When I started this endeavor back in early April, I was working to decide between three social networking sites: Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. After a short exploration, I decided that I was undecided and make the choice to keep all three and try them out. How hard could that be, right? With Twitter, I started following classmates and my professor. He, of course, was the most interesting person to follow. I felt limited by the number of characters that I was allowed per message. I would just put up what I was doing at that moment, but I didn’t feel like I was contributing much. So I eventually let my postings fade on that account. About the same time as my original Twitter membership, I spread the word among my students that I was putting up a SNS site. It took about two days before the first student found me. She was a very active MySpace member, with over 400 friends, her own blog posts, music in the background, the works. She had tons of photos on her page, and she made it really interesting to visit her page. She was the inspiration for me dressing up my site. Her name was Rachel. When the bad news happened in our community with the two young men drowning, Rachel was were I found out first. Rachel is still one of my top friends.

I also set up a Facebook account because I had heard that high school students liked Myspace and college students liked Facebook, and I wanted to build a big network of people I knew. One of my seniors was my first Facebook friend, and having her on my account led to others who had graduated already to come and find me. I have been able to keep up with students near and far. So which site has had the most significant impact on me? For numbers, Myspace friends outnumber Facebook friends 2 to 1. For interactive applications that are quirky, fun, and sometimes eye opening entertainment (the Testimonials), it is definitely Facebook. Also with Facebook, I like the Wall, the pokes and hugs and roses, and the notification updates on when friends are added.

So how has having a social networking account changed my life? It has really given me a good feeling about myself being on these sites.  Even though I only have a total of 90 friends to date, it has been a good experience for me to come home and get messages from my students about their days.  They are not allowed to show me pictures at school, so they post them on their sites (like prom pictures or family pictures) and I can see them there.  Sometimes they ask me questions that they are afraid to ask in class, and I can answer them in privacy.  I feel more effective because I am a better communicator with them.  I still have many kids who do not use SNS, but I get a new group of students next year, and I will encourage them to communicate with me and with each other.

So when I asked my students why they have social networking sites, they overwhelming response was that they use it to keep in touch with friends and family that they don’t get to see socially very often.  One student keeps in touch with members from an out-of-state church camp he attends every summer in Arkansas.  When I surveyed the students who do not have social networking sites, their reasons for not having one were it took too much time and that instant messaging was easier, several people did not like interacting with someone that they could not see, and some found the sites boring. 

This interesting article posted on OLDaily discusses important skills that students need to learn to be successful in the adult world.  It does not describe content knowledge, but rather qualities which help make a good human being, such as reasoning, taking care of yourself, having good communication skills, how to live a meaningful life, and valuing yourself.  I feel that teaching skills like these in addition to content is what we are supposed to do as educators.  Enjoy the read!

I finished reading Stoll’s realistic perspective on computing technology, and I wanted to offer him a Pulitzer prize for his work! Even though the book was written in 1999, many of the observations he makes still hold true, although there are some changes in computing technology for the greater good. We have become a society of convenience, snapping up technology to make our lives easier, when in fact, many of the technological advances make our lives more complicated. For example, we buy cars because of the added bells and whistles, yet the purchase cost is greater and so is the repair bill. We subscribe to cell phone plans that include the newest and greatest features, like texting, sending pictures, PDA capability, but at an added cost. And if we lose them or they stop working, we are the ones at an inconvenience.

The strongest point that Stoll makes is the amount of money which has been wasted by putting computers in the schools. I agree that the wrong approach has been taken in the past, just getting a computer in the school for the sake of inventory does not help with educating the masses. Using schools as a dumping ground for old equipment just creates more frustrations for those who have to take care of the problems. Now that computers have become cheaper to manufacture, purchasing new equipment for a school is not as significant of a financial burden. A better use of computers in schools is for vocational purposes. Let’s teach students how to repair computers, how to maintain a network, how to use CAD programs to design housing, and how to use Microsoft Office for business applications, not just for pretty flyers and artsy PowerPoints. Give students real tasks to do, and we improve their thinking skills.

Stoll also mentions the socialization that is being lost in our technological society. While that is true in most cases, there are ways that schools can bring this back. For classes where PowerPoints are required, also teach students speech skills as part of the curriculum. Take more field trips, involve students in more community-based projects. Administrators love this kind of stuff because it makes the school look good, and the students gain a sense of pride by being part of a group that does something worthwhile (community cleanup, visiting nursing homes, volunteering at day care centers, letting high school students read books to young children). These things involve very little cost, but it does need an investment in time.

