talking at them.  These positive online resources target a wide audience, one who is tech-saavy and craving solid educational resources that are free and easy to navigate.

Free Online University Classes and MOOC's
WJLA.com report tells about the University of Virginia's decision to start offering free online classes. On one hand, this could be a great idea.  Providing free quality information will sound good on paper 9 times out of 10.  However, I am concerned with the validity of these courses.  The article gave some good points at the end about how free online classes will be expensive to run with almost no revenue.  How are the schools that offer free online programs going to afford the classes and retain the validity of them? It is a hard question to answer. I am not convinced that these online classes are such a great idea, even though it is a noble one.

Plans for Free Online Degrees
Daphne Koller's Ted Talk: Free Education Worldwide was monumentally inspiring. While I am still not convinced that free online university classes are fool proof, I will admit that Koller's passion and way of explaining the subject made me a little more open to the idea.  The fact that the courses she talks about stop to ask a questions about the content periodically throughout the class.  This will help gage retention of material and encourage students interact with it. I love that she is passionate about making education a "human right" for anyone that is motivated and willing to achieve it.  These are the kinds of things the world desperately needs to be focusing on.

New writers/ sources of textbooks
Apple is known for its innovation and iTunes U is no exception. iTunes U is a feature that allows teachers to create a dream outline for their classroom.  They pull their favorite sources whether they be textbooks, articles, notes, you name it..and put them together to form the ultimate lesson plan.  Teachers can map out their class time from A to Z. Videos, applications, interactive lessons and many other interactive tools can be used in the making of the iTunes U course.  This is such a great way to organize class time.  Instead of using only one textbook, teachers can combine the best of the best resources to create the ultimate learning experience for their students.

References
Khan Academy
Duolingo
WJLA.com report
MOOC list
Ted Talk: Free Education Worldwide
iTunes U

Message and Copyright Info

I must admit that copyright violations have pretty much been the last thing on my mind since deciding to become a teacher. Through the resources provided in lesson 8 I have learned that copyright is in fact an important entity to be valued. In Jo Warner-Howard's brief podcast she explains the importance of using resources in a respectful way. She then directs the listener to the CLA website which explains why it is important to respect copyright.  This website is easy to follow and very informative. I particularly like this website because of the videos under the "What copyright means to me" section. Each video is of a person who have or could have had their copyrights violated. They explain how copyright is important to their livelihood.  It is often too easy to take information for granted and forget about people like this who just want recognition for their hard work. This is why Richard Baraniuk's idea about open-source learning is so smart.  He proposes that this type of open-source online resource take the place of textbooks. It saves time, money and is the most effective way to present material.  Everyone always has the most up-to-date information and no one's copyrights are being violated.

10 big myths about copyright explained is another great resource for copyright information.  For example, Myth number 9 reads, "It doesn't hurt anybody -- in fact it's free advertising!"This was admittedly my previous stance on the matter.  Like I said earlier, it is easy to think that no one is affected by my using resources that I assume are open for public use.  However, violating copyright truly does affect others. Another great resource to supplement these 10 need-to-know facts is this article, What is Copyright Protection? Here, it explains all of the general facts you would need to know about copyright.  I did not know most of these. For example, I had no clue that I could copyright a "funky dance move."

3 Things I Learned about Copyright in Lesson 8:

1. The What is Copyright Protection? article taught me that the words "internet" and "public domain are not synonymous.  Just because I can easily download something from the internet does not mean that it is legal for me to do so.  There are many reasons that the copyright did not exclude me from downloading the information, picture, etc.
2. The CLA website taught me that the little "c" symbol is not the only symbol that can indicate a copyright.  So, I should read each website's "terms and conditions page for full knowledge of the particular site's availability for use.
3. 10 Big Myths about copyright said made it clear through myth number 5 that sometimes you are only stealing someone's copyright if it is within context.  They gave the Delta Airlines example.  Delta Airlines has the word "delta" copyrighted within the airline business. Of course the word delta is too widely known to copyright in general, but this copyright keeps other airlines from using the word delta in their title. Very interesting.

My Action Plan:

I assume it is pretty difficult for teachers to be aware of all copyright laws of all sources they use.  Through these sources in lesson 8 I will take away a very few important steps to keeping my classroom a safe respectful learning environment dedicated to fair scholarship. First I will always look at a websites "Terms and Conditions" page for all copyright information. I will never assume that something is available for use without checking first.  By doing this I will avoid disrespecting the sources by not citing them or paying for their wealth of knowledge.  After I present each lesson I will site sources used on my SMART Notebook.  This promotes the idea that copyright and giving credit to authors is important and sets a great example for students.

