Social Bookmarking Synthesis

Social Bookmarking Synthesis

Module 3

#EDUC6710

Angela Williams

Walden University

Instructor:

Kathryn Arnold

EDUC 6710J

Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work and Society

September 22, 2019

·         What was your experience collaborating with this tool?

• I found using the diigo tool/app was easy.  After downloading the extension to my Google Chrome browser, it was a matter of a click to save it to my page in diigo.com.  As a group, we shared and saved blog links to various required topics.  Keeping track of what has been posted/shared to our group page is easy to see.  There is an option to download a csv file.  This file contains the Title, URL, Tags, Description, Annotation, Comment and the handle for the poster.  I find this very helpful for keeping track of postings.

o    Website: https://groups.diigo.com/group/educ-tech-6710

·         What went well?

• I have used diigo before while attending the University of Missouri at St. Louis, much like this course. There was a whole class group that we saved links to educational resources for teaching Social Studies.  I no longer have access to that group though.  It was deleted when the course was over. 
• What went well this time was the ease of use.  Once I added the extension, I was able to save pages of interest.  After saving them (the links) I was able to go to my Library and tag the links I saved. 

·         What insights did you gain about social bookmarking?

• Insights from social bookmarking are that it can get out of control.  I am wondering if there is a took much is too much situation when saving links of use?  Working towards the future, I would like to become better organized in the saving format.

·         What did you learn from this experience that will inform how you teach your students to use social bookmarking for the first time?

• What I have learned from this experience is the need for organization.  Learning to set up tags that will be making saving and retrieving more efficient and easier is going to be essential.  I will share this information with my students as well.  The advice I will give them will be to make a primary tag for the subject, then tag the saved item in a way that they will remember.  I will also let them know that going back to the saved searches and changing, deleting and adding is okay.  This is one time that using the internet and 21^st Century technology to save and share is okay that it is permanent.   

·         What is at least one idea for using social bookmarking in your classroom?

• One idea for using social bookmarking in my classroom would be for study resources.  In this form, students can share their quality sources to help themselves and their classmates when studying for exams.

·         How might it prepare your students for college and career readiness in the 21st-Century world?

• By learning to share in this manner it could help students that are long-distance learners, such as our situation in this course.  It could prepare students for the virtual jobs they could be working in their futures.  Social bookmarking will allow them to interact with coworkers and classmates in a real-time format, but also allow them to not have to respond in real-time.
• When working on a presentation in our 21^st Century technology world it will be important to find all the viable and accurate sources possible to complete projects.  This is one way of brainstorming ideas as a group without being all at the same table.  It allows the midnight thought to be shared, without waking up someone.  It also transcends time zones.  If you have a project that is being worked over time zones and over continents, social bookmarking will allow searches to be shared easily.

·         Support your response with a reference to at least one peer-reviewed journal article, either from your content area or the educational field, and an explanation as to how its use relates to at least one of the RWRCOEL Technology Proficiencies.

• One site that was shared is https://www.editme.com/ in my social bookmarking Group 3.  Now, this site is a site you must pay for to be a full member.  This could be a very valuable site for any school that is willing to purchase a membership for its staff.  On here you share your lesson plans. 

This is a valuable resource for teachers, new and experienced.  Often, we are presented with new information and curriculum to put into effect in our classrooms. As educators, there are so many demands placed on us that when we must write a completely new curriculum lesson plan, we could use some help.  Using a site like this will keep us from having to reinvent the wheel each time.  Instead, we can find support from other teachers that have used the lesson plan and follow their advice and notes on how to make the lesson our own. Taylor it to our needs.

Using this wiki or a site like it would relate to item 3 in the RWRCOEL Technology Proficiencies; Communication and Collaboration: Candidates use digital media tools in communicating and working collaboratively with students, families, colleagues, and community stakeholders to improve and/or enhance student learning. 

·         How does this experience meet at least one ISTE Standard for Teachers and one ISTE Standard for Students? 

I feel that this experience meets ISTE Standard for Teachers # 4 Collaborator:

Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems.  For students, #6 Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

References

Bob Pletka, E. (2007). Educating the Net Gerneration. Santa Monica, California: Santa Monica Press.

