Thursday, November 28, 2013

Thankful in the Adirondacks

It is so peaceful here at 5 am, overlooking Canada Lake, our Adirondack refuge.   Most in the family are sleeping and a few of us early birds are up reading, reflecting, and getting ready for a crew of 40 for the feast and fun.  I am thankful today for my parents and their love of learning which they have passed on.  I am thankful for the gift of gratitude and those who understand it.

This morning my thoughts are around creative commons...finally have time to read more about it, very cool concept, and how to move towards "automaticity"(borrowed term from math fact fluency) in my own online learning journey.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

On Evaluating Online Resources

Another student in the UNH, IT&DML program sited a checklist to use with students.  I wanted to post it to my blog for future reference.  Evaluating Online Resources Checklist (C.A.R.S.) The checklist was created by Robert Harris and can be duplicated for non-profit and educational use.

Thank you EF for sharing!

Friday, November 22, 2013

Ensuring Safe Internet Use


As I reflect on the reading from Rachel A. Karchmer the first key idea which comes to mind is how the  meaning and details of internet safety has changed since the writing of the article.  The study mentions " a third method of protecting students from inappropriate material was to completely prohibit online searches. The district that Cindy, the sixth grade teacher, worked for chose to do this.  Whenever Cindy wanted her students to use information on the internet for research, she would have to conduct searches herself on the specified topics and bookmark the sites for her students to view during class.  This controlled the students' Internet use and also put the burden of conducting student research on the teacher."  I would maintain that Cindy's approach did not allow the students to learn critical skills such as how to conduct searches or determine the validity of a site.  I am curious to learn more about current trends in acceptable use policies in districts.  I wonder how often they are revised in response to changes in "New Literacies" and "new literacies".

The topic of safe internet use came up this week in my unit lesson on Google + communities for teachers.  We discovered that our students did not have access to Google +.  Our discussion motivated me try to clarify our districts policy on access to various sites.  After three hours of phone calls and emails I learned that we are currently in the process of revising our Acceptable Use Policy.  There are also some "negotiations" or conversations with Google about the long term usage of Google products and the costs to the district.  All of the information learned is helpful in preparing teachers to utilize the internet in compliance with the law and district policy.

Karchmer, R.A. (2001). The Journey Ahead: Thirteen Teachers Report How the Internet Influences Literacy and Literacy Instruction in Their K-12 Classrooms. Reading Research Quarterly, 36, 442-467.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Digital Learning Hub Feedback and Future Plans

This week I spent some time working on my digital learning hub.
I collaborated with my team today and gained some great feedback.  Now I will attempt to work on the following personal goals to improve my site:

  • I would like to learn more about gadgets and how they "work"
  • I would like to understand more about the options for editing/sharing information on Google sites
  • I want to learn more about how long term managing applies to Google sites 
  • I am curious about importing various calendars into a Google site..ie outlook calendar
  • I would like to have time to explore how to overlap Ever-note or my "saving site" of choice into my web site because now I am exploring too many places and I think I am ready to pick one to be more efficient. 


Thursday, November 14, 2013

EDU720 Week 11 Post




Chapter 36 p. 1128 references studies by Gray, 2002 and Von Sternberg, 2002 where "abbreviations like lol for laugh out loud and brb for be right back' have been highlighted as commonly used.  Yet in this  author's experience the teenagers' use of such abbreviations was almost nonexistent stating, "I used to (use abbreviations)...  . Now I've started to type out "you" and 'are"...  . I don't know.  It looks better.  I don't know, maturity.  You just seem smarter."  This is not the case in the song I choose to share.  A Social Network  For Two: A Modern Love Song by Zefrank   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q06xFf6Xe8o (for some reason the link feature did not work for me?)  I find this point interesting because I have often questioned the use of "invented" or shortened spellings in IMs as potentially reinforcing misspelling and poor spelling habits.

You Tube - Christine Grenhow 2012 
In this video Ms. Greenhow presents many ways that online activity invites participation.  The fashion works invites people to design one of a kind articles of clothing.  In health, news media, social /political action people are invited to be engaged through online activity.  The huge question is "Can social media help people learn anything about life?"  This question is indeed a good question.  I tried to go to her Hot Dish application on Facebook but could not find it.  The concept sounded good.  
I experienced a situation last week where a "friend" of mine posted something to Facebook which I found to be rude.  It made me realize that at times you are the friends you keep.  For me personally it felt like I was back in middle school where I had to "unfriend" someone and worry about hurting their feelings.

In the article Social Privacy in Networked Publics: Teens' Attitudes, Practices, and Strategies by Danah Boyd and Alice Marwick I found it very interesting to note that so many of the teens which they interviewed described privacy in terms of having their own space away from their parents. The other key point from this article is the suggestion that privacy is disappearing as a social norm. There is something unsettling about that for me. At this point I can not quite articulate why it is unsettling but it has to do with my own need for some solitude to "recharge my batteries". I also found the Old Saybrook incident interesting because it points out how students do not always make the connection between posting on the internet and how that related to the concept of privacy. I would be curious to see the slide show.

