Personal Learning Centers

I had some technical difficulties getting signed up for Classroom 2.0, my entrance was delayed? Maybe a glitch or I did something wrong, so I am playing catch up a bit and hope I get responses to some questions I through out as discussion! My discussion forums read as follows:

I am currently a student at the University of Florida, majoring in
Biology with a minor in Education. I will be graduating in a semester
or two and would love some feedback about the Education profession. If
you could tell me:

• What you teach and the grade level?
  
• What do enjoy most about teaching?
• What do you find most challenging?
• If you could say one thing to an incoming educator, what would it be?

Thank you so much for anyone who responds!
Regards,
Kevin Rowley

I hope I get some good feedback. I'm not sure how big the network is or quite how it works yet, so this might be a blog I may have to keep updating for a while. Especially if no one responds at first!

Got Some Feedback from some nice ladies finally, Here is a sample:

- I've taught 3rd-7th grades (all subjects in 3rd and 4th; science in 5th and 6th; resource in 7th)

- I enjoy the social justice aspect of teaching. I've worked solely in low-income areas, and it means a lot to see that you can make a deep impact on students who may have otherwise fallen through the cracks.

- Hmmm... this is two-fold for me. First, people don't realize how much of your life you give up to be a teacher. Teaching is pretty much a 24/7 job. You can always make your lessons better, spend more time with kids, etc., so it's extremely demanding. Secondly, our educational system is far from perfect, and it's easy to fall into the trap of only noticing what's going wrong.

- My advice:

First, balance your life. Do as much as you can for your students, while still leaving time for yourself.

Second, stay positive. Focus on all the good. Continue to fight for change when you see things that aren't working, but don't harp on the negative. Keep a journal and, every day, write something you could have done better, something you did well, and something that made you laugh. (C'mon -- kids are HILARIOUS.)

Lastly, remember: You only have one year to change every one of your students' lives. Don't squander that opportunity.

Good luck!

Dear Kevin,

I teach Physics to 12th graders in the low income areas too. I love to teach , I love to reveal a mistery of
logic , I love the feeling when kids say that they like physics and they master small steps. I like when we become friends. It is very hard to gain their trust and friendship, and attention too.
Good luck. You will never be bored being a Teacher, that's for sure !

Hi, Kevin -

Welcome to the gang! :)

I'm the school librarian/media specialist for a private school that teaches from PreK3 all the way through 12th grade. Yup, big range, and it keeps things lively - in the space of a couple of minutes I can go from assisting 3rd graders in finding historical fiction for a book report to teaching high school freshmen how to use the tools in a subscription database. I am/have been the yearbook adviser, the senior project adviser, a technology teacher and a literature teacher.

The thing I love most about teaching is those moments when you get to see a kid bloom. Sometimes it happens all at once, when a student suddenly makes one of those big connections and "gets it", and sometimes it sneaks up on you, when you turn around and realize that one of the multitude of techniques and tricks you have tried has worked, and a previously struggling or disaffected student has found the groove they needed. Of course, sometimes the real trick is figuring out which thing (or combination thereof) that you tried actually worked - or whether it was just that the student finally grew up enough to reach the necessary point of maturity... I have to say I also love the camaraderie I am fortunate enough to have with the other teachers at my school. It's really incredible to see the way these dedicated and talented professionals come together and give of themselves to make sure the education provided at our school really is the best they can make it.

Quite honestly, although there are plenty of challenges out there (and I definitely give *high* ranking to Katy's answer about people not realizing just how demanding a teacher's job is) I think the biggest challenge for me is trying not to do too much - knowing when to stop and walk away, and make time for myself and my family. It's a critical issue, tho, because burnout is always hovering right there, waiting for you to run out of gas.

So leading off that, the one thing I would say to an incoming educator is to be patient with and kind to yourself - there is so much you need to know that will only come with in-the-classroom experience, and those first few years are going to be tough as you climb up the learning curve. Make it a priority to find time to balance your own needs - including some R&R - with the demands of your profession, and find a mentor who will help you with the balancing act as well as with learning the professional skills you need.

Best of luck!

