EDU 776 - Reflection

Wow! It is so hard to believe that this course only began about seven weeks ago. It has flown by, and I feel like I have learned so much and grown when it comes to technology in education.

I have had knowledge of how to incorporate technology into my classroom ever since I worked in a one-to-one iPad setting. I always thought I knew quite a bit since we had a lot of technology training through that school. Since I moved out of that school, however, I felt as though I went backwards in my technology use. After finishing this course I feel a new sense of encouragement to work with what I have and build hands-on, student centered technology back into my teaching.

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I really enjoyed learning about all the possible tools there are for use in the classroom. Some of the great tools that I was introduced to during this course were; Screencastify, Nearpod, Thinglink, and, Blogger itself.  I really hope to be able to incorporate Nearpod and Thinglink into my classroom this year. I even learned about ways I can further use technology that I already use in my classroom such as Class Dojo.

The week about our Digital Tattoo was possibly my favorite and the most shocking. It was really interesting to dive into my online "tattoo". I couldn't believe all the information that was publicly out about me online. I can't wait to bring that type of online responsibility lesson back to my students so that my students can really start becoming aware of what they put online and how it might effect them in the future.

I was pushed beyond my technology comfort zone personally as well. While I had a blog when I studied abroad about seven years ago, it was very basic. I learned so much about how to create a blog as well as a website during this course. I learned how to have and take part in a PLN (professional learning community). I can't wait to keep using my professional Twitter to grow as an educator and connect with other educators around the world. I think all three of these elements will help me grow as an educator and help me if I ever try to branch out and find a new job.

I always knew that technology had an important place in education. I know now that it is becoming more and more important to incorporate into instruction and teach about in schools.

Social Media

This week was all about social media, how it is used in schools and classrooms, and how educators can use it as a tool to enhance their instruction. After taking a look at a few articles surrounding social media, there was one that really struck me. It was called, The Power of Storytelling.

This article, seemingly written by an administrator of a district in Wisconsin named Joe Saneflippo, spoke about storytelling and how it has always had a place in our schools, but it has changed over time. He starts with a striking story about a kindergartener who assumed, when she saw him taking pictures and recording video, that he would be posting them on Facebook. He said, "she smiled the entire time and said she couldn’t wait to get home to check the Facebook page."

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He goes onto say that storytelling is an innate part of human nature. Everyone wants a story. When we are children it is a story before bedtime. When we get older it is the stories we tell to fellow adults over dinner or watch on tv. Saneflippo mentions that in schools each and every child of the school has a story to tell. As teachers it is out job to help tell them. This means we have to adapt to the new ways of storytelling. Students are less likely to share their own stories.

With today's technology we have storytelling at our finger tips. It no longer requires sitting down to actually talk with someone. Saneflippo says, "The reality is meaningful conversations take place all the time…they just happen in smaller pieces and on our time." This happens through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Saneflippo states that students these days are less likely to share when asked the question "how was your day?" This changes however when a parent references something specific they saw that the child did, something the teacher or school posted for the families to see. We as teachers have the responsibility to help facilitate this storytelling for the students.

My Thoughts

When I first read this article, I was struck with how true this actually is for life in general, not just for schools. I know in my daily life, what is posted online often sparks a lot of meaningful conversations. These conversations are about things people probably wouldn't have shared before the internet.

Students are the same way. They have grown up with storytelling at their fingertips. They can click on a Youtube video, a Facebook post, etc and get an entire story in seconds. This is what they are used to, and we have to use that same tool in schools. Teachers have the ability to get a lot of storytelling started through the use of social media. It keeps the parents connected to the classroom, and gives them something to talk to their children about.

Like I said in a previous post, I have been using Class Dojo to post weekly about what our general focus is for the week, and daily about homework and reminders. I think I might start posting even more specifics and even pictures about what we are doing. This way the parents can get a better idea of what we are doing in school. If I can help promote better relationships and more storytelling for my students, I will feel like I am being an effective educator beyond the classroom. It's crazy how much power social media can have.

