Social Networking and Privacy

Call me old-fashioned, or perhaps it is generational, but as much as students like and use social networking sites outside of class to connect with friends and family, I just can't seem to buy in to allowing it in school. I have to ask what value does social networking bring to a classroom? I guess I have been in too many classes where students use Facebook, checking in on friends, their statuses and chatting, all while the professor is lecturing. I expect respect and common courtesy from students when a teacher and professor are delivering a lesson or lecturing on a topic. Some may say that teachers need to be make their lessons and lectures entertaining and interesting, and bring them into the 21st century with the use of technology and interaction. Even when this is done, students still feel the need to be connected, and I think that sometimes we need to be “unconnected” from the internet and technology. I know how hard some teachers work on delivering curriculum to their students, and for some students, they fail to see what value some topics bring to their life. I “get” it and often have used this argument before when I was younger, but now, my age tells me differently. We gain perspective, understanding, and critical thinking skills when we learn outside of our disciplines. This is important as we add tools to our basket of knowledge.

As I thought about this reflection, I decided to research some other opinions to see what others thought about the subject. One opinion in favor of using social networks in school likened it to the invention of the printing press. If we look at social networking sites as books, they too were considered inappropriate, threatening and people were scared. But, not everyone was scared; there were those who stepped forward and forever changed civilization. Could we be on the verge of a new renaissance era with new thoughts and ideas forever changing the way we "do" life? I can wholeheartedly agree with this position of stepping forward, and I am willing to be open-minded about the use of social networking in school; however, we need to teach the courtesies of using social networking, especially to young students. Social networking sites can be brutal and I worry about bullying and distractions, but if we can monitor and teach, then these sites can be powerful; we can reach those students who are on the fringe of the academic circle. I believe it can be used to compare and contrast topics across communities as well as be used as a way to brainstorm ideas and gather as much information as possible. Have I changed my mind? No, not really, but I am willing to take a second look.

Slope Dude

Slope Dude
This adventurous young man can teach us the important terms behind learning slope, including the dreaded algebra term ... undefined, all the while being on a ski slope, high on a mountaintop. Intriguing? Interesting? Designed to capture a student's attention? Perhaps, if you have never heard of the slope concept before, like in a pre-algebra class, this video might be the perfect, goofy way to grab the student's attention.

While preparing for a SDAEI Lesson in my ELL class, my colleagues and I found this funny YouTube video on Slope. At the beginning of the math lesson on slope, this video was used to grab the student's attention. A ski slope with a skier demonstrated positive, negative, zero and undefined slope while learning the key terms around this important part of Linear Functions. As part of the NDNU program, we have been taught to use a "hook" to draw the students into your lesson. YouTube videos serve this purpose because they allow teachers to be creative by giving them access to all sorts of materials. YouTube videos also help students, by giving them options to learning. For example, Khan Academy started as uploads to YouTube and there are also many other online and video tutorials for math including songs and games. Recently, while teaching a lesson on Distance, I found a rap song on the equation of Distance=Rate x Time. This was taught to a 6th grade class and they loved the song and remembered the equation easily. Students need to learn and we, as teachers, need to teach. Keep it creative and get your students hooked.

Slope Dude

At Your Doorstep....

RSS Feeds are like having different newspapers delivered to your front door every minute of the day; however, these special newspapers contain only the information you want to know about either on a professional or personal level. It used to be that you stayed current in your industry by subscribing to different professional magazines, be involved in work-related organizations, read the NY Times, Wallstreet Journal and any other local, national or international newspaper of your chosing as well as attended conferences to hear the latest news and information. Today, technology makes it easy, affordable, accessible and most of all, current.

Feeds allow for instant access to great ideas and this is especially important to teachers in all disciplines. My subscriptions include traditional and fun math blogs and websites, as well as the iconic NY Times. I am a also a big sports buff so therefore subscriptions to the SF Giants and English Premier Soccer are also at the top of my list as news feeds. I think that math has to be presented in different ways in order to be interesting. How often is math done sitting at a desk or table with a white board or paper? How often does doing problem after problem or better known as "drill and kill" come to mind? There are great ideas out there to teach math and taking advantage of them is key. Today I received notice of a new movie coming out called "An Invisible Sign" - a movie about a young woman who becomes a math teacher with no formal training. She loved math as a young girl because her father was a mathematician. If I was a high school math teacher, I would contemplate taking my class to see this movie -something interesting, unique and different - something teachers are always trying to do to keep their students interested in their subject.

Having the ability to look at posts or announcements with a click of a mouse is inspiring and keeps my creative juices flowing. I have a responsibility as a teacher to always improve. Each year, I cannot remain stagnate but must push myself to do things differently than before. If lessons went well, then I must think about how to make them even better. Each student is unique and each year brings different students with different learning styles and I must adjust what I do in the classroom. RSS Feeds can help me do this by keeping my up-to-date and on top of my game as a teacher.

Rules of Engagement

My goal: To engage students in active learning....I have used this verbiage in papers for other education courses at NDNU. What does it mean? Engage means to occupy the attention or efforts of a person or persons. As a teacher, I will not want to stand up in front of a classroom and just lecture. How bored my students, as well as I, will become with a subject that I feel needs to be introduced in an interesting and innovative way. I am not saying that lecture does not hold its place in a classroom, but I do feel there needs to be a balance of delivering the curriculum. I need to tap into the intellectual energy of my student's minds and keep them focused on the task at hand - learning math. This will be my primary role as a math educator. Watching the video clips made me smile as I nodded my head in agreement knowing full well what lies ahead for me as a teacher and pondering the how's: How will I reach all students successfully? How will they learn by incorporating multi-media and technology without getting lost? How will I keep track of all of the student's attention and not fall victim to have students "Facebook" or "Chat" during classtime? How will I have the time to learn all of the technological tools out there at my disposal?

