Social Networking: Learning opportunity or security concern

Social Networking

The tide of proprietary information is changing and social networking is right at the heart of this change.  The current genealogy trend has been to share information with each other to get a bigger picture on who your ancestors are.  Social networking fosters communication, engagement, and collaboration.  Genealogists consult with each other to combine information so that information can be gleaned at a greater pace.  They communicate, and collaborate with each other about their ancestors that makes learning personal and fun. I am excited what technology brings to use, but I am also concerned about safety and privacy.  Facebook is currently collaborating with ancestry.com to take a persons’ ancestral file information and combine it with current family Facebook members.  Consider for a moment the ramifications of all this information in one company’s hands.  Are you concerned what Facebook might do with that kind of information?  Exactly, I am too! 

The benefits of social networking is endless with a constant trade of benefits and liabilities.  Verbal skills and face-to-face communications are sacrificed in lieu of written skills that are emphasized as we communicate, collaborate, and engage with each other.  Technical skills are gained or improved with sites like Flickr or Googledocs, or ipiccy.com where students can publish documents, images, or videos online.  Research skills are increased with the mass amount of information available on the internet.  Now we can connect with friends and family across the street, or all over the world.

With every blessing also comes great responsibility.  We must make smart and wise choices about the information we choose to share and recognized internet privacy and security is a real issue to be addressed.  Many people give out information of their personal lives without considering the consequences.  What many of us do not recognize is what we write is a reflection of who we are, what we value and choose to prioritize in our lives.  Who are you?  Its simple to tell, just take a look at your Facebook account.  Your language, your faith, even your concerns gives a snapshot on what you value.  We decide what is important to us, and the same is true with online learning.  Resources are constantly traded by what we value most.   

We must be an example, especially to our students, we need to ensure their safety, and ensure there is not threat to issues such as identity theft, security, privacy.  We need to maintain sites, establish ground rules, and declare to students’ our internet concerns and expectations (Richardson, 2010). Most of all, we need to emulate proper online etiquette behavior, thus becoming the model for students to follow. The net provides many opportunities and learning possibilities are endless.  Our challenge is to provide structured guidance for students to follow to make the most of their internet learning experience. 

References:

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. 

Mobile Learning:Future of Learning

“The greatest strength of mobile devices could be for outside-the classroom learning…students would have a shorter learning curve because they’re used to these devices” (Allen, 2011, p. 2). Mobile technology provides many benefits to students, but none is more beneficial than motivating and engaging students.  Students have more choices as they learn in their own style.  Mobile learning is intrinsic learning; students take knowledge, grasp it, and learn on their own terms. When schools listen to students, they become integrated partners that provide technological solutions to education.  Mobile Learning provides a more learner-centered education with more frequent feedback.  It’s fun to use technology to learn. It’s how digital natives communicate.  

The potential for mobile technology is endless.  QR Codes is one of the new technologies that engage students, because they can create codes the link to important forms, do their homework, give feedback, or assess political polls.  Scavenger hunts are fun and engage students to discover and scan QR codes to understand the limitless potential of QR codes. In addition, history students can develop maps, recreate battle scenes, or produce a video or podcast for oral history.  This is not all.  Cell phones can be used to text their answers for quiz questions, or used for outdoor learning.  During a Buffalo Hunt simulation, students learned about American Indian tribes from diverse areas and critically analyzed how tribes adapted to their environment.  Mobile technology is interactive, motivating, and fun.  Student’s curiosity is peeked by wanting to see their GPS location or communicating with teammates to solve problems or clarify understanding; and it  breaks down the educational walls, and open the avenue for curiosity and learning to develop (Allen, 2012). 

Mobile Learning is not without some educational issues and educational reviews are mixed on the extent that these technological devices promotes new learning. Now most school prohibit cell phone use in the class room, because of trust issues.  Many educators are fearful of cheating and plagiarism, yet others are fearful students cannot stay on-track with their other schoolwork.  As with any new technology, research needs to validate the the degree that mobile technology promotes learning.  Financial cost is another concern, especially when compared to its educational benefits.  

Nevertheless, Mobile technology is the wave of the future with great educational benefits with the possibilities of blogs, online discussions, podcasts, and videos. Mobile technology extends learning with group collaboration and social media tools (Geoff, 2012). Learning is enhanced through the vast information available through the internet, and educational simulations.  The use of these convenient devices will multiply in the future as technology continues to surprise us what innovations are possible. The possibilities are endless and only limited by our own imagination. 

References:

Allen, R. (2012, Feb.). Can mobile devices transform education. Education update.  Retrieved from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/feb11/vol53/num02/Can-Mobile-Devices-Transform-Education%C2%A2.aspx.

Geoff, G. (2012). Brown university has gone Google. Retrieved from: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com.ar/2010/06/brown-university-has-gone-google.html.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms, (3^rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin. 

