Journal #4

Basham, J. D., Perry, E., & Meyer, H. (2011). It's in the bag. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(2), 24-27. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-september-october-2011.aspx T

he article, “It’s in the Bag” introduces us to the Digital Backpack, a backpack full of different forms of technology like a laptop, a tablet, etc. for the use of students. The digital backpack is beneficial for students because it includes lesson plans and activities pertaining to class provided for by the teachers. With this technology, teachers can change and modify lessons based on their students needs by just the click of a button. The idea of a “digital backpack” to me seems a bit skeptical. The article included no information as to how schools will receive funding for such a thing. Just one bag would surpass over a thousand dollars! And that is only for ONE student! And what happens when a student damages the products included in the digital backpack? The article included no information pertaining to that either… Do their parents pay for it? Do the taxpayers pay for it?

Q. Have there been any studies with students using the “digital backpack?”
A. Yes, students used their backpacks while on field-trips with their class. Elementary School Students went to the zoo and used pictures and videos where they created presentations. Middle School Students used their backpacks to research fossils and write a paper on it. And high school students created a movie using video cameras.

Q. How many studies have been conducted according to the article? How realistic are they?
A. Three studies had been performed, all three in different areas of schools. An elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. Personally, I dont think that the backpack idea is very realistic, because schools arent exactley provided with the adequate amount of funding to begin with, let alone to buy this digital backpack. However, if grants are available, provided by those that believe and are passionate about the idea, funding may be accessable.

Journal #3

Morehouse, J. (2011). Students dig up dirt to learn about internet safety. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(2), 34. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/Leading_and_Learning_Docs/september-2011-learning-connections.sflb.ashx

The article, “Students Dig up Dirt to Learn about Internet Safety” Morehouse discusses a lesson plan he has created in order to teach his students the importance of online safety and the proper precautions that should be made. He starts out by informing readers what can be found through the use of the internet and how that information can affect various parts of one’s life.  His lesson plans involves students piecing together information about a specific person using the internet as a tool and then having them presenting their findings. By participating in this assignment, students experience what it means to be safe on the internet and become more aware of the dangers of giving out too much information about themselves.

Q. Why is internet safety so important?

A. Internet safety is important because of sensorship. It is important to sensor information about yourself on the internet for many reasons. Some common risks would be when applying for jobs, elected offices, or schools information about your personal life should not be too available.

Q. What can I do to keep  my information more private?

A. You can better sensor yourself by making your personal and social network sites private to only specific viewers. You can also decide to disengage yourself with social networking all-together. And if you do not like that idea, you can simply use social networking for professional uses only.

Journal #2

Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), 12-14. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/Leading_and_Learning_Docs/June_July_2010_Join_the_Flock.sflb.ashx

McClintock Miller, S. (2010). Enhance Your Twitter Experience. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), 14-17. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/Leading_and_Learning_Docs/June_July_2010_Join_the_Flock.sflb.ashx 

The articles, “Join the Flock” and “Enhance Your Twitter Experience” discuss the many educational benefits that Twitter acquires through a Professional Learning Network, or “PLN.” They express the importance of networking with fellow educators. Ferguson talks about the processes of building relationship with colleagues and then slowly learning from them at work, whereas Twitter has the capability of quickly turning strangers into a community of learners and educators. Miller says that without Twitter, she would have never been able to connect with teachers around the world who have helped her with lesson plans. The articles also go in further in depth discussing the steps in creating a Twitter and how to link up with others.

Q: How can I find other educators to follow?
A: One way to find people to follow is by checking out lists that people create and then discover even more Tweeters from there. This will slowly build your PLN. You can also search for key words that will hook you up with many users with similar interests. It can be beneficial to search through more followers of those you are following and read through their short bios.

Q. What is a PLN?
A. I PLN (Professional Learning Network) is an online community of individuals trading information and learning together. It can be for one specific purpose, or it can be more of a broad subject. For instance, you may become a part of an educational PLN, or you can be more specific and become part of a historical educational PLN.

Technology Self-Assessment: 2.0

NETS-T 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

“Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity”

Ken Robinson's speech was brought to me through Classroom 2.0's NET-S standard (1) which is facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity. Ken starts out his speech by speaking about the unpredictability of education. He introduces the idea that educators are supposed to be teaching students to prepare them for a time that they themselves know nothing about. (In 2006) Students starting kindergarten will be retiring by 2065. He says that despite all expertise, we do not know what to expect, therefore, do not really know what to teach.  He explains that children are born creative, and later grow up to become educated out of it. He says that “If kids don’t know, they will take a go” meaning that they are not necessarily afraid of being wrong. Although, this idea does not pertain to adults because we have learned to be afraid of being wrong.  Ken educates us on the original purpose of public education: To accommodate industrialization and later produce university professors. Therefore, creative arts were not (and are not) as important as subjects such as math and science. This inevitably leads to many artistic students feeling unintelligent because their skills are not valued in pubic education.  Ken speaks of a successful choreographer that had a problem fidgeting in school and explained that today would have probably been diagnosed with ADHD.  Her teacher recognized this  and recommended that she attend a dance school so that she could express herself through movement, while today she would have most likely been prescribed something to calm her down. The main point of this is that as educators today, we need to embrace creativity in our students. “Our task is to educate their whole being.”