What network did you join?
I joined Classroom 2.0, it's mission is "the social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and Social Media in education." Which I found perfect for our class on integrating technology into the classroom. Especially because it is for teachers (about 99%).

Who are you following and what do they do for a living?
Most everyone on this network are educators of one form or another, so I'm quite sure that is what they do for a living as well. I am not following anyone yet but will add to that question soon. What I found cool about Classroom 2.0 besides the obvious discussion about technology discussions was that it is all teachers, and the entry process was cool because they try and prevent spammers (as best they can) from joining, I even had a snag and didn't realize it, so much for not procrastinating on this project. I tend not to procrastinate to much anyway but this one was messed up and unintentional.

Describe a conversation that you engaged in? What did you talk about?
This is the major piece of the puzzle for this journal entry missing. I am hoping that the discussion questions I posted will get me started in the area of meeting people and discussing things. I will also look for interesting post and hopefully become engage that way! I hope these folks are responsive and not weary of newcomers.


What did you learn from this process? Is this something you might find useful as a teacher?
Well I messed up some how getting approved or past the anti-spam guards and was waiting, perhaps to long, for my invitation. Oh well, these things happen. But what I have seen so far this site will be useful in many areas of teaching. One, it will hopefully allow you to develop a far reaching network of professionals in our field. This would benefit us in several ways. We can stay current on what is new in education. We can see how other teachers have integrated technologies into their curriculum and how it worked out for them. We could share ideas, plans and materials to continue good ideas, thus spreading new techniques throughout our educational system. Specifically, we can communicate with educators on our level or even within our subject arena. One more thing is that we could develop good relationships with some of these folks and run some of our own ideas by them to get feedback before trying them out in the classroom or see if anyone has done something similar. If so, what went right or wrong with the implementation?

I am looking for a good outcome in this assignment and with this site as it does at first glance seem to be a cool place for teachers to be, but we'll have to wait and see!

Social Action & Communication Skills

Ironically some of these sites I found overlap between social action and communication skills, well, maybe not ironically because communicating effectively and social action go hand in hand! I also tried not to be political in anyway. As a parent myself, I want my children to hear our perspectives at home and find their own answers on political issues by using their developing values and their own critical thinking skills to find their own conclusions, even if they differ from my wife or I. Not to be indoctrinated from either side in school, i find it repulsive from the left and the right to such a think. Maybe an independent would be OK, joking, that would be ideal but wrong too.

Social Action:
http://www.letterstosoldiers.org/letteroffers.html
This website could be used to practice writing skills and communication skills. It has a social action component by letting students show soldiers and their families we appreciate the sacrifice they endure mentally and physically; sometimes the ultimate of sacrifices. The basis for all of our freedom in this country which is indisputable regardless of whether you are a hawk or a dove. It could be used at any grade level and gives students an appreciation for the freedoms we have and provides a sense of community and connectedness in a country where we sometimes feel so separated from one another.

http://www.technologyandsocialaction.org/node/591
This website could be used by teachers and students alike. Primarily for middle and high school students who wish to, as a class, create and implement a local community outreach, social action or to be heard on an issue concerning them. It has loads of information on how to effectively integrate technology and social action. This article, if you click the "here" show some points and things to think about ( how to communicate, organize and get your information out in a coherent and up to date manner) if your create your own social action network via the web. Again, communication skills, this one is not just writing, it is a way for students to learn how to create something, communicate and socially organize using technology.

http://www.kidsagainsthunger.org/index.shtml
I thought this would be great for children of all ages. This site not only focuses on hunger among children worldwide but in the United States. I feel this could be a great social action that could involve parents, teachers, students, schools or the community at large on an issue everyone can come together on, hunger in our own backyard. Under the navigation, of "How you can help" it gives ways to either setup a satellite organization, donate supplies or volunteer time. Great chance to set up a class or extended school project which will really give children a great appreciate and sense of pride and joy for helping those children in their own community struggling with hunger. (check out the kids photo's on the Location Link a the top)

All of these are social action sites but also practice and teach one or more of the following: communication skills, organizational skills, creative skills, writing skills, technology skills and develop a sense of involvement in community, country as well as foster compassion towards fellow human beings!

