This week I read the first two chapters from "The Socially Networked Classroom" by William Kist. The book is an easy read and is quite enjoyable, I found that Kist explains everything as related to the classroom and has several activities set up that he used in his classroom.
Education is finding itself in a new environment with technology in the classrooms. Technology is changing the way we teach, communicate, and evaluate in education. Kist says, "One could make the argument that never before have we been more connected." He defines social networking as, "communication that takes place online using some kind of platform."
As educators, we are always trying to prepare students for the future. It's difficult to keep up with the newest technologies and that's when we turn to our IT specialists to help keep us in the loop. Kist states, "In some cases, a disinclination to use new media in the classroom may simply stem from uncertainty and limited familiarity with the possibilities. Even the newest teachers." I've seen this first hand in my previous district. So our task is to train and give time for teachers to learn and use new technologies.
Why is this so important?
Teachers must prepare students for the world and the way it works. They must come out of school already being comfortable and well versed in technology to be successful. Many have asked me why I'm making the switch from teacher to IT. I can affect a handful of students in my classroom, but as an IT I can, as Kist puts it, "impact thousands of children."
A really cool project that I want to share here is from Kist's book on page 14. This is an activity in Multigenre literacy through creating an autobiography. Fascinating! The activity has students answer questions about themselves while showing them areas they have learned about literacy. Definitely an activity I would suggest for ELAR teachers at the beginning of the year.
Kist works through several meaningful activities and as sometimes occurs in the classroom he is faced with changing his methods when a few students want to publish online. What a wonderful idea, but how he wondered would this occur. His first concern was with security, one must find a platform that is appropriate for the class and has the needed level of security required. One thing that he mentioned regarding blogs really got my attention. He said that by blogging you think of our audience and who might read it. As I ponder this I'm thinking of my own approach here on my blog, in that not only is my class and professor going to see this, but anyone can. I want to sound professional, but at the same time be a little easy-going and fun, to make it more interesting and easy to read.
Education is finding itself in a new environment with technology in the classrooms. Technology is changing the way we teach, communicate, and evaluate in education. Kist says, "One could make the argument that never before have we been more connected." He defines social networking as, "communication that takes place online using some kind of platform."
As educators, we are always trying to prepare students for the future. It's difficult to keep up with the newest technologies and that's when we turn to our IT specialists to help keep us in the loop. Kist states, "In some cases, a disinclination to use new media in the classroom may simply stem from uncertainty and limited familiarity with the possibilities. Even the newest teachers." I've seen this first hand in my previous district. So our task is to train and give time for teachers to learn and use new technologies.
Why is this so important?
Teachers must prepare students for the world and the way it works. They must come out of school already being comfortable and well versed in technology to be successful. Many have asked me why I'm making the switch from teacher to IT. I can affect a handful of students in my classroom, but as an IT I can, as Kist puts it, "impact thousands of children."
A really cool project that I want to share here is from Kist's book on page 14. This is an activity in Multigenre literacy through creating an autobiography. Fascinating! The activity has students answer questions about themselves while showing them areas they have learned about literacy. Definitely an activity I would suggest for ELAR teachers at the beginning of the year.
Kist works through several meaningful activities and as sometimes occurs in the classroom he is faced with changing his methods when a few students want to publish online. What a wonderful idea, but how he wondered would this occur. His first concern was with security, one must find a platform that is appropriate for the class and has the needed level of security required. One thing that he mentioned regarding blogs really got my attention. He said that by blogging you think of our audience and who might read it. As I ponder this I'm thinking of my own approach here on my blog, in that not only is my class and professor going to see this, but anyone can. I want to sound professional, but at the same time be a little easy-going and fun, to make it more interesting and easy to read.
I also enjoyed the multigenre autobiography assignment. The blogging section caught my attention as well. It definitely makes me more conscious of what I write and how I write. Initially, I was using this as a quazi-journal to complete assignments but also to document my journey through the course. It was going to take a more personal tone with more of a unique voice. Now, I feel like I should try to sound more professional or more intellectual but at the same time I realize I wouldn't want to read something that sounds like that. It is definitely an interesting conundrum.
ReplyDeleteExactly! I think I'll have more reading my blogs if they are more lighthearted. :)
DeleteThe impact of social network site on academic performance also raised another major concern which is health. Today social network sites are running the future and carrier of students. Social network sites were only an electronic connection between users, but unfortunately it has become an addiction for students.
ReplyDeleteAddiction is a scary word and yet the perfect one for what some students do. My sixth graders reported to me that they were on their phones all the time with social media. They even reported getting up in the middle of the night to check their status. :(
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