Journal Entry #9

Journal Entry #9

Collaboration in a Web 2.0 Environment
by Glen Bull

I found this article a little over my head as I have not yet used, to my knowledge, an RSS feed, which is what this article is all about. To try to understand it, I "googled" RSS (really simple syndication). As far as I can understand, RSS is a way for people working collaboratively, whether through blogs or applications such as "Web 2.0 To Do", to have up-to-the-minute information automatically available to them. Now that I am writing this, I realize that just today I think I accessed an RSS on www.blogger.com. As I was entering my journal assignments, I noticed flashing across the screen "blogs recently updated" so I clicked on one that looked interesting. So THAT flashing thing must have been an RSS feed. Aha!

Now, back to this article. It's very interesting that in the last paragraph the author states "many internet users make use of RSS feeds embedded in applications without realizing it. For example, the Podcast feature in iTunes makes use of RSS feeds. Well, here we go again. I download my favorite talk shows via the internet all the time to listen to them on my schedule! I had no idea of what the technology was behind it.

Okay, so now that I've given some examples of what this is, how can I make use of it in my classroom? I could use a service such as "FeedDigest" to display Web feeds directly on a class Web page, as the author of this article suggests.

How can my students make use of RSS feeds in their work? Since students are already using blogs in their personal lives, they could use blogs for group projects . For example, the author talks about the Web-based word-processor Writely is a good tool for collaborative team projects in which several students work together, and is well-suited to use with blogs. I could intertwine this with the project-based learning environment promoted in "The Never Ending Story" article.

Journal Entry #8

Journal Entry #8

"The Never-Ending Story"
by Cathleen Galas

This article starts by stating that "the project-based learning environment may well be the classroom of the 21st century". The article talks about how educators can engage students in a new way of learning, as opposed to the "old-fashioned" teacher as orator method. The author emphasizes that teachers get students excited about asking questions and then looking for the answers in the world around them, something called "scientific inquiry".

First, the students brainstorm questions about a subject. This process starts with what students know and begins to make a connection between their past and current learning. They group into teams to work on a project to answer the questions. The teacher presents the eight science process skills at the appropriate times during the project. They are: observing, communicating, comparing, ordering, categorizing, relating, inferring, and applying. The teacher in this environment is the facilitator, modeling inquiry and questioning. The teacher creates a student-centered and student-directed learning environment and provides lessons, learning resources and guidance.

In the second step, the students generate three to five individual "wonder" questions based on their personal interests.

The third step is categorizing questions and determining which ones are valuable and necessary for the project.

In the fourth step, everyone, the groups, the teachers the individuals and their families explore the questions.

In the fifth step, the students explore science through discussion, experiments, field trips, expert visits, reading, and research in groups, as a class and as individuals.

As students work on their projects, they are attempting to show their understanding without telling.

What are the benefits of project-based learning environments? The big benefit is students learn to value questioning and learn to find out the answers themselves. This teaches them how to think, not just memorize.

Will I use this in my classroom? You bet. I can think of a myriad of situations where this type of project-based learning can be of benefit. I especially would like to use it in the teaching of history in my classes. I remember totally zoning out and being bored in history in school and learning absolutely nothing. It was all just a bunch of insignificant dates to me. Now, to get over my ignorance of history, I read stories about history, like "The Daily Lives of the Mesopotamians" and I learn SO much. If students could use their present knowledge about a time in history, then pose questions, go learn about it in interesting ways (ways in which they learn better), pose more questions, collaborate with their peers and then make a presentation of some sort to the classroom, they would learn and remember so much more about what historically (no pun intended) has been a very dry subject.

Journal Entry #7

Journal Entry #7

Copyright 101
by Kate A. Thompson

Intellectual property laws, which include copyright, are designed to encourage the creation of original works and to protect them. Copyright laws are based on two basic beliefs: 1. Anyone who creates an oringial, tangible work deserves to be compensated for that work, and 2. That person should be able to control how that work is used. Copyright protects original works such as literature, dramas, musicals, novels, poetry, songs, movies, computer software and architectural works.

Copyright law also provides for the "fair use" of copyrighted material. Basically, copyrighted material can be used or copied for educational purposes as long as the use is not solely a substitute for purchasing the work. The key elements are "for educational purposes" and "amount copied in relation to the whole". Therefore, if a teacher wants to make 30 copies of an article from a journal for her class, she can do it without permission or purchase. However, if a teacher wanted to photocopy an entire handbook, for example, that would be copyright violation. For clarification, educational purposes includes teaching, scholarship, or research.

So, would I be able to TIVO programs on Discovery Channel for use in my classroom?
If my interpretation of the law is correct, I would be able to show a tivo'd Discovery Channel program in my class for purposes of teaching a lesson, as long as I did not charge admission.