Communication Skills:
http://www.globalschoolnet.org/
The main thrust of this site is to engage teachers and K-12 students in meaningful project learning exchanges worldwide to develop science, math, literacy and communication skills, foster teamwork, civic responsibility and collaboration. Again, this site foster social action, but is intended to help with learning communication skills to advance and engage a community of learners in math, science and encourages the development of literacy. This could be a great tool to help learners in our schools develop their knowledge and share that knowledge with others all over the globe. Seeing how advanced or behind they are and collaborating to help or receive knew perspectives on their own learning development, I think could be great.

http://whitepapers.techrepublic.com.com/abstract.aspx?docid=1388791
I discovered a site where Marion county schools teamed with a Microsoft product to give greater access to students who are unable to fully take advantage of technology and communication; I found this great! One small solution to help our schools extend technology to everybody! Here is the main objective and i will copy and attach a URL of the whole information because you would have to sign up to see it.
http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000006346
"Marion County Public Schools in Florida wanted a collaborative solution to support innovative teaching methods and offer twenty-first century communication skills to students. It chose Microsoft Live@edu for a managed, safer e-mail service and other collaboration tools such as online storage. Teachers and students are using the services to drive excitement in the classroom, inspire better study habits, and improve student performance."

Last but definitely not least:
http://momentusinternational.org/about/
This site could be K-12 and used for advancing communication skills across continents using conventional art styles, photography, paintings, music, dance, multimedia, etc. I'm not sure if this site is dead in the water or just new but it is a great idea! Communication is not only writing, which could be used here, or not just auditory. But communication through paintings, web connection, music, dance, photography, video and so forth and so on incorporates skills from every student and touches on all sensory ways of communication skills that I think kids would love to create and relate to on so many levels I can't express them all. The idea or format of this site has great potential, including social action, but expanding the entire idea of learning outside just math, science and writing! Check out the video on "Why do white people have black spots" Go to the Galleries and Films link at the top and scroll to the video at the bottom. I was misty eyed... but you can also see art, conversations and projects from the US and Netherlands. Every once in a while Google posts a quarantine message but it nothing happened tooling around this site.

Curiosity, Imagination, Creativity, & Play

What do I know about curiosity, imagination, creativity and play? Well, I know curiousity killed the cat! Jokes, Jokes....But seriously, this is an interesting topic for me because of my two young girls and being a man who is a child at heart!

I believe these are all interlocked (obviously because we are looking at them all) but thought I'd state the obvious before sounded too repetative. They are all slightly different, of coarse, but work together to stimulate learning and growth!

Curiousity- for me this is natures way of getting us to explore our world around us. At an early age it is crucial for young ones to be curious in order to learn about their environment. Sometimes this can hurt like falling down stairs or turning on hot water, but there is always learning swirling around curiousity. At a higher level, if students, educators or researchers weren't curious we would never have some of the gifts of modern society like medicine, magnets, computers, genome project, plans for better education, etc. etc. The America's would have never been explored without curiousity (and a financial motive) which isn't evil but an added bonus.

Imagination- I love watching and listening to my girl who literally knows she CAN be a princess and marry mommy and daddy. There are no bounds on her imagination and where it takes her. The sad fact is that with bounderies of the natural world we slowly have this beat right out of us. Some of us cling to the remains of our imagination for dear life, I know I do. Where would we be if some of us didn't strive to keep this part of our brains somewhat functioning. No cars, no computers, no train, no planes, no art? Some stuff we could do without in this rat race we live in but who would have imagined we could go into space? Or did we? LOL

Creativity- I think this coincides with imagination. Just a complementary aspect of our brain. These two work in harmony to think of possibilities or problems and think inside and outside of the box to solve them. That's the learning and applying aspect, but creativity is most associated with art or design. And all that's good too, how boring would the world be if we all thought alike, dressed alike and came to the same dry conclusion?

Play- simply letting go and having fun, using the prior three terms to construct adventures, practice using or not using or brains; Enjoying life! This helps us put those things like creativity, imagination, and curiousity into action outside a "must do" or boring "real life" situations. Although, we can use it in an education or work environment; there is no crime in designing education around having a good time! Don't worry people, the fun police don't exist quite yet, maybe after the sugar and salt police in NY though, so hurry!

