Final Blog Post

Write a final reflection for the course about what you learned and plan to apply to your professional practice AND a self-assessment about your blog performance throughout the course.  As part of your reflection, propose a grade for your blog - out of 75 points.

This course has by far been my favorite of all the courses in the MET program for a number of reasons. Not only was the organization of the course user-friendly, but I loved that each lesson built upon previous understanding to help build mastery of the content. It was fascinating to see how each assignment correlated with other assignments to create a wide range exposure trip of social media tools that exist. I think another aspect that I loved about this course was almost everything was new to me. I have taken courses in the past where content overlapped from other classes or contained material that I already felt fairly knowledgeable about. This was the first class that I have taken where I was challenged to learn just about everything for the first time. While there are so many highlights I will point out three that really stood out:

The creation of a PLN. What a powerful experience! My PLN was absolutely incredible throughout this course. In fact, in our last Google Hangouts meeting we discussed what a privilege it was to work with a solid group of like-minded individuals. There was a sense of trust that was developed over the course as we weren’t collaborating with peers at random. The PLN experience forced us to be intentional and to get to know one another. As a result, I took to heart the feedback given to me by Jennifer and Renee. They both challenged my thinking, opened my eyes to new ideas, and gave great encouragement. My positive experience has led me to think about creating PLNs within my own classroom. I teach honors English with another teacher and believe that one of the ways we can bridge our distinct classes would to have students create PLNs with students from my partner teacher’s class. This would be a challenge, but an awesome way to connect our students. 

Twitter Chats and Webinars. I never knew so many opportunities existed for online discussion. While the Twitter chats and Webinars were a challenge in terms of scheduling, I absolutely loved the experience. One Twitter chat in particular maintained such a friendly, welcoming, and engaging environment that I have returned to it the past few weeks. I have been toying with the idea of having my students participate in Twitter chats relating to texts that we have been reading in class. I also thought it would be very interesting to have my students participate in a Twitter chat in class. I could be the facilitator of the discussion and ask questions. This would encourage those students who are more quiet to participate and would prepare students for socratic seminars in class. 

Curation. This was my first exposure to the concept of curation and I thought it was amazing. I use Pinterest daily, but on a personal level. I didn’t fully understand the more meaningful idea behind the concept of curation. However, looking at it from an educational standpoint I see the great power that lies behind gathering distinct resources in one place. I plan on introducing this concept when we conduct research for our Issues Research paper (where students argue a side of a controversial issue using academic evidence). My students are strong when it comes to gathering credible evidence from the web and database sources, but lack skills in finding multimedia content. Students would benefit from curating videos, blogs, infographics, and other resources related to their topic. 

These highlights lead me to my justification for why I believe I deserve 75 out of the possible 75 points for my blog performance. Since each module presented a new learning opportunity for me, I believe the depth of my blog is rich and contains vibrant, organic thoughts. I sought to be intimate with the curriculum and really allow it to challenge by ideals. I wasn’t shy about sharing my opinions and maintained a consistent voice throughout my posts. Moreover, each time I posted content I sought to validate my stance with academic evidence and logical reasoning where appropriate. Lastly, part of the blogging experience is reading and commenting on the posts of others. My PLN posted material that was enjoyable to read. I looked forward to their thoughts and ideas on assignments because often their approach was different than mine. I appreciated this because it led to a lot of questioning and critical thinking. I believe I was an active member in this community which justifies my reasoning for why I should earn 75 out of 75 points. 

Project #5: Worked Example Screencast

Here is the link to my narrated script.

I really enjoyed this screencast assignment. I think I always overestimate the simplicity behind an actual screencast. One of the ideas I have been trying to embrace in my classroom is the concept of the flipped classroom, where students receive direct instruction from home and then have opportunity to practice in the classroom. I’m realizing more and more how practical this would all be if I created more screencast videos. If I created instructional videos and posted them in my Google Classroom account I think it would leave room in my schedule to offer more guided practice. 

While I have played with Captivate, Camtasia, and Jing, I actually feel most comfortable using my QuickTime Player. As a Mac user this QuickTime is very easy to navigate and extremely user-friendly. I did attempt to create my screencast using Jing and found that the audio was more muffled; however, when I switched to QuickTime the audio was clear and crisp. 

