Chapter 9 in Richardson's book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms is all about social networks. As I began reading this chapter, I thought I knew a lot about social networks. Why wouldn't I? I have accounts with most social networks already and have had them for quite some time. I even remember using "The Facebook" where you had to have a college email to even sign up for it!
However, after reading just a few pages of this chapter, I feel that I had an "Aha" moment. I never had thought of social networks as being either friendship-based or interest-based. Although I was using my social networks for both friendships and interests, I never really separated the two as being different from one another. After coming to this conclusion, I realize that I use both my personal and professional social networks accounts with both interests in mind. With that said, I plan on making my professional account more interest-based rather than friendship-based. It might be a hard move, as I do use my professional social networks to communicate with students (as it seems to be the best way to get communication with my students). However, I do agree with Richardson that being Facebook friends with students is not a great idea.
I thought this chapter really opened my eyes to social networks being interest-based tools. As he stated perfectly in Chapter 9 in regards to students using social networks, "they are connecting to peers and adults outside of their physical spaces, people who they don't know but with whom they share a passion. They become at once teachers and learners in these spaces, and, in the process, they learn about the things that school can't or won't teach them" (Richardson 131). This could not be more true. Students, when interested in a topic, can use social networks to dive into the topic and learn endlessly about it. In a way, social networks are a way for a person to branch off an learn about whatever it is they may want to, even if what they are learning about is completely foreign to their location.
References:
- Richardson, W. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. 2010.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Robin Williams
I had a tough time going through my Feedly account this morning. After hearing the tragic news about actor/comedian Robin Williams passing away due to a suspected suicide last night, I had to take a few deep breaths and hold back the tears when going through my news feed. Most posts I saw were in regards to his passing.
Robin Williams will always be one of my favorite famous people. As a child of the 80's and 90's, I grew up on his movies. From Peter Pan in Hook to the genie in Aladdin, Robin Williams was the life of any movie he was apart of. It was not until I reached adulthood that I was able to appreciate, and view, his older stand-up comedy (something that I have always loved to view). He was a very funny man!
I hope that if anything comes from his passing, is that people start to look seriously at peoples' mental states. Although Williams was always laughing and seemed to be in a good mood when shown on television, he no doubtingly had some issues he was dealing with. It is said that he was battling addiction a few times in his past and that he was also suffering from depression. I cannot help but think of the basic saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover". Robin Williams may have had the best "cover" for himself, but it appears the person that is Robin Williams had a different story altogether inside. I hope we as a society can learn to see the inside of people and their feelings, and spend more time learning about warning signs of depression and things that lead people to take their own life.
References:
- "Autopsy expected in death of Robin Williams." CNN August 12, 2014. Web. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Robin Williams will always be one of my favorite famous people. As a child of the 80's and 90's, I grew up on his movies. From Peter Pan in Hook to the genie in Aladdin, Robin Williams was the life of any movie he was apart of. It was not until I reached adulthood that I was able to appreciate, and view, his older stand-up comedy (something that I have always loved to view). He was a very funny man!
I hope that if anything comes from his passing, is that people start to look seriously at peoples' mental states. Although Williams was always laughing and seemed to be in a good mood when shown on television, he no doubtingly had some issues he was dealing with. It is said that he was battling addiction a few times in his past and that he was also suffering from depression. I cannot help but think of the basic saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover". Robin Williams may have had the best "cover" for himself, but it appears the person that is Robin Williams had a different story altogether inside. I hope we as a society can learn to see the inside of people and their feelings, and spend more time learning about warning signs of depression and things that lead people to take their own life.
References:
- "Autopsy expected in death of Robin Williams." CNN August 12, 2014. Web. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Teaching Common Core Math with Minecraft
Minecraft. I'm sure you have heard of it... at least if you are in communication with someone under the age of 13. But did you know that educators are using the game to teach common core math standards?
According to an article posted on the NPR site, the game Minecraft is being used to help apply and practice common core math standards. The article goes over a 5th grade "classroom" in Louisville, Kentucky in which the teacher has their students practice math concepts while playing the game. The article focuses on the common core standard of, "graphing points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems".
As a gamer myself (more so when I was younger, but I still presently dab a little into the gaming world when time allows) I find it very interesting that more and more teachers and educators are utilizing games as learning tools. Whether "players" are thinking of it or not, they are applying a lot of lessons learned into their gaming sessions. For example, playing Minecraft allows you to work geographically in your (virtual) surroundings. Although you may not notice it as you are playing, you are working on your spatial skills. In other games such as Battlefield or Modern Warfare, you are working on hand-eye coordination and are learning how to follow tasks in a certain order.
