Mind Mapping is not Mind Boggling

Here is my mind mapping assignment that focuses all about me! I downloaded the free 30 day trial of Inspiration for this project. I have not used Inspiration before but I have used Kidspiration. I am a huge fan of Kidspiration so I figured I'd enjoy Inspiration as well. I was not disappointed with this program. It is very user-friendly and it offers a lot of features. I think I may have gone a bit over-board with it because my map is a bit on the large side. However, I feel that it is very informative! One feature in Inspiration that I believe can be very resourceful for students is having the ability to convert the map to an outline. I believe this can assist students when they start to create an outline for a project.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Web 1.0 is a thing of the past! Who wants to be in a classroom where it is strictly teacher-based instruction and rarely allows collaboration with others? Not me and I would certainly hope not you! Educators today need to be able to effectively deliver material to their net gen. students. Teachers who are utilizing methods and tools of Web 1.0 will not deliver the best education to their students which leaves them with a negative experience.

The characteristics of a Web 1.0 classroom are: teacher centered instruction, not being able to work with groups, using only one media to relay a concept, a non stimulating environment, passive learning, and factual knowledge based. None of these characteristics seem to engage students. The only one I feel may be appropriate at times is the teacher centered instruction for certain content areas such as math. I believe math and any other topics that require more of a direct instruction approach can be teacher centered, however, the classroom environment still needs to be stimulating.

A web 2.0 classroom will be stimulating for students. The students will be taught with more than one means of media to relay a concept and student center learning is encouraged. Working collaboratively with others and learning through experimenting and inquiry based learning are present in a web 2.0 classroom. I prefer a web 2.0 classroom over a web 1.0 classroom because I learn through experimenting and enjoy collaborating with others. Some of the tools utilized in an Web 2.0 classroom are blogs, wiki's, podcasts, internet, email and more. In a blog posted earlier, I described my Web 1.0 high school experiences to the Web 2.0 college experience.

The only issue I forsee with Web 2.0 is the implementation of it with teachers who are not willing to utilize the tools or methods of Web 2.0. There are educators who have been teaching for 20+ years who are not willing to modify their instruction. Whether these teachers realize it or not, they are seriously hindering their students learning. Either one of two things need to happen so the education of these students are not seriously hurt. These teachers must be trained how to effectively teach using Web 2.0 methods and tools or these teachers must find a new profession. Honestly, the net gen will not benefit one bit from a teacher who teachers via Web 1.0.

Website Evaluation Assignment=A+

I found the website evaluation assignment to be very resourceful. I believe it was resourceful because it will help me evaluate the types of websites I visit by taking into consideration the minor details I’ve taken for granted. The “minor details” I am referring to can be seen in the article by Kathleen Schrock, ABC’s of Website Evaluation. For instance, I did not consider a website’s efficiency as well as if it’s handicapped accessible. Schrock’s article as well as Cornell University’s article, “Five Criteria for Evaluating web pages” also provided great suggestions for evaluating websites. By reading these articles, this will allow me to make sure my future students will have the best websites available to them for assignments.

Through this website evaluation assignment, I discovered the three websites I chose: Scholastic, White House 101, and Reading is Fundamental are fairly decent websites. None of these sites seemed biased and they all had one goal; educating students, teachers, administrators and parents. I will put these website on my website under resourceful website as well as posting them in my blog. I cannot wait until I am able to share these websites with my future students.

An emotional week four!

During week 4, my group meet twice, Feb. 11 and 15(to make up a Monday class) for a significate amount of time. We worked together on two assignments, our group letterpop " 21 Century Skills Teacher Resource ToolKit" and our wiki. Our group member Lisa volunteered to create the letterpop while we gave her information to put on it. I felt like this was not the best way to create this assignment because it did not allow other group members to insert their own information. We had to feed them to Lisa. I would not suggest to use this web 2.0 tool for another collaborative project.

Our second collaborative project was to create a group page on our class wiki as well our own personal page. Here is where I struggled the most so far in this course. I had a hard time trying to create my page. It seemed like whatever I did, I could not save my information. I found this process tedious. After several attempts, I was able to successfully create my wiki page, check out my accomplishement!