I agree with his perspective, I am not against technology.  I find many great benefits from having technology access because I love knowing information, so the Internet is like a big encyclopedia for me.  I do use it to communicate, but I don’t live on the net.  I appreciate the benefit of having distance learning classes as I could not have completed this master’s degree so quickly had I needed to attend three classes per week with a driving time one way of 45 minutes.  I find interesting projects and lessons for my classes thanks to Edutopia, Marcopolo, and Techlearning, among others.

Well, my two accounts (Facebook and MySpace) have grown to about eighty members, a mixture of students, former students, and classmates.  I don’t use the blog feature very much, but I do use the comments and messaging quite a bit.  I also go out and view pictures and comment on those.

The teacher group that I joined has been very nice for discussing classroom issues.  It has a sizeable membership, and there are a lot of people posting on the site.  I have only joined this one group, and reading the entries on it keep me very busy.

I have decided to keep my accounts after this class.  I enjoy coming home and catching up on the days events.  I have students who don’t talk much in class who communicate with me via these accounts.  One student was nervous about prom and wanted some encouraging words.  Another had a death in the family.  And another lost a family pet.  Kids say things here that they don’t say at school.  SNS keep some kids from feeling like they are alone in this world.  I think it is a nice evolution of technology that has occurred.

I got back from Orlando at 2:30 this morning.  Will catch up on posting this week.  Had the best time ever!!!!  Shamu rocks!

U.S. Secretary Margaret Spellings presents her panel’s findings on how schools can increase math achievement in this article published by the U.S. Department of Education.

“We must teach number and math concepts early, we must help students believe they can improve their math skills and we must ensure they fully comprehend algebra concepts by the time they graduate from high school.”

The biggest problem I see in math classes is a student’s lack of confidence in their own ability to do math.  Another problem is that many of them don’t see the relevance of math.  The solution that I see that needs to happen to implement the findings of this panel is vertical alignment of the curriculum at the district level.  The district needs to create its own panel of teachers from elementary, middle, and high school, and allow them to plan how good math instruction will be implemented.  At the high school level, we expect them to have already mastered fractions and percents, and when they don’t, we pick up the slack, but at the expense of teaching our own content.  So then our students aren’t prepared for college because we were unable to teach as rigorously as we would like.  Colleges then become overloaded with teaching remedial classes to students who cannot earn an 18 on the ACT.

This isn’t a case of placing blame, but changing approaches at the elementary level to insure success at all levels.  Students who cannot meet the minimum math requirements are placed in study skills classes to help them master concepts.  This is what my school plans to do next year with its freshman academy to help struggling readers and math students bridge the gap.

My vice principal came to me on Tuesday of this week and said that she had some money to spend, and she wanted to know if I needed any software for my classroom. I have been wanting Geometer’s Sketchpad because of how in-depth it is and its potential for visual learners. I am going to get 50 licenses for next year, and I am going to integrate it in my geometry curriculum.

As I was reading through the Tech Learning web site, I came across this article which provides some assistance for students working on various constructions. The article does state that the teacher may need to provide some additional guidance.  What I find most useful about this site is the use of vocabulary.  I can use this site as a preview of terms that we will be learning, and walk them through the instructions for constructions and teach them the functions of the software.

After thinking about this question for weeks, I have decided that teachers teach so that others may learn. Education has become a large part of the foundation of our culture, so there is a need for educators. As individuals are achieving their education, and gaining skills to be used in their chosen careers, they are making conscious choices as to how they want to earn a living. People mostly choose their jobs because they feel it is something that they can do successfully.  They are choosing to be contributing members of their society, so that the society can continue to thrive.

I got an invite from a woman named Regina Goncalves.  She is a math teacher from the UK who has written a new book.  Here is the link to it on Amazon.  She has an introductory section that you can read by clicking on her name above.  I ordered the book tonight for $6.98 plus $3.99 shipping from Amazon, and I look forward to receiving it.  Her main character is a teenager, Caius Zip, a time traveller who meets some famous people in his journeys.

I am loving social networks more and more every day!

While I was working on an assignment for another class, I came across this blog entry from a Kentucky student to Helen Barnett, an expert on digital portfolios, and thought I would share.  She gives a very good reason why portfolios are a valid form of assessment.