Resources:

10 Big Myths
CLA Website
Podcast 
Richard Baraniuk Ted Talk
What is copyright protection?

Blog #2- Utilizing Different Types of Media

Why BYOD? has such an interesting message.  I am not quite sure how I feel about this and am left with a few questions. I understand that it is good for students to be well-versed in technology in this day and age, however I hope programs like BYOD do not affect the personal relationships within a classroom.  When I look at a room full of students with laptops in front of their faces I worry about how they are forming relationships and advancing their social skills.  What about encyclopedias and libraries? There may be more time allotted for these things than the video let on, I will have to do some more research to find out. However, I do think that the BYOD is getting at something really important here.  Why should students be using computers from the early 2000's when they have something much  more current and useful in their pocket? Why ban a cell phone that can help students do research? It makes a lot of sense. This ties back to the 18th century classrooms vs. today's classrooms that we talked about earlier in lesson 7. Children were willing and ready to learn in the 18th century because reading, writing and bookwork were what were available to them. Today, we can not teach the same way.  The article says, "Today's average college grad spends less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading but over 10,000 playing video games." Why wouldn't we try to utilize this fact instead of downplay it?

Dipping into Social Media in the Classroom is another great resource supporting technology in the classroom, specifically social media. Schools consistently block students from social media sites like twitter and Facebook. But wouldn't it be better if instead of disregarding the sites like they are scholarly poison, schools promoted the idea of using social media sites as educational resources? I think so. Shannon Degan (@shannondegan) tweeted, "2 months on Twitter has allowed me to meet more teachers in my country (85 buildings) than past six years." A great example of where this idea can be implemented is Kenya. Here, hardly anyone has a laptop or computer but 74 out of every 100 Kenyans has a cell phone.  It would be great if people in Kenya were encouraged to use social media sites like Facebook and twitter to connect with people all over the world.  Amazing things could happen if we simply teach others how to academically utilize our social media resources.

Resources:

Why BYOD?

18th century classrooms vs. today's classrooms

Dipping into Social Media in the Classroom

Innovation in Africa: Upwardly Mobile

Blog #1- How Technology Changes the Method

As I watched the eMINTS video about Hartville School I not only learned valuable information about technology in the classroom, but I was encouraged. I am encouraged by the fact that there are programs like eMINTS right here in Missouri that will help me use the technology afforded to me in my classroom.  Programs like this are invaluable. All too often teachers are given technologies like SMART boards and iPads and have no idea what to do with them. Even more unfortunate are the teachers who are not given the appropriate technology to keep up with the tech-savvy generation of students cycling through American schools today. Either way, teachers should be informed about technology in order to keep up with the needs of today's youth. Earlier in lesson 6 it was mentioned that the tutorial method of instruction "is by far the most effective methodology" and I believe that this eMINTS video proves it.  According to Wikipedia, "Student tutorials are generally more academically challenging and rigorous than standard lecture and test format courses, because during each session students are expected to orally communicate, defend, analyze, and critique the ideas of others as well as their on in conversations with the tutor and fellow-students." This is exactly what eMINTS trains teachers to do.  Instead of opting for a classical lecture model of teaching, instructors encourage students to use technology to do their own research, draw their own conclusions and showcase their findings.  Altogether, this kind of self-instruction leads to more effective learning. In my art classroom I could implement this teaching philosophy in endless ways. For instance, instead of giving a lecture over the De Stijl movement I could create an internet scavenger hunt.  Once they have completed the scavenger hunt that will equip them with all the knowledge they need to know about De Stijl, I would instruct them to create their own simple De Stijl artwork with just paper and markers.  All of this could be done in one class period and would extend learning greatly.

Being a future art teacher, I especially like the article Picture Perfect: Teaching to Visual Literacy by Dian Schaffhauser. This article really hits the nail on the head. Why on earth would we spend an entirety of a class describing something that we could show our students in under a minute? Not to mention it's as easy as a click of the mouse. Ten years ago, teachers (especially art teachers) would have to rummage through their mountain of posters to find the image they were looking for. Compare that to today. Need to see examples of impressionism art? CLICK, "Water Lilies" by Claude Monet. TAP, "The Green Dancer" by Edgar Degas. TYPE TYPE TYPE, "Fields"by Camille Pissarro. It is that easy. There is no excuse. As I read this article I immediately thought back to the little boy in the You Can't Be My Teacher video holding up his textbook and asking, "Is this what you're going to use to teach me with?" The answer to that question really should be no. No, we will not sell you short. Yes, we will use the technology that is at our fingertips to give you the most well-rounded education possible.

Resources:

eMINTS Video about Hartville School

Tutorial Method of Instruction

Picture Perfect: Teaching to Visual Literacy

You Can't Be My Tecaher