Jennifer's+445+Wiki+Workspace

=Seminar 1 Prep Reading Response=

In his blog, //An Educator's Social Media Guide//, Aaron offers current and/or future teachers plenty of great advice pertaining to using social media to grow as an educator. I for one have never really been a huge twitter user, not because I did not find twitter to be interesting, but because I found the site to be hard to navigate and I was not entirely sure what I should be doing on twitter. After reading Aaron's blog, I find twitter to be more appealing. I really liked some of the points that he highlighted throughout his blog. "Twitter is a space where educators reject isolation, celebrate together, and continue professional growth." I love the idea that twitter can be used as a means for educators to collaborate with and celebrate each other. You can never have enough people to bounce your ideas off of and receive feedback from.I also found Aaron's suggestion for the format of tweets to be useful, especially since I have not posted that many tweets myself. He says that tweets should be "engaging, informative, and inspirational." I found the tips and comments throughout the blog to be useful as well. Aaron suggests that you should follow the right people on twitter, such as educators, and that twitter chats can be good places for you to connect with your fellow educators. Ultimately, Aaron provides his readers with concrete reasons that twitter can be used productively in the field of education. Twitter is a resource that teachers can use to collaborate with one another. It is also a way for you to meet more educators in general, although a PLC within your school is wonderful, it would be nice to have other educators to bounce ideas off of. Twitter is a way for you to inspire and encourage your fellow teachers, and lets be honest, we all need a little encouragement and inspiration at times.
 * Response to: An Educator's Social Media Guide written by Aaron Hogan **

I like your reflection on the idea that we can "never have enough people to bounce ideas off of and receive feedback from." While I think this is true in general, I think this is monumentally true for the field of education. There are so many other educators out there who have so many good ideas and thoughts to share on their experiences that can benefit the rest of us - and they want to share them! Have you found any groups or people to follow on Twitter that you can use an inspiration or encouragement for student teaching or during your first year?

//"Enter the internet and Instagram: a platform where emotions can run wild - and where insecurities run wilder."// Although Instagram was not created with the intention of feeding into teen insecurities, that seems to be what it does. This article highlights the ways in which teenagers are using Instagram. Teens are using Instagram to know what others really think of them, to measure how much a friend likes you, as a public barometer of popularity, to show BFF PDA, as a way to retaliate, as a personal branding machine and to create elaborate birthday collages.
 * Response to: The Secret Language of Girls on Instagram written by Rachel Simmons **

As educators, we need to be aware of the way that social media impacts the teens within our classrooms. Since the way that teens use Instagram feeds into their insecurities, we need to find a way to validate the teens within our class. One of the ways that we can do this is by praising and showcasing our students work as compared to just grading it. As I have mentioned earlier, we all need a little encouragement at times. A second thing that we could do to validate our students and their work is allow students to play a role in creating their portfolios. Students could have some say in which assignments they think should go in their portfolio. This help students acknowledge the effort and hard work that they put into their assignments.

Nice summary of the many uses of Instragram highlighted by girls highlighted in the article. I really love your idea of praising and showcasing student work in the classroom and also using portfolios to give them concrete evidence of their hard work. Do you think you would also address what goes on in social media head on in the classroom or use more subtle forms of validation?

One thing that I learned about online professional identity is that it is really important that you are aware of what your online identity says about you. You want to make sure that your identity is professional and that you are not posting anything inappropriate. You should also make sure that your online identity correctly identifies you.
 * Online Professional Identity Take away: **

While working on the online professional identity activity I learned a couple of things about myself. For starter, not much comes up about me when I am googled. When looking through my social media accounts, we noticed that I did not really make that many posts, and the posts that I was making were appropriate. All in all, there was nothing negative on any of my social media sites.

If a future employer, or student parent were looking through my social media accounts, they would notice that I do not post much about my personal life. They would also be able to see which schools that I have attended, and that I am currently a senior in the College of Education at NCSU. They would also see that I am currently employed by Johnston County Schools as a substitute teacher.

There are several things that I would like to change about my online professional identity. For starters, I would like to become more active on social media sites such as twitter. I would also like to follow my fellow educators. I also want to update the bios on my accounts. I would like to include more information about the work that I have done with at NCSU. I want to add more to my LinkedIn account as well.

