A Conversation with John Finch

Our Internet for Educators class recently had John Finch in to talk with our class about some of the issues that education is facing in result of the internet.  However, the interesting part of Mr. Finch's discussion was some of the misconceptions of certain issues in which the internet is looked upon as the "bad guy" when it really hasn't played a part.  For example, John spoke about cyber bullying and how there is a big commotion today about how cyber bullying has escalated within the past few years.  Truth is, (and the data is proof to show it) is that there is not a significant percent of students being bullied on the internet.  Most of the bullying is happening physically within schools or even crazier, being done by teachers!

Cyber bullying is the smallest source of the bullying spectrum in schools ranging from approximately 8-12% of students.  Even though there is a significant hype about cyber bullying within media and the news, it is affecting only a small portion of students.  Cyber bullying, in my opinion, does need to be addressed to students within the schools and its cause and implications it has for students.  But, the data has proven that we do not need to solely blame all bullying to internet perpetrators, but also to the school environment and atmosphere.  I do believe it is necessary to have workshops and professional development (for both students and educators) on the issue of cyber bullying because it is an issue that may cause bigger issues in the future.

The following is a video from danah boyd about teenagers who are living and learning with social media:

As a pre-service teacher, it is also important to understand the new copyright and also online privacy of your students.  Teachers need to remember that they cannot simply receive a "yes" from students to publish their work online or for others to see.  Parents need to be involved in the process and written informed consent needs to be given from guardians in order to use their child's work online.

danah boyd also presents her thoughts and opinions of student's privacy online.

CONNECT, CONNECT, CONNECT!

Picture link

"Connect, connect connect!" Stated Dr. Alex Couros who is a professor at the University of Regina, but currently on sabbatical.  However, Dr. Alex Couros does not relax or stop his learning or creating his PLN while on sabbatical.  He is currently presenting to pre-service teachers (like us) and teaching an online FREE class to over 1200 people! His views of endless sharing and always staying connected are the standard of what today's society needs to evolve to.  We need to stay connected and make friends with total strangers, because that is when we really learn.

Dr. Couros also commented on the fact that times are changing and how a few years ago, schools had a direct policy in dealing with cell phones: NO CELL PHONES ALLOWED IN SCHOOLS.  Now you'll see schools piloting in-school daily device usage and the use of students bringing their own device and connecting to the school's internet.  BYOD is the new saying within modern forming schools.  Bring your own device!  Because you will need it and why not have the answers at your fingertips?

Dr. Couros also spoke about what Shareski and Evans had brought up within their presentations. SHARE.  He stated that we are all staying connected and using different tools so we are consuming the knowledge.  But the arrows need to go both ways, so SHARE your ideas and thoughts.  The best thing to do online is to get connected with a total stranger. Read his or her blog, connect, comment, LEARN.

Another great blog to read is Staci, who wrote her blog on connecting and the different steps on how to connect. Staci blog

Dean Shareski SHARES All!

Dean Shareski presented a topic today in my Internet for Educators class about the "Confessions of a Networked Learner."  I was fortunate enough to listen to Dean last year when our class was invited to listen to his presentation, (in which he was presenting to this particular class last spring) and it really hit home.   Last year he spoke to us about sharing and how important it is to create a sharing network between people.  Sharing not only encourages yourself to think critically about topics and issues, but encourages and supports others throughout their learning and understanding.

Today, Dean presented on how he developed his personal learning network and how he came about being so knowledgeable in networked learning.  He has a very interesting and knowledgeable blog and is an avid tweeter!  Dean talked about how technology is always changing and it is hard to be "good" at current technology since it changes daily.  Once a person has learned something new with the iPads, the next day an update is made and they have to  learn new tools and tricks.  

Dean spoke about the three lessons he's learned around the notion of network learning.  First he stated to think differently about literacy.  Students need to learn to use media and stories to develop their literacy.  Secondly, teachers are everywhere.  This statement means that you can learn from anybody, even a 10 year old boy who posts youtube clips on "how to use an iPad" and the video has over a million hits!  Finally, Dean is passionate about the third lesson to be learned with networked learning and this is, you are what you share. Any contribution is valuable.  It may not seem valuable to you at the time, but to others it may be amazing to someone else.  The education profession is all about sharing  and he emphasizes that the time you put into a lesson or a piece of work will feel like nothing if it is shared with everyone in the world.

To follow Dean's Blog click here: Ideas and Thoughts by Dean Shareski 

Follow Dean on Twitter! @shareski 

John Evans and his endless resources!

I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation that was given by John Evans last week on developing a Professional Learning Network (PLN) and also on the new Maple system that will be implemented in to the Manitoba school system for all educators to use next year (2013-2014 school year).

I found John to be extremely knowledgeable in creating a PLN and that it is going to be how us as educators share information with our colleagues.  He stated that we all need the tools to develop our PLN and then the more reason to share with others.  However the greatness of having a PLN is that it is never finished or completed. It is a network and the beauty of knowledge is that there is always more to learn and share.

I also found many different resources that I will have to start using that he presented in class.  For example, Paper-li and Diigo (which I have heard of, but have never explored).  It is also quite overwhelming all of the exploring and researching that John Evans does daily. He says that he is an early riser and searches the internet for a few hours before he goes to work.  I find it hard to find the time to dedicate time to searching for these great resources and this is why it is very useful that he has already done this for me and other educators.  He has sifted through a vast amount of information and tools and pointed out the "good" ones to use and explore.  Sharing is very important as an educator and it has very beneficial results.

John also gave us an overview of the Maple system in which all educators of Manitoba will be using next school year.  It seems like an amazing system and he has put a lot of work and effort into it.  It is more than just a place to record student assessment, but a place to develop sharing relationships with other educators and learn about different professional learning and development. It also has many other amazing tools to it that I will also need to take time to explore them all.  I really enjoyed this part of the presentation since this element applies to all of us when we use the system next year.

I plan to explore Mr. Evan's blog and wiki site more so that I can find out even more information and I have also added him to twitter.  I recommend all of you do as well!
 @joevans on twitter
Link to Wiki!

About Me

My name is Brooke Gelo and I am in my second and final year in the faculty of Education at Brandon University.  I am within the senior years stream at BU and my teachable subjects are Biology, Math and Chemistry, but I enjoy teaching and learning all subject areas.

I am 25 years old and married with one step-daughter and another on the way.  I enjoy playing all sports (especially hockey, tennis and golf) and am an avid reader.  I attended Shattuck St. Mary's Prep School in Faribault, Minnesota on a hockey scholarship for most of my high school years (Grades 10-12).  I enjoyed these years at Shattuck as it taught me dependency and the value of hard work and learning.  I graduated from Shattuck St. Mary's in 2005 and received a full hockey scholarship from Bemidji State University where I eventually earned my Bachelor's Degree in Science, with a major in Chemistry and minor in Biology (and just short of a minor in Math).

Family has always been very important to me as I grew up in a family of 7.  I love spending time with my family and believe it is the core of who I am.  I am a passionate, caring and fun person.

I believe that I will always be a learner, especially when I am teaching within the classroom.  I will be learning as much from my students as I hope they will be learning from me.

This blog is going to be about my experience as an educator and I hope to accumulate many resources for other educators to use.  I believe that it is important to share information between professionals, especially between educators because there is a vast amount of content that is out there that needs to be sifted through.