I am glad that games are being used more in educational settings and I hope to see this trend continue. Games are fun, you can learn from them, and you can definitely grab student attention with them. That is a win-win for this teacher!
References:
- Katayama, Devin. "In Louisville, Ky., Minecraft Teaches Math." NPR. August 3, 2014. Web. Retrieved on August 6, 2014.
According to an article posted on the NPR site, the game Minecraft is being used to help apply and practice common core math standards. The article goes over a 5th grade "classroom" in Louisville, Kentucky in which the teacher has their students practice math concepts while playing the game. The article focuses on the common core standard of, "graphing points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems".
As a gamer myself (more so when I was younger, but I still presently dab a little into the gaming world when time allows) I find it very interesting that more and more teachers and educators are utilizing games as learning tools. Whether "players" are thinking of it or not, they are applying a lot of lessons learned into their gaming sessions. For example, playing Minecraft allows you to work geographically in your (virtual) surroundings. Although you may not notice it as you are playing, you are working on your spatial skills. In other games such as Battlefield or Modern Warfare, you are working on hand-eye coordination and are learning how to follow tasks in a certain order.
I am glad that games are being used more in educational settings and I hope to see this trend continue. Games are fun, you can learn from them, and you can definitely grab student attention with them. That is a win-win for this teacher!
References:
- Katayama, Devin. "In Louisville, Ky., Minecraft Teaches Math." NPR. August 3, 2014. Web. Retrieved on August 6, 2014.
Google and Collaborative Editing
I thought I would combine two articles that were presented for this week for one of my weekly blog posts. The two articles I will talk about today are the 7 Things you should know about... Google Apps and Collaborative Editing.
Ever since starting this MA in Educational Technology, I have been thoroughly impressed with what Google has to offer... for FREE. With a simple sign up of a free Google account, one can do many things with a few clicks of a button. You can send and receive email via Gmail. You can create various documents with Google Drive, as well as save them in "the cloud" and not have to worry about having your work only located on one device. You can also utilize their many apps that allow you to do a plethora of things. You can even create a group via Google Talk and communicate with each other in real time via your device's camera.
The aspect of these Google services that goes unnoticed, at least in my eyes, is the ability to share and collaborate what you create/work on. According to the article 7 Things you should know about... Google Apps, "Sharing content is as simple as granting someone access, which facilitates collaboration without having to transfer files or worry about software compatibility". With my job (teaching distantly online) collaboration and sharing of content is essential. Also, when students are working from home and are not in a classroom setting, there tends to be a disconnect from learning. By utilizing Google Apps and it's collaboration tools, I can try to create a classroom environment (even if it is done virtually) that can help connect learners to each other and to the content being delivered. According to the article 7 Things you should know about... Collaboration Editing, "working simultaneously on a document can build a sense of community among the editors that is not possible if the document were simply passed from one individual to the next".
I feel that having a Google account is somewhat of a necessity to be successful in today's education field. Especially completing your education via a virtual school, utilizing Google and it's collaboration tools are important and useful resources to make the most of your education. I plan on using these more than ever this upcoming school year.
References:
- 7 Things you should know about... Google Apps." Educase Learning Initiative March 2008. Web. Retrieved on August 8, 2014.
- 7 Things you should know about... Collaborative Editing." Educase Learning Initiative Decemeber 2005. Web. Retrieved on August 8, 2014.
Ever since starting this MA in Educational Technology, I have been thoroughly impressed with what Google has to offer... for FREE. With a simple sign up of a free Google account, one can do many things with a few clicks of a button. You can send and receive email via Gmail. You can create various documents with Google Drive, as well as save them in "the cloud" and not have to worry about having your work only located on one device. You can also utilize their many apps that allow you to do a plethora of things. You can even create a group via Google Talk and communicate with each other in real time via your device's camera.
The aspect of these Google services that goes unnoticed, at least in my eyes, is the ability to share and collaborate what you create/work on. According to the article 7 Things you should know about... Google Apps, "Sharing content is as simple as granting someone access, which facilitates collaboration without having to transfer files or worry about software compatibility". With my job (teaching distantly online) collaboration and sharing of content is essential. Also, when students are working from home and are not in a classroom setting, there tends to be a disconnect from learning. By utilizing Google Apps and it's collaboration tools, I can try to create a classroom environment (even if it is done virtually) that can help connect learners to each other and to the content being delivered. According to the article 7 Things you should know about... Collaboration Editing, "working simultaneously on a document can build a sense of community among the editors that is not possible if the document were simply passed from one individual to the next".
