Blog Post # 5

Why should teachers use technology to communicate with students, parents, and peers?

Which technology tools have the greatest potential to improve communication between teachers and others?

How do these tools improve communication?

Teachers should use technology to communicate with students, parents, and peers because it is the ever present center of all communication and entertainment for the majority of people in the World.  Now more than ever technology has brought the impossible, possible.  Through one tiny phone one is able to control just about everything in their lives.  It can hold their daily planner, it can pay their bills, hold coupons, surf the web and become a video game.  The main source of communication of people in our world today, is through text messages and other multi media features.  Since the general population is all communicating with each other through technology, why should education be treated any differently?  Because most people have access to the internet at the tip of their finger, it would be extremely useful to use technology to update parents and students on upcoming events, homework and grades.  In this day and age, people’s lives often center around the technology that surrounds them, so why not use that to your advantage as a teacher?  

With technology changing everyday, there are tons of options on how to best improve the overall communication between teachers and others.  A blog is a very helpful thing to use because you can make it as simple or as complex as you want.  A blog is a very good tool to use to show parents what is going on in your classroom.  You can post pictures of the students working at their desk or post pictures from the classroom field trip to the zoo.  This will help improve communication between teachers and others because you are essentially opening up your doors for all to see.  Teachers will be able to get ideas from others that could in turn improve the overall collaboration between teachers.  It will also help improve the communication between the teacher and the parent.  For some parents they are not able to be in the classroom as much as they wish they could so to have a visual of what their students are doing in class, helps them feel more involved in their child’s education.  Another tool that would be very useful to use is email.  Because most people are constantly checking their email, it will great a really quick and easy way to communicate with other teachers and parents.

Blog Post #4

Along with the Search Bar, Profile, Pages, and Blog Archive gadgets I have also chosen to  use the “Link Within”, Followers, Text Edit, Video Bar, Poll , and Follow by Email gadgets, here is why:

Link Within: This is a very useful gadget to have under each blog post because it shows the reader other blog posts that they also might enjoy reading depending on what they are first reading.  The link Within gadget links all the similar posts together in a very assessable place for the reader

Followers: This is a great gadget to have to keep track of who is following your blog.  It can also be helpful to others readers to see who is also following the blog because it is a way they can contact others and see what blog’s they are reading as well.

Text Edit:  I used this as a description of what my blog was about and put it on the top so that the readers know exactly what they will be reading write off the bat.

Video Bar: This is very useful because it provides a fast and easy way for users to look up youtube video that have to do with education and technology without ever having to leave the website.

Poll:  The Poll gadget offers a way for readers to become engaged in the blog.  It makes it more fun and interactive to read, especially if the poll question gets changed often.  It can also provide the blogger with helpful information that they wouldn’t have had before.

Follow by Email: This is useful to the reader who would like to simplify things and just be updated by email when a new post is written.  It gives readers different options that suite their personal lifestyles.

Sustainability

A slideshow of pictures that how the technology in all different places around the world.  In class we watched this and all commented on something that was thought provoking to us. Click here to see more Voice Threads

Accountability: Does technology in education HELP, HURT, or BOTH?

Blog Post #3

The Bad Blog: "sharon's share"

My very first thought after looking at this blog was just how busy it was.  In her header there are pictures of dogs.  As far as I can tell those dogs have nothing to do with the content of her blog and are unnecessary to have.  Also in her description of her blog, which is in the header, does not really tell us what to expect or find.  This makes the reader much more unwilling to read the blog.  At the top of her blog there is a lot going on.  There is some google application that is very distracting and makes it hard to find her posts.  I would recommend to her, to put all the extra google stuff at the bottom of the blog, and put her blog posts at the very top.  This will be beneficial because the posts are what the readers are looking for and if they are at the top then they will be very easy to find.   I would also recommend to her to describe what her blog is about in her header instead of the quote she has and to get rid of the dogs.  Overall I think that this blog contains very good content, it is just the way that it is laid out that makes is all very confusing.  She has some very useful tools in her blog such as the interactive math and reading links.  However I feel that these could be labeled much better along with a description on what exactly it is.