My biggest challenge in creating this video was using the narration script. I understand the point of having a script to make the video flow more smoothly, but I tend to do better when I speak in the moment. Organic content is far better for me than something that is rehearsed. When I have a generic outline to follow and I speak in the moment I believe it is far more fluid. I also believe my students find it to be more relatable because they realize that things are going to be perfect in videos. 

I also wanted to be sure that this video was meaningful. I use Easybib like crazy in my class and student mastery of how to use this tool is essential. It has actually inspired me to make more instructional videos on how to cite sources appropriately. Time is always the big issue educators face, but I am looking forward to making time to work on creating more worked examples. 

Digital Storytelling

Here is the link to my narration script for this video.

Reflection
This assignment was particularly meaningful for me. To begin the school year I walk my students through several “This I Believe” essays written and recorded on the NPR http://thisibelieve.org website. We discuss the importance of knowing what we believe in and clinging to our core values, while being open-minded to new ideas throughout the school year. It is a great way to allow students to see the change they experience in their freshman year of high school. Students write their own TIB essay at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year they read it again and write a reflection to see how their views on life and the world have changed through the literature, discussions, projects, and experiences of their 9th grade school year. To model for students, I wrote my own TIB essay (to which I update each year) and read it to the class. It is powerful moment and a means of allowing students to see that their teacher is human!

In addition, part way through the school year I teach tone and mood. One of the culminating projects in this unit is the development of a book trailer for one of student’s favorite books. We use the WeVideo app in Google Drive to create the trailers. However, to introduce students to WeVideo they begin by creating a trailer for their favorite fairy tale story. When they have mastered the use of WeVideo we then read a book as a book report and create individual trailers. While I have used this project and found great success, I’ve never spent a lot of time using it myself. Thus, I decided for my digital story to combine the TIB essay assignment and the introduction of how to use WeVideo. I loved the final product!

There was something powerful about attaching images and telling my story of why I believe what I believe. I found the assignment fully embraces the personalized principle because it allows for student creativity and voice, while simultaneously maintains guidelines and expectations for assessment purposes. For example, a student could be more formal and academic in the language they choose to use for their story, or they might be more relaxed to show more of their personality. This also supports Clark and Mayer’s idea that for successful learning to occur the educator is to facilitate the learning, but students are to be their own teachers taking ownership of their learning. It isn’t about the instructor giving instruction and students just soaking it in. It is a collaborative learning effort. 

I learned a ton about WeVideo completing this assignment including the different levels available for use. I also found myself really enjoying the power of storytelling. I intend to incorporate this lesson into my class this upcoming year which makes this assignment ben more worth while! 

Social Media Policies

In Module 5 we were asked to begin thinking about the practical implications of using social media in our schools. This means ensuring a safe and appropriate learning environment. My district is just now taking great strides with technology initiatives, so it wasn’t a surprise to find that no guidelines are in place for using social media. In fact, in the section of the school's student/parent handbook labeled “Cell Phones/Electronic Devices/Social Media Rules” the only guidelines listed are the following:

Students are not allowed to use cell phones once school begins until 2:40. Inappropriate messages on social media sites or via text may be considered cyber bullying and disrespectful conduct. Electronic devices that contain information that interferes with the learning environment is subject to being searched. School staff may search phones if there is reasonable cause.

Clearly those guidelines are not sufficient and do not promote technology use for educational purposes. Thus, I drafted the below guidelines (also found here). To develop my own set of social media policies I explored those of already powerful districts such as Los Angeles Unified School District, Escondido Union School District, San Diego Unified School District, and the New York City Department of Education. There are two sets of guidelines specific to district employees and students. In drafting these policies my next logical step would be to create a committee composed of administrators, colleagues, parents, and students representatives to complete building a comprehensive set of policies. The committee would come together and provide input and offer revisions where necessary. When the draft is agreed upon by the committee it would then be passed along to our principal and area superintendent (who oversees our high school and the feeder schools that are part of it). With their stamp of approval, we would then launch the guidelines to school staff and parents. A Google Form would be used to survey staff and parents to garner feedback before finalizing and launching the guidelines for the following school year. A yearly meeting would then occur with committee members to assess any needs for updating guidelines to meet the evolvement of the digital media world.

