Blog reflection #5

MAPping

I teach research skills to elementary students, and I considered myself search-savvy.  I was surprised that I didn’t know many answers on the information literacy quiz, scoring “somewhat savvy”. I did not know what all of the domain names meant, nor did I have a clue about how to find the history of a site.  I would like to share my new found information literacy skills the next time I help students research. 

I looked at the Victorian robots website which tells the history of Boilerplate, a robot “created” in the 1880’s.  The website seems authentic and has a detailed history of Boilerplate with links to many other informative pages and images of the robot alongside Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish-American war. The first thing I noticed is that the domain name has the words “big red hair” in the title. This is also a .com site which according to November Learning could be a commercial site and not an academic information site. I also typed the web address in the Wayback Machine on the archive.org site, but did not notice many significant changes from the snapshots.  With the link command, I found out that there were links to sites and pages titled “hoax sites” and a link to another hoax site, “Dihydrogen monoxide”.  When I scrolled to the bottom of the page I saw that the website is copyrighted by an individual named Paul Guinan. From a Wikipedia search and some further investigation on the website www.bigredhair.com, I discovered that Mr. Guinan is an artist and illustrator who created Boilerplate as a fictional character. According to Wikipedia, Guinan did not originally create the website to fool people, but when he realized many of the website’s visitors were being duped, he decided to see how far he could go with the hoax and purposefully added more material to make it look more convincing.

The website allaboutexplorers.com  is not as much a hoax as it is a webquest designed for teachers to demonstrate the importance of finding reliable information on the internet.  It did not take long to find out the purpose of this website, but I can see how easily one can be fooled because in the author’s words the website looks “fairly well put-together.”  By using the treasure hunt feature, students are given two sources to compare and contrast “facts” about famous explorers—one bogus and the other reliable--and by doing so, learn the importance of using critical thinking skills when using internet sources.  By clicking “about” the true purpose and authors are revealed.  Easywhois.com also confirms that the website is registered to Gerald Aungst, teacher and co-creator with Lauren Zucker, librarian.  I intend on using this webquest as a resource for teaching information literacy skills to students. 

Search Engines

Google is still the most widely used search engine by far, according to the Searchenginewatch.com article “Bing Gains More Ground in Search Engine Market Share, Yahoo Resumes Downward Slide.”  I also read an article titled “Bing vs. Google: A Search Engine Taste Test (Of Things To Come?)”. Google is by far the most popular website, but this article suggests a new feature of Bing that might give it an edge.  Bing now lets you sign into Facebook to see what your friends have “liked” and thus adds a more powerful method of searching-one that includes a social aspect.  Even with Bing’s new feature, the author state Bing still has a long way to go to be competitive with Google. I tried out the new Bing with Facebook feature by searching for hotels in Dallas and after signing in to Facebook, I noticed a friend had reviewed a place so I felt it was worth reading about.  

By reading articles in the searchenginewatch.com website I learned new terminology about search results—paid vs. organic. According to Wikipedia, organic search results are “listings on search engine results pages that appear because of their relevance to the search terms, as opposed to their being advertisements,” and paid results may even include pay per click advertising.  Search engines rely on paid ads to function, so one of the first things students need to realize about internet search is the difference between the two types of results. Searches on Google, Bing and Yahoo! gave me about the same amount of paid results.  No matter which search engine is used, I hope to make students aware of how algorithms and paid ads affect their research. This can be achieved by teaching students to think critically about information and the importance of finding relevant information and knowing the history, purpose and publishers of websites.

Reflective blog #4

Understanding the Net Generation

 

I am a mixture of the generational categories because I answered yes to most of the questions and no to only a couple of them.  I have become almost helpless without my iPhone to keep me organized, but I have never liked to play video games. I have three children at home who are probably typical examples of children today.  My oldest has always had a longer attention span and has prefers playing outside to being inside playing video games.  My middle son loves video games and gets bored easily, and my youngest 3-yr old daughter can already work the DVR on the satellite and use an iPad.  By observing students at school and my own children I have realized several things:

1) All students do not love technology and just because it exists, it may not be suited for every learner.  Yes, students like iPods and video games, but there are some tried-and-true methods that appeal to today’s generation, such as hands-on experiments, and using manipulatives.  Our change comes in knowing the learner and when and if technology will enhance instruction.

