Professional Learning Network

I use Digg Reader a couple more times and found it pretty useful when I need additional resources.  I found a couple of lesson plans that I actually used in my own classroom and received positive responses from my students.  There was a Geometry lesson that I found that helped my students understand the concept a lot better than I expected.  I showed it to my co-worker and she also started using Digg Reader for her lesson planning.  On the other hand, I don't really find Classroom 2.0 or Twitter to fit my needs.  Instead, I really enjoy using Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest.  They are both VERY easy to navigate they have a lot of variety of resources for me to use.  Of course, some of them has a small fee attach to it, so I usually look for the FREE ones!  Pinterest is easy to use because I can see the general idea of the project or lesson plan just by looking at the thumbnail.  I used so many project ideas from both Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest.  My administrators and co-workers also commented on the creativity of the projects. 

This blog has also been pretty useful in terms of being able to see other peer's work and thoughts.  We do not always get to talk to everyone in the classroom, so the collaboration through this blog was enriching and beneficial.  Overall, I am willing to try more professional learning networks, but for now, I am sticking to Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest!

Reflection

I am extremely surprised that I came this far into the course.  I was very nervous on the first day when I heard that coding was involved and that we are required to create a website on our own.  It was actually very overwhelming when we first started the quarter.  I was confused at the new language I had to learn.  As time progressed, it got easier and easier with MUCH practice.  There were definitely some set backs especially during the exercises with tables.  I was very frustrated with all the rows and columns and I just was not able to get it correct.  I had to reach out for some help from my cousin who explained everything to me.  I still do not fully understand how to create tables, but I am not as frustrated anymore!  The exercise that I really enjoyed was the contest entry form.  I was so amazed at the amount of changes I was able to make from a drop box to option selections.  It made me feel like I can make multiply choice problems online for my students!  Although this class can get stressful and tough when something doesn't go the way I want, I enjoy the joy and satisfaction of finally getting things to work in the end.  I appreciate these exercises that help build my knowledge of creating my first webpage/site.  We shall see how that will turn out!


 Exercises Link

Twitter

This is my first experience with twitter and it was a little getting use to in terms of navigating the site. After using it for a little bit, I can see the benefits of having a professional account for twitter.  I do enjoy following certain people who have great ideas.  It reminds me of Digg where you follow someone and the things they post go on your "news feed."  I do like the idea that you can sign on and information is given to you without having to search of it.  However, I don't think twitter is something I will use consistently, but it is nice to have an additional resource to go to when I need it.  I do prefer using Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers because I can easily search for a specific category or topic to find the resources I need.  Twitter might be able to do so as well, I just haven't played with it enough to find out.

I do have a Twitter ticket out the door that I use with my students.  I will give them a topic and they will respond with a handwritten tweet.  They can "tweet" about what they learned that day or what they do not understand as a quick check for understanding before they leave.  I can quickly read through them to get a good idea of where my students are at.  I also find the really well written ones to post up on my wall, which is really good to show the admin as well as parents.  They are also great examples to show students on how they are suppose to write their tweets properly.  Furthermore, encourages social media in the classroom which is always something that the students enjoy.  Finally, it is a good way to teach students a positive way to use social media.

Journal 4: Math Website

• Site title - Fun with Multiplication
• Developer - Christin Jow; I will also receive assistance from my colleagues for information and feedback
• Rational or focus - The new California Standards causes students to think even more critically and deeper than ever before.  This is a big change in the schools for both teachers and students.  Even without this change, many students are behind in their basic math skills.  It is difficult for them to meet the new standards without the basic foundations such as multiplication and division.  It is hard for me to see them struggle with basic math skills.  They are frustrated that they are unable to understand the concepts due to its level of difficulty and they are not use to thinking the way California Standards wants them to.  For this reason, I want to make a math resource website that will allow students to be able to have a site to refer to.  I want to focus on multiplication because that is what my students struggle most on.  For the purpose of this assignment, I will create a very basic resource website.  I will add to it in the future to enhance the page and make it more useful.
• Main features outline - To teach and provide information and resources for students to be able to learn and review multiplication.

