Tweet Tweet Tweet – Nicole Gross

I have always had a love for Twitter. I think it is incredibly cool how you can tweet at famous people directly. That was my main reason for starting a Twitter account in the first place. However, Twitter can be used for an educational purpose if you follow the right people. For module 3 in my Introduction to Writing Arts class, I think that it really opened my eyes to a whole new world of Twitter.

During this Twitter assignment, I would live tweet about reading assignments or even a story being shared in class. I enjoy live tweeting when I am able to because it is something to capture in the moment. For example, my professor shared a story about the police, which I thoroughly enjoyed so I “live tweeted” (see below).

Really enjoyed the story about the police. So funny. #tfw2

— Nicole Gross (@nicole_gross3) April 15, 2015

 

If you check out my Twitter account (@nicole_gross3), you will see every time I would live tweet when my tweets start with “*live tweeting*”. Also, we had several readings to blog about for this module. Although the readings were sometimes long, they were always interesting and showed me something new. It was difficult for me to live tweet while reading because I would end up getting distracted and looking around on Twitter. I ended up embedding a few tweets in previous blogs from the Huffington Post Educational twitter account since I found them to have the most recent information open for discussion. Personally, from all of the accounts I followed in the Educational    community, @HuffPostEdu was my favorite. This account has some very informative tweets along with links to their article about the topic. I found myself replying to this account mainly because as a future teacher, I can relate to their articles. Unfortunately, no one ever replied to these tweets. Although that was a little discouraging, I didn’t let it stop me from tweeting to them again. Since the Huffington Post Educational is a news source for all people in the field of education, their account is following many editors of magazines and newspapers. Also, they are being followed by workers in schools such as librarians, art teachers, etc. This account tweets several times a day, each post being a relative tweet to today’s news. This account is up to date with their posts and articles. Their tweets mention what their attached article is about. I think that is smart because it hooks your followers right away. Check out the tweet below from Huffington Post Educational’s account. This particular tweet caught my attention right away because bullying is a big problem in schools, which is something I need to be aware of as a future teacher. This is one tweet I replied to, but got no response.

 

@HuffPostEdu These laws need to be proven they’re effective. There is constant bullying going on not only in schools but outside too. #tfw2

— Nicole Gross (@nicole_gross3) April 28, 2015

Overall, this Twitter assignment was something different, something I had never been asked to do for a class. I think that it was a great way to get yourself in your professional community. Social media is a great way to network yourself, if you network yourself with the right people.

Evolutionary Classroom Technology

Technology has been a part of our world since the beginning of time. It’s in the media, health care, various workplaces, and even in education. Technology is always evolving, and now more than ever, is used to help children better succeed in their studies. As I reflect back on my early school days, I am truly amazed at how much technology has changed since then. I remember when I was in first grade I had my first experience with an apple computer. The apple computer back then (roughly 1997) was not the sleek, slick apple computers we see today, but had a small screen, and was rather clunky.

Computers also, were rarely seen in classrooms. The only room that had more computers than just one was the “Computer” room. Today, in some classrooms there is more than one computer in each room to better serve both students and teachers. Other computer necessities have changed since I was in school as well, including: floppy disks, CD’s and mice with wires. These technologies have been replaced with things such as Flash Drives, and wireless mice, as well as things like tablets and mini laptops.

  Computers are not the only technology that has changed since my school days, overhead projectors have been replaced with SMART boards and Document Viewers. Televisions are not placed on wheels and rolled around from classroom to classroom anymore either, but are stationary in classrooms for convenience and better accessibility. These new and improved technologies are essential in the classroom because they allow students to participate in a higher level of thinking.

The article “What Does Teaching in the 21^st Century Mean?”  (Educational Technology and Mobile Learning) explains how technology in the classroom can enhance student achievement through video. The video shows that through the use of technology, students are able to gain knowledge anytime, anywhere and through technology, comes teaching digital responsibility (Educational Technology and Mobile Learning). Technology not only benefits the students but the teachers as well. The teaching of technology allows teachers to think more critically about the tools they use to teach. Technology will also pose as a bond between the teacher and the student. If a teacher uses tools that are more relevant to students, the students will be able to grasp information better. In my personal opinion, I think that the use of technology in classrooms is an essential part of teaching. Not only does allow students to think more critically, but it also engages students better because using technology is more fun. Let’s face it, I’d rather have fun while learning, wouldn’t you?

The Power of Recorded Video

While reading ‘Becoming Screen Literate’ by Kevin Kelly, I realize that he’s right when he says that video is taking over the internet. He says that he watches videos everywhere, from an airplane ride, to when he’s pumping gas in his car. I can relate to all of his experiences. I watch YouTube clips all of the time, and while I’m waiting for my YouTube video to load, an advertisement will be displayed in the form of a video.