Would my students be able to make multiple copies of another classmate's self-published book of poetry? No, not without the classmate's permission; however, the student could make copies of one of the poems as long as they were going to use it for educational purposes and not try to profit by it.

Journal Entry #6

Journal Entry #6

Promoting Equity with Digital Video
by Randy Yerrick, Donna Ross, and Philip Molebash


This article talked about how teachers can use digital video in the classroom in a couple of ways to narrow the gap between genders and between native English speakers and English language learners. Historically, girls and children of color in science classes receive less positive reinforment, less of the teachers' attention, get less remedial help, volunteered less in class, and are asked fewer complex questions than white, middle- or upper- class boys.

The first method of using digital video in the classroom is where the students are assigned to making their own videos in small groups. Through the process of making a video - planning, storyboard creation, composing, shooting, editing - "specific skills and characteristics of diverse learners can be highlighted and best used through a collaborative process. Some students love to be funny and others attend carefully to details. Some students are very creative and others like to operate technology . . . In this way, digital video projects can traverse learning style and gender gaps . . ."

In addition, in creating these videos, students have to seek out the science around them, and in doing so, realize that science is all over and that they all have access to it.

The other way to promote equity with digital video is through the teacher's use of digital video in the classroom. Some students don't have the opportunity or means to "go places" and "see things", but the teacher can bring it to them through video. Teachers can even collaborate with teachers across the country to expose their students to "science" in other parts of the country (or world, for that matter).

How can I use digital video in my classroom to promote equity in learning science? One idea I thought of when reading this article was to connect with classrooms in, for example, Kansas, Minnesota and Louisiana and share our digital videos of different weather systems. Kansas kids could show tornadoes and talk about their experiences with them; Minnesota kids could show videos of snowstorms and show how they build snowmen or snowforts and talk about how much fun they have or how cold it is; Louisiana kids could show hurricane videos and talk about their feelings and what they do to prepare when a hurricane is coming. San Diego kids - well, there is no real weather here, but San Diego kids could show earthquake video and talk about their experiences of having felt one or knowing someone who experienced one. This idea would give all students equal opportunity to "visit" other parts of the country and learn, almost firsthand, about different weather systems and natural disasters.

How could my students use digital video in the classroom to promote equity in learning science? I could assign groups consisting of, where possible, students with various learning styles and abilities to work together to go out and make a video of science around them in everyday settings. For instance, one group could make a film at the local greenhouse that showed how plants start from seed and end up ready for sale. Another group could do a demonstration of how to bake bread and talk about the science behind it. I think to start with, I would come up with some examples and let the groups pick which topic they would like to do.

Journal Entry #5

Journal Entry #5

“The Just Third Way: A New Vision for Providing Hope, Justice and Economic Empowerment”, by Norman G. Kurland, Michael D. Greaney, and Dawn K. Brohawn

For journal entry number 5, we were to pick a topic in the area of social justice, so I did a “Google” search and came across the website www.cesj.org, the Center for Economic and Social Justice. What an interesting website. In the above-referenced article on this website, the authors examine a different perspective on economic globalization and how to find a balance between capitalism and socialism, which they call the “Third Way”. “A third way would be a free market system which economically empowers all individuals and families through direct and effective ownership of the means of production – the best check against the potential for corruption and abuse.” “Both socialism and capitalism concentrate economic power at the top. It makes little difference that under capitalism the concentration is in private hands and under socialism the concentration is in the hands of the state.” The Third Way would distribute power and money more equally among all citizens.

The four pillars of the Third Way are: expanded ownership of productive assets, limited economic power of the state, the restoration of free and open markets, and the restoration of private property. Without getting too deeply into the mechanics of how this program would work, basically, through programs similar to employee stock ownership programs, more people could legitimately acquire ownership of the growth of capital without taking from those who own exiting assets. These new owners would be able to get income from capital as a supplement to their wage incomes. This program would open up ownership and profit sharing opportunities for consumers of public utilities, residents of new or redeveloped communities, teachers and other public servants, farm families, homemakers the disabled professionals, and frustrated entrepreneurs.

Why is this of any interest to me? There are a number of reasons. First of all, I grew up very poor as the daughter of a farmer. That was okay. Being poor motivated me to go out and make something of myself because I didn’t want to be poor anymore. However, I often wonder how much better I could have done had I had some of the financial resources my college classmates had. I put myself through school and had to work the whole time and accumulated tons of student loan debt, so I started off my working life in debt and at a disadvantage.

Secondly, I currently work as a real estate agent. I see people at their worst in this profession. When I say “worst”, I mean, I see people at their greediest. Money is everything. People don’t buy homes to have a home, they buy them as investments. They want the most money when they sell and they want to pay the least when they buy. This job is so unfulfilling.

