Rachel's+445+Wiki+Workspace


 * Seminar 1 Prep Reading Response **

"An Educators Social Media Guide" __Prompt__: What does Aaron offer you and your fellow teachers in thinking about using social media to grow as an educator?

__Response__: I enjoyed reading Aaron’s article because immediately he was able to relate to my personal feelings, as a student and as an educator. I don’t always understand the push for technology in the classroom, but when I think technology will enhance the engagement of the students, there isn’t always enough support to teach me how to apply it in the classroom. I too have had a twitter account for several years, but don’t often use it. I think he really encourages and offers ways to use Twitter in an educational manner as someone who is interested in growing as an educator. In a way, he is already changing my perspective on Twitter. It can be a place where educators collaborate - not just a place for unnecessary comments or retweets about something a famous person said. Aaron offers that hashtags become important, key elements to conversations. He also introduces Nuzzel and Voxer as ways to cope with too many unnecessary Twitter feed comments that aren’t about education.

I think it's cool how you are open to changing your ideas of old tools (Twitter) and repurposing them for education. I think you're right - that Twitter can be more about something a famous person said. Have you found any groups to follow that might be useful during student teaching? Also, I found it interesting when you mentioned that sometimes you don't always understand the push for technology in the classroom. What exactly do you mean by that? What are some times when you don't think technology will enhance engagement of the students? How do you think NC State has or has not prepared you to apply it to the classroom? What are some of your concerns about using technology during student teaching? Please add more detail.

I have begun following Dr. Young and Language Today, as well as my friends who graduated from MSL last year. With regards to technology in the classroom, I just don't understand why it is viewed as better or more beneficial than paper and pencil. I do understand the benefits of it in the classroom, but I can also see the disadvantages. I understand that it engages the students on a different level because there are more fun things to do when reviewing for tests or doing group discussion because it's reaching the students on a level that meets their own understanding; children are invested in all things technology nowadays, so meeting them where they're at would be beneficial. However, I think technology in the classroom can also be a great distraction -- but there are definitely ways to avoid this by collecting the devices when they are not being used. I guess, I was never really exposed to all the new technology advancements when I was in school. We had SmartBoards but none of my teachers knew how to use them. My main concern during student teaching would be that I've never used them, I've only been exposed to them at NCSU, and these have all been really neat ideas, like QR codes or the use of Twitter for class discussion.

"Social Media Finds Place in Classroom" __Prompt__: Discuss your reactions and takeaways. Think about how it might inform your own use of social media as an educator.

__Response__: Well, first of all, Mr. Sheninger challenges the negative connotation of using cell phones as time wasters with the idea that they could be used as mobile learning devices. I definitely think that reaching the students on their own level (whether through cell phone use or published work) can be very beneficial for getting student involvement. Using a platform that students already know how to use and are comfortable with using is also key to getting students involved and engaged with the learning. The article ends with the advice of warning students that wherever they go there could be dangers - which is an important element to using social media in the classroom.

I definitely agree that cell phones can be advantageous in the classroom. In what ways do you think you could use them in your classroom? What might be some challenges? How do you plan on addressing them?

The activity in class definitely helped me to understand how //public// information has become and how reachable I am to anyone who wants to search me on social media. For fun, I decided to Google my name, and my picture from my Twitter account was the fourth picture that came up with the search. This activity helped me to visually see how I appear to the watching world.
 * Takeaway from Thinking About My Own Professional Identity **

So, how do you appear to the watching world? What do you think others (employers, parents, students) would think if they found the information you did? What would you like to change about that image? How do you plan on working towards that change? Please add more detail.

To the watching world, they can almost find anything about me that they want to, but I only post things on social media that further emphasize who I am in a positive light. So, people who want to search for my name on social media would find only those things. I do not associate myself with things I would not want getting back around to my parents; if I can't explain (or don't want to) why I did it or why there's a picture about it on social media to my parents, then I shouldn't be doing it anyway. It kind of caught me off-guard why my Twitter picture was the fourth on the Google search because I am hardly ever on Twitter or that visible on Twitter. I guess setting privacy settings to be more private, while also leaving a trail for those who want to find me to find me.

media type="custom" key="28761100" [|My Presentation] [|Rubric]
 * Online Professional Identity Presentation **

I attended the PGU on planning to video Thursday, September 15.
 * edTPA Preparation**

I really enjoyed Shofner's article because I found myself connecting to some of her concerns for preservice teachers. I've said it before that I understand the use of technology in the classroom and how it can be beneficial, but I can also see the negative consequences it could lead to, like distractions, not participating in BYOD, etc. Shofner mentioned, "I agree with my preservice teachers that one does not //need// technology to teach ELA -- learning can indeed happen with a book and a good discussion -- but such a rationale is too simplistic for the complex world we inhabit today." And reading this sentence finally makes it clear to me whey the push for technology is so great -- it's because our students are connected in this way (technologically), and in order to engage them with the learning, we must get on their level of interaction and engagement. It's never been said so plainly to me; it makes much more sense now. The instagram article was also really neat because it does just that -- connects with the students' form of engagement. I have never thought of using Instagram for educational purposes, but now that I have some ideas of how to do this, I find it intriguing. I also really enjoyed the digital video reading because it challenged my read-the-book-show-the-movie pattern as something that students do for fun to take a break from the hard work of reading comprehension. This text gave me an idea for incorporating films into my class curriculum as a way to engage the students with both the print text and the film. This offers the students a chance to critically engage and analyze both texts as they are presented side-by-side, and I really think this is a great way to bring film into school curriculum, as well as giving the students a fun activity.
 * Processing the Reading (from 9/12 week)**

I think you pulled a great line from the Shofner article and I appreciate how open you are to new ideas that you read in the articles. I totally agree - technology is not mandatory for teaching ELA, but can certainly serve to enhance it. I also think you hit the nail on the head in noting that the main purpose of it is to connect to students' interests and life outside of the classroom, not to mention the world in which they are growing up. I really like the Instagram ideas as well. What were the ones that stuck out to you most? Which ones do you see yourself using in the classroom? What I like most about your ideas about using video in the class is that you want students to critically engage and analyze it as a text. I think often we use video as a "break" from real thinking and just veg out, but teaching students that there are tactics and strategies to manipulate emotions and perceptions in film just might help students fend off that bias in the future.

