I found listening to the interview with Jennifer Deyenburg to be very interesting and informative. Listening to the experience and applications of blogging and technology in the classroom in action was very informative and gave me a new perspective regarding this topic. I know that I have utilized technology in my own classrooms and have participated in discussions discussing how to incorporate more technology into teaching, but hearing someone’s personal experience makes it seem more concrete and doable, as well as giving you ideas that you know have worked as a base point to expand on and take a step further.
I thought that Jennifer’s point about students Googling their teachers was a very interesting one that for some reason I had not previously considered. I mean, you expect your future employers to look you up online and I know I changed my name on Facebook and increased my security settings so I could not be found by either employers or students, but it never occurred to me that maybe letting your students see some aspect of yourself online could be helpful. Having her students already know a bit about her and what kind of teacher she was made her students more eager to get started because they were excited by the type of things she had been doing with previous classes. I once attended an information session where the speaker advocated for establishing your electronic footprint as a way to be recognized by employers; now I also see some of the benefits to be recognized by your students.
The way Jennifer also used blogging truly piqued my interest. I liked hearing about the way it evolved into a place for students to explain their reasoning behind math answers (and I thought this was a very neat way to incorporate technology into math) then progressed into a full classroom blog until students eventually wanted and received their own space.
What I truly found amazing was the way blogging was used for students in grade one! I loved that the keyboard alone was used as part of a tool to help with recognition of capital letters, what a great idea! Also, I liked her logic behind starting students so young on blogging and that the needed to learn how to type and use a keyboard. It is true that in today’s high tech world, typing is one of the instruments we use to communicate and it is a skill that needs to be learned, along side of printing and cursive writing. I taught computers to a grade 2 class and I know from experience that one thing students loved to do on their computers (particularly in Word) was play around with it. They had so much changing the fonts and seeing what they could add to the document and expressing delight at how cool it looked; now I wonder what they could have accomplished if given something like a blog.
As a Social Studies major, I loved how she used video and web conferencing to introduce students to the different regions in Canada by getting in touch with classrooms in those regions as she studied it. What a fantastic way to go about it and to make it more real for the students! I also really enjoyed how she went the extra mile to set up that overnight web-conferencing during the Vancouver Olympics and they spoke to countries all around the world. I found myself agreeing with Jennifer: the world is a really big place and it can sometimes be difficult for students to understand that concept. I taught the Internationalism unit with my grade elevens in PSII and I wish I had thought of doing something like this for them. You can explain things to your students, but an activity like this would provide them not only with a greater understanding, but also a first-hand experience that will help them shape how they view the world so they can learn to step outside of their “bubbles.”
Social media is a huge part of our society, so naturally it would make sense to try and incorporate it into the classroom. However, according to Dr. Richard Light, there is another reason why educators should be looking to utilize these platforms in learning and it is related to social constructivism. Social learning theory says that individuals are able to “learn most effectively when they interact with other learners about a given topic” (Culatta, 2011). According to Light, social media can operate as “virtual study groups” by allowing students to these platforms to discuss topics, which also serves to engage users since it is a format and technology that they are familiar with and enjoy using (Tomaszewski, 2012).
I agree with Jennifer about setting up boundaries when using social media, such as not “friending” students on Facebook or following them on Twitter, and I also liked some of the ways she used Twitter to incorporate live data into a science topic. I will full admit, I have never used Twitter. Originally, I did not really see the point of posting what you were doing constantly, but after listening to some of the ways that Jennifer used it, I did some searching of my own. I came across a really neat list of a bunch of different ways that Twitter can be used in the classroom and I found myself intrigued. I would have never thought using Twitter to create a character and then based on a couple of Tweets, write a story about them; another idea I really liked was having students role-play as important historical figures, or even setting up news streams or linking it to a classroom blog (Miller, 2011).
As I learn more about different ways to use the Internet and different technology in the classroom, I find myself thinking about units and lessons I have taught and how I would go back and use these new methods to make them even better. I am even seriously thinking about getting my own Twitter account, which would probably stun those who know me!
References:
Culatta, R. (2011). Social Learning. Retrieved from: http://innovativelearning.com/teaching/social_learning.html
Miller, S. (2011). 50 ways to use Twitter in the classroom. TeachHub. Retrieved from: http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom
Tomaszewski, J. (2012). Study suggests benefits of social media in the classroom. Education World. Retrieved from: www.educationworld.com/a_curr/study-suggests-social-media-has-place-in-classrooms.shtml
Significant Comments:
http://mrbolokoski.weebly.com/2/post/2013/07/hanging-out-online.html#comments
Education: Broadening horizons, one mind at a time... 
Hi Jill,
Great insights in your post! I completely agree with you regarding the interview with Jennifer Deyenburg making technology integration seem doable. We so often hear all the ways that technology can be utilized in education, however I quite often question how I would go about doing so. By hearing what she used, how she implemented it and what safety aspects were taken into consideration, it helps greatly and puts things in perspective. I, like you, had not really considered students Googling their teachers and this being a positive thing. It makes total sense that students would be curious about their teacher and want to learn more. By having students already excited and wanting to learn, the teacher can more easily build those relationships. As Jennifer mentioned it is crucial to set up boundaries with students. What are your thoughts on the matter? Would you go about it in the same manner that she did?
-Meagan-
Hi, Meagan!
I’m glad you enjoyed my post! I definitely believe that there should be boundaries with students when using technology, for both personal and ethical reasons. I think all of us have heard the ATA’s no-no regarding “friending” students on Facebook. Moreover, I think it’s about privacy. As teachers, yes we are using social media, but it is for learning purposes. I think students would be less than please (or downright horrified) if we followed them home, so I think it makes sense to explain to them that teachers want to keep their personal lives private as well. I really liked the way that Jennifer explained it to her students, setting up clear boundaries from the beginning, so I think I would go about it similarly.
Thanks for your comment!
– Jill
Hi! I really enjoyed reading your insight and enthusiasm for using video-conferencing in the Social Studies classroom. I know my experiences with SS were definitely not that exciting! Since you mentioned that you are planning to integrate video-conferencing with other classes/regions, how will you go about forming those connections with other teachers/classes? As for Twitter, I just started building my own Professional Learning Network and have found Twitter to be awesome in connecting me with information, school districts and other professionals. If you do decide to join the Twitterverse, here is a link to the chat schedule for educators:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiftIdjCeWSXdDRLRzNsVktUUGJpRWJhdUlWLS1Genc#gid=0
as well as a site that is pretty awesome for getting started on your own PLN:
Maybe you will find those useful? Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
– Jen
Hi, Jen!
I know what you mean – it almost makes me wish I were a kid again…almost! Instead, I’m glad that I’ll have the opportunity to try some of these methods to try and engage my students in Social Studies. Honestly, my first step was going to be reaching out to friends-of-friends on a professional network, but now I have Twitter to think about as an additional way to reach out to try and build partnerships with other classrooms or even professionals. I’ll be teaching grade 9 Social in the fall, so I was considering contacting someone in the education department at Parliament in Ottawa to see if there was a way to set up a web conference with them (similar to how Jennifer did it with the Dinosaur Museum). I have a lot of research and thinking to do.
Thank you so much for the information about Twitter and getting started with my digital footprint – this is an excellent place to start and now seems a lot less intimidating!
Thanks for your comment and the resources!
– Jill