Social Networking

Social Networking

            New Media Consortium’s 2011 Horizon Report mentions that Personal Learning Environments (PLE) would encourage students to approach learning in new ways best suited to their individual needs. These environments would give students opportunities to have control over their education. I think the overview of PLEs in that report did not see the overall picture of how teachers could utilize PLEs in traditional education environment, only foreseeing PLEs as a learning system for those who were taking alternate routes in receiving their education such as home schooling, virtual schools or distance learning settings.

            In 2014 I can definitely see the benefits of PLEs now known as social networking websites. I do agree with the 2011 report that educators should guide students when using PLEs. I think only if students are guided by educators with specific goals in mind then students will see how social network sites can benefit their learning. Those students will make connections when utilizing this form of collaboration not only for personal socialization but academic learning as well. If students are utilizing PLEs in traditional learning environments it is necessary that teachers develop appropriate ways to integrate these forms of technology to benefit their students learning, considering the rise of virtual and distance learning institutions at the primary and secondary levels. PLEs refer to what most people know as social networking websites.

            Social networking sites have great benefits in the classroom when communicating with students and professionals in other states or countries regarding specific academic content. As with any use of technology there should be a level of understanding that all students have when social networking is incorporated into lessons, clear ramifications if not followed and parental support. Social networking can offer countless opportunities to expand knowledge of global diversity and awareness related to education. Social networking in the classroom takes time to review, research, and plan as with any other supplemental activity in a traditional lesson. Educators should always try out or join a specific network before introducing it to students.  Michelle Davis discusses in an article in Education Week how banning social networking would be an injustice for students and borderline irresponsible because educators are to provide the best educational experiences. Over 80% of Educators utilize social networking sites on a monthly basis according to the MMS Education 2012 Survey and has possibly increased since that time. Knowing how beneficial the sites are to us as educators why not find social networking sites to incorporate in our lesson? 

            There are always considerations…Drawbacks to utilizing social networking sites in lessons may be related to not having enough devices for your students to successfully accomplish the tasks teachers’ desire. Introducing social networking in the classroom will definitely inspire students to join other social networking sites, which are issues to consider especially with lower grade levels. The increase in cyber bullying and cyberstalking is an issue to consider. Educators need to become knowledgeable about these issues when introducing students to social networking. School districts should be equipped with the proper privacy systems to block certain content, certain personal sharing information and do what they can to monitor student’s networking activity in the school if they are requiring participation in social networking sites. Jayme Waddington mentions in her article Social Networking: The Unharnessed Educational Tool, that schools and schools districts have the option of educating safe media usage as well as incorporating digital media into the classroom experience, thus preparing students for the literacy they will encounter in the future. Educators can no longer use the excuse that they lack resources if they have access to computers.

            Until recent recently I only searched the web for resources and read blogs written by other educators, but now I actually take time to comment. Joining social networking sites can actually be a new fashion of professional development rather than going to the library, sitting in workshops and conferences. There is so much information that specific networks can offer that you can have access to at your leisure. I joined several networking groups associated with Diigo related to Transition in Special Education and Special Education and Technology, which are topics that will benefit me professionally and the services I provide to students. Joining these groups allows me access to specific information only related to the topics that are of interest to me and I can collaborate with other professionals within the group.

Social Networking Is Not Just For the Young

            Considering, the increase in educators utilizing social networks teachers are on the right path to incorporating various methods of learning in their classrooms for the benefit of the students. Educators are collaborating with other educators through social networks. The MMS Education 2012 Survey also mentioned there is a discrepancy between educators who are over 55 years old and educators who are younger that utilize social networks. This discrepancy in age is not unusual when it comes to the use of technology, whether its computer usage or cellular phones people of certain age participation are lower. Children born in the 90s, now teenagers and young adults grew up with in this digital age, computers and cellular phones are natural for them to utilize like people in the 80s tuned in for the 6 o’clock news and read the daily newspaper before work. Technology will mature and evolve just as they will and they will never fall behind, just as car drivers have evolved with the improvements of the automobile. The automobile has been around since 1900s. An 80 year old person, unless he or she has never driven any type of four wheeled transportation vehicle will get behind the wheel of a car, learn the new features and put the pedal to the medal as they say. 