Also, I am a creator of video as well. I wouldn’t say that I’m a director, but video is extremely easy to create with thecurrent technology. All smart phones have a feature where people can record video. I capture videos of my 18 month old daughter every day. When my phone is out of memory, I upload them to my computer. I have thousands of videos of her walking and talking on my computer. I love going back and watching her videos. One of my biggest fears is having my computer crash and losing all of her first moments.

The downfall of video is that it can easily be lost because there is not a hard copy of it, like a VHS. When I was younger, my family recorded video, but we could only record how many actual tapes that we had. When we were out of tapes to record on, we had to be done recording or record over something. I have thousands of unorganized videos on my phone and computer, and many of them are not quality performances. In an earlier day, some of the videos I recorded would have been recorded over, but I save everything now that I am capable.

But yes, recorded video is definitely taking over. In my college courses we actually watch recorded video of the elementary classrooms. By watching the videos of how classrooms work, we are able to learn different teaching styles and how to handle certain situations in the class. We read a textbook for my classes too, but video has become an important classroom tool. Tutorial videos are all over YouTube. Learning from a video is much easier than reading an instruction book or a textbook. I personally take more from a video than a book. Real life experiences make more of an impression than reading about it in a book. Watching real people in real situations also comforts people and makes them feel more confident on what they are doing.

Facebook is My Morning News

When I was in high school, my alarm clock was always set at 5:50am. I usually would groan, roll over, and savor the few minutes I had before I forced myself out of bed. As much as I dreaded high school mornings, there was one thing that made those mornings more bearable, the morning news. Every morning as I begrudgingly got out of bed, I would always flip on the news before my daily morning bathroom routine. I then would return to my bedroom and listen to the news as I got ready for school. Watching the news, allowed me to hear about current events, and stay connected to the world. Today 6 years (and some change) later, the source of that news has changed. Instead of watching the news on television at 5:50 am, I now scroll through my Facebook feed to keep myself updated on current events. Therefore, one can only imagine my apprehension about going Facebook free for a week.

The first few days were the toughest, I even nonchalantly slipped a few times (not going to lie) but by the third or fourth day I got used to my phone being Facebook free and busied myself with other things. One thing that I definitely noticed that I had more time to do certain things. I don’t think that people (myself included) really realize the amount of time Facebook takes up, whether it be to just scroll through a newsfeed or comment on a friends post, I think most would be surprised at how quickly “just five minutes” can turn into 20 minutes or even more.

Another thing that I realized while Facebook free is how disconnected I was to the world. Sure, Facebook is used to communicate with family and friends, but it’s also packed with current events that are posted even before news broadcasters get their hands on it. Many of the current events on Facebook are also about people being GOOD to one another, something that news channels fail to cover. This mini-experiment has really put a positive spin on social media for me. Before this experiment, I viewed a lot of social media sights as a harbor for bullying and negativity. Now I realize that it is also a place where people can hear about the good things happening in the world as well. I believe that a little bit of Facebooking can be beneficial for anyone, as long as they do it in moderation.

RT @MindShiftKQED: How Transparency Can Transform School Culture: http://t.co/IWYcJ6PMvD. #cpchat pic.twitter.com/FCi7eiPWG2

— edutopia (@edutopia) April 29, 2015

Challenge Accepted – Nicole Gross

Everyone is on Facebook these days, it seems to be the social norm. Personally, I use Facebook to connect with friends in other countries and to stay updated with events going on during school. It was difficult to decide whether or not to give Facebook up or something else. I felt as if I would miss too much about what is going on if I were to not go on Facebook for a week, so I chose to give up Instagram instead.

Instagram (for those who might not know) is another social media app where you can post pictures or videos. You have, like Twitter, followers and you follow others. Personally, it took me a long time to start enjoying Instagram because I felt as if it were like another Twitter. Of the three social medias, Twitter is my favorite. This “experiment” to not use Instagram for a week was challenging. There were times where I would accidentally got on it out of habit since I’m so used to having it. The first two or three days were the hardest because it had just gotten taken away, almost like a child being punished and not being able to watch television. 

I have had a similar experience when I would go on vacation out of the country and wasn’t able to use my phone at all. I had to go from one hundrend to zero in a blink of an eye for a week. I wasn’t able to send or receive text messages, use Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. This was very tough for me. I always felt that after the first day of feeling empty without your phone was done, it only got easier. The only difference between this vacation and this assignment was that I was constantly busy on vacation and didn’t think about it too often, whereas during school, it’s all about socializing so it’s more of a necessity.

