Journal 3 Case for Social Media

Journal #3        The Case for Social Media in Schools

Kessler, S. (2010, September 29). The Case for Social Media in Schools. Retrieved from  
      http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/social-media-in-school/

     The article written by Sarah Kessler addresses and includes reasons proponents of educational social media should use more social media programs. The author Kessler reasons the fact that social media is not going away and that kids learn better when they are engaged. Additionally, this is an opportunity to incorporate learning tools that students already know how to use.

  Kessler believes that safe social media tools such as kidblog.org, Edmodo, and Edublogs are available for teachers to use in their classrooms.  She also encourages schools to compete with other social media sites for students' time.  Doing so will encourage collaboration with other students using social media.  The author states the cell phone as yet another media tool that would help to reach and engage students.

     In Kessler's 2010 article she shared how she started a pilot social media program. The program helped improve grades by more than 50% and helped reduce absenteeism by more than a third. In her article, she shared how she began by introducing this to seventh graders in Oregon. Kessler and other proponents of educational social media argue that the educational benefits of social media far outweigh the risks.

Schools do worry that they are missing out.  School districts are now attempting to manage the use of the Internet.  This is to make it a safe tool for the students to use. Use of social media tools should be with some restrictions. There are safe and free social media tools are available for example, kidblog.org. Sometimes using of the cell phone to reach students is not the wisest or best approach. Every student does not have access to a cell phone.  Cell phones are great but, students need to be provided with advice and taught about the risks of using social media. School environments need to have the appropriate safety measures limiting potential harm to users and to the parties that provide access to the tools.

 Social media has educational benefits, but the risks still need to be weighed.  One benefit is for students to use learning tools that they already know how to use.  Obviously, social media is here to stay. Social media is also extremely engaging.  Keep up with technology is important! Incorporating it into the educational system would facilitate making this happen. We all need to truly concern ourselves of the potential unsafe environments presented by some social media tools. Caution should be exercised because students may be the users more at risk.

Journal 2 Affinity Group

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Journal #2: Journal 2: Join an Affinity Group and Share Your Digg Stream

Andresen, Katya (2013, Oct 20).  Six Types of Thinkers to Seek For Your Team

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131020181102-6200057-6-types-of-thinkers-to-seek-for-your-team?trk=mta-lnk  

Affinity Group
A professional networking website that I decided to join is http://arted20.ning.com/

This online development and learning group is oriented towards several Current Projects. Members and students are invited to participate in any of the following projects:

Community Stories - This curriculum project invites teachers and students to research the visual, oral, and written records of their own communities for stories and images to share with others.

Earth Works - Work together with your students to study the local environment and then use the power of art to show how we can better co-exist with the natural world.

It's a Small World - Create a work of art that conveys a "big" idea or scene in miniature form.

Rock Thoughts - Have your students paint rocks to resemble 'monsters' and hide them in public spaces for others to find.

Memory Project - have your students create portraits for children and teens around the world who have been orphaned, abandoned, neglected, or otherwise disadvantaged.

Connected Classrooms asks the question "What IF every teacher on this site was partnered with another teacher in another city, state, or even better another country?"

Portrait Party - Trade portraits with other teachers, participate in a portrait swap with another school, or host a Portrait Party in your classroom

Digg Stream 
I read and searched through the Digg RSS Stream. There is a lot to choose from. Visiting several places to read interesting material was made easier. Selected sites and blogs are in one place. I liked the quick access to information that is of interest to me.

Q1:  Do the six types of thinkers have to be six different individuals?

A1:  The best work quite often comes from interaction with people who think differently than you do - and differently from each other. A diversity of mental profiles yields the richest results. Sometimes one person can bridge several different modes of this thinking, so six types doesn’t always mean six people.

Q2:  What are the six different types of thinkers and their qualities?

A2:  The six types of thinkers are as follows; The dreamer (who is imaginative), the debater (who questions assumptions), the disruptor (who challenges the status quo), the driver (who is a natural leader), the detailer (who digs every facet of a project), and the does (who is wonderfully resourceful).

Summary from Readings Chapters 1-3

Journal 1: Part 1    Getting Started

Robbins, J. (2012). Learning web design : a beginner's guide to HTML, CSS, Javascript, and web graphics. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly.

Summary Reflection:

An overview of the language used in current technology is presented in the first three chapters of the book. These chapters acquaint the reader with most of the basic terms that are going to be used throughout the book and in our class. You become knowledgeable of how the Web functions, key pieces you need to know and have to begin web design and complete a website. They gave examples and discussed the way in which "the web" works.  A non-experienced person such as me is introduced to the foundations of how to basically build and design a web site. 

How amazing it is to see how the web, as it exists, is progressing and evolving. Flash, HTML, Dreamweaver, etc. all of these tools and products are phenomenal. The format for our IP address IPv4 holding over 4 billion unique addresses, the move towards IPv6 that can take on trillions of numbers, and the device diversity from our desktop to our mobile device is unbelievable. Just wonder what the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) will be doing next!

Every day something new pops up in the world of technology. When you purchase a computer it becomes outdated shortly after you purchase it. In web design the constant changes have to be taken into consideration.  Multiple factors such as browsers, devices, accessibility, the whole puzzle and picture have to be assessed. In this course I notice the topics we talk about as I casually overhear technology geeks conversing at coffee shops, at computers stores, work, and school. Obviously, following the standards and rules to design the best website is essential.  Web designing entails many different components to put the entire maze together. I, personally, am far below the learning curve for starts!

The reading sparked a few questions that need clarification:

Question #1: What are other options that web designers use for improved, easier accessibility?

A1. What ways can users with disabilities and the elderly benefit the web designer’s processes?

Involve users early in projects helping to understand real-world accessibility challenges. For example; how people with disabilities and the elderly use the web with adaptive strategies and assistive technologies.

Involving users early on helps in implementing effective accessibility solutions. It broadens the perspective in a way that can lead to discovering new ways of thinking about products that will make it work better for others in similar situations

Question #2: Do both progressive enhancement and graceful degradation operate in similar ways?

A2. According to the reading, progressive enhancement and graceful degradation attempt to accomplish the same thing: they keep products useful to users. Progressive enhancement being more sophisticated and assuring, plus it takes more time and effort. Graceful degradation is easier, and can act to mend an already existing product; it results in harder maintenance later on, but requires less work initially.