The Good Blog: "Totally 3rd Grade Blog"
This blog is really interesting to look at.  It is very pleasing on the eyes with its bright colors, but also its organized clean white space.  My favorite thing about this blog is that is is very easy to understand and use.  At the very top it has huge buttons that say "About this site", "Music site" and "Contact".  These are very beneficial to the readers of this blog because they will be directed to exactly what they want to view right away.  I also really like the content of this blog.  The most previous blog post is "Self Correcting Math Quizzes"  This is a very fun interactive way for kids to practice their math at home while getting the instant gratification of knowing if they are doing it right or wrong.  The entire rest of this site is very interactive, giving students the opportunity to continue to learn.  This blog is also very good because it includes videos and it seems as though it could be appropriate for both the student and their parent.

PLN Discussion: Accessibility

1) There are those who believe access to technology and/or the Internet is not a fundamental right of all people.  why would someone take this position?

Technology is not relevant in all people’s lives- therefore, for those people they have no reason to use the internet.  There are also many people who worry about the Internet and are worried that their children have no control and are not safe while online.  However it should be a fundamental right to all people.  If a person wants to be able to use the internet, then they should have the right to access it.

2) Do you agree or disagree with the idea of a "digital divide?"  What evidence do you have to support your position?

Yes, there is a digital divide.  There are many web sites that show the digital divide between countries. Cambodia and Ethiopia have almost no access where as the US and Australia has a huge amount of access compared to those 3rd world countries.

3) Should disinterested people without access be "dragged" into the 21st century?

It all depends on the person’s situation. If the person is elderly and did not grow up with technology and they find no interest in it, that is okay. However if there are parents who do not want anything to do with the internet but have a child who is in elementary school, then they may be hindering their child’s ability to learn and research. If a person is disinterested and in a 3rd world country who doesn’t have access to the internet, then they should not be dragged into it, useless they are interested in it.

Blog Post #2

1.  Is it fair to scrutinize teachers' private lives (either online or offline)?  

Generally speaking,  I do not think that it is okay for teachers private lives to be scrutinized.  However there are certain circumstances where a teacher should be scrutinized for their actions that may or may not be posted to the internet.  When becoming a teacher, you must understand that people are holding you up to a much higher standard than say, your next door neighbor who is a business women.  For example, when a parent finds out what teacher their child is going to have, they are going to start asking around and snooping  on the internet to find our anything and everything about you.  I don't think that any parent would want to find nude photos of their child's teacher on the internet or find them passed out drunk at a bar on sunday night.  These are two extremes but it is possible that it is happened before.  I believe that there is a very think line with what you are aloud to do and what you are not not aloud to do, if you are a teacher.  A lot of times is also depends on the parents and what they think is right and wrong.  Personally I do not see anything wrong with a picture of a teacher at a bar with a glass of wine in their hands.  If the teacher is over 21, then they are aloud to be doing that.  After a long week of teaching, it is not uncommon for teachers to do this.  I do however think that it is inappropriate to post explicit pictures or anything that you're student could find that would make them see you in an inappropriate manner.

2.  Should teachers maintain a presence on social networking sites?  Why or why not? As a teacher, what steps can you take to protect yourself f rom criticism and/or sanctions when using social media sites?

I personally believe that it is perfectly fine for teachers to maintain a presence on social networking sites.  Teachers are aloud to have a life outside of their career and social networking may be a way for many teachers to do just that.  Whether it be for personal reasons or for classroom and education reasons, I think that it is okay for teachers to use such sites such as Facebook, twitter and blog spot, along with many others.  I do however think that teachers should monitor what they post on the internet.  Once something gets posted, it is in the internet forever for the world to see.  Like I said before, teachers should know that they are being held to a higher standard and that is why they should monitor what they post.  If I were a teacher and had social networking cites such as Facebook and Twitter, I would be extremely careful not to mix my personal life with my professional life.  I would also make it not possible to be searched or found through Facebook.  By doing this you greatly lessen the chance that one of your students will be able to find you and see things about your personally life.  For example one teacher that I had my senior year in high school had her Facebook blocked so that none of her students could find her online.  My friends and I one day, tried every way possible to try and find her on Facebook, and it was impossible.  As far as we were concerned she did not even have one.  I think that this is a really important way to make sure that your personal life stays separated from your professional life.