Journal #1 100 Things That Make Me Happy

Journal #1

       i.            My roommates

    ii.            The fam damily

 iii.            The homies

  iv.            My down comforter

     v.            My down pillows

  vi.            My sleep number bed

vii.            My scented candle from IKEA that was only a dollar! (came in handy during the blackout)

viii.            My beta fish, Wayne

  ix.            Wayne’s [squidward] house

     x.            Tricks that Wayne does

  xi.             Playing tennis

xii.            Watching tennis with my dad

xiii.            Barbeques

xiv.            The beach

 xv.            My job

xvi.            All the kids that I’ve worked with

xvii.            The joy of teaching a kid something new

xviii.            Skateboarding

xix.            When the kids call me “shaynequa”

 xx.            A clean kitchen

xxi.            A clean room

xxii.            Reggae music

xxiii.            Our balcony

xxiv.            Visiting my family

xxv.            My nieces

xxvi.            Traveling

xxvii.            An adrenaline rush

xxviii.            Across the Universe the movie

xxix.            Weeds the show

xxx.            Nancy Botwin

xxxi.            Going to the gym

xxxii.            The dancing ghost on our TV… why its there I don’t know

xxxiii.            Sea shells

xxxiv.            Shark week

xxxv.            A good ole skype sesh with my high school buddies

xxxvi.            Free food

xxxvii.            U-hour

xxxviii.            The Endless Summer

xxxix.            Double Peak Park aka the top of the world

  xl.            The smell of rain

xli.            Coupons

xlii.            The satisfaction of being independent

xliii.            Feminism

xliv.            Knowledge

xlv.            Philosophy

xlvi.            Into the Wild the movie

xlvii.            Reading

xlviii.            Documentaries

xlix.            The plant we bought that we swore we would water but keep forgetting

       l.            Living in a gated community

    li.            Volunteer work

 lii.            Feeling confident

liii.            Sunsets

liv.            Waking up feeling refreshed

  lv.            Getting mah tan on

lvi.            Simplicity

lvii.            Stumbleupon .com

lviii.            Highdeas

lix.            The silver-T

  lx.            LaToya

lxi.            Not dying in any of my car accidents

lxii.            All of the trials that I’ve overcome

lxiii.            Accepting myself

lxiv.            New food creations

lxv.            New forms of comfort

lxvi.            Disneyland

lxvii.            Sporting events

lxviii.            Ottomans

lxix.            Venice beach

lxx.            Old photos

lxxi.            Utah

lxxii.            Mac n’ cheese when there’s just nothing left

lxxiii.            Getting groceries from my parents pantry

lxxiv.            Incense

lxxv.            Air conditioning

lxxvi.            My major

lxxvii.            Concerts

lxxviii.            Country music

lxxix.            Lil’ Wayne when he’s not being sexist

lxxx.            When I come through to someone

lxxxi.            Drunken conversations

lxxxii.            Beer can towers

lxxxiii.            When the beer can tower falls

lxxxiv.            Not picking up the beer can tower that fell

lxxxv.            The river

lxxxvi.            Being secluded

lxxxvii.            Camping

lxxxviii.            Hiking

lxxxix.            Accomplishing goals

 xc.            Making my parents proud

xci.            Nintendo 64

xcii.            Mario kart/Mario tennis

xciii.            Sega Genesis

xciv.            Mortal Kombat/Street fighter

xcv.            Arcades

xcvi.            Batting cages

xcvii.            Old friends

xcviii.            Driving with the windows down

xcix.            The microwave

      c.            Barstools

My First Blog Ever!

I'm Shay Johnson. I grew up in the warm.. dry.. valley of Murrieta California and I went to all Murrieta public schools. There I played tennis competetively since I was about eight years old. Currently I am attending Cal State San Marcos as a kinesiology major with a PE subdivision. After I graduate I plan on getting my teaching certification as well as a certification in Adapted PE. I currently work at costco and on and off at the Ecke YMCA where I've taught kids how to skateboard and ran outdoor games at an after-school program.

In some ways I agree that technology can be an amazing thing with many benefits, but I personally choose to reject a lot of up and coming technology for mainly financial purposes. I'm not very big on discovering "the new thing", but I can appreciate the knowledge it takes to create a lot of it. My overall experience with technology over the years includes a lot of hair pulling frusteration, so this class I believe will be quite a challenge for me.

The part of the CSUSM Mission statement that stood out to me was the idea of student-centered education. When I think of "student-centered" I think of professors basing their curriculum around the student and involving us in hands on work like class disscusions etc. I really enjoy that type of learning.