Google Apps

As a teacher and a students, Google Apps has completely changed the way I do my work.  I'm currently typing this response on my iPad.  Two years ago, I was contemplating how to best do my school and class work on my iPad.  I looked at all of the different word processors in the app store.  I first looked at Apple's Pages.  I used it on my mac, but there were always hurdles to jump over while submitting papers and trying to send work from home to school and having it work on Microsoft Word.  I wanted something easy to work with no matter where I was.  I then checked out the Microsoft apps, which at the time could be purchased for $15 each.  I really didn't want to spend the money and ended up talking to my wife about it.  She turned me towards Google Drive.  She told me it was free and that I could access it from any computer or mobile device I was on.  It was the perfect solution.  I now use Drive for every paper, lesson plan, blog post, class discussion response, work that I'm collaborating with colleagues on, and any little note I want to make.  It's all organized and ready to go where ever I am.

I'm currently part of a lesson study and developing curriculum for science in my district.  We do all of our work in Drive because we have the ability to work on the same document without having to send it back and forth to everyone with additions and changes.  It's completely changed the way we work together.  We even get together and do work on the same document at the same time.

Google apps also change the way I have my students complete and submit classwork.  They're able to use different apps to complete work together and individually.  My district invested money over the last year on Chromebooks mostly because they cost less than traditional laptops.  Because of the availability of free Google Apps, we're able to do most of the same things as laptops for a fraction of the cost.  Like myself, my students are also able to complete work at any computer or mobile device they're at, even at home.

I was able to use a survey using google apps to ask my classmates questions and analyze the data by making graphs.  This could be a very useful tool in class to have students gather information, or to gather information myself.  The following is the results from the survey I made:

When is the last time you spent at least an hour outside?

Social Networking in School

While looking at incorporating social networking in schools, there is lots to consider.  As an elementary educator, the first thing that comes to my mind is when it is appropriate to introduce social networking in schools.  Many parents struggle with making the decision of when to let their kids make profiles on social networking sites.  Social networking has become a normal part of everyday life.  Most people log on to social networking sites daily to find out what’s going on in the world, as well as the personal lives of people they know, but at what age should kids be doing this?  Fears of parents include cyber-bullying and online predators.  The part that schools can play to make parents feel better about these fears are teaching kids to be digital citizens.  Being digital citizens includes keeping themselves safe while they’re online, as well as being respectful and responsible online.  With the presence of technology and the internet in children’s everyday lives, the sooner they learn digital citizenship, the better.  I begin teaching my students about digital citizenship in second grade.  My reasoning for this, is the sooner they learn digital citizenship, the more natural it will become to them: it’s just something they've always known and done.

By middle school, most students are already on social networking sites in their personal lives, so introducing it at school at this age just makes sense.  Some people fear that by relying more on social networking, kids are losing valuable skills learned through face to face interactions.  It’s important that students still work on these skills at school so they are not lost.  “A paper released earlier this week by the Brookings Institution addresses how social media, blogs and video games are improving education by increasing access to people and information in various forms, including Twitter feeds, blog posts, videos and books. These tools are also increasing people's ability to share information with networks and contribute their own thoughts.” (Zhao, 2012)  By introducing social networking in schools, students are able to access more information, and in result can learn more.

Another thing to factor in is when students move on to higher education, or begin their professional careers after high school, more and more schools and companies have social networking profiles, and network through social networking.  “Professional networking, outreach to current and potential students, and school pride were among the reasons listed for engaging in social media.” (Glenn, 2012)  If we as educators are making it our goal to have our students be ready for college or careers, we need to make sure that they are able to social network responsibly and effectively.  When our students move on from school, it will greatly help them to be able to know how to be on social networks, and that learning should start in our schools.