I found the Recommended Search Engine Website and the Best Search Engine website to be extremely helpful. I was not aware of the search engine, Exalead, and I enjoyed how noodletools gave me an indepth description of each search engine. The article regarding the Q&As on copyright was resourceful as well as the copyright chart, because it I now know what I can and cannot "legally" show my students in my classroom.

Lastly, the APA & Plagaiarism podcast was extremely beneficial! I believe citing in the APA format can be difficult at times, especially when you're citing from an online article. Thanks to this podcast, I am confident my lesson plans along with any papers that require the APA format will be done correct! Woohooo!!! :)

When this week started, I became frusturated with the Wiki assignment. Then when I came across the APA podcast, my frusturations went away and I became relieved and sort of excited!! Like I said earlier, I now know how to correctly cite my resources thanks to the podcast!! What an emotional week this was! Let's see what I'll be in for with week 5!

Bookmarking, Del.icio.us, Diigo, and Slideshare, Oh My!

Bookmarking, Del.icio.us, Diigo, and Slideshare, OH MY!!! All of these are useful tools that will be utilized throughout my teaching career, whether I use them for myself or with my students. All of these can be used to organize and implement wonderful lessons which our net gen students will enjoy.

Bookmarking has become such a useful tool. Again, there are so many differences between how bookmarking was done in Web 1.0 compared to the new bookmarking in Web 2.0. Web 2.0 allows people to do much more than save a website in their tool bar only one one computer like Web 1.0. Now, people can download free bookmarking services like del.ic.ious and DIIGO, which allows users to store their bookmarks, categorize them, highlight important passages, attached notes to pages, tag them, and even share them with friends. But most of all, Web 2.0 bookmarking tools allows users to access their bookmarks from any computer.


I had nothing but positive experiences with del.icio.us, diigo and slideshare. I loved the fact that del.icio.us created a toolbar on my menu which allowed me to have shortcuts to my blog, website, and MSMC's online class page. I can use this in my teaching career when teaching a lesson on flowers. My students can then access what bookmarks I have saved for this lesson on flowers because del.icio.us is a social, networking bookmarking site.

Diigo allows people to highlight passages, add comments, and bookmark pages along with tagging. You can also views these in a slideshow of your pages. I personally believe DIIGO offers more than del.icio.us. I would use this service rather than del.icio.us because I can add comments and highlight information. I can also create a DIIGO group which allow my students and I to collaborate and share information regarding a lesson I may be teaching.

Slideshare is one of my favorite new tools I have come across. With slideshare, I can archive my powerpoint presentations, PDF and Word Files and create picture montages which are all shown as a sort of movie, like youtube. I even have access to thousands of other presentations because this is a social tool. This is extremely beneficial to all teachers because they do not have to worry about where they stored their latest powerpoint lesson. I have not had the opportunity to use this but I am extremeley excited and eager to do so!

I was victim of Web 1.0!!!!

When I was in High School, I was victim of the Web 1.0! I thought this was boring and non-effective. Maybe that is why I did not do as good in high school compared to college. In college(MSMC), I had professors who incorporated technology into their teachings which kept me engaged and steered away from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0.

I do honestly believe that because of my high school who was stuck in the traditional teaching methods, Web 1.0, is why I did not do well as compared to College where new educational strategies, Web 2.0 were utilized. My high school educational experiences consisted of, teacher centered instruction, not being able to work with groups, using only one media to relay a concept, and a non stimulating environment. These are only a few characteristics of Web 1.0 that I personally experienced in High School. Now, once I got to college I was able to experience the fabulous Web 2.0! In college, concepts were introduced with more than one means of media, there was student center learning, I worked collaboratively with others, class was multi-sensory stimulating and learned through experimenting and inquiry based learning.

I am forever grateful that Mount Saint Mary College was able to save me from the out-dated and non-effective Web 1.0.

I am a PROUD Digital Native/Net Gen!

I have to admit that I am learning so much than I expected! During these past few weeks, an abundance of information was presented to me and I honestly cannot believe how much I did not know. I was introduced to the 2007 National Educational Technology Standards as well as to the terms Digital immigrants and Digital Natives. I am proud to say, I am a digital native!

What are the six 2007 National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) and which of the standards you think are well implemented? How do you feel about your readiness to meet those standards?

1. Creativity and Innovation Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
Students: a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.
d. identify trends and forecast possibilities.

2. Communication and Collaboration Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
Students: a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
c. develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.
d. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.

