Journal 7: "My Personal Learning Network"

Journal 7

1. My personal learning network is the use of Twitter, Diigo and Blogger. These three internet resources are of great help to me because they share tremendous amount of new information regarding education that I was unaware of. It is an easy way of having communication with people around the world who share the same interest as you do. These websites will help me in the classroom because I will be able to share information with students and parents after school and even during school. This will keep students and teachers in communication and it will also be of great help when students are having trouble. Diigo in this case, will be of most help to the students. I will be able to bookmark different website that I find of great resource for students, and students (after showing them how to create their Diigo account) will be able to log in and see what I have bookmarked. After a while, they will be able to bookmark the different websites that they find are relevant to the classroom learning. In twitter I am following Mucio Vidales, EdChat, NTCHAT, ED422 (young chat) and owenthomas20. I chose to follow this twits because they all can bring a great amount of information for me. We all have something in common, the interest in Education. This is why I chose to follow each of them and see what new information they can bring.

2. The use of Twitter is something new to me. I heard when it first came out, but it was nothing of my interest. Once I realized of the different use Twitter can bring, I then (because of class) created an account. I followed #ntchat on April 20, 2011 at 5pm. The topic was about Classroom Libraries and to see how teachers managed to keep one. The discussion going on is very interesting. Almost everyone in the #nchat works in school settings, teachers, principals, and they each have mentioned that they have a small library in their classroom. Most of them keep the books organized by nonfiction (topics) and fiction (author) while others just let the students organize them as they please. Most of the teachers in the chat, acquire the books for their classroom via donations, out of pocket and others get them via library book sells. 

Been part of this chat was of great experience. It took me quite a while to understand how the process worked. I send out a #ntchat request and asked when the discussion was and what the topic was as well. I am sure they wrote back but I was never able to find it. When I did, I noticed how many people are involved in childrens' lives and how many of them try their hardest for their students to succeed. Although the chat was happening quite fast, it was at times hard to keep track of what everyone was talking about, but in the end it payed off. Because I am now more aware of how teachers around the world set up their classroom and how they try to incorporate reading in their classroom as much as they can. 

3. Diigo is a great networking tool, in the sense that you are able to bookmark internet pages and be able to go back to them in later time to look at new information without having to search for it on the google web. Also there is to be done is log into your diigo account and click on the name of the website and it will take you directly to it. It is great, even for high school students, who research information and will like to share it with friends and family. In Diigo you are able to find people who have tag similar things as you have and it is great when it comes to finding new information. I like it, I think it is a great web tool and it helps a lot when it comes down to finding information from others around the world who think that a particular web page is important as well. I decided to tag Educator's PLN as well as Classroom 2.0 because this two webpages are great for information in regards to teachers and students and lesson plans. Believe it or not, most of the information in the webpage includes forums, chats, where you are free to join and ask questions in regards to education. It is specifically for teachers, specially those seeking extra information about classroom management, etc. I chose to network with Diigo simply because it is a great tool to use with students and it stores information that one bookmarks on the web. Also because it is easy to access and go back to any page used before. Why else use it? Well for classroom students it is great because they can go in the bookmarked pages and highlight them. A great tool that I find completely helpful.

4. I chose to watch a video in the Classroom 2.0 called The European Children's Traveling Language Library. I found this video and its website very interesting because it is target towards children who are learning a new second language. They provide books in different languages and children are able to check them out and be able to read through them. This website motivates children to learn the language, for them to feel reinforced in learning a second language. Now, the store is only available in some countries, but they target students who are in their first year of learning a second language. This program is done by senior expertise in language acquisition.

Journal 10 "Find free tools and more"

Journal 10

Ribera, M. (2011). Learning & leading. Find free tools and more, 2011(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Learning_Connections_Find_Free_Tools_and_More.aspx

This particular article is of much interest for teachers in particular. It talks about this new website called EDUTECHER that has about 1,000 links and BELLOW adds new sites daily. This site is of great ed tech resources for teachers. It contains concise explanation of how each tool in the web works and how it can be implemented in the classroom. This website also includes a EduTecherTV webisodes that includes audio where it provides basic training about any of the links/programs that are in the website. This is also great for teachers who find it easier to learn by seen how it is done. 

This is a great resource for teachers all over the world. 

Q1: Is this website free?

A1: Yes, it is. It is completely free of charge, ad-free site. You will need to become a member of this webpage in order to have access to all of their links, but there is no charge for becoming a member either. 