Jonassen, D. H. (2006). Modeling with Technology, Mindtools for Conceptual Change. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks: Corwin, A Sage Company.

Richardson, W. (2015). From Master Teacher to Master Learner. Bloomington, Indiana: Solution Tree.

Appendix

EDUC TECH 6710

https://groups.diigo.com/group/educ-tech-6710

Module 2 Purpose of blogging in the classroom

The purpose of blogging in my classroom is to find out from my students what they are interested in, what in their education is causing them difficulties.  The purpose is also for me to share things that can help them with their education.

I teach 3 different courses so there is a lot to share.  I teach Cyber REady STL, Introduction to Engineering Design and Personal Finance.  My load in teaching is almost a Sesame Street, "One of these things is not like the other".  But when I teach and use blogs to keep students informed and for information sharing, they all match up.

Currently, I use Edmodo.com for my students.  I have each class (2 classes per subject, so 6 individual classroom sites/blogs) that I communicate to students with.  I share their Do Now and Exit Ticket assignments with them there.  In turn, they complete those assignments, the Do Now and Exit Ticket, in Edmodo as well.  I also use it for reinforcing directions for assignments.  I also share information that I want them to know or that they may be interested in.

I never thought about Edmodo being a blog, but it is a combination of blog and classroom manager.  I have been pleased with using it so far.  When I first started using it 6 weeks ago I would load quizzes for students to take.  What I have found since then is that having them take quizzes puts not only an extra step on me but on them as well.  I will have to look at doing small quizzes there with more focus on how to make it a friendlier location.

Using Bloggs In the Classroom:

6710J: Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society – Assignment 2

Project Overview:

Exploring the ability to using Bloggs and RSS based Aggregators in the classroom, bot both teaching students and learning as a student.

Grades and Courses:

·         Grades: High School 9^th to 12^th

·         Courses:

·         Cyber Ready STL

·         Introduction to Engineering Design

·         Personal Finance

ISTE Standards:

·         Empowered Learner -Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.

·         1a - Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.

·         1b - Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process.

·         1c - Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

·         1d - Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations demonstrate the ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and can transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.

·         Digital Citizen - Students recognize the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.

·         2a - Students cultivate and manage their digital identity and reputation and are aware of the permanence of their actions in the digital world.

·         2b - Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.

·         2c - Students demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property.

·         2d - Students manage their personal data to maintain digital privacy and security and are aware of data-collection technology used to track their navigation online.

Objectives:

·         Students learn and manage their personal online presence.

·         Students will learn and understand the impact of their presence in the digital world.

·         Students will learn the fundamentals of creating an informational presence in the digital world.

Requirements/Task(s):

Task 1:            Create a classroom blog.

Task 2:            Set student standards and expectations for said blog.

Task 3:            Moderate student engagement of said blog.

Task 4:            Guide students on etiquette and input to blogging.

Purpose of the blog:

Classroom(s) blog will be a location for the instructor to share important information relating to assignments with students.  Students will be able to access lessons, expectations for those lessons, and comment on lesson requirements.  Students will also be able to share sites that have helped them complete the assignment(s) and communicate respectfully in comments with instructor and classmates.

Steps for creating a classroom(s) blog:

1. Decide on an appropriate format for blog.  Examples are Blogger.com, Edublog.com, or Edmodo.com.  Format needs to have an ease of use for all parties; students and educators.
2. Share the blog address with all students.
3. Give all students access to the blog.
4. Provide clear expectations and directions for the use of the classroom(s) blog.
5. Address situations as they arise.
6. Return to expectations with students as needed.

Purpose of bog(s):

            In 21^st Century Technology students are comfortable with immediate response items like, but not limited to Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook.  Blogs are a quick and efficient way to stay in touch with the world, in this case, students. Communication is the primary purpose of the classroom(s) blogs.

            Using the classroom(s) blogs the educator will be able to make announcements that of importance Educator will post lessons, expectations, accolades and event announcements for reading and sharing.  Students will (may) respond to posts as much as desired but no less than twice to posts that are of interest or importance to them.     

Websites of interest for Educators:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/250172/social-network-usage-of-us-teens-and-young-adults/

https://www.teachthought.com/twitter-hashtags-for-teacher/

https://www.teachthought.com/technology/twitter-abbreviation-guide-make-sense-crazy-talk/

https://www.schrockguide.net/twitter-for-teachers.html

References:

Education, L. (Director). (2010). Teacher as professional: The teaching profession [Motion Picture].