            The survey completed for 2012 focused on educators and those in the related professions. Even though there are not as many educators of a certain age joining social networking sites there are some very popular social networking sites that attract people over 55 that may benefit many aspects of their lives in my opinion. Many people retire, have children move out for college, and as they get even older they experience life changing events like becoming grandparents or becoming a widower. All of these changes have an impact on their quality of life and there are social networking sites that offer means of collaboration for any person in any situation. The power of the internet! Social networks such as classmates.com, librarything.com, or lifeknot.com can help close that discrepancy gap between people over 55 and those younger. These networks allow people to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. Of course anyone seeking social networking sites with specific criteria can search for them but some people need to ease their way in. 

            I can admit that I have spent hours touring WebMDs website and blogs trying to diagnose my own symptoms, find remedies to ease migraines and tween issues but there are countless issues that arise with age and social networking sites such as dailystrength.com and patientslikeme.com can really help people going through ailment and afflictions I cannot imagine.  All people no matter their age need to be cautious and protect themselves when using social networking sites. If someone does not feel comfortable diving into the world of social media or joining a network they should ask for help. Periodically libraries offer computer courses for “seniors”. Adding information related to social media and networking would be a great start making sure people of all ages are utilizing their resources to its maximum potential. 

References

Davis, M. R. (2010, June 14). Social Networking Goes to School. Education Week. Retrieved February 13, 2014, from www.edweek.org

Horizon report 2010 K-12 edition. (2010). Austin, TX: New Media Consortium.

Survey of K-12 Educators on Social Networking, Online Communities, & Web 2.0 Tools (Rep.). (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2014, from MMS Education website.

Waddington, J. (2011). Social Networking: The Unharnessed Educational Tool. Undergraduate Research Journal at UCCS, 4(1), 12-18. Retrieved February 14, 2014.

Gaming

What do I think About Gaming in the Classroom?

            The concept of Gaming in the classroom is relatively new for me to a certain level.  I’ve utilized learning games in the classroom as practice work and pastimes between transitions, but not really on a level of incorporating the games into my lesson or using it to truly teach skills. The 2011 Horizon Report mentions children born since the early 90s have never lived in a world without global networks, which is absolutely true and something to consider when teaching them. I am the one who has watched technology evolve and now become what it is.  I am the one who is often timid and have a hard time embracing every aspect of technology, simply because it is new for me and I have to act as a student to learn how everything works.  My students are using these various systems every day and are motivated by games and what they entail.

            According to The New Media Consortium’s Horizon Report (2): 2011, educators need to forget about the negative connotations related to games, which is a great suggestion.  We have negative connotations are things we are unfamiliar with, just like students “the fear of the unknown.”  Similar to handheld games used to promote literacy skills in toddlers and learning television shows over the years producers and manufacturers try to make their product better based on the customers and results.  The Horizon Report (Johnson et al., 2011) also discusses how early studies in the last decade were made to help identify specific aspects of the games to get to where they are now.

            I chose Gaming websites that I could utilized when working with the population of students I work with on a daily basis.  The majority of those students have cognitive disabilities and learning difficulties that affect various areas of learning.  The first gaming site I chose was PBS Kids.  This website was ideal for me to reinforce functional and daily living skills.  I was pleased that the characters associated with the games I chose were not “kiddie” characters.  Many students with special needs at the middle and secondary level need low level materials that are not visually designed for younger children.  The game titled Fresh Pick provided very enthusiastic interactive characters with appropriate auditory directions along with close caption options.  The game was divided into several “challenges”.  All challenges related to Fresh Pick were related to nutrition and healthy foods.  Each challenge game reinforced specific skills such as navigation, following directions, adding and subtracting prices, decision making, learning new terms associated with cooking and or shopping, differentiating between coins and choosing appropriate prices surrounding the underlying topics of nutrition and healthy foods.  The more tasks a person completes correctly the more complex the next task will become.  This gaming website would be a great resource for reinforcing skills taught in class and gathering information to assess comprehension of specific skills while improving fine motor skills, time on task and ability to navigate the keyboard.