2) I believe we do need to change, but not for the purpose of knowing what technology is popular or cutting edge. The device that the student uses to get information is not as important-- whether it is a smartphone, tablet, iPad, or 5-year old pc—but how the student applies and uses the information.  Many of the low socio-economic children at my school do not have computers at home. One day they will be expected to get a job and function in our society and I would like to impart some skills that will help them achieve success, and knowing how to discern the multitude of information they will be bombarded with is a skill that I believe should be taught.

3) It is important to change our thinking that students automatically know how to apply technology--just because they are exposed to more technology does not mean they can use it correctly.  The students of this generation are used to having free access to media such as e-books, music and TV and do not know or appreciate the meaning of ownership.  We must teach students to treat information ethically and to be respectful of intellectual property, and to use social tools carefully.

Reflective blog #3

Digital Portfolios: an assessment for learning

My personal definition of a portfolio has changed throughout the years, and this reflective blog has allowed me to assess my views of portfolios and has given me the opportunity to gain knowledge about the purpose of a portfolio and how it applies to education.  Throughout my education and professional career, I consider a portfolio as a means of assessment OF learning (a checklist of objectives learned and showcase of achievements).  Sometimes it is difficult for me to consider any other motivation for creating a portfolio because as an art student, art major and teacher, a portfolio was a means to display my best works and the works of my students.  Barrett’s article discusses the principles of Assessments for Learning (AFL) as being reflective, on-going, allowing feedback and deeper understanding, and the ability to look ahead to future applications.  Perhaps if I had required my students to critique and reflect on their artwork as well as the artwork of others, they could have used the process more as an assessment FOR learning, instead of an assessment OF learning.

Since I have been a librarian the past four years, I have been in graduate courses that have required me to create a wiki, a website and now a blog. Since this particular blog is meant for reflection, it becomes part of my portfolio, and has allowed me to see the potential in technology such as this.  The word “portfolio” often suggests extra work that is required for a grade, but as I complete this blog I can see the formative assessment qualities that blogging and wikis can bring such as collaboration, peer feedback and hyperlinking.  If I was still teaching art, I would scan the students’ artwork, and have them upload the pictures and then perhaps create a wiki or blog to reflect on their learning.  The added value of these tools is that paper portfolios become assessments FOR learning.

After reading the Barrett articles, I realize a greater significance for keeping a digital portfolio--to show growth over time.  Besides purposing an electronic portfolio for assessment, marketing and employment, Barrett suggests an e-portfolio can “document the learning process and growth for learners” (p. 438).   To become a Texas certified librarian I will have to successfully complete certain requirements such as completing a degree plan and passing a certification test.  What my portfolio will provide is a deeper understanding and “richer picture” of personal growth that high stakes testing cannot.

Reflective blog #2

As I read through the links and information for this week’s reflection, an idea occurred to me about how I receive information. Through my coursework and my years of teaching, I have always thought of myself as a sequential learner, building upon prior knowledge to create new understanding, and consequently this affects how I teach and develop lesson plans.  After reading Prensky’s Do They Really Think Differently?, It occurred to me that my preference for information retrieval is actually more suited to hypertext and that my propensity to teach sequentially is because this is how I was taught.  My online courses and obsession with Google confirm that my own “cognitive structures” are less linear and sequential and far more random. As I clicked on each link, I accessed information simultaneously--I moved back and forth between links, often with 10-15 windows open at one time.  I think about how many times I have scolded students for jumping ahead of me in the lesson and skipping steps, and now I see that this was their natural way to process information.  As a result of this week’s reading I would like to be more sensitive to students’ learning differences and how they prefer to analyze information.

The American Library Association’s definition of information literacy is “the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze and use information.”  Because of the vast amount of information that is available on the Internet, these skills should be embedded into the curriculum. The implication of not teaching these skills is that students will not see the importance of inquiry and thinking critically about information.  Alan November mentioned the Holocaust hoax on the Internet and this is a perfect example of what could happen if we teach technical skills but fail to teach critical thinking skills. To add to this, I can see a growing need to teach digital citizenship starting with early grades.  Issues such as plagiarism and cyber-bullying have created a need to teach students to use information ethically and to use social tools safely.

Reading is the foundation for learning and is also an important indicator for future success. I believe that it is important to connect kids with books, peruse resources to find good material and search for connections to link a student to something he/she is interested in. Students are attracted to picture books and graphic novels, but my goal is to see them read an entire novel before they go into the 6th grade.  My thinking is that one day a student who chooses to go to college will be able to read countless pages from textbooks and research papers without the help of elaborate graphics or hyperlinks.