What do I want to know? Well I would just like to hear some other peoples perspectives on these topics as far as their effects on adolescents, brain development, high-order thinking and maybe how they lead to some of the most successful inventions or people and see how they still love life and using this things in adulthood.

Sir Ken Robinson was uproariously funny while hitting the nail on the head. Having mentioned earlier that creativity was driven out of us; I would have to agree with almost everything he said. His example of the little girl who was drawing a picture of God and the teacher who stated that nobody knows what God looks like followed by the little girls response "well they will soon"! says it all. We as adults and educators dampen creativity, we all know it. But his take on how schools degrees are increasing along with population and we should take a hard look at what our societies deem as successful lives couldn't be more true. We are already seeing high school diploma's almost mean nothing, Bachelors degree's alone are almost down to very little worth. Increasing the diversity of educational paths is completely necessary at this day in age and I feel will have cross over effects (like maybe a classically trained dancer who thinks better while she dancing and also happens to love genetics and boom a huge breakthrough from thoughts outside the box) This could benefit fields like math and science and give perspectives from seeing things from new angles and creativity. Not to mention the mental health and quality of life issues given to folks who may not be math and science inclined or want to be professors. Unleash creativity and there are no limits....

I thought JK Rowling had an elegant take on benefiting from failure and a unique perspective on the imagination. We all know you must fail in order to succeed but none of us wants to fail! Thats the catch 22 of it all. In all aspects of life, as parents or spouses or in our careers we all fail to some degree or another. We can get back up and "try, try again" or stay where we are and be content with our mediocraty. I believe God doesn't create mediocraty, if we allow societal views and the trappings of life keep us from our best (being totally content and happy whatever our station) then shame on us. Her take on imagination surprisingly wasn't about her and Harry Potter, which would have been the obvious. Instead it was about her time at Amnesty Intl. and how through many, many stories she could with her open imagination be close to being in those folks shoes even to the point of nightmares as if she was there with them during the torture, abuse and loss. Shows how powerful of a force our imagination can be.

Stuart Brown really put "play" into an area I was hoping to see. Science based facts that play is almost as necessary as any other biological function we have. Not only for brain development but for interactions with each other as well. The polar bear playing with the husky was awesome. A wild polar bear not eating but playing with a husky seeming in another place or altered state was amazing. I would think it was a fluke but Brown quoted many animal studies where play actually was imperative. Play is important all through life and learning, no doubt. One last thought, I liked how he stated that play is not just a warm up or rehearsal for adulthood. Dispelling that notion is going to be, i think, the biggest hurdle before we integrate some of these new findings into our "societal concsiousness', if you will.

Finally, I chose Rory Sutherland. This guy must have been a marketing genius. He turned everything upside and shed light on the reality. To use a quote that I have known most of my life and don't know who said it "Perception is everything". I have always believed in this because two people looking at the same thing or with identical lives will have totally different outlooks, its just a fact. However, If we can use or put value on things of importance other than material wealth we could go towards everyone being happy and content with life (for the most part) no matter what their so-called social class is. I loved examples he used like the potato and the Italian drivers losing points from 12 instead of gaining them. He was hilarious but ingengious. This all tapes into peoples imagination and curiousity when you speak of perceptions. HOWEVER, one danger for me is that most of these ideas must be apolitical or you could end up being munipulated into doing what only one side wants you to perceive (like for or against global warming) or propagandized into committing unspeakable Evil and not even think of it as a society???

Fair Use and Creative Commons

Lesson Plan: "Fair Use" and Creative Commons:
Brand is the image of the product in the market. Some people distinguish the psychological aspect of a brand from the experiential aspect. The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is known as the brand experience. The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people and consists of all the information and expectations associated with a product or service.

Rétrofuturs (Hulk4598) / Stéphane Massa-Bidal

Ever wonder if your violating the law when you use resources found on the web and "Mash" them for use in school, artwork or just for fun?