Thirdly, thirty years ago I originally went to college to become a teacher. When I saw how much everything cost and how little teachers made, I decided to get a business degree instead. I couldn’t understand, and I still don’t understand, why such a valuable profession, as teaching is, is paid so little. Maybe it’s because most teachers are women, but that’s another social justice issue. At any rate, a system which would give more opportunities to teachers, farmers, etc. is a system worth looking into. Through my life, I have seen what money or lack of it has done to/for people. Too often it’s the focus of one’s entire life. Perhaps if it were more equally distributed, people would have more time to spend and interest in the things that really matter in life, like family and friends, doing things for other people, learning.

How does this apply to teaching? Having come from an impoverished background, I can show empathy to the child who gets teased for wearing torn clothing, or for having to eat free breakfast at school. I can be sure to let them know that they are just as good and deserving as anyone else in the class and that how much money their family has has no impact on their worth as a human being or on their abilities to make their life whatever they want it to be.

Journal Entry #4

Journal Entry #3

What is Web 2.0? By Gina Hughes, The Techie Diva


This article talks about Web 2.0, which is what people consider “the second generation of services available on the World Wide Web that lets people collaborate and share information online” (Wikipedia).

To get more in-depth information, I visited two of the websites the author listed. One was www.pbs.org which had an article titled “What is Web 2.0, and Should You Care”, by Mark Glaser. This was a very informative article on how Web 2.0 came about and got named. Apparently, a guy named Tim O’Reilly of O’Reilly Publishing named Web 2.0. Another source claims that Web 2.0 is just a trendy way to name an improved form of the existing web (like they do with software upgrades). At any rate, everyone seems to agree that Web 2.0 is the second generation of the web that allows people to collaborate and share information online. An example of a Web 2.0 company would be www.myspace.com. An example of the old-fashioned Web 1.0 company would be www.amazon.com.

The other site I visited was www.edugadget.com, which is geared toward educators and talks about a variety of new technological things that are of use for teachers. It provided a link to an outstanding science pod cast “The Brain Food Pod Cast” that would be a very useful Web 2.0 tool for teachers. Another interactive tool talked about here, that would qualify as being part of Web 2.0 is the use of publishing the class calendar to the class’ wiki and blog. The author states that online calendaring, instead of being a read-only syllabus, allows a two-way (read/write) relationship among the participants.

So, what is Web 2.0 and why should I care? Web 2.0 is, again, composed of interactive websites as opposed to the information only websites of the original World Wide Web. I should care because there are a multitude of ways I can use Web 2.0 in my classroom.

How can I use Web 2.0 in my classroom? As stated earlier, one very basic way is to have a class blog where I can post my calendar and allow parents and students to interactively schedule meetings with me and “chat” with me about upcoming assignments. Other ways to use Web 2.0 in my classroom is to take advantage of cool educational websites, like the science pod cast mentioned earlier. In addition, there are sites like www.pbs.org, www.nationalgeographic.com, and some others I found while doing my filamentality assignment.

Jounal Entry #3

Journal Entry #3

What is Web 2.0? By Gina Hughes, The Techie Diva


This article talks about Web 2.0, which is what people consider “the second generation of services available on the World Wide Web that lets people collaborate and share information online” (Wikipedia).

To get more in-depth information, I visited two of the websites the author listed. One was www.pbs.org which had an article titled “What is Web 2.0, and Should You Care”, by Mark Glaser. This was a very informative article on how Web 2.0 came about and got named. Apparently, a guy named Tim O’Reilly of O’Reilly Publishing named Web 2.0. Another source claims that Web 2.0 is just a trendy way to name an improved form of the existing web (like they do with software upgrades). At any rate, everyone seems to agree that Web 2.0 is the second generation of the web that allows people to collaborate and share information online. An example of a Web 2.0 company would be www.myspace.com. An example of the old-fashioned Web 1.0 company would be www.amazon.com.

The other site I visited was www.edugadget.com, which is geared toward educators and talks about a variety of new technological things that are of use for teachers. It provided a link to an outstanding science pod cast “The Brain Food Pod Cast” that would be a very useful Web 2.0 tool for teachers. Another interactive tool talked about here, that would qualify as being part of Web 2.0 is the use of publishing the class calendar to the class’ wiki and blog. The author states that online calendaring, instead of being a read-only syllabus, allows a two-way (read/write) relationship among the participants.

So, what is Web 2.0 and why should I care? Web 2.0 is, again, composed of interactive websites as opposed to the information only websites of the original World Wide Web. I should care because there are a multitude of ways I can use Web 2.0 in my classroom.

How can I use Web 2.0 in my classroom? As stated earlier, one very basic way is to have a class blog where I can post my calendar and allow parents and students to interactively schedule meetings with me and “chat” with me about upcoming assignments. Other ways to use Web 2.0 in my classroom is to take advantage of cool educational websites, like the science pod cast mentioned earlier. In addition, there are sites like www.pbs.org, www.nationalgeographic.com, and some others I found while doing my filamentality assignment.