Content - Home Page: main page to explain the purpose of the website to the students
                     -Helpful Links: provide links that will be beneficial for students to quickly get to videos and other resources to learn/practice multiplication
                     -Multiplication Chart: provide a general multiplication chart for students to use while they study or do homework
                     -Contact page: in case the user has any problems with the page or would like additional information, they can use the contact page
                     -About Me: about the designer (short bio for introduction)

• Target audience - Elementary and Middle School students, specifically my 6th and 7th grade students
• Design considerations. For now, I want to have a simple design that gets to the point but is also attractive for the users.  I would like to make the site more attractive in the future. 
• Limiting factors - I have not learned how to embed videos, games, and tutorials for students to use.  I will, however, learn to do so in the future that will allow me to make the website more interactive and fun for students to use.

Journal #3: The Case for Social Media in School

Kessler, S. (2010, September 29). The Case For Social Media in Schools. Retrieved October 15, 2015.

My first initial thought on social media was Facebook, Myspace, chat rooms,…etc.  All of those websites are considered to have a negative impact on education.  Many people are worried of internet bullies, pornography, and students abusing the use of internet.  However, when I was introduced to the educational side of social media, I had a different view of classroom technology.  I agree with Sarah Kessler in a sense that there is no way to get rid of the internet, so why not embrace it?  One of the concerns with the use of cell phones in the classroom was that students will be going on other social media, texting, or taking selfies.  It was very interesting that Kessler mentioned that there is no difference between a student who is texting, to a student who is sleeping or drawing on paper; both are still not attentive to the lesson.  So there is no difference, if the student chooses not to pay attention in class, they will find ways to keep them occupied. 

I really liked that collaboration was mentioned in the article.  I believe that it is really critical for students to learn how to collaborate at a young age.  Without these websites to blog, critique, and comment, students may not be able to have a chance to do so in the classroom.  Especially for a student who is very shy, they have the freedom to comment without hesitation.  Teachers can also have students create a screen name so that their comments and feedback are anonymous.  I also love the idea that teachers can monitor and read all comments before approval.  I personally would not want to monitor by approval for each comment because it would take up too much time.  However, with time stamps, and records of what is posted can be easily tracked.  I’m sure that if you mention to students that you will be monitoring the site, they will stay away from negative comments.  I really like the idea of blogging online.  Students feel like they are talking to their friends and it opens up a whole new communication from them to learn.  

I have used Edmodo several times in my classroom.  I like that it not only has all the features that were mentioned in the article, but it also has lesson plans and customized quizzes.  This is a very good resource for teacher who practice flipped classroom.  Teachers can show videos as a “pre-lesson” the night before, so that students will have an idea of what they will learn the next day.  Many educators practice this method and had many positive response from students. 

I’m unsure if my students will go online to do extra assignments without credit, but I do like that there is that option.  I do believe that students find more interest in doing assignments online, compare to a paper and pencil.  My students’ faces tend to light up whenever they see the Chromebooks all set up on their desk when they walk into the classroom.  I do see that there is a greater benefit that outweighs the negatives and risks of social media usage. 

I strongly agree with the statement that it is the parents and educators’ job to teach the students proper internet etiquette.  It is important for students to understand the harm that can be done when the internet is misused.  If students can use the internet the way it was intended and for educational purposes, technology can be a great enhancement to the classroom.  

Journal #2: Affinity Group

I was able to join Digg RSS stream during class last week and I really enjoy the amount of resources available.  First, I searched for middle school math resources.  The ones that I subscribed to showed many mini lessons that pertain to my content area.  I was very excited to find a movie option to show my students in a class.  Those were very hard to come by, so it was extremely help to have a PG movie that works in a math class.  I also subscribed to a newsfeed that included a lot of great idea for classroom management.  As I explored and clicked on a few on their blogs and articles, I discovered some interesting dos and don’ts for classroom management.  I am still exploring some of the channels and looking for ways to improve my practices.

