Sunday, June 9, 2013
Chapter One: Defining the Connected educator
First..let's talk logistics. From the past 2 summer reading groups, I know that most folks will want to finish our reading before the end of summer. With this in mind, I will assume the same for this summer. If we want to complete our reading in the week before school starts, we will have to go a little faster than one chapter per week. So...I will be posting a new chapter question every 5 days.
Chapter 1: June 10 Be prepared to make posts to the blog as the
Chapter 2: June 15 questions are posted. We want this to be an
Chapter 3: June 20 an informal group, so please post your own topics
Chapter 4: June 25 if you have things to share. Just click on "New Post"
Chapter 5: June 30 at the top of the page.
Chapter 6: July 5 REMEMBER...you will go to the bottom of the page
Chapter 7: July 10 and click on the word COMMENT to answer the
Chapter 8: July 15 question or contribute to the discussion. You will
Chapter 9: July 20 need to use your Google login information to post.
Now...for Chapter 1: Defining the Connected Educator.
The first chapter defines the "connected educator." In our introductions, we discussed some to the tools we are using to be connected educators. This week, let's how we rank ourselves as 21st century educators. Take the Self-evaluation for new literacies of the 21st century in figure 1.2 (print pages 14-17). Then answer the the "Think About" questions after the Self-Evaluation Rubric (print page 17): Are you multiliterate? Of these literacies, which is most surprising to you? Which do you find least and most challenging?
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I just took the self-evaluation and did not score very well on any of the categories. I am not multiliterate. My weak areas were #1-Facilitate and Inspire Learning and Creativity and #4 Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. I use digital resources with my students to enhance learning but I would not consider it "creative" or inspiring learning. We often just solve problems in a digital format instead of on paper. I did make progress in this area at the end of this school year. I had my Pre-Calculus students make "Polar Art" using an online graphing calculator. They had to use their knowledge of polar equations to make their own unique art work. This was out of the box for me and my students, but the project was very beneficial. I scored the best on #5 (Professional Development). As a learner, I am always wanting to keep myself updated and try new things. The problem is that I learn new skills but often do not apply them in the classroom. I did take a big leap last year when I decided to try the flipped classroom, but it was scary no knowing how it was going to work. My goal is to keep learning and trying new things and not to be afraid to try them in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI also did not score very well in many of the categories. I need to utilize more technology, and with our new labs up and running, this should be easier and more beneficial for both the students and me. I'm not a big "out of the box" thinker sometimes, and I am working hard to develop that. I have the same problem that Sandy does with learning new skills and failing to apply them to the classroom setting. I would like to try the flipped classroom for a couple of units this year, and I think that will allow the students to develop their own "digital citizenship."
ReplyDeleteThe comment above was from Jenny Laws.
DeleteI would say that I am multiliterate, but at varying degrees of ability in different categories. I have used technology in the classroom much more in the past, but have hesitated to have the students use computers in my classroom because of the lack of monitoring software. While teaching at IUN and PNC, I used technology for most aspects of my classes. The high school classes are more of a challenge without the monitoring capability, because it is difficult to keep the students on task when they can switch screens in a half-second while the teacher is still 4 chairs away. This hesitation to use the lab computers shows my weakest area, digital citizenship. Although I like what technology brings to the classroom, I also realize that I have taken digital citizenship for granted. When I realized that my students were not all competent in this area, I backed away from using technology. My goal for next year is to address proper online behavior and to move on with my use of technology in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMy strengths are the willingness to seek out new technologies and to be a learner rather than an expert. I did use the computers to some extent in the past school year, but not as much as I had envisioned. My students benefit from my openness to experimentation with websites and tools. I just completed an online course on online and blended learning, and I have many new ideas to take into the classroom next year. I have a lot of new tools to sort through, and I already have several activities in mind for my French classes. Although I am not as connected in the professional development area as the book seems to encourage (the “Day in the Life” section at the end of the chapter), I can see working toward that goal of PLN connectedness!
Like the other posts I didn't do well in many of the areas. I think one of my stronger areas is that of professional growth and leadership. The first couple of years at southwestern I didn't join many of the committees in our building. However I did join a couple last year and plan to this coming year. I am involved in networking state and nationally with those in the field of Emotional Disabilities. Last year I enjoyed SimpleK12 and the freedom of being able to pick and choose what topics I wanted to learn. I am looking forward to becoming more technology literate. Sometimes I find all the terminology confusing, but more than willing to learn. The way I look at it, we are all moving in the right direction. That is the reason we joined this group, to learn and connect.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can honestly say that I am not multi-literate. I did not score well on the self-evaluation. My two weakest areas were 1-Facilitate and Inspire Learning and Creativity and 4-Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. I’m trying to learn how to use technology in a more creative way in my classroom, but at times, I just feel like I’m trading paper for the computer screen. Using Air Server this year was a big “jump” for me. I’m also a little nervous about turning my kids “loose” on the computers or IPads. Most are responsible and know proper computer usage-thanks to our computer class at the elementary. I still feel like this is an area I need to address as well since the students seem to be a little more savvy and quick with the technology than I am! Simple K12 has been a great resource for me as far as professional development in the area of technology.
ReplyDeleteFirst…I want to thank everyone for your participation. It is always a little rough at the beginning of the summer. We all have to get used to the process of posting to the blog. If you are still having problems, please feel free to contact me. I will be happy to meet you so we can figure out the process together. (it is hard to post exact directions since we all use different devices). One suggestion I will make is to type your post in Word or NotePad and then copy and paste it into BlogSpot. This way…if there are any problems, you won’t have to retype and rethink.
ReplyDeleteA little bit about logistics... Each time I start a new chapter, I will close out the last chapter. If you haven't had a chance to post...please still do so. We will need to keep moving in order to make it to the end of the book before the end of summer.
For chapter one, I took the survey too. I found that though I was high in several categories, I need to work on digital citizenship. I think that we as teachers are all guilty of thinking that “someone” is teaching our student the skills they need to be good digital citizens. We assume that our kids know how to use the internet just because they have grown up with it. In my position as Library Media Specialist, I feel that I should be teaching these skills. I will set it as a goal next year to develop a map to be used from K-12 to address the digital citizenship of our students. If we all work together to make sure these skills are taught, we can help our students gain the skills they need to prosper in the 21st century.
ReplyDeleteI am beginning to become multiliterate, it is something that I strive to achieve in the future on a consistent basis. I believe that being connected as an educator, multiliterate, should be deliberate, consistent and global. There are some digital resources I utilize in my classroom on a regular basis and feel good about. Others, Edmodo for example, I will use for one or two units then discontinue using it. I know that my students should experience real world problem solving to buy into the processes. Therefore, I was most surprised then when I didn't score as high as I thought I would on #1 Facilitate and inspire learning and creativity. I always felt I was creative when it came to lesson planning. However, with everything happening in education today I feel like my hands are tie more to preparing kids to pass I-STEP. Like everyone else, Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility was the most challenging. Engage in professional growth and leadership was the least challenging. I am always willing to share with colleagues what I have learned about technology.