Q2: Why might this webpage be helpful in the classroom?

A2: There are many reasons why this website might be helpful for teachers in the classroom.  In the website, one is able to have conferences, to explore the library, to get information in their daily newsletter and be informed of anything new that is happening in the educational world. 

Journal 9 "Teaching Green"

Journal 9

Waters, J.K. (2011). The journal. Teaching Green, Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/04/06/teaching-green.aspx?sc_lang=en

This article is very interesting because it talks about the importance there is when it comes to teaching and learning about our environment. It shows that there are different resources for students and teachers in order to learn about the environment. There are daily lesson plans that can be included daily in the classroom in order for students to learn the importance of the environment. One of the things that interested me the most is the program that is offered for students who go to school mainly in the city and do not interact daily with the environment. The fact that teachers takes the time to take their students into the environment and show them get a more advanced education about the environment. Though this program is mainly focused for students between 3-5 grades, it can also be implemented in higher grades.
Teaching students and teachers as well about the importance of the environment is a great step in helping the world with its environmental hazards.

Q1: Why is it so important to teach students the importance of the environment?
A1: The importance of teaching our students about the environment is that from an early age we can implement in them the different responsibilities there are about taking care of the world.

Q2: Is there a benefit in implementing environmental lesson into the daily plans of class?
A2:  Yes there is. I think that it is very important to implement the environmental issues in daily lesson plans so that students, and teachers as well have a better understanding and an idea of what is going on in the world. And what better way than teach it to students everyday.

Jounal 8 "Point/Counterpoint: Should schools be held responsible for cyberbullying?"

Journal 8

Bogacz, R, & Gordillo, M.G. (2011). Point/counterpoint:should schools be held responsible for cyberbullying?. Learning & Leading, 38(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Point_Counterpoint_Should_Schools_Be_Held_Responsible_for_Cyberbullying.aspx

 I find this article very interesting for many reasons, and my reasons are not particularly related to what parents, teachers or peers might think. I think that cyberbullying happens because the child has psychological problems. It is not, but it might be, because the parents are not giving the child enough love and they are not taking into consideration what their child is doing. Most parents do not care about what their children are doing on the internet, or while they are on their cell phones, when in fact they should. The article mentioned that parents should be more attentive to their children's behavior. Well that is quite hard when half of the time children are in school or out with their friends. 
There are so many ways in which a child can cyberbully someone else. It can either be through cell phone text messages, MSN, AIM, Facebook, Myspace, etc. These are all sites that students frequent on their daily lives, and mostly when they are home. There is not much that school can do about it, if this cyberbully is happening outside of school, but parents can certainly do a lot in order to help. We have heard of so many cases of cyberbullying and of children who have taken their lives because they cannot take the pressure, and still this is still happening. 
Schools can have classes that talk about these different issues to students and for them to see that it is not okay for them to bully their classmates simply because they find it funny. Because of this, there have been so many deaths in the US that it seems impossible to ever do something about it. And I think that the first that can do something about it are the students. They can come together and realize that what they are doing is not right, and that they can help change the way young teens view cyberbullying.

Q1: What are some solutions that schools, parents can come up with in order to stop cyberbullying?
A1: I think that there are many solutions that parents and teachers in general can come up with in order to help their students. The first one is to have classes that are primarily target the cyberbully issue. Simple PPT lessons or talks about it won't do. They need to be very specific about the problem, show facts, numbers, cases, in order for the students to get the idea. Parents, may I suggest, need to be more involved in the lives of their children. Simply believing that they are good kids and will never do, or go through such a problem will not due. They need to be able to have an open relationship with them and feel comfortable talking about anything. Most of the times, parents seems afraid of asking their children what is going on in their lives and that is completely wrong. Second, I think that the schools should prohibit students from having cell phones in the classroom, and/or bringing computers in. I think that this will simply bring down the percentages of bullying in schools and outside of school as well. 

Q2: What is the reason that students feel the need to cyberbully other classmates?
A2: That is something that it is hard to figure out. But maybe they feel that by doing so they have more power than their classmates and feel respected. But I think that instead of having respect, their fellow peers just have fear for them. Most of these kids that bully go through a psychological issue that makes them unsure of who they truly are. They might do such damage because they feel that it is the only way for them to get attention that they are seeking. Most of the time, these kids are in tremendous need of attention and support from their parents. Cyberbullying is the closes thing they find to get attention with.