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks: Corwin, A Sage Company.

Richardson, W. (2015). From Master Teacher to Master Learner. Bloomington, Indiana: Solution Tree.

University, W. (n.d.). RWRCOEL Technology proficiencies. RWRCOEL Technology proficiencies. Retrieved from https://class.content.laureate.net/2565b7a77954cee53d16c82a78cc0726.pdf

Teaching is Stressful

 I was crying when this video ended.

Module 2 Assignment postings

 

Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society

Module 2 – The Big Shift

#6710DB2, #EDUC6710

Angela Williams

Walden University

Kathryn Arnold

EDUC 6710J

Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society

September 15, 2019

Module 2 – The Big Shift

Twitter is an exciting source for communicating.  My classmates and I are using twitter and our blogs to communicate and share ideas and information.  This is a big shift in technology for some.  I know it is for me to remember to access these sites using our hashtag, #EDUC6710.

            Below I have copied my posts and responses (some) from Twitter.

aw61waldenu @aw61waldenu

Sep 11

How must mindsets change in order to bring classroom change? https://citybridge.org/teacher-mindsets-drive-classroom-change/… IMO mindsets need to change from the inside at the top. Stop admins making decisions for classrooms they have never been in. #6710DB2 

aw61waldenu @aw61waldenu

Sep 11

Replying to

@EducatorGeorgia

When something is out of my comfort zone I always find I work harder to understand it and learn it. #6710db2 aw61waldenu @aw61waldenu

Sep 11

Replying to @BoydTeach and @Alysiateaches19

So true. Part of the Cyber Ready STL curriculum is inter and intra - net safety. I have discussions now about the dark web and staying safer. We have not gotten to that lesson yet either. #6710DB2

aw61waldenu @aw61waldenu 

Sep 11

Replying to @Tech_in1stgrade

I had the same problem in elementary. In HS almost everything is on the computer. At least in the courses, I teach. #6710DB2 

aw61waldenu @aw61waldenu

Sep 11

Replying to @EducatorGeorgia

I promise I will check it out. #6710DB2

TeachBoyd @BoydTeach

Sep 11

Replying to @aw61waldenu and @Alysiateaches19

Student who feel as if they are in a safe environment, will also offer to share the lessons they have learned about online safety. If we allow them to discuss the social networking tools they use, it can lead to lessons based their experiences and backgrounds #6710DB2

Alysia @Alysiateaches19 

Sep 14

Replying to @aw61waldenu and @BoydTeach

That's a great point. Along with enhancing curriculum the learning extend beyond the classroom for students and help them become more aware of certain dangers on the web. #6710DB2

Alysia @Alysiateaches19

Sep 14

Replying to @aw61waldenu

Absolutely - they are motivated and excited by it so we need to find the best ways to harness that motivation for them and find ways to teach them to use it safely and effectively #6710DB2 

aw61waldenu @aw61waldenu Sep 11

Replying to

@aw61waldenu and @wason_kevin17 #6710DB2 aw61waldenu @aw61waldenu Sep 11

https://forbes.com/sites/julianvigo/2019/08/23/education-technology-and-the-shift-in-how-we-learn/#439febec2a2c… #6710DB2

Education Technology And The Shift In How We Learn

How might new technology in learning prove beneficial to teachers and students and to whom is it beneficial? This article examines changes to how we learn through new technology.

forbes.com aw61waldenu @aw61waldenu

Sep 11 Replying to @aw61waldenu and @Alysiateaches19 #6710DB2

I had some comments from my Blogger posts too.  Not as many as Twitter, but I did have some. I wonder if because it is a Blog and so many people feel it is simply a reading source and not a place to comment as well?  Blogs were presented to share information and not to comment on information.  We need to move away from that idea and realize it is another way to communicate.

Kevin, Don't worry about the confusion of the accounts. I have so many I forget who I am on some days. (giggle) - Angela on Post 1 Teacher and Learner on 9/8/19

Hello, Group 3 will be the best! - Angela on Post 1 in response to Hi Angela, Pleasure to meet you! I am excited to work alongside you during our group work! Hope you are enjoying your day! , by Unknown.