Journal Entry #2

"Chatting it up Online - - Students Talk to a Favorite Author", by Pamela Livingston

Wow! I had no idea this was possible! This article talked about how students at a particular school talked to an author of a book they were reading in an online chat. The article gave the steps involved with a little friendly advice from the teacher who had arranged the chat. The steps are:
1. Find the chat: Among various websites, this particular teacher used www.talkcity.com. A list of other sites can be found at http://206.48.233.20/L&L/archive/vol27/no1/supplements/livington.html.
2. Register for the chat: Signing up online, in advance is required.
3. Prepare for the chat: Once confirmation of the chat is received, this is the most important step for ensuring a successful author chat. Among other things, the teacher needs to work with the school's IT people to enable the connection and test it in advance. A suitable room with a sizeable monitor are also necessary. In addition, the students need to make a list of the questions they want to ask. These questions need to be open-ended, as opposed to yes/no, questions that they can't find the answers to elsewhere. Then the teacher emails the questions to the author so he/she can prepare. If possible, the teacher should participate in a couple "unofficial chats" in various chat rooms before the author chat to get used to the way the dialogue unfolds on the monitor.
4. Get online for the chat: Connect to the chat site well before the scheduled time to check the connection and become familiar with the software.
5. Chat: Use your chat skills to navigate the screen so your students can follow the questions and answers.

Other than the uniqueness of the experience of "talking" to an author "live" is the benefit of getting immediate answers to students' questions, as opposed to waiting weeks for responses to mailed letters.

The main question that came up as I read this article would be how realistically I could get my school to put in new window shades in the lab on short notice! Other than that, my only other question is how valuable do I find this experience in the overall curriculum? I think it would be fun for the kids, and valuable as far as showing them the wonder of technology, but I don't think it would be more educational than any other teaching tool. I think I would maybe do this once a year as a special treat for the kids.

Journal Entry #1

"Blogging and the Media Specialist, Part 2" by Frances Jacobson Harris

As someone who has never (until this class) read a blog, nor written one, I found this article very interesting and informative. Basically, the author explained what blogging is, how teens and adults blog differently, and the three basic types of blogging. She also provided links to numerous examples of the types of blogs. Although her article was geared to media specialists, she also showed how teachers can use blogging.

Teens use blogs more to express themselves personally, whereas adults use blogs more to transmit information and network. The three types of blogs are: 1. Official face blogs, which present themselves as the official face of whatever person or organization they represent. They focus on current information and are generally not highly interactive. An example would be a blog for the local high school which just tells the school schedule, lists the staff and faculty, etc. 2. Single-purpose blogs, which dedicate themselves to a single function rather than acting as a resource for many things; an example would be a blog for a book club. 3. Active learning blogs, which have built-in access to a wider audience than just the teacher and student and also provides the potential for collaboration and feedback from other students and even parents. An example of an active learning blog would be where a teacher posts an assignment, provides links to helpful websites and requires her students to provide feedback and information on the blog. This type of blog would allow a certain amount of public access, depending on the privacy limitations placed by the school, common sense, etc.

As I read this, I asked myself two questions: How could I use a blog in my classroom and would it be plausible to use the blog as my main link to students and parents in homes where there is no computer? The answer to the first question is that I would make a blog for my classroom that would not only be the official face of my class, but would also include all of the homework assignments, syllabus, etc. I would have links to websites that would help my students with their learning and homework and it would allow them to provide feedback to me, submit their assignments online and would allow parents to provide feedback, voice concerns, etc.

As to the plausibility of blogging for students without home computers, the answer was provided in the article by a student who didn't have a computer at home. It was difficult for the student to find a computer to use, but this student ultimately found the blog very valuable in getting help when needed.

Intro Letter

My name is Donna McClelland. I am from Minnesota, graduated from Arizona State University with a BS in Business Administration, and have been living in California for 20 years.

I am a PC person and my husband is a total MAC person. As a matter of fact, he writes MAC software, so if I need any help in this class, I have a great resource! In my current profession as a Realtor, I am totally dependent on technology on a daily basis. I have an electronic lockbox I put on my listings; I use an electronic lockbox key to enter other agents’ properties; I use the internet daily to check on new listings and manage my listings and transactions; I have my Palm Pilot where I keep my appointments, addresses, and notes. I have a fax machine, printer and scanner which I use daily. And, of course, I have a cell phone! I also use a lap top when I’m out in the field for writing up offers, etc.

“Our practices demonstrate a commitment to student centered education, diversity, collaboration, professionalism, and shared governance.” This is the part of the mission statement that spoke to me, as I agree with these practices. It didn’t have anything to do with my choosing CSUSM, though. I know a number of people who got their teaching credentials here and spoke highly of the program.