I feel that having a Google account is somewhat of a necessity to be successful in today's education field. Especially completing your education via a virtual school, utilizing Google and it's collaboration tools are important and useful resources to make the most of your education. I plan on using these more than ever this upcoming school year.
References:
- 7 Things you should know about... Google Apps." Educase Learning Initiative March 2008. Web. Retrieved on August 8, 2014.
- 7 Things you should know about... Collaborative Editing." Educase Learning Initiative Decemeber 2005. Web. Retrieved on August 8, 2014.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Facebook Messenger
Oh how this article hit home! While looking for an article to write on in my Feedly page, one of the first articles I came across was in regards to Facebook making their messenger service mandatory. I have been a 'holdout' of installing Facebook Messenger on my phone and do not mind hitting the "NO" button to install each time I open up my messages on Facebook.
I have to say for about a little over a year (maybe more!) now, I have had the message to install Messenger on my phone. All I can think to myself is, why would I download yet another app to use in conjunction with a different app? Seemed pointless to me. Now I think I understand WHY Facebook is doing this. They want to begin CHARGING people to use Messenger. I guess I understand the logic behind it. People are using your service to communicate with people instead of text-messaging. Phone companies charge you do this and using Facebook to share these messages saves people money. Facebook, as a company, sees this as a chance to bring in even more revenue. Smart for Facebook, but will people really start to pay for the service? I know I will not be one of them! If I want to send a more private message to someone, I will gladly use my phone (which I am already paying for). If it is not a personal message, I will just simply post it on my friend's wall.
No Facebook, I will not conform to using Messenger! And I hope others will not as well :)
References:
- "Facebook Makes Messenger Mandatory." Read Write Web. July 29, 2014. Web. Retrieved July 29, 2014. http://readwrite.com/2014/07/29/facebook-messenger-app-foursquare-mandatory
I have to say for about a little over a year (maybe more!) now, I have had the message to install Messenger on my phone. All I can think to myself is, why would I download yet another app to use in conjunction with a different app? Seemed pointless to me. Now I think I understand WHY Facebook is doing this. They want to begin CHARGING people to use Messenger. I guess I understand the logic behind it. People are using your service to communicate with people instead of text-messaging. Phone companies charge you do this and using Facebook to share these messages saves people money. Facebook, as a company, sees this as a chance to bring in even more revenue. Smart for Facebook, but will people really start to pay for the service? I know I will not be one of them! If I want to send a more private message to someone, I will gladly use my phone (which I am already paying for). If it is not a personal message, I will just simply post it on my friend's wall.
No Facebook, I will not conform to using Messenger! And I hope others will not as well :)
References:
- "Facebook Makes Messenger Mandatory." Read Write Web. July 29, 2014. Web. Retrieved July 29, 2014. http://readwrite.com/2014/07/29/facebook-messenger-app-foursquare-mandatory
Social Media in Plain English
For one of my posts this week I will look at the Social Media in Plain English video that was shared via Blackboard. Having used social media for quite some time now, I feel pretty comfortable using and explaining the pros and cons of using it. However, after viewing this video I feel I can now explain what social media really is a lot better (and have a great example to use as well)!
To be 100% honest, I was a little lost when I began watching the video. I found myself thinking, "What in the world is the connection between Facebook and ice cream?" After allowing the video to continue to play, I finally started to understand the analogy being used.
The video relates social media (a medium for people of all shapes and sizes to express their thoughts and ideas) to a town that makes all different types of ice cream. Each citizen in the town starts to create their own unique ice cream flavors and starts to put up a board to let people leave comments, reviews, or descriptions of their flavor. This is very similar to the posts that people put on their social networking sites. People are able to write about what they want and then can see comments and suggestions from people who would like to share.
I think I might keep this video on my favorites and use it to explain social media to older generations of people. Just this past weekend at my family reunion, I was trying to explain what Facebook and Twitter were to one of my elder grandparents. I would have been nice to use this video to help me explain what it was!
Check out the video below to see for yourself!
References:
- Common Craft. "Social Media in Plain English." Online Video Clip. YouTube. May 28, 2008. Retrieved on July 29, 2014.
