Web 2.0-last blog

 I have learned so much in the past 7 weeks, working with Web 2.0.  As I know learning new things can be tricky, I have certainly felt like I have stepped outside my comfort zone with all of the new things that I have grasped and learned.  I had to feel confused, go through several trial and errors, and "test" lots of things out.  I think it would bring great success into classrooms, wonderful ways to make a community within a collaborative group of students, and invite the learner to participate in lots of different types of educational technology.  As an educator, I would strive to look for tools that can promote growth within the classroom, yet not cause too much confusion amongst students.  As we all want students to be challenged and learn new things, I want my class to also use the tools that are presented to them.  When I first started learning about Dieego, I was pretty confused, yet the more I learned about it, the more I think with an older group of students, it will come in pretty handy.  I think it's great because it is free and does not require lots of steps to work with getting it started.  I think students using it collaboratively is such an important way to achieve group work. 

Vanity Search Part 2

Well, the past few weeks of this class have certainly made my name appear more in the internet world!! As I Googled myself after the first search, I was surprised what showed up in the regards to this class.  My blog post have come up, most of the information from Prezi, all of the Twitter and hashtags over the past few weeks, and the many postings that I have written in regards to Dieggo, social hash-tagging, and so much more.  All of the Educational Technology Blog are available as well.  I think this is important for my students because not only can they relate to what I am Tweeting about, learn from my blogs, and follow some of my educational advice, but they can create their own projects that will assist them with learning and broadening their horizons with the technology world.  As for me, it's funny for me to see that a few months ago when I would google my name, images from my wedding may pop up, pictures of my teaching aspects, even places that I registered for when I was pregnant!  I like the fact that when my name is looked for however, that one can see how much educational aspects I have under my belt!

Continuing to learn about Web 2.0

     Well, the final project was a busy one!!  After struggling with a few of the concepts in making it, it made me realize how much I actually still have to learn about WEB 2.0.  To enhance my knowledge of WEB 2.0 I plan on going to continuing trainings and workshops, especially over the summer and whenever I can.  I think it would also be helpful if I stayed with the educational hashtags from Twitter, and the other ways I have been introduced to more educational aspects, especially the ones from this course.  I know you can also benefit by just talking to other peers and learning so many different ideas from colleauges and other educcators.  Even the most talented and experienced WEB 2.0 worker will still have so much to learn!

Diigo

This week had lots of learning for me!  I am totally new to learning about Diigo and had lots of trial and errors, and a little bit of struggle, but finally made it to work for me.  I think what I like most about Diigo is how it could work in a class setting or group form.  For example: if a group of students were doing a research project on Native Americans, everyone can go bookmark wonderful sites they have found, and information on their specific subject.  Each student can log on anytime, anywhere, and have access to all their bookmark spots!  While, it took my awhile to get going, I think it was definitely worth it.  I also liked learning so much for my peers while I viewed their posts and everything that they have shared.
   Here is the link to my diigo site:  https://www.diigo.com/user/jaalla

Aggregating Pages

I was very overwhelmed and nervous after reading the aggregating pages assignment.  I had never heard of this type of tool but decided that I would try my luck with Protopages.  Protopages turned out to be a very simple tool to use.  I spent a few minutes exploring all of the widgets and also watched a clip on YouTube to better understand what Protopages was meant for.  This really helped me when creating my Dashboard of Information on Protopage. 

Here is a link to my site:
www.protopage.com/jaallaweir

I can see how Protopage can be a very useful tool in presenting information.  I really like how it gives you updated news feeds throughout the day.  This feature could make it very useful for educational purposes and for keeping up with your own interests. 

Creating a Twitter tab on my page has made it very easy for me to keep up with my personal Twitter account and our #Etec527 conversation.  It is a great way to store multiple sources of information that you want to check on a regular basis.

Finally, I really enjoyed the ease of use with Protopages.  Using the widgets was very simple and I liked how you had the option of fitting them on your page to you liking.  I will be using this tool when I become a school librarian for research projects.  I think it will be a great way to easily organize multiple information sources for students.  I look forward to seeing what tools we will learn about next week!