Teacher and Learner on 9/8/19

Hi Angela, Pleasure to meet you! My name is Kevin Wason and I am excited to work alongside you during our group work! Hope you are enjoying your day! The last post was me as well but under the wrong account. I am still attempting to understand this program. on Post 1 6710 on 9/4/19

Hi Angela, Pleasure to meet you! I am excited to work alongside you during our group work! Hope you are enjoying your day! on Post 11 replies.

Unknown

on 9/4/19

References

Common Craft. (n.d.-a). Blogs: Explained by Common Craft. Retrieved November 5, 2015, from https://www.commoncraft.com/video/blogs

Laureate Education (Producer). (2015a). Making the shift. [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2015g). Technology and society [Video file]. Baltimore, MD:

Author.

Module 1 Assignment 1 (edited)

I am a little out of practice when it comes to many things.  One is writing an APA paper for my education.  I submitted the original of what you are about to read, feeling good about it, but I did not fulfill all the requirements of the assignment Rubric.  I received a disappointing grade, which is all my doing.  I am posting here what I corrected after reading my instructor's feedback.  Feel free to comment.

Gaining Confidence in the World of Blogging

Angela Williams

Walden University

Kathryn Arnold

EDUC 6710J

Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society

(edited) September 11, 2019

Module 1, Assignment 1

September 8, 2019

Blogging, Twittering and using Social Media can be intimidating.  Learning to write a quality letter telling Grandma what has been going on in your life was also intimidating.  In the field of 21^st Century education using a blog format is perhaps essential to meet our students where they are.  Teachers need not be afraid of this new (to some) form of communication with their students.  The first steps for an educator that is timid about these forms of communication can be as simple as finding an educational leaders blog or Twitter account and follow them and read.  Eventually the timid will turn into trying it.

The insights I gathered from the educational leaders I chose to follow all had one thing in common, student success.  I did find a Twitter account that is trying to promote other education ‘Tweeters’, Top Education Tweets @topedutweets.  I will have to continue to see if this account does share quality and non-biased information.

I chose to follow my own school district, the others in my group, Edutopia and We are Teachers as well.  I always seem to be able to find quality and relevant information on these two websites.  The school district I am in is actively reinventing itself.  Part of that reinvention is not only offering new and current courses in its curriculum but also highlighting through media and technology positive things that are happening in our district. Websites and their blogs for companies like Edutopia and We are Teachers I find are great sources to find quality articles that give information that can help me as an educator. 

I think what I have learned about blogging and microblogging that I did not know before is that there are still people my age and younger that do not know the basics.  I am honestly surprised that my high school students have trouble navigating a blog, but they are pros at texting and Twitter, not to mention SnapChat.  But if they have to write more than a limited amount of characters, they are stumped.  I myself learned only 3 years ago what a hashtag was for in microblogging. Now I can’t get enough of it and enjoy using Instagram more because of it. It is possible that I have become proficient according to RWRCOEL Technology Proficiencies.

I currently am using a Web 2.0 source called Edmodo in my classroom with all of my classes (Edmodo.com).  I use it to post notices to my students, daily assignments and share information with my students.  Each class has a page, which is great because it keeps them all separate, and I can specialize the information for each class.  I just learned about this source when I started at my new position and I am so far in love with it.  I can even grade the assignments I post and grade them there.  I then download the graded assignments to an excel form and then upload that to the required SISK12 grade book. It has a library I can upload documents to and I can either make them private or shareable to others.  It has a blog feature too so that I can share information to other teachers.

My students are enjoying it too.  It cuts down on papers they must carry with them and if they are working on the assignment at home, they can save their work to the class page.

For this course, here is my blog and Twitter for this class:

            My accounts:

            https://twitter.com/aw61waldenu

https://learningthroughwaldenu.blogspot.com/

My original Tweet for this course was:

#EDUC6710 One thought I had about being able to use Twitter in my classroom was to have students post with a # their observations of engineering that made them stop and go, hmmmmm, how can I make a better mousetrap?