As I watched the opening moments of the "Students Today" YouTube video, I vividly remembered sitting in one of those types of lecture halls at UC Davis with 500 other students and the professor never knowing my name. My daughter goes to Woodside High School and is consumed with Facebook, texting, cyberspace and online music. I am trying to be open minded to the situation that students and young people face today in the technological world all around them. So many things vying for their attention and with only 24 hours in a day, how will they navigate through it all?

Marshall McLuhan is quoted in this same video stating that a child was bewildered entering a 19th century educational environment. That quote is over 40 years old and still holds true even today. Think of the students in large college lecture halls, in elementary and middle schools as well as high schools, who sit in rows of desks or seats, all facing the front white board, listening to a teacher or professor drone on and on while they sit at their desks or tables furiously taking notes. Technology can help us with all of this, but we need to use it correctly. My son was recently in a couple of classes where teachers replaced their traditional teaching by giving the students projects using the computer 100% of the time they were in class. One teacher thought he was using technology correctly, as he felt was the mandate of the school district's strategic goals; while the other teacher had students write their English prose on a computer, with the students never touching pen or pencil to paper. Technology by itself cannot replace traditional teaching but will and can enhance it. Technology should be used efficiently and effectively so that students can feel that what they are learning has meaning in their life. It is our job to show the value of what they are learning and how it can be used by students later on in their lives. It is our job as teachers to be interested in what we are teaching for the sake of our students and their future. We must feel passionate about teaching, and use all of the tools at our fingertips to keep our students interested - that is our job. These are my rules of engagement.

The Conversation...Opening Up the Lines of Communication

I remember the typewriter - electric with backspace erase was the one to have for those writing assignments in comparative literature classes. I remember having to feed scantron sheets to write the code for a nutritional analysis and dietetics class. If one small comma was missed, you had to re-write everything and then feed it all back into the computer. Lots of time was wasted in those computer labs.

Fast forward to today. Technology is at our fingertips - computers, laptops, ipads, itouches, youtube, widgets, gadgets, facebook, myspace, social networking, wikipedia, online databases and encyclopedias - the list goes on and on. As a math teacher, I want to engage students and help them build a solid infrastructure of knowledge in order for them to succeed later on in their math courses. Math builds upon itself and once the mortar is put down, you can lay the tile work. The tiles can be laid sequentially in a linear fashion, geometrically in a random pattern or in a beautiful mosaic. However it is done, the end result is spectacular and will serve them well in the years ahead. Math is everywhere and is needed in all walks of life; however, the challenge with young students is to show them how math applies now in their lives. Technology in the classroom can help with this endeavor.

How will I do it? How will I be able to stay up to date and knowledgeable about the technology that will be available to me? For me, the answer is simple - Keep my ears to the ground and my eyes open. Stay connected to my students. Get to know them and find out by observation and asking questions what is new, interesting, challenging. Students often know before you and will love to share what is out there on the computer. Be willing to try and experiment and do not be close minded. I am willing to accept new thoughts, ideas, to take a risk and step out of the box to learn and I have to be hungry to learn. If I can show my students my hunger for knowledge, perhaps they too will be hungry. The sky is the limit.

Thoughts

For the last five years I have been a paraeducator and recently left that job when I increased my school workload, and opted instead to become a substitute teacher. In addition to being a substitute, I also run an afterschool program for 4th and 5th graders, helping them with their homework every Wednesday afternoon.

When I was working, technology was and still is a very big part of the school. Each 5th-8th grade classroom has laptops for each student to use. SmartBoards are evident in all of the 4th and 5th grade classrooms AND the use of document cameras are used extensively by all of the teachers. Technology and the parameters outlined in your blog make total sense to me;however, it must be implemented and supported by everyone on the school campus. It is a shame to have all of the great technology at your fingertips but not use it to its full potential. Inconsistent use and methodology are two areas that stand out to me from your list as to what does not happen on a regular basis. I find that teachers not familiar nor comfortable with technology do not embrace it and thus it goes to waste.

The importance of on-going training, support and personal development is key to the success of technology implementation and use. Teachers must see the value and understand how to use technology to get the most out of their students. Educators can't use technology as a babysitter and must continue to be involved in teaching.
This is an area of extreme balance and where training and development are crucial. School districts must have the resources;however, in these tough economic times, technology, unfortunately may go by the wayside. We must continue to push the limits and look for web-based solutions. We, as future educators, must learn all of the tools and be open-minded in their use in our classrooms. We must keep our students engaged and enthusiastic and I believe the technology can help us if used properly.

Pretty Awesome

Blogs are a terrific way to get students engaged in writing in all disciplines of education. I took a World History course this past summer and the teacher used a blog to get us to write reflections about our weekly readings. We were also encouraged to comment on other classmates blogs. This was the first time I had done this and I felt myself really thinking about what I wrote; I definitely felt the peer pressure to sound intelligent and well-read.

I used to work as a para-educator in a 5th grade classroom and a couple of teachers in the 5th grade used blogs to encourage nightly writing from their students. Interestingly enough, the teacher that assigned a "free-write" had more students participating on a regular basis; though for some students, writing about a specific topic was easiest because they did not have to stress about finding the "right" topic to write about on their blogs.