3. Research and Information Fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
a. plan strategies to guide inquiry.
b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
d. process data and report results.

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:
a. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
b. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
d. use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.

5. Digital Citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

6. Technology Operations and Concepts Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
a. understand and use technology systems.
b. select and use applications effectively and productively.
c. troubleshoot systems and applications.
d. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.

Out of these six standards, I believe Standard six- Technology Operations and Concepts, Standard two- Communication & Collaboration, and Standard three- Research and Information Fluency are implemented fairly well in the elementary grade levels. I say this because the "net gen," like myself, has grown up with technology and the majority of them know how to search the web via Google & Yahoo(standard six & three) and use instant messaging devices(standard two). These standards may frighten baby boomers and maybe generation x people. However, I have an advantage. I was born with the net generation- I'm a part of the generation who was able to experience, Web 1.0 and the shift to Web 2.0. Even though these standards may be demanding, I feel I will not have too much trouble having my students meet those standards.

· Discuss the Net generation. Why are the digital students different from the previous generations of students? What are the implications for teachers?

The net Generation is the future of America! This generation was born with technology already put in place; they do not know life without it. The students in the NG were introduced to technology at a young age. According to the article, Is It Age or IT: First Steps Toward Understanding the Net Generation, " by Diana Oblinger and James Oblinger, Children age six or younger spend an average of two hours each day using screen media (TV, videos, computers, video games), which nearly equals the amount of time they spend playing outside (1:58 hours versus 2:01 hours). Both significantly exceed the amount of reading time (39 minutes). Half of the children in this age group have used a computer; among 4-to-6-year-olds, 27 percent spend over an hour a day (1:04) at the keyboard. "It's not just teenagers who are wired up and tuned in, it's babies in diapers as well." While earlier generations were introduced to information through print, this generation takes a digital path."

Net Geners are goal oriented, enjoy working in teams and like to learn by experimenting/doing. They are very social beings. They are not afraid to pour out their emotions on their blog or myspace page. They do not like boring lectures- there needs to be interaction. As being a net gen myself, I prefer to learn by interacting with others and experimenting. I feel by experimenting and actually using the specific skill that is being taugh, is the only way for someome to learn how to do it. Student teaching is a good example of this. It is not until a student teacher enters the classroom is when he/she is going to really learn how to operate a classroom and implement lessons. We can have all the schooling needed to prepare us for teaching, however, student teaching is where we learn the most.

Net Gen students like to receive information almost immediately because of the technologies they are accustom to. For example, if a net gen had the option of calling or looking through the newspaper for movie listings or the opportunity to go the internet to do so. This person would choose the internet. He/she can go onto yahoo.com or fandago.com to get movie listings and times for theathers 5-10 miles away from where they live in just one click of a button! It takes only seconds to search and is more convientent for them. THis is what the net generation is different than any other generation. They have the world at their fingertips with just a click of a mouse. To them, this is such an easy process. To babyboombers and possible Generation X'ers, they may beg to differ. Babyboombers and Gen. X'ers otherwise known as "Digitial immigrants"are most likely to use the internet as a second place of reference, not first.

The implications teachers have are because most likely, these teachers are "digital immigrants" and it is hard to get them out of their old ways of teaching. They are used to their lecturing and when the net gen's do not understand the material,they automatically assume their students "can't learn." Meanwhile, it is them who cannot teach in a way they learn best! The article, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants by Marc Prensky states that "if Digital Immigrant educators really want to reach Digital Natives – i.e. all their students – they will have to change." This change he is referring to involves a new methodology of teaching, learn to communicate in the language and style of their students.

I wanted to end this blog with this graphic which I think pretty much sums up what society needs to be prepared for:

LoTi MUST start with Administrators

With today's strict curriculum initiatives and state mandates, educators may feel overwhelmed and reluctant to incorporate any new methods or strategies into their teachings. However, once they realize it is only beneficial to them and their students, they may be more willing to integrate new technologies into their teaching. The LoTi Connection seems like a wonderful resource for educators to utilize while implement technology into their lessons. However, I feel districts and administrators must be supportive of it in order for it to be effective. With the support and the proper training, teaching with technology will reach our net generation in the best way possible.