Please Read, watch and take notes from the following information:
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/files/pdf/Media_literacy.pdf
http://creativecommons.org/about/
http://creativecommons.org/about/

Assignment:
Please find a Brand Name product which is a copyrighted, household name! ( e.g. Tide, Coca-Cola, etc.) from Flickr.com that has been copyrighted using Creative Commons. (It may be any form of multimedia) Please Post your image/video/art to the course wiki. You must add the Creative Commons agreements you entered into by downloading this item. Give credit if necessary. Please read the "fine" print under the creative commons copyright title "With the understanding that:" and follow any links you may see as familiar! HINT, HINT: "fair use"

Try to answer these prompts to the best of your ability, we will have a discussion in class and you may be called on! I will know from your postings on the wiki, credit or no credit for the work given to the creator, your license postings and thought given to the twist I gave in this assignment; by having you think about fair use and copyright even within your multimedia piece that is already copyrighted? Make sure you read and understand to the best of your ability "Fair Use and Creative Commons"

What Does this say for our "fair use" rights as students and educators?

Have you personally ever used other peoples property for art, fun, school or profit?
Was it legal?

Did the media sources you upload to the course wiki violate copyright laws by having a brand name, copyrighted product in them?

Is it a black and white issues on who owns what and who gets credit for what in the source you chose? (see how it can all turn gray?)

My Example: (From the picture at the top)

My Creative Commons License obligation's:

You are free:

to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work

Under the following conditions:

• Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

  Attribute this work:
  

  What does "Attribute this work" mean?

  The page you came from contained embedded licensing metadata, including how the creator wishes to be attributed for re-use. You can use the HTML here to cite the work. Doing so will also include metadata on your page so that others can find the original work as well.

• Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

• No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

With the understanding that:

• Waiver — Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.
• Public Domain — Where the work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
• Other Rights — In no way are any of the following rights affected by the license:
  • Your fair dealing or fair use rights, or other applicable copyright exceptions and limitations;
  • The author's moral rights;
  • Rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights.
• Notice — For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page.

EXAMPLE OF WHAT YOU MAY POST TO THE WIKI:

Rami ™ - Pin: 20D67EC3

PS. Hey CDS, some feedback is that I have know idea if I did this right. I used some interpretive latitude and creativity. So, If I got close...some feedback for you is ya did good! I thought by posting this information, developing an assignment (although quick, I think still pretty good) while working with the information and incorporating it into a mini-lesson plan it would show i read and understood the information to a fair degree? I just couldn't figure out how to take notes in the "guide" or how to use it so I incorporated what I read and watched into this lesson/blog? Pretty Cool and can get confusing! Unless your a lawyer, that is one point i tried to illustrate in the mini-lesson.

RSS Activity

I am following these sites:

• Biology News Net
• Edutopia
• Extreme Biology Blog
• cals.ufl.edu
• www.techeye.net
• www.thenakedscientist.com
• Popular Science
• Science Codes-Tech
• Science News and Information
• Science News Daily
• The Biology Corner

I chose these sites for a few different reasons. Some I knew of already so I wanted those. Some I found and were good daily science news sites. Finally others were ones I happened to come across or kept seeing so I wanted to see what the hubbub was all about.

Nothing was really difficult but trying to find sites that I found may be useful took some time. It did have some difficulty sifting through the oodles of sites and blogs and deciding on about half of them.

I can see that the daily updates I receive (in the hundreds now) would have material almost without a doubt on the topics we will be covering in class. Sharing these "current topics" and issues with the students may help keep them interested. Also, as a teacher or with any profession staying current or keeping your own continuing education up to speed is vital. One of the sites I'm following is a high school science website/blog that the teacher and students keep up with and its pretty awesome what their doing. Great example of what our kids in schools should be living up too! Another thing is following other teachers and what they are coming up with or topics of concerns and or solutions they may be having with their class. Oh, one other thing is using these sites and the sites they point to like National Geographic for example as a way to incorporate youtube videos, and other tech tools into the class without having to send away for long movies or documentary's that may be potentially dry for kids in high school now a days.

Not much more information needed on Feeds. I will say I didn't know that the Google Reader will follow sites that don't change as often and don't have RSS capabilities. I find that a great feature that was a pleasant surprise. Not all sites and blogs are created equal or updated every hour.

Oh, I do have an issue. I literally have hundreds of hits in my reader. Including sites that don't change very often. How do you keep up with yours. I'm not even sure how to delete somethings and keep others?