As for Classroom 2.0, doesn’t seem to be as convenient for me to navigate or utilize.  It definitely has a lot more going on.  I like the idea that anyone can post blogs and other information to a specific category, but I find it a little difficult to sort through and look for what I really want.  Dedicated Classroom 2.0 users also attend live seminars which is not very convenient for me.  I didn’t spend as much time exploring this resource compare to Digg.  I found Digg a lot more convenient more me because I can easily search for what I am looking for and everything seems more organized for me.  It felt like an extended Pinterest for teachers!

Lastly, I joined Edmodo couple months ago.  Edmodo is very useful because there are multiple features in one program.  I am able to set up my classroom, assign homework, give assessments, and communicate with my students.  There are also blogs, newsfeeds, and communities to subscribe to.  I haven’t used it that often, but I do try to go on once in a while to look for pre-made lesson plans to save me some time from planning!

Question 1: What are benefits of joining an affinity group?

Affinity groups keeps you current and up to date with today’s practices in the teaching field.  For example, the Classroom 2.0 had a talk group about Minecraft and how teachers can incorporate this huge gaming success into a lesson that can be enjoyable and interesting.  Students no longer learn with straight forwards lectures the way we were brought out.  Especially with the new California Standards many educators have to create new lesson plans and learn the new way to teach our students.  I love joining these affinity groups because it allows other educators to try out the lesson, tweak it, and post their dos and don’ts for the lesson.   Of course, I will still need to adjust the lesson to fit my students’ needs, but it is less of a chance to mess up because I can learn from other teachers who did the lesson before me.  Educators who post on the feeds can use it as a learning experience.  It is a perfect time and environment to test their lesson plans, reflect, and get other ideas that can enhance the lessons for future use.

Question 2:  What happens if you don’t find what you’re looking for in an affinity group?

The awesome thing about affinity group is its community.  It is very easy to post up a question or a category.  Afterwards, other educators can also easily post their ideas and feedback.  Once more and more users continue to blog and post, we just got what we were looking for! This is how a community gets started.  

Journal #1: Learning Web Design

Robbins, J. (2012). Learning web design: A beginner’s guide to HTML, CSS, Javascript, and web graphics (4^th ed., pp. 3-46). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.

In Robbin’s Learning Web Design, A Beginner’s Guide to HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Web Graphics, the author gives a quick synopsis of the different careers that make up web design.  As he describes in his book, a web designer has to wear a lot of hats.  However, there are certain careers that specialize in a specific component of web design.  I enjoy reading the different careers, but the one that stands out for me the most would be the graphic designer.  I like to embellish and add to what is already created.  I also like to look for what has been done, and change it up to make it my own.   I would love to learn Photoshop and Illustrator to create my own designs.   The rest of the reading talks about the basics of a web page from text to presentation and how the web works.  It is very interesting because I take the web for granted.  I use it not realizing where it came from and how it works.  I’ve seen HTML, URLs, http,…etc, but I never knew what those meant and what they are useful for. 

So far, I do enjoy the textbook because it is very simple and basic. The author is very good at getting to the point and telling the reader what is necessary how things work.  The only hard part right now is fully understanding all the terms and grasping on the concepts.  It is difficult because I have to physically work out the codes for me to remember them. 

Question 1: What makes a good website?

I believe that a good website depends on the audience.  A website also needs to be attractive.  If the audience does not find it attractive, they will definitely not stay on the page for more than a few seconds.  I personally would not stay on a page that does not have any color or pictures. Is it too much text?  Is it easy to use and navigate?  Bottom line is that the creator must understand the audience that he/she is targeting.  Lastly, with mobile phones being so popular, it is important for the creator to also consider making their website look good on a mobile device.  If it is hard to navigate on a phone, the user will probably leave the page very quickly.  

Question 2: Why is it important to learn about the theory of the internet?

As mentioned before, I took the internet for granted.  Yes, we can all use the internet very easily without knowing the background of a website.  However, those who understand how it works and how it receives its information is phenomenal.  I now have a greater appreciation of the internet and have a bigger interests in learning how to code and create websites.