The LoTi levels I have witnessed in the two districts I have conducted my fieldwork hours in are at a Level 2. I have seen students play educational games during literacy centers and teacher utilize their Smartboards during lessons. I only observed in an elementary level settings, therefore, I am not sure if the higher level grades are operating at any of the higher levels. I also feel that the higher levels cannot apply to the elementary grades because it seems too advanced for them. For example, fifth graders cannot, "create an actual online business venture involving cosmetics and jewelry as a culminating performance task in their marketing class."

Warning to Parents: You better be ready for your 2.0 savvy kid!

I think this is self-explanatory. Hope it put a smile on your face :)

Throughout this first module, I have learned so much more than I expected in just two weeks! I have found all of the articles, videos, powerpoints so informative and beneficial. I could not agree more with the Expect Differentiation video. I believe MSMC does a fine job stressing this concept; we as educators must differentiate our teachings in order to be effective educators!

I really enjoy my experience with the web 2.0 tools. Creating my website was probably my favorite assignment thus far because I was able to create something that reflects who I am. In my about me section, I talked about my sister who's inspired me to be a special education teacher. Here's a picture of her and I at Universal Studios, Florida.


As I said earlier, I can't believe how much I've learned in these past two weeks. I look forward to this next week. I'm sure I'll be amazed in one way or another.

I am a tech savvy girl... or not..

Q. The most memorable moments in the learning during the first week?

A. The most memorable moment I experienced this first week was realizing I am not as tech-savvy as I thought. Before this class, I considered myself "a tech-savvy girl" but quickly realized that was not the case. Even though I'm at a computer for at least 8 hours a day at my job, I never ventured out to learn about blogs, wiki's, and podcasts. I was content knowing how to check my email, navigating through the internet via Firefox, and operating several computer programs (Adobe Photoshop/Pagemaker, and Microsoft Works). I am excited to learn about the new technologies I can incorproate into my teaching which will foster my students education!

Another memorable moment I experience was learning about RSS reader. I enjoyed watching the RSS in Plain English video because was easy to understand and humorous at times. I now utlize this feature on my gmail account. I receive the latest news from CNN.com, and People.com.

"I'll believe it when I see it!"

Q:
Comment on the meetings you had with the group and the whole class -- share insights about the online communication, comment on the power/magic of technology in learning and teaching and how it empowers both processes.

A:
I was torn about how I felt after our first class meeting. I was excited because I am eager to learn how to incorporate technology into my teachings. However, I also felt like the class went by too fast and I was not 100 % comfortable knowing what I had to do. When I was able to get home and explore Moodle and read the assignments, I had a better understanding of the class.

I was in MSMC's computer lab when I met with my group on Monday. I did not want to chance not knowing what I was doing at home in case I had trouble, which I did not. It did not occur to me until after the meeting when I was driving home how much technology has advanced in the recent years. If you were to ask me five years ago if I thought this class was possible-to meet in an online classroom and talk to each other via microphones about the course material, I would have said, "I'll believe it when I see it." Well, I am a believer and I think it is fabulous!

I really enjoyed our first session. Four out of the five group members had microphones which were very useful. One minor problem we experienced was talking at the same time. But we managed to work out a system to eliminate this issue. After my group meeting, I was cleaning up my belongings in the computer lab and I apologized to two students in the room for talking so much. I told them I was taking an online class. They looked at me and asked, "Really? That's so cool!" I said, "Yes, it was actually."

Technology has made teaching and learning more exciting and feasible for people who wish to receive an education. Without it, online colleges such as Empire State College & University of Phoenix would not exist. These colleges make it possible for people who do not have the time to actually go to class because they are working multiple jobs, raising a family, etc.

When educators incorporate technology into their lessons, students are being reached in a way they may learn best. I say this only because the students I will teach, the net generation, are born with technology already in place; they do not know life without it. By the time these students reach elementary school, most of them are familiar with some sort of technology, whether it is a Game Cube, computer, cellphone, etc. Therefore, it is crucial that teachers must incorporate technologies into their teachings.

Roy Reese, the Superintendent of Goshen Schools and professor at MSMC, told me about a wonderful lesson one of his teachers conducted on the state of Alaska. This teacher collaborated with a teacher in Alaska and set-up a session where the students were able to see each other through a webcam. What an exciting experience for these students along with the teachers! This is an example of the power technology has given us. Students can experience learning about others in another state or even country. Again, ask me if this was possible a few years ago. I'd say, "I'll believe it when I see it!"