21st Century Connected Student

Students now have the opportunity to network just as much as teachers. It is important for teachers to make sure that students are aware of these resources out there if they aren't already. Equally important is that teachers listen to their students about the resources they find and use. Here is my interpretation of the 21st century connected student.

 

My very own PLN... as of now

When I sat down to make my PLN I thought that I wouldn't have very much to put on it, but surprisingly enough I had more accounts online than I thought. Things do add up without realizing it. I think that by the end of this course I will have to add to this PLN :).
To be honest half of those accounts were created because of the Internet for Educators course. I never really explored all the possibilities of the internet until now and I think that I'm slowly becoming hooked.

I used Inspiration to make my map but it was a bit of a struggle. This course is definitely forcing me to step out of my comfort zone with computers but I'm grateful because how else would I learn.

Ideas of Technology and the Internet from Alec Couros

Today in class we had another online presentation but this time by Alec Couros. The main take away I got from this were his five points on where to start with integrating technology and the internet with the classroom:

1.Communication: embrace new communication tools (edublog, kidblog, and quadblogging are a few examples)

2. Expression: experimenting with  new forms of expression (kid snippets and other mashups/parodies)

3. Identity: reach digital citizenship

4. Networks: connect and learn via social networks (skype, twitter, and facebook are a few examples)

5. Transparency: make learning visible. Couros spoke of the concept of “thinning walls” which is educators moving away from a closed private education to an open public education.

A few other ideas that really stuck with me were:

-Some of our best colleagues are people we have never met.

-Wherever you are someone is always watching and recording. The common citizen is a tool of surveillance now.

- It is important to teach students how to navigate and the appropriate use of technological and internet tools.

            Couros also spoke about technology and the internet in general. Apparently the average age of children who are starting to network online is eleven years old. I don’t find this surprising at all. I remember being that age and MSN was the big deal. Being able to instant message online with friends was exciting. He also mentioned that it is quite often for grade three and four students to already be introduced to and using social media.

            Some changes with technology that have made all that possible is that it has become affordable. The ownership of a smart phone is greater than that of a regular cell phone. The ability to share anything anywhere is a reality. Another change is the fact that one to one classroom experience is becoming a thing of the past. Professors and students are being able to use the internet to connect and share information because everyone has a device they can use. The neat thing about that is that everyone can be doing the same thing but doing it in different ways that suit their learning. Schools are moving away from a no cell phone policy to a “BYOD” (Bring your own device) classroom environment.

Dean Shareski Shares

My first class in this course was a presentation by Dean Shareski who shared many of his interesting ideas about education. The emphasis was on taking advantage of different ways of communicating and getting information out there.

There were three lessons around the notion of network learning that Dean shared with us. The first lesson was for educators to start thinking differently about literacy because the use of media can make subjects and topics more interesting. Examples of this include parody's and mashup's of media to create a new story. The second lesson was that teachers are everywhere. The internet is more than just a source of information and people are able to make small contributions that make big impacts. The third lesson was that you are what you share. Everyone has something to share and when people do share it opens up more opportunites to educate and learn. Teaching should not be about reinventing the wheel, which I have heard from numerous sources.

I really enjoyed what Dean had to say and I am still processing quite a bit. Personal learning network or PLN is a term I had never heard until now but as I'm slowly understanding it is a resource that can become very valuable.

Blogging

Well I'm not totally sold on this blogging thing yet but I'm sure by the end of the Internet for Educators course it'll be second nature to me. I've thought about blogging before but never really had the guts to put myself out there. Also, computers are not my thing and it takes me awhile to get the hang of any programs. So far setting up this blog and posting has been a snap. I can't say the same for twitter though. Yes, for this course we also have to create a twitter account and start tweeting! I'm not too sure which intimidated me more; tweeting or blogging!
So far I'm really excited about the Internet for Educators course because it is all about what we can take away from it. Also I was quite pleased we don't have to go out and spend tons of money on textbooks we'll only use a couple of times!
A little about me:
My name is Alaura Armstrong and I am a first year student in the Faculty of Education at Brandon University. I completed my first degree, Bachelor of Arts, at the University of Manitoba. I enjoyed my time there but that campus is definitely too big and the parking is awful! I made some great friends, had some awesome courses, and very helpful professors.
I'm very excited to be well on my way to becoming a teacher and I look forward to spending the rest of my life in a classroom. I believe education is a very important part of life and I hope to pass on my enthusiasm.
This blog will be a journal of my experience of becoming a teacher and a place to share resources.