Social Media Policy

School Employees should abide by the following guidelines:

1. Authorization- Any social media account that reflects the district’s presence or any association with the district (including: sports teams, clubs, class pages, etc.) must be approved by the Communications Office Director of Communications. Pre-existing sites will be subject to review and possible removal before receiving authorization.
2. Distinct Accounts- Keep personal and school related social media accounts separate and distinct.
3. Protect Student Identity- Do not post any information that would lead to the identity of a student being revealed on a school supported online medium without the written, informed consent of the child’s legal guardian/parent . For example, videos, photos, names, or other identifying information is inappropriate for online publishing if appropriate consent has yet to be given.
4. Privacy Settings- Be actively aware of privacy settings and know that they provide limited security. Be careful of anything published online and know that it is subject to public view, thus the republication of content by an outside party can occur without the employee's knowledge. Take all privacy settings into consideration.
5. District logos- Personal social media accounts should not contain any trace of the district’s logo. Those accounts that are school sponsored may maintain the logo with the approval of the Communications Office, but must keep with district administered guidelines.  
6. PTA and Foundational Sites- Those sites that are published by a school foundation or parent-teacher group should maintain a distinct personality from those sites that are authorized and run by school officials. However, it is permissible for school authorized sites and PTA or foundational sites to post the links of the others web page to assure appropriate communication with the public.
7. Disclaimers- Any site that associates itself with the school or school district, but does not maintain official approval from the Communications Office must display the following text: “The views expressed on this site do not reflect the views of the Clovis  Unified School District. This site contains user-created content which is not endorsed by the District. The purpose of this site is”…(adopted from the San Diego Unified School District).
8. Inappropriate Content- Any content that shows biased, racist, threatening, harassing, sexist, bullying or derogatory language towards any individual is unacceptable and is subjected to recommendation for disciplinary action. Any inappropriate content will be documented (via screenshots, printing, downloading, or other means) for further investigation in the disciplinary process.
9. Integrity- Maintain the integrity of the online medium and the district by avoiding all forms of plagiarism and honoring copyright and intellectual property laws.
10. Monitor Digital Presence- Actively monitor the sites presence online and assure that all content is both current and accurate. Monitor the comments left on the site and be sure to enforce digital netiquette with both site publishers, follower, and participant.s

Students should abide by the following guidelines:

1. Personal Information- Students should protect any information that could lead to an observer locating the individual including: home address, phone number, full family name, etc. Sharing such information may be potentially dangerous for the student.
2. Unacceptable Access/Hacking- Students should not seek to access the accounts of others or district technology resources. Attempting to act as someone that the individual is not in order to gain access to another’s personal files is unacceptable and is subject to disciplinary action.
3. Unlawful Acts- Students should not participate in an act online that would be considered unlawful. This might include making threats, participating in gang activity, stealing or any other act that would be deemed prohibited by law.
4. Inappropriate Content- In the same way that employees should not show biased, racist, threatening, harassing, sexist, bullying or derogatory language towards any individual, students should not either. It is unacceptable and is subjected to recommendation for disciplinary action. Any inappropriate content will be documented (via screenshots, printing, downloading, or other means) for further investigation in the disciplinary process.
5. Integrity- Maintain the integrity of the online medium and the district by avoiding all forms of plagiarism and honoring copyright and intellectual property laws.
6. Choose ‘Friends’ Wisely- Students must know how to protect themselves online. Consider the source and character of those chosen for online interaction. Knowing someone online is very different than knowing someone face-to-face.
7. Digital Footprint- Be mindful that online persona is an extension of yourself. Be sure to be authentic and genuine in representing who you are to the online community.
8. Report Inappropriate Behavior- If you see or hear of inappropriate behavior online report it to the appropriate source. This could range from cyberbullying to illegal acts. Contact a trusted adult if call 911 if necessary.
9. Practice Digital Citizenship- Know the appropriate context for technology use both personally and educationally. Be able to distinguish proper behavior based on the use of technology.
10. Form of a PLN- Be educated and form a credible personal learning network. Use the social media and online platform to take ownership of learning.