Overall, this assignment opened my eyes to how much we are dependent and addicted to social media. It has become a part of our everyday lives, which we are used to. Instagram isn’t such a big deal like Facebook is, however they are alike in the way that our minds work around social media. People jump from one social media to another all day long trying to stay updated. I felt as if this was a refresher for most people and had them focus on something different for a change.

“The best teachers I’ve ever had have used technology to enhance learning.”—H.S. student Katie Benmar http://t.co/qGTNF406c1 #ewopinion

— Education Week (@educationweek) April 28, 2015

To Facebook, or not to Facebook?

Not using Facebook for a week has surprised me in many ways. First, I never thought I could do it. Each day without Facebook helped me see my world better and it helped me focus on myself and my family. It is so incredibly easy to become consumed in Facebook all through out the day. I find myself on there all day and I don’t think anything of it.

What has Facebook done to real communication and personal relationships? #tfw2

— Lisa Kilroy (@KilroyLisa) April 22, 2015

Secondly, I honestly didn’t realize how out of touch with my family I am. Without Facebook, I didn’t interact with them for a week. Our normal is sharing pictures and videos throughout the week and meeting up when we have some free time. I didn’t know how to feel about people not contacting me. I know everyone has a busy life and Facebook is a convenient way to keep everyone up to date with your family, but I thought I’d get a text from someone. My sister actually got engaged, and my fiance told me when he saw it on Facebook, 12 hours later. I was hurt by that because my sister was the first person I called when I got engaged. I knew my Aunt Dorothy was going under for heart surgery, and I was called when it was done, but no one told me that the surgery failed and she had to go through it again; Facebook knew.

Facebook is a great way to announce things to people who care, because honestly who wants to make that many phone calls to update people? BUT, I think when things are sensitive, people should be contacted on a personal level, especially when it directly effects them. I am undecided about whether Facebook is good or bad. Facebook has some great features and it makes keeping in touch much easier, but on the other hand Facebook is destroying personal relationships. People can not create a personal relationship through Facebook, spending real time together is what brings people together. All of the time, people who I ‘know’ tell me how cute my daughter is, but do I really know these people? Most of the people are friends of my mothers or distant relatives that I wouldn’t notice on the street. Is this acceptable?

I don’t want my daughter to grow up on Facebook. I want the people that love her to spend REAL time with her and not just look at her on a video. After this week without Facebook, I honestly am going to cut back on social media. Facebook is truly addicting. Flicking up on your phone and reading new, live status updates of people’s lives is so easy, but when you see the person, you don’t even acknowledge them. It’s weird. Facebook is making people more socially awkward than they already are.

Facebook has become a dangerous place. Bygoing on Facebook, you can find out anything about anyone; your location, where you are at the moment, where you like to go, what you are interested in, your profession and basically everything about your life is there for people to look at. While you put things on Facebook thinking that you are safe, someone could be watching you and waiting for the right moment to hurt you. For example, last week I put a harmless video up of Lucy saying ‘bye’ to her ‘dada’ on his way out the door. In the video, I asked her ‘where is dada going?’, she replied ‘work’. A video that is meant to be cute gives so much information. The public now knows that we are alone at night.

Literacy and Technology – Karissa Gardella

Literacy and technology go hand and hand in todays’ society. Selfe describes that technological literacy means, “Computer skills and the ability to use computers and other technology to improve learning, productivity, and performance” (3). Many people think that Literacy and technology means that you need to know how to use a computer, which is part of it but not the whole picture.

What Selfe said above was the best way to describe what technological literacy means. I believe it is very important to know what technological literacy really means so that you can use both of them properly.

It is important for people in certain professions, especially teaching, to know how to use them both correctly and effectively. It is also important to remember that to be technologically literate and use it effectively, you as an educator need to make sure that the students are using their resources productively to get the most out of what they are trying to learn.  Selfe put it best when she described that it should be used to improve certain areas where maybe the student struggles.

Teachers today, I believe, think that the internet is a scary place and only are dooming the students for failure because of everything that they can get from the internet. I learned in the first module that they actually have websites to let students pay for papers that are already written, all they have to do is pay and print it out. Teachers need to learn how to monitor students so that they are getting the good side of the internet and not the dark side. I understand that this will be easier for an elementary teacher rather than a high school teacher. But I think that teachers need to realize that the internet and technology are not scary things and can actually benefit the students in great ways. Technology in the classroom is always going to be there and is always going to be changing. Teachers have no effect on getting technology out of the classroom so why not embrace your resources and make good out of what you have.