So tell me more about what you experienced during the online professional identity activity. What did you and your partner find out about you from the search? What perception do you think people (employers, parents, students) would have of you with what they found? What things would you like to change? How do you plan to go about changing them? Please add more detail. =Professional Online Identity Presentation -=

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5I52cmzEXkJVWt2eUtaUkxqbU0/view
 * Presentation with audio:**

media type="custom" key="28761154"

https://docs.google.com/a/ncsu.edu/presentation/d/1jGiWM-bQzn0zP6pYm1APee1rh_QIX1-igN_EbYWUPEw/edit?usp=sharing
 * Original Presentation:**

=Processing the Reading for Seminar 4 -=

//10 Ways to Use Instagram in the Classroom // Before reading this post, I did not realize that Instagram could be used in so many different ways within the classroom. My cooperating teacher also uses Instagram in her classroom. She uses it to post books that she thinks that her students will enjoy. I really like all of the ideas and ways that Instagram can be used within the classroom that were posted on the blog. I had already planned on showcasing my students' work on a bulletin board, but now I think that I will share their work on Instagram and a bulletin board. Of course, I will make sure to set the Instagram to private so that my students' personal information is not public. I really like the idea of imagining how a favorite character, or historical figure would post. I think that this would be great in both ELA and Social Studies classes. Honestly, I liked all of the ideas that were posted on the blog. I would love to have my class try out all of the ideas, except for idea number 7.

That's awesome that you drew so much inspiration from this article. And I also think it's doubly awesome that your teaches is already using Instagram in her classroom. This might make it easy to take the account over and use it during your student teaching - and then you can repurpose it for your ideas. Did she create an account for each class or is it her own account that she uses to post for all students? Do students ever get to post anything?

//Enhancing English Language Arts Education with Digital Video// Looking back on my middle school years, I do not recall watching too many movies in my ELA class. The movies that I do remember watching were based off of the novels that we were reading in class. As the article mentions, the movies were shown as a way to highlight the novel, or so that we could see the differences between the novel and the movie. I think that it is important that students are able to analyze different texts, but it is also important for students to know how to analyze music, films, photographs, and other types of art. When analyzing these artifacts, it is important for students to know the context, so that they will have a better understanding of why it was created, and what it means. I plan on incorporating digital videos within my classroom. I think that there is some benefit in having students read and novel and compare it to the film. To see why the director may have made some of the choices that they did, and how does the director’s choices differ from a choice they would have made. I would also like to have students create their own digital story. I think that this would be a neat way for the students to introduce themselves to the class. I would have the students either create a google slides, voice thread, screencastify, webcast, collage, etc. in which they use pictures to describe who they are.

I like how you expanded the literacy about digital videos to music, photography, and other art forms. I think teaching students how to critically analyze anything is advantageous for them. You mention comparing movies to books; however, would you ever consider teaching how to analyze a movie/digital video in and of itself? Do you think that would be valuable for students? Why or why not?

//Approaching Technology in English Education from a Different Perspective// Although we are not required to incorporate technology within our classrooms, I think that doing so keep students interested in the material that we are teaching. That being said, we need to make sure that we are making good choices when we incorporate technology into our lessons. By this I mean that we should actually be thinking about how the technology that we are using within our classrooms is enhancing our lessons. For example, merely reading off of a power point slide is not incorporating technology. Doing this is the same as lecturing for the entire class period. I am not saying that power point is bad, but we should find a way to make it more interactive. We could use hyperlinks to take our students to interactive lessons and/or games that engage our students. One of the ways that we could do this is by having our students complete some of the activities that were mentioned in the blog, //10 ways to use Instagram in the Classroom//. We could also use Kahoot in our classroom as a way to assess our students.

I agree with the idea that incorporating technology requires making good choices. What exactly do you mean by that? What are examples of good choices? Of bad choices? Please add more detail.

= I am going to be attending the edTPA bootcamp on February 4th. =

=Prep for Seminar #5 -=

= Initial Ideas About MSL Electronic Portfolio or Teaching Toolkit = Although both of these options seem like they will be a great resource, I am leaning towards using the electronic portfolio. I really like google sites since it is pretty user friendly, and since I already have some work on my google site I can just continue to add to it. I also like how organized my google site is, so if I did reference the site during an interview I think that it would be pretty easy for the principal interviewing my to navigate through my site. Since my work is in a chronological order the principal will be able to see how my work has progressed as well, which I think will be beneficial. I think that it would be good for the principal to be able to see where I start, and where I am going. I would like to add some of my social studies lesson plans and assignments that I am working on in social studies methods to my google site. Adding my social studies methods assignments to my google sites will allow me to keep my work organized. When attending my interviews I think that I will bring a printed copy of my portfolio as well for the principal to be able to flip through and reference throughout my interview. He or she could keep the portfolio if they like, since I will have my own copy online.

I would like to know a little bit more about each of these tools. I looked on the moodle, and the wiki site, but I could not find rubrics for either of these tools. I feel like I have an okay understanding about the portfolio, since I have worked on this in previous classes, but I don't really know what the teaching toolkit entails.

I think an electronic portfolio is a cool way to present yourself to future employers. I also really like the idea of categorizing it chronologically so that it's a journey versus a product. What categories do you think would go into that order?