References

Anderson, S. (2012, May 7). How to Create Social Media Guidelines for Your School. Retrieved July 27, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/how-to-create-social-media-guidelines-school

DeWitt, P. (2012, July 12). Do Our Students Have PLN's? Retrieved July 27, 2015, from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2012/07/do_our_students_have_plns.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-TW

“Escondido union high school district student social media guidelines”; Escondido Union High School District; 2012. Retrieved from: http://ehscougars.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/StudentSocialMediaPolicies.pdf

“Los angeles unified school district policy bulletin”; Los Angeles Unified School District; 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.lausd.net/lausd/offices/Office_of_Communications/BUL-5688.0_SOCIAL_MEDIA_POLICY.pdf

“Staff social media guidelines”; San Diego Unified School District; 2013. Retrieved from: https://www.sandi.net/cms/lib/CA01001235/Centricity/Domain/402/social-media-guidelines.pdf

“Student social media guidelines”; New York City Department of Education; 2013. Retrieved from: http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/9765B2DF-9BD5-42AA-8D85-005D0FC8AA23/0/Student_Social_MediaGuidelines_finalv3_20140128.pdf

Social Media in Learning Research

For this weeks module we were asked to curated research of social networking in learning environments. I chose to create my curation on a Pinterest board which can be found here. At first I began my focus with high school journalism as I will be advising our school newspaper this upcoming school year. However, I quickly became frustrated with the lack of variety in content I was able to find when conducting research, so I decided to revert back to home base: English 9.

I found this experience to be more powerful than I originally anticipated. I think part of my surprise came from the number of ideas for social media use in the classroom that I had yet to hear about or experience. We often get to a point in our teaching where we think we have heard it all and ask, “What could possibly be left out there?” Yet, this is why reading the testimonies of other English teachers around the globe is so beneficial. I read several blogs, articles, and journals that discussed specific classrooms and teachers. Often times these artifacts would reveal how the educator implemented the social media use in the classroom and highlighted the ups and downs of the process.

I particularly appreciated those sources that emphasized what an important tool social media can be in conjunction with student voice. I was recently part of the #21stedchat Twitter chat and this was our prime topic. How do we develop an environment where students take ownership of their learning? Where they feel empowered? Where they feel their voice matters? Two particular activities stood out. One involves a teacher that uses Twitter to create instantaneous class discussion. Now the teacher isn’t 100% dependent upon Twitter to fuel the discussion, but uses it as a platform to begin engaging students and gain full class participation. She discussed how the initial engagement then lowered student’s affective filters and led to their actual speaking in the discussion. The second activity that I found interesting was the concept of turning journal entries into blog entries. Her students were able to share their thoughts with the world, and those that though their voice didn’t matter found value.

From a “big idea” perspective I believe that I learned social media is a phenomenal resource, but the educator is a MUST in the teaching environment. Despite all the good things social media offers, it isn’t effective in education without a strong, organized leader behind the use. Thus, teachers need to become educated and familiar with the tools. Moreover, they must study effective management of student interaction with social media.

Please note that within my curation are links to sources found in the ProQuest database. In order to access these sources students need to login to ProQuest, sign-in with their Boise State accounts, and find the journal by searching the title. Also, note that the description for each source is embedded in each pin on Pinterest. 

Twitter Chats and Webinar

One of our assignments for EDTECH 543 was to participate in 4 Twitter chats and 4 webinars. Below is evidence of my Twitter chat and Webinar participation and reflection.

Online Communities

In the fourth week of EDTECH 543 we were asked to join four online communities to interact with. I chose:

1. Edmodo- Language Arts Group
2. LinkedIn- English Language and Literature
3. Google Plus- Google Classroom
4. Google Plus- Google Apps for Education

Each experience was unique, but I learned something different. I don't think I will remain very active with LinkedIn because it was mostly recreational discussion. However, Edmodo and both Google Communities were powerful. I found so many new resources that can be used in my own classroom. Moreover, I met several other educators that I have exchanged ideas with! Great resources.