Resources:

Glenn, D. (2012, February 7). How Well Are Schools Using Social Media? [Infographic]. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/how-well-are-schools-using-social-media-infographic/90209?red=st

Zhao, E. (2012, April 30). Social Media And Video Games In Classrooms Can Yield ValuableData For Teachers. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/30/social-media-and-video-ga_n_1465082.html

Digital Citizenship

Regarding my own digital footprint, as an educator, it’s important that I’m careful with the digital footprint I leave behind.  I was in my undergrad as Facebook was first becoming big.  Back then, it was a social networking site for only college students.  Being young and in college, there were a few posts and pictures that I wish I could have taken back (and later deleted).  None of the things were too bad, but as I saw Facebook becoming bigger and bigger, and as someone who was going to be a teacher, I decided to be more careful of the things I put on social network sites.  It made me realize that the things I put on the internet are there for the world to see, and I wanted to make good choices of how I presented myself.  It’s not only important for me to leave a digital footprint that I want to leave, but it’s important for everyone.  Young people today don’t realize the repercussions that can happen from what they do on the internet.  Kids need to be taught at a young age that the things they post and publish on the internet can follow them forever, and they need to think about what they’re putting out there.

As far as digital citizenship, the focus needs to be on respect.  Cyber-bullying is something that more kids do than face to face bullying because it’s easier to bully behind a computer.  Digital citizenship starts with teaching kids respect and then expanding it to being respectful online.  With all of the technology available to kids now, I don’t think it’s ever too early to start teaching about digital footprints and digital citizenship.  The sooner kids learn about digital citizenship, the sooner they can apply what they’ve learned.  Before kids learn how to use and use different tools on the internet, they need to learn how to be responsible through learning digital citizenship.  It’s also important to talk with kids about times where they haven’t been digital citizens or when they’ve witnessed someone who wasn’t being a digital citizen.  They need to see what possible repercussions could be, as well as learn ways that certain things could have been avoided or handled a different way.  One thing that I value teaching my students right up there with academics is learning how to be a good person.  We’re living in a digital age, and kids are only going to get exposed to more and more online as we move forward.  Now is the time to teach all kids about digital citizenship, so they can be good people online and off.

Being a Technology Integrations Specialist

From my previous SNHU courses on technology integration, my idea of what it means to be a technology integration specialist has both grown and become more focused.  Initially, I thought that all a technology integrator did was introduce new technology to their districts and or school.  I’ve realized that while this is what a technology integrator does, it’s just one piece.  A technology integrator has to be a learner who is constantly researching new technologies that can be integrated into the classroom.  There are endless tools that can be used in the classroom to help students meet grade level expectations, and new technologies are created every day.  Being a technology integrator means never being satisfied with what they know about technology in the classroom and is always growing as a learner.

I’ve also learned that collaboration is key to being an effective technology integrator.  I feel like tech people in general are seen as people who don’t get along with others in the workplace.  They have a bad rep of not getting along with co workers because they’re not as tech savvy.  Technology integrators need to build strong professional relationships.  Once strong relationships have been built, there is trust between co workers and people are more open to change in their teaching and criticisms.  Not only have I learned about collaboration with co workers that may not be tech savvy, it’s also important to build relationships with people who are tech savvy.  Collaborating with people who are tech savvy is an opportunity for both people to learn and get new ideas.

Today’s students and teachers use technology in their daily lives.  Technology use has become a regular thing and a way for people to learn and stay connected.  The same should apply to school.  Schools must embrace technology use to enhance education.  Dr. Michael Rich spoke that it’s time to stop talking about whether technology in children’s lives is good or bad, and just accept that it is in it, he stated that technology is “like the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat” (Mohler, 2010).  Students are going to leave school into a world where they need to be able to use technology and access information via technology.  Teachers need to integrate technology into the classroom so their students are more comfortable using it, and are efficient and responsible while using it.  Having the ability to use technology is something that can be learned.  As a teacher of grades 2-5, I’ve seen the benefits of teaching students how to use technology at a young age.  It’s much like learning a foreign language at a young age; the sooner they learn it, the more fluent they’ll be.

Resources:

Mohler, A. (2010, January 21). “Like the air they breathe” – The online life of kids. Retrieved from

http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/01/21/like-the-air-they-breathe-the-online-life-of-kids/