= Prep for Seminar #6 - =

// 3 Takeaways from the reading in terms about thinking about your own MSL senior portfolio: //
 * __Action Portfolio Entry__ **
 * The creation of the electronic portfolio or teaching toolkit is a process. During this process, we are meant to reflect on our pedagogy. This is meant to be a meaningful and authentic project that we can use once we graduate from NCSU. Once I graduate from NCSU I plan on continuing to add to my electronic portfolio. I want to be able to reference my portfolio when I am creating my lesson plans in my future classroom.
 * We have the opportunity to be creative while working on our electronic portfolios. I really liked the opening pages, or cover pages for the electronic portfolios in the article. As a teacher, I think that it is important that students are able to read independently and find literature that they enjoy reading on their own. I am thinking about posting a quote from J.K Rowling on my page.
 * We need to make sure that we include plenty of artifacts within our electronic portfolio. This will allow us to share our work with our fellow educators and principals. It will also allow us to reflect on our work.

I am going to go the route of using an electronic portfolio. I believe that this tool has several purposes. I think that this tool is meant to be an efficient and organized way to keep all of my teaching resources, such as lesson plans and ideas, together. I also think that this tool is a way to share my teaching resources with my fellow teachers and future principal. I think that my electronic portfolio will be a good tool to share with principals during interviews. I can use this tool to talk about the work that I have done, and what I plan on doing in my future classroom. I can also use this tool as a way to reflect on my completed work. Some of the possible categories within my electronic portfolio could be lesson plans, ideas for lesson plans, resources, educational sites that I might reference when creating my lesson plans, assessments, projects, writing prompts, classroom rules, handouts, classroom notes, ideas for classroom posters, and a pacing guide. Some of the content that I would have within my electronic portfolio would be pertaining to language arts and social studies. I plan on having a good mixture of the two subject areas. The target audience of my educational portfolio will be my fellow educators and principals. Some themes that might be found throughout my electronic portfolio are student growth and learning.
 * __Electronic Portfolio__ **

I like that you are already thinking about what you want to highlight as some of your main philosophies of teaching (like the JK Rowling quote). And you're right - including plenty of artifacts is important, but remember that it's also about well-chosen artifacts, not just putting all of them on there. You need to be thoughtful and selective in which artifacts you want to share to highlight different strengths that you have. What metaphor do you think you'll use as the underlying theme of your portfolio?

=** Prep for Seminar #8 **=


 * Digital Video Follow up** -


 * A)** My plan to record myself for the edTPA will be to rent my camera from NCSU a week in advance so that I can find a good place to set up the camera in my classroom, and so that my students get used to having a camera in the room. I will then call and renew my rental so that I can record my lesson for the edTPA. I plan on recording two or three days so that I have plenty of footage to choose from for the edTPA.


 * B)** One of the ways that I could incorporate digital video within my ELA or SS classroom is by creating a digital video to introduce myself to the class. I would also like to model what I expect my students to do, so when I have my students record themselves for their reading autobiography, poems or skits, I will also create a video.


 * Language Today Prep Work** -
 * I have made three posts on language today. I need to make at least 4 more posts.
 * One of the ways that I could use language today is by using some of the articles that are posted on the site as current events for the classroom to get my students thinking about the fluidity of language.
 * Another way that I could use language today in my classroom is by having my students find articles (in class) that could be added to the site. This will allow me to assess what aspects of language that my students find to be important or interesting. I would not actually post the ideas on the language today site, rather I might create a twitter or facebook, or class blog for the class to post articles themselves.

An introduction video would be pretty cool. You could make it fun and interesting and get the class really excited about you and what you'll be doing in the class. I also like the use of a reading autobiography and recording skits. I think you could post these to a class website to have available to other students for review. I also like the idea of creating your own Language Today twitter or other account to have students engage in their own research.

= Electronic Portfolio Status Reports =


 * (Week 1) **

 This week I chose a theme for my electronic portfolio. The theme that I chose is adventure. I chose this theme because I truly believe that middle school, and education in general is like an adventure. After choosing the theme for my portfolio, I chose the images that I would like to use throughout my portfolio, I went with Winnie the Pooh. I chose Winnie the Pooh because it follows a young boy and his friends as they embark on a magical adventure. I also love the quotes found throughout Winnie the Pooh. The quotes are uplifting and inspiring. This week I added several lesson and unit plans (for ELA and Social Studies), included some examples of student work, added excerpts from my resume, and wrote up a draft about myself. Next week I will be working on my philosophy statement.


 * (Week 2 ****) **This week I added to the 21st century resources page. I added examples of my own work that represents tools that teachers can use within the classroom. I specifically added a book trailer that I created this semester, my reading autobiography from last semester, and my online professional identity. I also included a more extensive list of resources that can be used within the classroom. Some of the resources that I added to my page include twitter, instagram, kahoot, quizziz, socrative, and quizlet. I also added another lesson to my ELA page.

**(Week 3)** This week I added hyper links to several of the online tools on my 21st century resources tab. I also touched up my assessment philosophy, and added my educational philosophy and five belief statements about education. I also touched up, and added to my resume.