Both of these options seem like very good opportunities to show my future employers what I have accomplished while preparing to become an educator. For one of the classes here at NCSU, we had to create an Electronic Portfolio, and while the finished product was very successful in showing my handwork and accomplishments, the time and energy it took to creating the page and getting the basic formatting right -- understanding what a subpage was and where to post it -- became all too frustrating for me. So, with that said, I think I will go with the route of the Teaching Toolkit. I'm not sure exactly what this means, but maybe it has to do with creating a site with Weebly or Edmodo? I think the purpose of these sites would serve well to communicate my past lesson plans, accomplishments, ideas, and biography about me to future principals, colleagues, and even parents. This site could be used to communicate with parents and students about what is going on in the classroom, as well as what will be due for the following days. This teaching toolkit will provide a platform for anyone interested in learning more about me, my teaching philosophy, and/or my featured works (lesson plans, unit plans, past tests, etc).
 * Initial Ideas About MSL Electronic Portfolio or Teaching Toolkit**

I think either tool is a great way to represent yourself to future employers, parents, or students. I would definitely do some more research into what a toolkit is and/or ask Dr. Young for some examples before you make your choice. I like the category of ideas that you included.

**Action Portfolio Entry** I learned from this reading that at the end of student teaching, we will be presenting our portfolios to our cohort, as well as a panel of three evaluators; this helps me in my thinking of what to put in my portfolio because I now have a specific audience. The goal of this assignment/portfolio is to work toward an in-depth reflection of all that has been covered in my education here at NCSU and to create a meaningful design that engages my audience. The purpose of this portfolio is to present my professional identity that has been purposefully crafted over my NCSU career, and even more so in depth in the past couple months.


 * --> More Ideas About MSL Electronic Portofolio or Teaching Toolkit **

After reading the article //Electronic Portfolios 2.0//, I feel better about choosing the Electronic Portfolio option. I now understand that this is used to present ourselves as professionals, showcasing our work over the years, and not a tool to be used alongside teaching middle school students. The purpose of this assignment is to present myself professionally. The audience is my cohort and three NCSU faculty on a panel. The possible categories would include previous lesson plans, student work, short biography about me, and my teaching philosophy. Some possible themes that might guide my website would be a tree, or a seed growing into a flower -- something to do with nature and growth.

I remember having the portfolios up during the cohort's graduation last year while each spoke about the program and what it meant to them and sharing them in class while everyone circulated around and looked at them, but I don't remember presenting it to a panel of three evaluators. So, I would double check with Dr. Young about that. I definitely think the reflection piece is the most important - that you are using this as a tool to think about who you were as a pre-service teacher, who you are as someone who has completed the program, and who you will be as an educator.

My tentative plan for recording myself teaching in the Spring is to use one of the video cameras from METRC and to place it in the back corner of the room to capture a wide angle shot. For integrating digital video into a Social Studies classroom, I think I would like to use digital presentations using iMovie to teach historical events to other students.
 * Digital Video Follow Up**

I have made 5 posts this semester (and 1 response to another person), and have 2-5 posts left to make.
 * Language Today**

To use Language Today in my own teaching, I think I could incorporate Twitter as a discussion based tool to engage students in the material, or I could use the post that mentions how language is always changing and evolving as the people change it and recreate it (i.e. texting lingo).

I think iMovie is a great tool and super easy to use. How would student teach historical events to others? What would be the premise? It'd be cool to upload these to a class website so that students can use them to review material. It would also show parents what students are learning. I also think using Language Today to show the relevancy and evolution of language is awesome. There is also something to post indicating that language will always be changing.

I have completed my "Home" page, my "About Me" page, and my "Resume" page. My "Leadership Collaboration" page is a work in progress. I have other tabs listed that include, My Philosophy, Knowledge, and Digital Literacies and Technology, but they have not been started. My theme has been identified, and I have pictures and quotes that reflect this theme.
 * EP Status Report 10/24**

I have finished "My Philosophies" page with my educational and assessment philosophies. I have added to "My Knowledge" page with content knowledge (courses at NCSU and artifacts) and pedagogical knowledge (courses at NCSU) -- this page still needs some tweaking. I need to add some pedagogical knowledge artifacts, maybe a video or a unit plan. I have yet to add any more to Digital Literacies and Technology, and I need to finish my Leadership and Collaboration page, but that will be closer to the end of the partnership we have with CCMMS right now.
 * EP Status Report 11/7**

I have finished my posts for this semester. I have 7 posts on Language Today, and 1 response to someone.
 * Language Today**

I am close to finishing my Leadership and Collaboration page; I just need to add a document from the Wolfpack Writing Program. Other than that, I should be finished with my EP.
 * EP Status Report 11/14**