PLN Reflection

       Exhilarating, Fantastic, Frustrating, and Incredible are a few of the adjectives I would use to describe my experience creating a PLN. I began with Feedly/Blogger, and I quickly became too overwhelmed with trying to find blogs to subscribe to because there was so much information/articles to read.
        Thus, I switched over to Google+ and found myself joining more than ten educational communities. I like how easy it is to get to Google+ via my gmail account, so whenever I'm checking my email, I can also check my Google+. Also, from my email, I can see that I have numerous emails from all the Google+ communities I joined. I also like the layout of Google+ and it was easy for me to quickly find articles that interested me. Using Google+ was pretty straight forward, user friendly, and probably, for me, the easiest of all three assignments.
        In Google+, I joined Teachers Helping Teachers, Educators on Google+, and Technology in Education. I commented on a post http://chalkspottlp.blogspot.com/2014/09/is-kindergarten-new-first-grade.html. This article, Is Kindergarten the new First grade, truly opened my eyes into the world of Elementary education in this day and age. Additionally, as a mom, I found this article to be quite helpful in preparing me to help my son get ready for Kindergarten. Here's my screenshot and the reply from the blogger! https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pUVZNRVhvM29RTzQ&authuser=0. I also added 3 Google+ users and created a circle called Elementary Teachers.
       Next, I moved on to Twitter, and I truly thought that this one was going to be the hardest one for me to understand and complete the assignments. Boy, was I wrong! Although, I do admit that trying to figure out how to participate in a Twitter edchat did give me a headache for a few nights. Also, I'm embarrassed to admit that it took me a while to wrap my head around what a hashtag was supposed to be used for. That said, once I started following groups and people, the whole world (or what I know of it so far) of Twitter opened up to me. I am currently following 47 people/groups, I have 20 followers, and I have tweeted 38 times. I started off by following people and groups that I personally enjoy and find interesting, such as the First Lady, Shakira, National Geographic, and Life on Earth. Then, I retweeted a tweet by Zorbit's Math https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pZzJBTnVUdWRxajA&authuser=0 and the next thing, I know, Zorbit's Math is following me! After that, I started following educational groups, such as PBS Teachers, WeAreTeachers, Discovery Education, and Edutopia. I would find tweets that I liked from these groups and retweet them. My second retweet https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pREZCRWd4SDNJV3c&authuser=0.
          My next incredible experience with Twitter was when I retweeted and replied to someone I was following. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pZ0E1QXB1Tmp6SWc&authuser=0

They favorited my tweet! Another reply to a follower's tweet resulted in an actual reply back from that follower! That was cool! Here's my @mention https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pNGJldm1BS1EwRWs&authuser=0. I also tweeted articles that I found interesting from other sites, such as Feedly/Blogger. For example, I tweeted an article called New Evidence: Deeper Learning Improves Student's Outcomes, and the next thing I know, my tweet is being retweeted by other people and people are following me! Here are my tweets with hashtags:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_peWwteXA1TVN4LVk&authuser=0
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pNW04RGF4OXJZRm8&authuser=0
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pNlVvM0tMZG9sODg&authuser=0
          My second attempt at participating in a Twitter edchat was more fun and interesting than my first attempt (I was participating in one, but it was so slow that I thought I was doing something wrong). In my second attempt,  I joined in on a conversation about personalized learning on #symchat. Yes, I mostly lurked, but I did favorite some tweets, retweeted tweets, and replied to one tweet. Here are a few screenshots of it on TweetDeck: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pRFJ1dVl1bFlaVXM&authuser=0
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pUlQza3dkOXFYd28&authuser=0
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pVHgtWlE2bmd2SWM&authuser=0
           Overall, Twitter is by far, the one tool that I personally feel I got the most use out of, and also the tool where I feel I connected most with other professionals. I would highly recommend Twitter!
           Lastly, I went back to Feedly/Blogger, and I subscribed to Edublogger, Dangerously Irrelevant, NPR Education, Edutopia, Cool Cat Teacher blog, and Edudemic. Here are the websites and screenshots of my comments on a blog post:
1. http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/11-habits-effective-teacher
    https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pN2FiQnpEQk00NWs&authuser=0
2. http://www.edudemic.com/chalkboards-chat-boards-will-elearning-look-like-2075/
    https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pT3BjZ3JwQ1ZrZTg&authuser=0
3. http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/10/10/354881230/digital-natives-except-when-it-comes-to-textbooks
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zRa-O9Ln_pczRxeTFrQi1FNzg&authuser=0
          In Conclusion, this assignment was an incredible learning experience for me because it really did introduce me to the digital age. There is SO much information and the idea of connecting and collaborating with other professionals is quite exciting! The only downside for me about this assignment was the vast amounts of time I spent connected to the internet. Three great tips I learned from a follower on Twitter: http://ai2020.com/3-simple-strategies-to-keep-your-sanity-in-a-overscreened-overteched-world/.


       

What is "Grit" ?