Memex- Karissa Gardella

What is a Memex exactly? According to Bush, a Memex is, “a device in which an individual stores all their books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility” (4). The Memex for some people including Bush would be described as a computer but in the first stage of development. While I read this article I could not believe how similar the Memex was to the modern day computer. The present day computer has a hard drive, allows people to store material, and allows us to read material as well. The only true difference that I spotted was the amount of space that the Memex has compared to the laptops today. Bush when designing the Memex was not to far off from making a regular computer. That is crazy to me because how would someone even know how to make something so complex and so long ago, and now we have something that is so similar.

The Memex was also used for storage of pictures for future use. You would be able to sit at this machine and read what you want and choose where you wanted to start from. One thing that Bush does say is that he created to help with memory. I compared that to the modern day use to the internet. If I ever have any questions or forget something, my first instinct is to type Google in my search bar to get my answers.

I know people that if we are having a conversation and we aren’t sure of something or forget who played a role in a movie, they actually get up to grab their phone or laptop to Google whatever question we have. Like i said before, it is so amazing to read this article and read about how something was created and can be compared to something that was made years later. It is so interesting to read about how people just create things and somehow it ties back to the technology that we have today.

One In a Million – Nicole Gross

I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate Ellen Degeneres. Her daytime talk show is one of my favorites for several reasons. However, the main reason is that she helps teachers all around the world who try their very best to provide as much as they can for their students. I enjoy finding these videos because I know they are going to get a surprise of a lifetime. Recently, I saw a video that really touched my heart. It’s truly amazing how much something as small as money can do to someones life.

In this video, Sonya Romero is a kindergarten teacher in New Mexico who makes sure her students are all fed and wearing clean clothes before she starts her lessons for the day. This is a quality so rare that teachers have. One day, I will strive to be just like Sonya who is a true inspiration to not only me but to all teachers. This video really shows her passion for teaching and compassion as a teacher (honestly, I did not make it through this video without tearing up). She feels as if she is a “first responder” for these students. She became a foster parent to former students because they had no where else to go. She took on the responsibility because she puts others before herself. Sonya is a hero to all children and look upon as a fantastic role model at her elementary school.

The video shows how Target donated $10,000 to Sonya and $10,000 to the elementary school. This amazing gift will go a long way for both the school and Sonya. Sonya already has a son of her own plus foster children, so I’m sure she very much appreciated this surprise. Teachers in general, don’t make a lot of money (which should be changed since teachers make a huge difference in the world) so this donation is genuinely humbling, even from an outsiders point of view. I hope one day that more teachers will be recognized for their amazing job and difference that they make in a student’s life. Teachers are more impactful on children than you might think.

I have tweeted several times (@nicole_gross3) about how the Ellen Degeneres show changes teachers lives. I hope to one day impact students the way that Sonya does. Sonya is one in a million teachers. School administration should be looking for these qualities before hiring teachers because of the impact that they will make on potential students.

So incredibly amazing how much @TheEllenShow helps teachers. It really warms my heart that there are great people in the world still. #tfw2

— Nicole Gross (@nicole_gross3) April 16, 2015

Technological Literacy- Alex Esposito

In Selfe’s “What is Technological Literacy?” chapter of, “Literacy and Technology linked Literacy and technology linked: The national project to expand technological literacy. Technology and literacy in the twenty-first century: The importance of paying attention  she explains that technological literacy has two different parts. The first part of the definition refers to how to use computers and different computerized technology. The second part of the definition refers to being able to read and write in a computerized environment, as well as knowing the different tools associated with the computer, Selfe also includes culture in her definition as well (11).  To take her definition a bit further, I believe that technological literacy also should refer to communicating with social media in the correct way.

Social media today, has shaped how people view the world around them. It is packed with news, emotions, and knowledge. Social media is also embedded with its own form of technological literacy. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all forms of social media that have their own properties that make them unique. All three sites operate different than one another. Facebook one can upload pictures, create statuses and comment to friends and family. Instagram one can only upload pictures, and with Twitter a tweet can be no longer than 140 characters. Along with the mechanics, there’s also a different language associated with each of the sites includes hashtags and the “@” symbol.

As a future teacher, I think that it is important for students to know the different aspects of technological literacy. When I was younger, I mainly focused on the mechanics of the computer, such as navigating a web page, or special keys on the keyboard. As I grew older, email became more prevalent and knowing how to email the teacher was a must. The excuse “my printer didn’t work” was no longer valid because I was able to email my paper directly to my teachers.

Now with technologies such as tablets, and smart devices it’s important to teach kids the different operating skills needed to make use of these tools, in congruency to the navigational skills of social media sites. Teachers should also learn to become technologically literate. In doing so, it allows both the teacher and student to benefit from technology. After all, technology is a tool, why not use it?