Exploration of Twitter, YouTube, and Web Tools 2.0

These past two weeks have really opened my eyes to the limitless possibilities of technology.  I never had a twitter account before this class and have been amazed at how much information can be shared in only 160 characters.  Our class hashtag ETEC527 has been a great resource for me.  I have enjoyed reading the tweets from my peers and checking out the different web tools they have been tweeting about.  One of the tools that I spent a lot of time researching was Classdojo.  This tool would be great for classroom management and an exciting way to motivate students. I also enjoyed exploring Apps that pair with Twitter such as Hootsuite.  With all of the information presented on Twitter, Hootsuite is a great app to have to easily organize and find information. 

I really enjoyed the YouTube assignment this week.  I have had experience using YouTube for entertainment purposes but didn’t realize the educational capabilities of YouTube.  I can foresee myself creating a YouTube channel when I become an elementary librarian.  It would be a great way to post videos of library expectations such as how to check out a book, how to hold a book, and audience etiquette. 

Here is a link to the YouTube channel I created for the class: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuBDm6JF8iFSr275bYtTF_w

Exploring all of the Webtools available at an educator’s disposal can be intimidating.  I am glad that we have spent time this week learning and exploring these tools so that I can feel comfortable implementing these tools in my classroom.  It would be very interesting and exciting for the students to use presentation tools such as Glogster and Voki.  These tools are fun ways for students to present information instead of traditional essays or reports.  Google Docs and Wiki’s would be a great way for middle and high schools students to collaborate on group work and work on assignments. 

Twitter in the educational classroom

So, learning about Twitter....not something I really ever use, not something I thought would be super beneficial to me, but certainly something that has turned out to be a useful tool! In my opinion as an educator, I would like to use Twitter, and think it would be a good idea to allow for groups of people to hear about information that pertains to them.  I think it's a good idea to keep up very updated form of info and one can also share amongst themselves, and to certain individuals.  As I'm learning myself as I go along, I think others would too!

Vanity Search

   My vanity search is actually quite interesting.  As being pretty much the only person in the world with the name Jaalla (and spelled like mine) and having an unusual last name to go with it, it's no surprise that only "me" popped up, and wayyyyy too much personal info! One can see that I am a librarian, the blogs and Twitter accounts that I have created, pictures from a family website, and even videos that have been uploaded on YouTube.  It's very easy to fine me!  I always find it interesting how many years back people can see information on you from the internet!

Section 7

I am Librarian for K-12 a charter school.  I think from Chapter 33 I would have students playing games as the most important aspect of learning.  If a child is having fun and wanting to learn, I would say my version and definition of Instructional Technology is to assist students, teachers, introduce and apply educational technology, and teach databases and ways we can better assist our learning.  I have only been doing this for a year and half so I am still learning the ropes!  I think that with most students and teachers, they are willing and able to understand what you are trying to teach them, most of the time. All students learn differently, but to give the idea of learning through an I-Pad, a learning database, or educational technology site, is important!!

          I also like to read a little about virtual learning that was in chapter 34.  This is a little new to me but there is an advanced class in my school that is using this more and more and it is very interesting!  A little unusual to grasp, but students seem to enjoy something new!    

               One must be careful however while using the technology world.  With so much to offer, there can also be things to be insulting to others.  I had a site I pulled up on Google the other day with a class that was discussing different cultures and religion.  Sadly, some things popped up that a student was offended about.  Our school has blocks on certain sites, yet this one needed teacher discretion.  I like the idea of having all this learning at my fingertips though!

         

Section 6

I loved this section of our course.  I thought it offered so many insightful and helpful tips for grasping a job in the field we want.  Currently, I am a librarian at a charter school.   This is my 11^th year in education and my 2^nd year in the library.  I am taking courses at TAMUC for a Library Science degree.  I hope to very soon go back into a big district and work only K-5 grades.  Right now I have K-12 and with no library aide, a very small library, and a low amount of books.  I wanted to become a librarian because working with readers, authors, types of genres in books, and all library type activities, is my passion.  Once I get back into a district, I would really like to utilize the resources that they have there, to improve instruction within the classrooms, standardized testing, and allow a large variety of activities to help the student. For me to get a media specialist job/librarian job, I must learn lots more about technology, programs, and understand completely, all of the wonderful things that the tech world can bring. I feel confident in what I am doing now, but know that I have so much more to grow and in lots of different areas.  I also have to work with blogs and wikis more.  I have grasped so much information through the courses that I have taken, however, will still need to learn more and I have so much left to seek out and understand. 