http://pbskids.org/lunchlab/#/games/fresh-pick

            Another gaming program I chose to review was Logicity.  The Logicity game was created to increase public awareness regarding Climate Change.  Logicity is a 3D virtual city with specific tasks that a player must fulfill to decrease pollution and carbon footprints that cause climate change.  Every player’s mission is to reduce the emissions of new greenhouse gases before it is too late and the people of the city will not survive.   Players have the ability to compete with other registered participants and earn scores.  Including this interactive game during lessons related to pollution, greenhouse effect, global warming, and or energy efficiency would be appropriate for students at the secondary grade levels.  Follow up discussions and possible a question and answer sessions would be ideal for an educator who chooses to utilize this game to reinforce concepts taught in class.

http://www.logicity.co.uk/

            The game 3^rd World Farmer started out as an assigned project for group of college students in 2005. After feedback and development it has evolved into the game it is today.  This game is not fun and exciting like most games that attract students while practicing skills.  This game sheds light on factual events and situations 3^rd world counties are faced with.  3rd World Farmer creates a platform for students to learn about challenges and decisions people make on a daily basis to survive.  There are several subject areas such as, Social Studies, Geography, Economics, and or Literature that can benefit from what this game entails.  The players of the game are required to manage an African farm while random challenges arise such as corrupt officials, raids and thieves, market prices fluctuate, and or unpredicted weather. The topics of disease, drought, wars and economic hardship will be unavoidable when participating in this game.  Educators who chose 3^rd World Farmers for their students should take time to provide introductory and follow up lessons when incorporating the game into their lessons.  If used appropriately this game could be a good representation and supplement to chapter readings.

http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/

            According to Johnson et al. (2011) teachers should take gaming seriously and incorporate them into lessons.  The U.S. Secretary of Education, Anne Duncan suggested that gaming is an ideal method to assess students’ comprehension and a means of providing immediate feedback.  As I reviewed the several gaming websites and videos I was pleased to see the variety of games available that cover so many academic areas because educators are responsible for presenting information in ways to accommodate all learning styles.  Along with including innovative ways to help students remember skills that they may use a lifetime.  One can see tremendous advancements in the technology that assists professionals in almost every career from equipment in stores, medical equipment to military advancements.

            Edutopia’s video, School Use Games for Learning and Assessment demonstrates students in several U.S schools utilizing gaming and technology as their primary method of teaching. David Williamson-Shaffer, Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison pointed out, people in the U.S. do not live in an industrial economy any longer but a knowledge economy therefore, educators have to think about learning in fundamentally different ways beyond basic facts and skills.            

         Gaming will only become more sophisticated and challenging.  Therefore, it is my responsibility to add this means of computer technology to my toolkit of resources not only to keep students busy during break times but reinforce lessons and skills.  Students can now gain skills utilizing simulating and interactive games monitored in school that can prepare them for their future careers.

 

2011 Horizon Report K-12. (n.d.). 2011 Horizon Report K-12. Retrieved January 31, 2014, from http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2011-Horizon-Report-K12.pdf

 

Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., & Haywood, K. (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report.  Austin, Texas:  The New Media Consortium. 

 

No Gamer Left Behind: Virtual Learning Goes to the Next Level. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open Content & E-Books

OPEN CONTENT

As an educator I have utilized open content material without truly understanding its definition and evolvement. Educators like myself often attend workshops, collaborate with colleagues and search the web for innovative ways to teach lessons. Before reading the Horizon Report 2011, I did not grasp how cost effective this means of collaboration really was. David Wiley’s vision for Open Content defined with the 4Rs, reuse, revise, remix and redistribute is now crystal clear. It was not until I reviewed the Creative Commons website that I understood the symbols related to copyrights and licenses. The Wikipedia page on free content provides a list of symbols related to copyrights that are useful when reviewing information that you may want to customize. Offering materials to customize and adapt without copyright infringements and fees is one of the best things that has happened in the world of technology for Educators. There are several innovations and concepts related to Open Content that really caught my attention.

The benefits of Open Content for all people not only in the United States are great. I’ve traveled to South Africa during my undergraduate years and was honored to travel with a reputable company that donated supplies and textbooks to several schools there. At that time receiving outdated textbooks was a tremendous blessing for those students. Now with open content materials I’m pleased to know that countries such as South Africa utilize these materials without the hassle of regulations and fees.