Concept maps

When I was choosing which concept map tool to use I decided to use Wordle because of its aesthetic appeal. I can see a tool such as this being useful in a blog because it offers the reader an eye-catching visual to introduce the topic.  The advantages of using social bookmarking with tag clouds are the ability to retrieve websites from any computer and to see what other people are reading and using. The only social bookmarking tool I have used is Delicious because I was required to for a course; however, I did find it very useful at the time and was able to link to other information because of the “folksonomy” that occurred when people tagged their websites.



Reflective blog #1

Educational Philosophy

The purpose of education is to empower individuals with the ability to reach their full potential as successful participants in today’s society.  An educator has a tremendous responsibility to be a role model for students, and to set an example of excellence in setting and achieving goals.  I was influenced by teachers who employed traditional methods of learning basic fundamentals, but whose enthusiasm for the materials kept me interested. My favorite teachers were encouraging and caring, but at the same time we as students understood that mediocrity was not acceptable.  The best teachers in my experience also showed me that we must learn from our mistakes.  They had a sense of humor about their own shortcomings and as a result, they took ownership of their imperfections, learned from bad choices, and then moved on without looking back. My teaching methods now also reflect a modern approach of the teacher as facilitator because I believe that emerging technology keeps students engaged and enables them to construct new knowledge.

As a result of my past teachers and educational background I have learned that people learn differently, and a teacher should be aware of these differences to help each student reach their full potential. I choose to be a teacher and librarian that instills a love for reading, a desire to gain new knowledge and sets a precedence of life-long learning. One of the most important things I can do as a teacher and librarian is instill in the learner that one must receive, process and use information analytically.  A learner has a responsibility to determine the source of information, why and how information is being presented and to distinguish between opinion, theory and fact and to take all of these facets to construct new knowledge and understanding.

I believe it is important to know one’s educational philosophy because as a process, it helps one become a better educator.  As I reflect on my past teachers, my role as a student and my experience as an educator, I must learn from everyone I come in contact with.  For example, being influenced by the curiosity of a seven-year old student can be just as important as the wisdom of a veteran teacher who has taught for thirty years.  My philosophy is a reflection of my educational experience but it is also a statement about how I see my future role in education and whether I am able to make a commitment to make improvements.  The role technology plays in education is also constantly changing, and I have a responsibility as an educator to keep students engaged by creating meaningful assignments and projects.

 

Educational Blogging

After reading the article about blogging, my conclusion is that blogging is a good tool for writing, reflecting and sharing.  The benefits are there, as Downes states, such as the ability to develop a community of learners and to “put students in a situation of equity.”  Blogging will not be possible though if students do not have the technology available to use it and this will defeat the whole purpose of “equity” in the classroom. My school district is required to use filters that block access to all blogs so we are a long way from using them to their full potential.  I believe that the ability to use tools such as blogging will come eventually, but by the time our school districts can afford to give students access to the technology or the policies to allow students to use them, blogging will have either evolved into something entirely different, or replaced by something even better. It is important, however to understand what blogging is and how it benefits us as educators. Whether or not we blog or don’t blog, we need to understand that as a practice, it is a statement about our changing world and how we are able to share knowledge and make connections.

 

November's article

November gives us six points in his technology framework.  Each one is thought provoking, but the point that stood out to me the most was his idea of collegiality. No longer is it acceptable to hoard ideas and best practices and his idea about “sharing stories” helps achieve teamwork. Competitiveness is not a bad thing, but sometimes when we have a great idea we want to keep it to ourselves because part of us want “our students in our classroom” to be the best.  November states that we must foster teamwork and at the heart of learning and technology are relationships and that technology facilitates idea sharing and makes it easier to collaborate.  Recently, I noticed my colleagues have been more excited than in the past to try new ideas and more optimistic about beginning a new school year.  Technology has an important role because these new ideas were all made possible by social networks and my colleagues’ ability to follow experts and enthusiasts in their field.  They are becoming aware of what is out there and what is working for other teachers across the country and even the world.  This hopefully will have an impact on our students at our school, and their new fervor will translate into improved learning.

 

Expectations

I hope to learn new skills and gain new knowledge in this class, but more importantly I hope to be able to apply what I have learned to my students and my learning community. In the past I felt that technology was about “automating” and way to make our lives more productive. Automation is a good thing, and looking back on my years in the library, I cannot imagine an un-automated library and having to rely on the card catalog again. Hopefully, I will learn to see the importance of “informating” and understand not just the skill or the ability to use technology but also the impact that learning the technology can have on my teaching practice.