      I read another fascinating blog, http://www.schoolofsmock.com/2013/05/17/how-do-we-teach-our-kids-grit/, that challenged my thinking, both as a parent and as a future educator. Why is "grit" so fascinating and important to me? Well, I guess it's because I truthfully had never heard of it before or thought that it existed until now, and it was definitely not introduced into my life either by my parents or any of the teachers I had throughout my school years.
      So, according to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grit_%28personality_trait%29 "grit (personality trait) in psychology is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual's passion for a particular long-term goal or endstate, coupled with a powerful motivation to achieve their respective objective". In other words, once you have a goal, a passion, that you want to achieve, one is so motivated to accomplish it that nothing, not even set backs or failures will impede in your endeavor.
      Additionally, tip #6, "remind your kids every day that failure is not something to be afraid of"(from the original blog) is a very powerful message that I wish my parents and educators had instilled in me. For me personally, the idea of failure terrified me because of two things; first, I'm adopted from Colombia, and secondly my adoptive parents are two highly educated individuals who stressed the importance of succeeding in everything. Every time that I failed at something, I felt like a failure, and thus to this day, it's hard for me to attempt new things for the fear of failure.
      However, had my parents or my teachers, taught me that it's okay to fail and that failing makes you stronger and encouraged me to learn from my failures, then perhaps, I would have more grit! Also, as a parent, I'm grateful to have learned about this personality trait and now I can work harder to teach my own child to be tenacious and determined.

Learning Environment: What items or objects promote curiosity, conversations, and creative learning in a classroom?

      I recently read a blog on Edutopia- http://www.edutopia.org/blog/does-your-classroom-tell-story-stacey-goodman, about what items or objects teachers have in their classrooms that promote
curiosity, spark conversations, and encourage student's to be creative thinkers.  The most wonderful part about the post, besides all the wonderful ideas, is that it points out that there should be objects/items in your classroom that are not so obvious, thus helping the teacher to reach his/her student's in unexpected ways, as well as, creating a learning environment where the student's are learning but they don't even realize that they are learning.
      One interesting post was about getting to know your students better by offering them the option of "show and tell" ANYTIME they want.
      Does anyone remember doing "show and tell" in school? I remember it was a certain day, at a certain time, and everyone had to participate! One right after another, we would all stand up in front of the class, talk about what we brought for less than five minutes, and then sit down. I don't really remember ever taking the time to have a discussion about what we brought or to answer questions from fellow students. Also, I seem to remember that there was lots of anxiety from most students about what to bring because if it wasn't "cool" then you would probably be laughed at (I attended a K-8 school in a small, rural community). What a blow to your confidence and self-efficacy! I think I remember that there was one student that always forgot to bring something and would end up choosing something from their desk to show, which would always bring laughter from fellow students (the student enjoyed that attention). In other words, for some students (not many), it was a time to show the class something that truly interested them and that they felt passionate about and for others, it was just a time to goof off.
       What a wonderful and creative idea to offer "show and tell" anytime student's want! The teacher states that they would stop whatever they were doing and give the platform over to the student who wanted to show and tell. What a sense of empowerment and a great boost to your confidence, knowing that the teacher really wants to know about your interests that they would stop a lesson to listen to what you have to say about something that interests you! In my opinion, it truly is a great way to get to know your student's better!
     
   

21st Century Skills: Why They Matter, What They Are, and How We Get There by Ken Kay

        In this reading, Ken Kay who co-founded the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, explains the importance of creating and implementing a "Framework for 21st Century Learning" by teaching 21st Century skills, such as creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving. He believes that we are at a "tipping point" in public education and that we as a Nation need to better prepare our students for the demands and rigors of the 21st Century.
He states three main reasons why we need a new framework for education in the 21st Century;

1. The world is changing: Kay states, "There has been a dramatic acceleration in global competition and collaboration over the past thirty years, spurred by information and communications technology"(Bellanca, & Brandt, 2010). Therefore, people who have the knowledge and skills to adjust to constant change will be successful.
2. U.S. schools and students have not adapted to the changing world: Like Richardson stated in his article, "Navigating Social Networks as a Learning Tool", "although schools may continue to fundamentally look and act as they have for more than one hundred years, the way individuals learn has already been forever changed" (Richardson, 2010). In other words, today's students are not motivated or inspired to learn in a school system that has not changed with the times.
3. The United States has no clear sense of purpose or direction for securing our future economic competitiveness: We are losing ground to other Nations in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Furthermore, Kay states that the Framework for 21st Century Learning includes some new themes that may not be well-known. These themes are "global awareness,  financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy", and such skills as "creativity, innovation, flexibility and adaptability, leadership and cross-cultural skills" (Bellanca, & Brandt, 2010).
Kay continues to state that this Framework for 21st Century Learning has strong support from many areas, and as of "October of 2009, fourteen states had committed to retooling their standards and assessments, curriculum and instruction, professional development, and learning environments to support 21st Century skills outcomes" (Bellanca, & Brandt, 2010).