All three sources provided valuable food for thought and further investigation. The topic has also been discussed around our dinner table with our 14 and 16 year old children!



Tuesday, November 12, 2013

EDU 718 Reflection - Week 11


1. Do you agree that schools ought to prepare learners to succeed in the world as it is even if that may not be the world as it should be?    Should all students be prepared to use the standard dialect, wear the standard clothes, and adopt the standard behavior patterns when interviewing for jobs-- (even baby or house-sitting,) crafting the admissions essay, or interacting socially with the community?   How important is fluency in the normative, even if that means learning a foreign language and a wearing a mask?    What are the implications of your stance on this issue?    Notice and name some positive and negative aspects.

I believe that schools should prepare learners to succeed in a way which is true to the person’s identity.  By that I mean acknowledging that we all hold special gifts and talents.  We all have strengths and weaknesses.  As a teacher in a school I try to nurture students to come into their best self.  That may look different for each one of us.  I am aware that there can be enormous pressure for kids to be “normal” or exhibit standard behavior.  If students demonstrate respect for themselves and others than I believe it is okay to be different.  If a student is presenting her/himself for a job interview or college application I have an expectation that that person will represent themselves in a neat, clean, respectful manner.

The questions around following the norms or the standard discourses and Discourses are  tricky to answer.  To be “fluent in the normative” can definitely open doors for students.  If being like everyone else is uncomfortable for a student than I don’t suggest that it is good for one’s self esteem to try it.  If following the norms works for someone or it does not feel uncomfortable for them than they may want to be “normal”.  I have noticed in my own experience that I personally am often attracted to those who “dare to be different”.  For me it reflects a sense of self worth and pride when a person wears a different style clothing , or hair style, or jewelry.  I am not sure but I guess that I am the minority in this regard. As Gee noted in his analysis of the language in the job interviews that there is an expectation that standard English is spoken fluently.  There are often expectations in job interviews that people will look and dress “conservatively” or mainstream.  The negative aspects of daring to be different could be that one may be passed over for an opportunity because they could be viewed as “odd”.  In a positive light an individual could also be chosen for an opportunity because they feel confident enough to be true to themselves.  

I thought the CT Forum on Blackness was a very interesting discussion.  It reminded me of the many rights and affordances which are given to me simply based on my appearance as a white person.  Anita Hill also reminded of the affordances denied to me based on my gender.  Each of the panelist shared some thought provoking  ideas and the discussion provided me with much food for thought.  Also if keen interest to me was the both, Toni Morrison and President Obama made use of stereotypes in their comments.  I personally think that is a dangerous practice. I try to stay away from using racial comments in an attempt to be humorous.




2. As you have explored and worked with content creation tools (or other technology)  what assumptions and biases have you noticed?  What is built into the templates?    Are the online tutorials beginner user friendly or do they assume that all audience members know what is meant by click and drag, menu bar, open, privacy settings, post, etc. etc.    Can you make a list of words that have specialized meanings in the world of now, that they would not have had 30 years ago?   How does command of this vocabulary privilege some and cause others not to belong?    

As I have worked with technology in new and different ways in the UNH ITDM & L program I have noticed some assumptions. I have noticed that there are many powerful affordances that come along with knowledge of all types and this is true for “technological knowledge” as well.  There is a whole world of online savvy people and it is very interesting to “tap into” that world.

I have noticed that more women are visible in the world of technology.  For most of my professional career I was often one of just a few  women at a meeting or event centered around technology.  There is definitely a language, culture, Discourse and discourse around technology and I feel privileged to be in the midst of knowing about some of them.  I am still learning about all the many pros and cons, how to and how not to utilize technology, ethical ramifications, power issues etc. around technology in my personal and professional life.   The language and vocabulary acquisition alone can be overwhelming due to the rapidly changing nature of technology.  

Of keen interest to me is how the “digital natives” such as my 14 and 16 year old children can acquire and gain command of the rapidly changing tech based way of learning.  I can see that they have been raised to embrace and dive into what is often times confusing to me.  That says that they are learning and being taught to learn differently than I was.  Is this good or is this not good…?  The jury is still out.  It is, however, very interesting and I always look forward to exploring new ways to learn in my life long journey to who knows where!



My choice of medium
I choose to write my reflection in a google doc because I am becoming more and more comfortable with the editing features in the google doc.  After I have edited and revised my piece I copied it to my blog where I can retain it for future reference and reflection.

References:
Gee, James Paul. Social Linguistics and Literacies. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.
Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together.  New York: Basic Books, 2011. Print.