Big industry companies and government establishments taking part in the world of Open Content is a great step for citizens to have access to information that once was not available. I was please to watch the YouTube video of Mayor Newsom speaking with the woman that now has employment because of the growing program utilizing Open Content at the San Francisco Public Libraries. Karen Coyle’s article, Going Open mentioned that one library alone was releasing approximately 3 million bibliographical records using Creative Commons licenses. Government meetings and events available on the Internet shows the creditability and advancement of Open Content since 1998. It is now evident to many more corporations and governments just how useful Open Source is for daily operations.  The more people who have access the better for all of us.

E-Books

The availability of eBooks is related to just about every subject imaginable is a great tool to utilize for personal and professional needs.  As a graduate student, educator and mother E-books are great to add to my toolkit of resources in all of my endeavors. Mike Solomon mentioned several key aspects in utilizing E-books during his podcast interview. As a professor and authur he decided to use Flat World Knowledge, a publisher of textbooks. He decided to create E-books for the courses he taught because they would be accessible for students all around the world. He was able to customize the textbook based on his teaching style and order of his choice unlike a traditional textbook having to add supplemental materials. The cost is free for his students to download online and he actually earns revenue based on the amount of people who utilize his package. I do not teach at a collegiate level but advantages of E-books are very clear for professional.

As a mother I’ve noticed that younger children often are entertained by learning games and hand held systems for entertainment while, tweens and teens visit social media sites and games not associated with learning. E-books are great to download for reasonable prices in an effort to capture the attention of children through “old fashion” literature presented in a new format that does not require a special book reading devices.

Having a background in Special education e-books are great for accommodating people with special needs due to the fact that the book are downloaded on the devices accessible for them. Whether it’s an android smart phone, tablet or personal computer e-books can be dictated, magnified or reviewed with the accommodating software a person with disabilities have on their system. There are several websites that are dedicated to provide eBooks for not only students for disabilities but eBooks that provide valuable information for parents of children with disabilities. Not all parents have access or time to visit traditional books and are often overwhelmed by the multitude of books on disabilities. E-books created by specific councils and companies listed on their websites are great for parents to read summaries and find information that is specific to their needs. The National Center of Learning Disabilities, a site I use periodically to find resources for parents offer E-Books related to Response to Intervention, parents guides to understanding IDEA, Individualized Education Plans, tips related to specific disabilities and variety of other topics. Smart Planet offers E-books to service students with disabilities and free access to technology due to an award they received from the U.S. Department of Education Special Education Programs, which provides service for over 100,000 students with disabilities.

The rapid increase in E-books can only benefits people all around the world. E-books have passed the sales of hardcover books for several years now. Some people are not completely convinced that E-books are as great as I think they are according to blog comments on several websites. Some are applauded that anyone who feels they have an idea can print a “book” or what is being written and available of e-book sites are not in good taste or good reads for anyone, even books that were once banned from schools such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye, or The Call of the Wild which are available in E-book form. I view searching for E-books the same as visiting the public library or going to the bookstore. You have a choice to view or purchase what you want, that is why every website has a small magnifying glass near a search box. Search for what appeases to you, why worry about the quality of prints you have no desire to read. The Association of American Publishers research shows that over 400 million e-books were sold in 2012. They mentioned that E-book sales have constantly increased in the last three years and will continue this pattern. USA Today mentioned that the number of E-books sold in 2013 was 43% more than the previous year but this trend has slowed down possibly due to the popularity of playing games and watching videos. After reading the Horizon Report 2011 edition I was taken aback that e-books are not as popular with scholars considering the majority of college professors have doctorate degrees in specific fields of study that I consider scholars. One can see the evolution of e-books since 2011 based on the increase of online classes and distance learning opportunities. Scholarly journals are now available in electronic form and means of researching have drastically transformed at the collegiate level down to elementary grades. There is a saying, “the wave of the future” that referred to ideas and products that appeared to be a trend that would inevitably prevail. That saying absolutely applies to Open Content and E-books. Technology does not back peddle but constantly progresses for the betterment of consumers.

E-Books are definitely the wave of the future and any book publishing companies that do not see the benefits of this format are doomed to obscurity. With the advances in technology that allow access to books on smart phones, tablets and computers, there will be many people who will not be interested in any reading material that is not available via E-Book.