To be 100% honest, I was a little lost when I began watching the video. I found myself thinking, "What in the world is the connection between Facebook and ice cream?" After allowing the video to continue to play, I finally started to understand the analogy being used.
The video relates social media (a medium for people of all shapes and sizes to express their thoughts and ideas) to a town that makes all different types of ice cream. Each citizen in the town starts to create their own unique ice cream flavors and starts to put up a board to let people leave comments, reviews, or descriptions of their flavor. This is very similar to the posts that people put on their social networking sites. People are able to write about what they want and then can see comments and suggestions from people who would like to share.
I think I might keep this video on my favorites and use it to explain social media to older generations of people. Just this past weekend at my family reunion, I was trying to explain what Facebook and Twitter were to one of my elder grandparents. I would have been nice to use this video to help me explain what it was!
Check out the video below to see for yourself!
References:
- Common Craft. "Social Media in Plain English." Online Video Clip. YouTube. May 28, 2008. Retrieved on July 29, 2014.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Josh Smith Here To Stay
Since starting my Feedly account, I have subscribed to many different feeds. I have feeds coming in the areas of education, news, history, science, and sports. While I usually blog about posts in the areas of news or education, I thought I would blog about sports for a change. I am a huge sports fan and thought I could share my opinion on the matter at least once for this course.
Well, today is that day my fellow sports fan (I imagine you must be a sports fan if you have made it this far into my post!). Today I will blog about the Detroit Pistons and their forward Josh Smith.
Oh to be the highest paid player on a poor-performing team. You know you will bare the brunt of the team's negative criticism, especially a team that had high hopes for the second half of the season. With a lack luster season behind Smith, this off-season Pistons fans have been hearing nothing but trade talks regarding J Smoove. Most recently, there has been news that trade talks have opened up (yet again) with the Sacramento Kings. I thought these talks would prosper to something, but when this article came across my Feedly today, I began to think J Smoove will really be on our opening roster next season.
I've always thought Josh Smith was a good basketball player. When he was on the Atlanta Hawks a few years ago, he was in his prime. Not the best at any given aspect of the game, but collectively a very good player. He could score 14+ points, grab 7+ boards, block a few shots and snag a steal or two. He would fill up the stat sheet evenly and do it quietly. When he came to Detroit, I was shocked (why did you leave us WNBA?!?) and excited. Our front court (alongside Drummond and Monroe) would be top-of-the-league in quality and depth. Or so I thought...
Smith came to a team in Detroit that lacked big names and scoring. With starters already set at the 4 and 5, Smith started at the 3, which is out of position for him (I would consider Smith a natural 4). Smith, being the new superstar of the team, usually lead the team in shot attempts. Many of these shot attempts came from behind the three-point line. This is not where Smith should be shooting from. In fact, I would not allow Smith to shoot anywhere outside the elbow. Unfortunately, Smith would hear none of that! He chucked up three after three and had many nights of poor shooting.
To sum up Josh Smith's 2013-2014 NBA season with the Detroit Pistons and his pure awesomeness of a deep-threat shooter, look no further than the clip below. Given the ball at the end of a close game with the Knicks, Smith put up this memorable shot. Just remember, he is being guarded by Carmelo Anthony, who is known for his explosive offense and not his stingy defense...
See how J Smoove attempted to receive the ball around the right elbow but finally possessed the ball a few feet back near the high school three-point line? Chances are he may have made the shot if closer to the elbow... but that's leaving it up to chance. Smith took many shots like the one above and the result was the same. A miss is a miss unless you are Josh Smith! Then it's an airball on Youtube!
Smith will have to live with that airball footage for the rest of his life. Let's just hope Pistons fans will forget about it by the time the regular season comes around, as it looks like Smith will be on our roster to start the 2014-2015 NBA season.
Smith will have to live with that airball footage for the rest of his life. Let's just hope Pistons fans will forget about it by the time the regular season comes around, as it looks like Smith will be on our roster to start the 2014-2015 NBA season.
References:
- Fredericksen, Brady. "Stan Van Gundy's biggest challenge? Fixing Josh Smith." Piston Powered. July 21, 2014. Retrieved on July 22, 2014.
- boomandwatch. "Josh Smith airballs potential game-winner: Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks." Online Video Clip. YouTube. January 7, 2014. Retrieved on July 22, 2014.
- "Detroit Pistons Team Payroll." Basketball Reference.Com. Retrieved on July 22, 2014.
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