Digital Tattoo

Wow! This week's activity was very eye opening. I didn't know that there were so many different places that my information could be published online. This week I completed a data mine on myself. What this means is that I used a handful of different search engines and looked up myself.

My Data Mine

The first place that I searched was Nuwber. I started by typing in my first and last name without a location. There were a lot of search results. I thought I found myself on the second page because it had my name and the name of the city I grew up in, but when I clicked on it, it wasn't me. It was a women with a different address, phone number, and past addresses. This did remind me that there was another Elizabeth Van in my town. She went to my same doctor, and they once got our records mixed up even though we were very different ages. Once I added my location I came up as the fifth and tenth results. They had my name, age, location, the last place I lived, my parents' names, and my siblings names. 

After that I searched my Twitter and Instagram user name "blou_van" in google. I was surprised to see that the first results were links to hashtags that I used to use in college even though my twitter is private. When I clicked on images I was really shocked. Images of my college roommate, sister, and a few other college friends showed up. There were also a few pictures that I had posted and the twitter page of my college. 

Google Search Results (Image Source) 

I next went to Pipl. I think I found this one the most shocking. They had my current Facebook profile picture, my age, location, where I studied abroad, my usernames, and all of my immediate family members names. They a place of work for my as well, but it was two years old. At the bottom of the page they had links to my (very outdate) Linkedin, Facebook, Pinterest, and outdate Foursquare account. 

I went to Radaris. This website had a lot less information. They had an outdated location, and my age. They had a list of relatives that included my siblings, including my sister-in-law (the first time I saw her name), my step-mom, mom, but not my father. 

When I googled my names as "Elizabeth M. Van", I didn't come up in any of the first few pages of Google. There was one image of me when I clicked on images. 

I went to Truthfinder and Instant Checkmate last. These two sites looked almost the same from the moment I opened them. Both of these websites had my locations (current and past), my name, age, and immediate relatives. What I found interesting on Instant Checkmate is that my sister in law showed up right below me. She has the same name as me (other than middle) since her last name changed when she married my brother. Her information was also correct. 

Reflection 

This was really eye opening to me. The information that I found throughout these searches was generally very similar across all the search engines. They generally knew my name (first, middle, last), where I live currently, where I have lived, and my immediate family members names. Pipl, by far, had the most information. It doesn't really bother me that this information is out there. These are all things that could easily be figured out based on my Facebook page. 

School Setting

I definitely think this is something that needs to be taught in the school setting. In fact, just last week, the technology specialist in my school came into my room and did a lesson on internet safety with my 4th grade students. I think as soon as the kids begin to get their own pages or become active on the internet they should get some sort of age-appropriate lesson on internet safety.  These kids grow up with the internet in the palm of their hands, and if they don't know how to use it safely and protect themselves from an early age, they could run into a lot of trouble as they grow up. 

PLN Experience

I have had a personal twitter account for years now. I can't even tell you how long. I was very active on it when I first opened it sometime in college. Since then my twitter activity has decreased to the point where I mostly just use it to read news. I will occasionally retweet something I really liked.

I have just recently learned about PLNs or Professional Learning Communities. Basically a PLN is a community of fellow educators that have come together to reflect on teaching, share experience and ideas in the world of education, and help each other with professional topics. In order to dive into the world of PLNs I opened up a professional twitter account. After weighing many different twitter handles I landed on @TeacherMsVan. It's simple, professional, and easily identifies who I am.

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Initially I was worried that I would have a hard time finding people to follow and joining into a PLN. I was incorrect, because after creating my handle I instantly found a few other users that I wanted to follow. As I followed more and more people, companies, and educators I found that my feed was becoming full of so many inspiring posts, great teaching ideas, and tools.

