Day 5….and the journey will continue

Today, last day of formal education concerning the concept of social networking via technology. I do believe that this course has given me the opportunity to have a fresh perspective on technology and has really opened my eyes to what I do not know and what I want to learn. So I do believe that my education of social networking has just begun. Thank-you Dr. Alec Couros for starting all of us off in such an inspirational way. I do realize that right now I see endless possibitiesand that I will have to focus my attention on only a few things at first, so to get a better mastery to use it in a more meaningful way. I have to say, though, I have a lot from which to choose!

I have just finish a reflection piece on Google doc and feel a little reflected out…if that is possible! I would like however, to recommend this course to others who are looking for a more meaningful understanding of how technology can be used in the classroom. The discussions have definitely sparked many ideas for my teaching and how to make it more relevant for my own students. I look forward to using some of the apps. I never thought I would say this but, I will probably continue to share my journey by blogging so share my growth and to feel more comfortable sharing my ideas. What a great ressource! If I want my students not to be afraid to share ideas, I need to practice doing the same! Here is to personal growth and networking!

What a wonderful beginning to this particular journey…

The journey continues…Day 3

So here we are day three of my technologcial journey…and my Internet connection has not worked all day and here I am at 10:30 at night connected once again and ready to share another blog about today’s learning curve. Today Alec was able to provide us with a list of other technological applications that we can use within our educational practice. We also had some time to practice some of the tools to which we have been introduced (much appreciated). Today was another good day to get the feet wet, as all this applications need practice. It is not sufficient to just know about them, and it is necessary to actually try the applications, as I found many questions arose while trying to use some of the tools. For example, today I was trying to make a wikki page, but I found myself stuck on trying to create the different pages. I was able to create the different names for the pages I wanted, but I could not delete what I did not like in the tool bar section. I found myself getting very frustrated and quite honestly a little obssessed with the delete function…This was actually a good experience for me, because it made me realize that as learners, we need the time to actually practice and explore, just as I would have to incorporate time into my lessons for students to explore and discover the potential problems with using new applications. It is a question of being flexible with the time and trusting that the time spent will pay off.  I definitely believe that I have learned a lot through my own exploration of the many applications presented and feel proud when I am able to figure things out. Again I am hoping that I could give the time to my own students to explore and have that sense of pride when having accomplished the task. I have to admit though…I think I have many questions for the class tomorrow….as there are things I still need to figure out…the delete button!!!

One last comment for the night…I was reading one of the other edst499k blogs tonight, andwould like to discuss the social networking and the PLCs (Professinal Learning Communities). I do agree that this course has opened my eyes to how I can choose who will be part of my learning communities through the open networks such as blogging and twitter. Many times the PLC is indeed contrived, but having a little autonomy over our own development by communicating with other educators of different perspectives may allow me to feel a little more in control of my own advancement as well as feel like a professional. I have enjoyed reading the different comments and blogs that present different perspectives concerning education and technology and I believe that, although I have been a bit wary about the privacy issues, that I may continue with the blogs and social networks in order to get more perspectives from a wider range of people across the world, and not just the perspectives dictated by my school or district (nothing wrong with that by the way…I just like to open up the world a little more).

I look forward to reading more blogs and comments to the blogs…

Day two…exploration

Today’s class consisted of learning about the many programs available to the public via internet. It was a little overwhelming but extremely eye-opening. I had no idea that so many tools, such as Google Docs, Reader, Delicious and RSS were available to us on the through the web. I have realized there is so much out there to explore, to learn from and hopefully from which to teach. Though a little overwhelmed today,  I see the need for my own education revolving around technology. In order to make technology beneficial to the educational world, we need to make computers a tool that is practical and worth using. I have heard so many teachers oppose the use of technology as they find it too distracting for the students and superficial in the nature of the activities. I find however that I have had rather positive experiences with technology usage in my classroom. I do not mean to say that I have not had the above mentioned problems with computers, but I have enjoyed experimenting with the different types of uses during project work and instructional time. I do see however, how I can make computer usage more useful and practical in the classroom, we as teachers need more support about the different applications that are available.

I feel after today, that even though I have not yet mastered any of the applications, that I can potentially make technology within my classroom more meaningful. I would like to encourage my students to explore, as I am doing now, the different sharing technologies to encourage advancement of thoughts and organizational structures. Who knew that you could save and share ideas and thoughts in the “cloud” so that many could read and contribute to those ideas and thoughts. I believe that to make this technology useful for students they need to be taught even in content classes if possible to use these tools to make the learning more relevant for them. I say this, because I am finding that this course is making the information learned relevant to me, and I am motivated to learn. I can only image my own students who need the information to be meaningful in order for them to want to learn. I believe that this form of use of technology should definitely be part of teacher and student education, as it is one of the building blocks to synthesizing thinking and again making information accessible as well as practical.  Looking forward to learning more about these applications, even though as mentioned before I am overwhelmed! Practice makes perfection!

Hello world!

Today’s class involved an interesting epistemological discussion about knowledge. I enjoyed the talk about the right to knowledge and ownership of information. Who does knowledge belong to and how is such power used in our society. The concept of open knowledge does appeal to me, and today’s class enabled me to think about the involvement of technology as it pertains to such a notion. There are many aspects that I thought were very interesting in terms of this open concept. The idea that knowledge could be accessible to the masses, offering perspectives from around the world is refreshing. I believe that education is about sharing knowledge, ideas and perspectives and being able to add to the multitude of thoughts. Today, I was able to get a little perspective on how technology is providing such a forum. I have to admit that I am a very private person, and sharing my thoughts to the world seems quite foreign and uncomfortable. Today, however, I was able to see how sharing these ideas could be quite beneficial to me, as other individuals would be willing to add and improve on my own understanding of concepts, ideas and perspectives. This social technological networking, as uncomfortable as I may be with it at times, could help me be productive member of our global society. As I watched some of the videos today I was amazed today at the accessibility of communication and idea sharing,

As I said before, I do have a few reservations about so much of being exposed to the world.  I do appreciate the open knowledge notion (mostly the copy left one), but with this type of lack of restrictions within the technological world, we have to ensure that individuals are taught a form of technology citizenship. We are taught the etiquettes of social graces and discussions, the same sort of behaviours need to be taught to about being appropriate when sharing. This open forum has with it great responsibility: the responsibility to be critical of what is shared and to share appropriately in the right situations. These are after all social communities that we are forming. I believe, however, that with the proper education, this type of use of technology can be useful for both educators and students in accessing many types of perspectives. I am particularly interessed in seeing how such social media can help communicate with different parts of the world within our classroom, so to encourage multicultural perspectives. I look forward to understanding these different forms of communications.