          

 After I graduate, I plan on becoming a member in some library type organizations and possibly becoming a part of my local library clubs.  For now however, something that has really been helping me a lot, is speaking to the head library coordinator in my local school district.  She can give me tips on useful databases to apply to students, shares wonderful ideas, explains why libraries may or may not have a reading program, etc.  An easy and awesome resource!  I loved the useful and important tips on pages 268-269 of the textbook.  I think applying these strategies and trying to become members of organizations that will better suit you as a graduate looking for a job in “Corporate America,” will be useful and you can’t go wrong!

Section 5-Trends and Issues and Various Settings

1.      I chose to compare the two topics-military and health care education.  Both of these are very strong points that so much can be learned, taken, and applied to instruction with just a little bit of background knowledge. Medical and health care is so very broad and I (as I’m sure lots of people do) like to always assume we are discussing hospitals, doctor’s offices, appointments, etc., yet it is so much more!  Military is also a topic where I feel one does not associate enough of the background with how much can occur.  Both of these topics have lots of risks involved, regulations, and guidelines.  I think that both of these issues get a lot of national recognition, however I think it is hard to truly relate to either one of these topics unless one has gone through either of the experiences.  One of the broadest aspects that these two issues have in common ins their funding.  I know that military funding is a big topic in the US as well as health care.  For my personal opinion as an educator, I have seen how difficult it can be for a child getting a military education.  Not only is it hard on the entire family, but constantly changing schools, making new friends, and learning things so much differently, is not easy either.  With the medical field in education, the needs are constantly changing and growing.  I know this has to be hard and frustrating for these types of students, but it is so important to keep with the “new and most accurate” pieces of learning.  I feel after reading about both of these scenarios, money and financial pieces are what makes these two topics linked together the best.

2.      With the wonderful and insightful way IDT has enhanced our learning in all aspects, all ways, at all ages and levels, it will almost be difficult to prepare todays youth for anything else that they may encounter. With so many state of the art equipment, technology, and ways that devices have bettered our economy, it seems like there will not or cannot be anything else left to add.  Yet there so will be! I think as an educator, one must allow for all levels of learning, or even something that seems strange or unusual to us, we need to listen to what is offered and also apply it.  For example: A few years ago I had a student from China that brought with him a very unusual and unique way of learning.  He actually had a method of learning mathematics by a special little “code” so to speak, that he was taught over in his country.  Instead of explaining that we learn a little differently than other countries, I had him come up to the front of the room, explain his method of learning, and then also showed him our way.  It seemed to work great!  It was also very useful to see how other students benefitted from his method as well.  I think it’s a great thing to learn after all of my readings-adapting.  It allows for so many levels of learning to occur.

Section 4

1. An issue that I always have had in the classroom is student behavior.  It is always a concern in classes, amongst the school, and in all learning type settings.  I think it is a very touchy subject for some teachers as even with the strongest and most accurate classroom management and discipline; it is still difficult for behavior to always be at its finest. It becomes a struggle sometimes when a student may or may not understand their expectations and what an educator would want to see out of them.

2. I like how the book describes performance support systems as a “training Band-Aid.”  Most support systems can be helpful in schools and would indeed assist like a Band-Aid.  When I had some behavior issues in the classrooms (when I taught Kindergarten) I used a colored stick plan that I put into place at the beginning of the year. Students were well aware of the procedures, knew the color scheme, (green was good, yellow meant to slow down and think about your choices and actions, and was red was bad) and could totally give credit to themselves, since they were the only ones responsible for their results at the end of the day.

3.I feel that you need Tacit knowledge in order to be successful with the behavioral system I was referring to in my first 2 paragraphs.  I think it is important to look at the procedures you are going to use and apply to your students and ask yourself-“what will make this idea stand out more than others?”  This is a very Tacit way of thinking.  I would need to have my plan into place and over time, see how it evolves, what I would change, etc.  I think that is important in determining success. 

4. Having been in education for 11 years, I feel like the informal learning experience I have participated in is, FIND IT.  I certainly think this worthy of sharing with others as it can have such a strong impact on the learner.  A student may need to manage what they are doing by using wikis, blogs, or other forms of information.  To research ideas, find answers, and learn by exploring, is so important and an old fashioned way of growing (aka LEARNING!)  with an educational mind.