Journal #4 NETS 3, 4, 5

Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the Flock!. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/digitaledition/digital-edition-march-april-2013

McClintock Miller, S. (2010). Enhance your twitter experience. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/digitaledition/digital-edition-march-april-2013

Summary: The article, Join the Flock!, written by Hadley Ferguson talks about how to create a professional learning network or PLN. She mentions how to set up a free Twitter account and to always have a picture of yourself, and writing a biography about yourself in order to connect on a personal level with those who might want to follow you. You can easily follow someone else by clicking the “follow” button, then just sit back and watch the posts roll in; following is quick and easy and does not take much on your part. Ferguson even mentions several lists that are created such as #kinderchat, #edchat, or #elemchat depending on what the area of interest might be. You never have to interact with anyone and yet you still get the great resources, ideas, and educational links. If you do want to participate, all you have to do is to just re-send the tweet that someone posted to your other networks. You can even reply to a tweet with an acknowledgement of a good idea or find. There is a 140 word cap, so not much is needed to be said if you just send a link and say “check this out”. Forming a PLN and collaborating will only consume as much time as you want it to.

Summary: The other article, Enhance Your Twitter Experience, by Shannon McClintock Miller mentions a bookmarklet tool that helps to send information to others rather than sending an e-mail to someone with the possibility of the information being forward to anyone else. You just drag the information to the bookmarklet and send it to a network so that the information is shared to all. She even gives a list of common Twitter terminology that may not be familiar to users. There are two organizer tools like TweetDeck and Hootsuite to organize your lists.

Q: How is a professional learning network helpful for teachers?

A: The professional learning network enables teachers to collaborate and get different learning ideas or techniques from other teachers; having the PLN broadens the scope of learning. The PLN becomes a network of resources that you can plug into with the click of a button rather than trying to learn on your own.

Q: How can you organize the chaos of Twitter?

A: One of the tools that can be used to organize a Twitter account is through TweetDeck. With TweetDeck you can organize all of your PLNs into different columns allowing you to see what is being posted in each network rather than trying to scroll through your Twitter page to find posts from a certain network. You are able to view your educational and personal columns separately. A few other functions that the organizer allows are to be able to manage and post to several other accounts such as Facebook. It also has a tool that enables you to translate your tweets in order to collaborate with teachers of foreign countries.

Journal #3: NETS 3, 4

Swan , G., & Park, M. (2012). Students need a digital driver. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/digitaledition/digital-edition-march-april-2013

Summary:  The article mentions that so many schools are implementing programs such as bring-your-own-device (BYOD) to school; many schools are doing away with actual textbooks and becoming digital. The Digital Driver’s License (DDL) was created to provide a sense of security for the children to be online. Children needed to learn “how to recognize and react to precarious situations online, such as cyberbullying and copyright information”. The children are able to set up an online account with their school district. The DDL program consists of a set of modules or assessments such as “practice-its” and “prove-its”. The practice-its are tests that the children read and evaluate a certain situation, and at the end of the test, they are given the correct answer to the responses that they did not get correct. The prove-its are the score graded tests in order for a child to get their license in order to take an electronic device home. The child has to complete the assessment with an 80% or higher and there is an unlimited amount of chances to receive a passing score. Teachers are able to monitor the progress and results of each student throughout the process.

Q: What happens to the child’s digital driver’s license if he or she moves?

A: The great thing about the DDL account is that if a child moves, he or she is able to change and update the information of the new school district. The results of all the tests are saved in the account, so the child does not have to worry about having to retake any modules.

Q: Is the system/program flexible in how it is used?

A: Yes, some schools may require students to pass all of the prove-its before even being able to access the school’s network. Some other schools may allow the students to have access to the network, but not be able to take a device home with them until all the prove-it modules are all passed. It is up to the school district in how they want to implement the system.

Journal #2 : NETS 1-5

Anderson, S. (2012). Learning without Borders. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/digitaledition/digital-edition-march-april-2013

Summary: The article, Learning without Borders, written by Sue Anderson explains her experience in her participation of the Schoolwires Greenleaf program which is a “virtual international classroom exchange”.  Sue Anderson’s students were able to collaborate with other students around the world in Beijing at the Yu Yuan Tan Middle/High School about social studies topics that were related to her class. The curriculum was based on global awareness, global citizenship, diversity and multicultural understanding, and project-based learning. The program allowed the students to use problem-solving skills to overcome communication, cultural, and technological issues; issues that will have to be faced later on in the work force.

Q: Were there any challenges during the collaboration process?

A: Yes. One of the problems that were faced was the language barrier. The students realized that they were unable to use slang words when e-mailing the Beijing students; therefore, they had to be careful how they wrote in English due to the Beijing students needing to translate the e-mails. Another problem that was faced was the technological differences. The American students used Google Docs to collaborate documents, but it is actually banned in China, so another format of technology had to be used. The Beijing students also used Microsoft Word and Power Point, but it was the older version and the American students were unable to open any documents. Another problem was when the students tried to send videos to each other, the file size was too large.

                      Q: Is the Greenleaf program beneficial for teachers as well as students?   
A: Yes. Sue Anderson mentions that she “conducted video and Skype conference calls” with the teachers in Beijing, though most of the communication was done by e-mail. As a teacher, the program enables teachers from around the world to collaborate and share ideas and cultural insight. Her problem solving skills were enhanced as well because she helped her students with the issues that they faced. Also, even today she still communicates with the teachers and considers them friends.