Marvels of Technology—Easy to implement?

Modern technology is amazing!  Millions of people are revolutionizing the internet.  Paper books are becoming obsolete and students are texting and collaborating like never before.  Group communication between students and teachers has minimized classwork and has elaborated testing for all concerned.  Now tests are immediately scored and feedback is given at an astounding rate.  But is this really the twenty-first century marvel of technology?  Or, can it be even more?  Students can create digital photographs by hand just by artistic effects of filters, masks, shadows, reflections and glows.  They can develop their own programs by using C++, or see what SSD looks like and how it works.  Creative students can use their critical thinking skills to make spreadsheets, graphic charts, and design brochures, or the CAD can show students how to sew clothes or build homes and robots.  This is the potential of modern technology correctly implemented into our classrooms; our only limitation is our imagination. 

However, reality is another issue altogether.  Stretched funding especially with standardized testing takes a priority over such innovations.  Many teachers feel that technology is always one step ahead of anything they can do for their students.  It moves at such an astonishing rate that they fear they can’t keep up.  Teachers need administrators that support them to be trained and educated on the latest technology, and many times this does not take place in the classroom.  Other more traditional teachers feel that technology has a way of de-personalizing the development of children.  Students are less engaged with each other, zoned out, or out of touch with society.  Walk down any school campus and tell me the number of students without earphone in their ears.  Show me the concern students have for one another when someone is hurt, many simply walk by with little or no concern for one another.  We should be teaching human beings to develop them to be the most functional and unselfish human beings we can, gifted with an education that helps them be productive citizens. 

So, where does this leave digital natives that yearn to use technology in their classrooms?  As educators, we must be wise about our technological decisions.  We must be educated and trained on technology and see it correctly implemented.  Funding must be used wisely.  Technology assessment based tools are wonderful, but fall short of the standard if that’s all we do with technology.  We need to invest in technology with a purpose. One of the greatest things we can teach our children is not how to create a photograph, but how to be critical thinkers of tomorrow.   These tools should be teaching our students and the learning experience should be increased. High level skills can be implemented with technology,    but we must plan well, make wise decisions, test and re-test product before their implementation to ensure the product works as expected.  We must teach and train our children and provide them a well-rounded and balanced education.  We must never leave the final decision up to non-educators who have no investment in our children. 

References:

Ashlock, T.J. (2014, Jan.). In Facebook.  Retrieved from January 14, 2014, from http://www.facebook.com/tjashlock.

Welcome!

Welcome Aboard to Tammy's Techno Blog!

Welcome to where learning matches the technology of today. As we all know, technology has changed how students learn.  Students want learning experiences that let's them get their hands into it, to use their imagination to compose, create, and explore it.  And, educators have many tools to engage students with the only limitations are our imaginations.  This blog will explore how to mirror education and technology, explore the issues that will shape tomorrow's education, and how to engage your students into technology today.  Finally, every teacher needs inspiration...so we provide the Inspirational Corner to inspire you how to positively impact your students today!  

Top Ten Issues shaping today's educational technology

http://www.education.com/reference/article/ten-issues-shaping-today-technology/

1. Accountability and the standards movement — Educators want to know (a) how technology can help students meet required curriculum standards and (b) what role technology skills play in children's education.
2. Funding for educational technology — As technology costs grow and education funds wane, policy makers ask, "How can we justify spending scarce education dollars on technology?"
3. The Digital Divide — Since technology access differs between wealthier and poorer schools, people want to know if technology is deepening the economic chasm between rich and poor.
4. Racial and gender equity — Science, technology, and engineering careers remain dominated by males and certain ethnic groups; educators say more student involvement in technology at earlier levels could change this picture.
5. The role of distance education — Virtual schools are springing up around the country. Parents wonder: (a) Can all students succeed in online environments? and (b) Will students learn as much as in face-to-face classrooms?
6. Privacy and safety — As more student data go online and students spend more time on the Internet, measures have to be put in place to limit access to personal data and to protect students from online predators.
7. Viruses and hacking — The online community is seeing an unprecedented number of viruses and illegal entries into networks. Schools are forced to spend precious funds on measures to protect themselves.
8. Online plagiarism — Students have easy access to papers and projects they can turn in as their own work. Teachers have to be on the alert for plagiarism and use online sources to check suspicious work.
9. Anti-technology sentiments — In light of the scarcity of research on technology's impact on indicators of education quality, critics of educational technology are on the attack.
10. Information literacy — Society's increasing dependence on technology to communicate information means that students must learn the skills to use information technologies effectively.

Teacher's Inspirational Corner

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around.."  His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."   His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."  Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class."

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper That he got from a grocery bag Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume.. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to." After the children left, she cried for at least an hour.

On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets.."

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling* her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.   Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer.... The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.

Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for* believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."  Random acts of kindness, I think they call it? "Believe in Angels, then return the favor." (Apples4teachers.com)