From following my classmates in this course, I have seen various levels of technological skills.  I am honestly surprised at the amount of those younger than me, that were born in this age of technology, are timid of using Web 2.0 technology.  What I have gained from these posts though are many sources for new tech tools for my classroom.  I can never have too much information to help me be a stronger educator.

Blogging in my classroom and using technology like Edmodo (edmodo.com) is now a daily activity.  My students read assignment notices and blog their responses to me in the blogging section of the site.  The use of the Web 2.0 technology in my classroom with my students fulfills the following and other RWRCOEL Technology Proficiencies:

3. Communication and Collaboration: Candidates use digital media tools in communicating and working collaboratively with students, families, colleagues, and community stakeholders to improve and/or enhance student learning. a. The candidate communicates relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and colleagues using a variety of digital-age media and formats to improve and/or enhance student learning. b. The candidate evaluates a variety of professional communication tools to improve collaboration with all stakeholders.

This is a retweet that I enjoyed reading:

            https://twitter.com/smerrill777/status/1170866536401133569?s=20

In the article, teachers were polled and shared their thoughts on why students study and don’t study when they know retakes of a test are available. The main focus of the article talks about the reasoning behind why and why not allow students to retake assessments.  Some teachers are strict about not allowing retakes on assessments, regardless of the reason for the request to retake.  Other teachers shared their thoughts and reasoning as to how retaking an assessment is a positive learning experience for the student.  My thoughts are, it depends on the situation pertaining to the student.  Currently, I am allowing students to retake a chapter test due to their extended absence from school due to illness.

I also replied, contributed to, a classmate’s blog with a “Hello”.  It is classmate Kevin Wilson, https://waldentechlife.blogspot.com/ .  Mr. Wilson also wrote an impressive blog on his site about blogging in his history classroom.  A history class is a quality location to have blogging and then research and us of the Web.  I look forward to reading more about his classroom and perhaps get some ideas on how I can do the same in my classroom.

I am looking forward to learning more about using Web 2.0 and blogs and microblogs in this class. Then I look forward to sharing what I learn with my students.

 

References

Bob Pletka, E. (2007). Educating the Net Gerneration. Santa Monica, California: Santa Monica Press.

Jonassen, D. H. (2006). Modeling with Technology, Mindtools for Conceptual Change. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks: Corwin, A Sage Company.

University, W. (n.d.). RWRCOEL Technology proficiencies. RWRCOEL Technology proficiencies. Retrieved from https://class.content.laureate.net/2565b7a77954cee53d16c82a78cc0726.pdf

 

Technology and heat

St. Louis has been hot lately, very hot. 

The building my classroom is in has not had airconditioning since Tuesday, September 3.  The parking lot next to our building was being repaired and repaved.  The construction crew damaged the outside sealed electrical panel that runs the AC unit in the building.

That happened on that Tuesday or Friday before.  If the temperature outside was 90, it was 100+ in my classroom.  The students and I have been dealing with the heat buy having the windows open, the emergency door open, the classroom door open and a large pedestal fan in the corner blowing in the room. 

The computers in the room, which are used daily for every class, have been suffering just as much as the students and I have been.  Heat and technology do not mix.  I have 25 computers with 24 of them working.  Since the heat in the room I have computers shutting off due to overheating.

The overheating and shutting down out of preservation causes a problem.  I would rather have them do that then go out all together.  I have been told I can not get replacements.  At the same time, I can not stop the curriculum and the use of said technology.  The Do Now and Exit tickets are done daily in every class on computers.  The Personal Finance class is all on the computer daily.  The Cyber Ready STL coding and security can only be done on the computer. I have been trying to limit the use, but it is not easy since all the courses I teach are so computer technology-heavy. 

 I am dehydrated and heat exhausted daily.  I drink water all day at school and then just as much when I get home.  I just keep telling myself that if I could make it outside for 10 days at Cub Scout camp in temperatures of 95 to 105 and 90% humidity for 5 days... That is my mantra during this time.  I feel absolutely horrible for my students. 

I started searching online for resources for using the web, Web 2.0, for use in my classes.  I will be checking out this article and others like it in my research.  https://www.kidsdiscover.com/teacherresources/web-2-0-tools-classroom/

Post 1

Hello everyone,

It is Day 1, Week 1 of an 8-week course.
I am looking forward to learning more to share with my students in high school.