Clearly, this is a very complex and compelling topic. Yes, it's important to teach the next generation of students how to survive in this ever changing technological world and have them be more independent in both their educational and personal lives.

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants by Marc Prensky

Wow! What a compelling and forceful article! It made a wonderful and easily understandable comparison between today's students who are completely immersed in digital technology (A.K.A Digital Natives) and the struggle to educate them with educators (A.K.A Digital Immigrants)  who have not grown up with this new technology and that are learning it much more slowly than the students that they teach. According to Prensky, "today's students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors" (Prensky, 2001).

Therefore, it's crucial that today's educators "learn to communicate in the language and style of their students" (Prensky, 2001). This means that they need to accept the reality that they need to receive information faster, be able to parallel process, multi-task, and have more random access just like their students are doing.

I truly enjoyed his description of his way of teaching digital natives by inventing computer games to do the job. We need to explore the issue of "edutainment" some more.

Navigating Social Networks as Learning Tools

 Richardson expresses that we now live in a world where individuals have the incredible ability to learn anytime and anywhere as long as they have access to the Internet. Individuals are creating their own virtual global classrooms based on their own interests and passions. He sites the example of Nelson Smith, a twelve year old boy's frustration with not being able to start a fire in the woods. Because of this new global technological world, Nelson had the capability to seek out answers and knowledge, by first video recording his efforts, and then posting the video onto YouTube and asking the worldwide web community for help. Richardson states, "In this global community, we are at once all teachers and learners" (Richardson, pg. 287).

However, this new technological world has many challenges, especially for educators. Educators need to achieve a better understanding of network literacies. In other words, they need to be proficient with a variety of tools to use in interactive online environments.

Richardson continues to say that today's kids are already social networking and publishing online via Facebook or Myspace. However, the most disturbing news about this is that no one is teaching them how to "create, navigate, and grow these powerful personal learning networks in safe, effective, and ethical ways"( Richardson, pg. 287). He continues to state that the majority of kids are using these technological tools as "friendship based" ways to communicate with family and friends or people that are familiar to them. However, there are some kids that are starting to use this technology as "interest based", such as Nelson Smith.

Another interesting aspect of this new technological world is that it creates a paradox in that learning is more individualized but at the same time more social because of the networking and connections individuals will build. 

The connections that individuals make after publishing is very important and that is what they are trying to accomplish in this new technological world. In order to make connections, we need to share what we know, and we want others to interact and comment on the subjects that we share. We want to be known and want to be recognized within the world wide web community.

Educators have the very difficult task of being the first to model this new technology to their students. However, these new forms of technology are difficult for many educators to comprehend and there are many obstacles in the way for them to accomplish such online knowledge. Making technology a part of daily practice means that we need to "replace old habits of practice with newer, more interactive, and collaborative ones" (Richardson, pg. 298). Richardson also states, "teachers and learners must immerse themselves in these networked environments over the long term, and they need educational leaders to be there with them" (Richardson, pg. 301). In truth, this learning network of anywhere/ anytime will be very difficult to accomplish, but must be initiated right now in order to prepare students to compete successfully in this technological world.

After reading this chapter, I definitely relate to the fact that this new technology is not easy to comprehend and that there will be many challenges for educators. I like how Richardson stated, "For educators the current challenge is how best to bring this new literacy to students....that challenge is not so much about schools, curricula, or systems as it is about ourselves and our own abilities to connect and learn in these ways" (Richardson, pg. 296).

I would like to learn more about the linkability aspect of sharing information on the web and the ways I can make sure that my identity is safe when I publish something on the Internet.

Valerie's Tech Biases & Beliefs

First, I would like to say that I am not very good with technology, and I definitely do not know about the latest and greatest technology devices that are out there for me to use, especially when it comes to social media. That said, the extent of my tech knowledge is knowing more or less how to use my Mac air computer and my iPhone.
   I believe that, in this day and age, the use of technology in the classroom is very important because it seems to me that many everyday life activities involve the use of one or more technological device. One major example that immediately comes to mind is, that now a days, individuals are able to automatically pay their monthly bills on-line, thus eliminating both the need for us to remember when to pay our bills on time and also the amount of paper statements accumulating in our file cabinets. In other words, the use of technology makes our lives easier; we just need to be able to implement it in positive ways in the classroom.
    I do not know enough of the different types of technology to state whether I like them or not. I do know that I truly enjoy using my iPhone. From one easy portable device, I am able to email, search the web, make phone calls, or take pictures! Wow!
   My limited educational technology experiences include using a computer in a preschool day care setting to send a daily lesson plan, describing the activities that were done that day to the parents of the children in our care and also using a computer to make child observation records. Also, this past spring and summer, I took two on-line math courses to get into Grad school. I have to say that it was my first time taking courses on-line and I truly enjoyed it.
   Clearly, I am hoping to learn as much as possible about the technological tools out there that I will need to use in my teaching career.