Resource 

One resource that I discovered through Twitter was the Mystery Science page. I have been using Mystery Science for about a year now, and I feel like I am just discovering what it has to offer. By finding their twitter (hosted by the program) I was able to see more Mystery Science in action.  It's great to have a reference for what some of the activities are supposed to look like, and see how other teachers have incorporated them into their classes. From their page I discovered the Next Generation Science Standards page. This again is a great resource for teaching science. I can't wait to dive deeper into these pages, as well as others, to really see what they have to offer. 

#TwitterChat

After I got more and more comfortable with my new professional twitter, I decided it was time to participate in a #twitterchat. I took a look at a list of possible education chats and instantly felt overwhelmed. There were so many. How was I going to choose which one to participate in. I noticed that an account I had already followed, @TeachWriteEDU, had a twitter chat on Monday nights called #teachwrite. I decided I would try out this chat since teaching writing is something I am trying to work on in my own classroom. This seemed like the perfect place to start. 

Hosts and hashtag for the Twitter Chat (Image Source) 

I jumped right in when I saw that the chat was beginning. At first I was nervous because it seemed like most of the chatters already had a professional relationship going between themselves. They were quickly responding to each other and answering question. I was really pleasantly surprised once I did tweet. I quickly received likes, retweets, and comments on my thoughts. Below are a few screen shots of my participation in the chat.

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This was my original tweet which was in response to one of the first questions posted on the chat. 

Responses to my tweet (Image Source)

After my first tweet got such a wonderful response, I continued to participate in the Twitter chat. 

My second tweet in the #Teachwrite Chat (Image Source) 

Reflection 

Overall, I found that participating in PLNs through the use of Twitter was a very rewarding experience. During my Twitter chat I felt that I got great and uplifting responses from some fellow educators. I found that participating was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be, and that people were very receptive to what I had to say. 

Going forward I would like to continue to grow my PLN through Twitter. I would like to continue to participate in Twitter Chats. There are so many amazing resources and educators out there. The PLN is such a great tool to use when you are looking to learn something new, or get help with something you are struggling with. 

If you haven't already, go follow my professional twitter @TeacherMsVan. 

Web 2.0 Tools

This week, I took the opportunity to dive into a Web 2.0 Tool that I have heard of, but never got the chance to explore. The tool was Nearpod. Below is a screencast about Nearpod. Take a look at it before you try out the app yourself.

What is it? 

Nearpod is an interactive learning tool for teachers and students. Teacher can use to it discover pre-made lessons or create their own lessons. Nearpod is used to engage students in a lesson by giving each child the lesson onto their own personal device. 

How it works

Teacher's chose a lesson or create their own. They assign the lesson to the students who sign in by using a class code. The students then take part in the lesson through their own device. They may be required to answer quiz questions, open-ended questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, and more. The teacher can instantly see the student work and use it to assess learning.

Nearpod activities to add to lessons (Source) 

Benefits to Nearpod

As I was exploring Nearpod, I found that there seems to be quite a few benefits to using this tool in your classroom. 

• One of the benefits that really stood out to me was the ability to see instant results. If you assign your kids a quiz or activity with questions, the application grades it for you. This frees up so much time for the teacher. 
• Another benefit to using Nearpod is that the teacher is able to control what the students see and when. When the students log into a lesson, the teacher sets the pace. This way no student is able to rush through the activity without actually working through it. 
• A third benefit is the collaborate tool. This is great for kids who may not like to raise their hands in front of the whole class. They can post to collaborate and share their ideas without being out of their comfort zone. 

How I plan to use it

I feel like I have only brushed the surface of Nearpod. I really think that I will be able to use this in my room. My room currently is mostly boys and I am finding that they really need to be hands on to comprehend the task. I think by incorporating Nearpod a few times a week I could really reach those boys. I love the idea of having instant feedback and for the kids to get quick responses to their work. I always seem to fall victim to a growing pile of papers to grade. I'm hoping Nearpod can help alleviate some of that.