Live Teaching Reflection

I have to admit, I was really turned off by this assignment. I do not prefer group projects, especially in this type of setting where the class doesn't meet. I would rather have my grade represent me and only me. Although I do see how useful using a live meeting room is, especially now with how much people communicate from far distances, it is not something I see myself choosing to use in the future. First of all, it makes me extremely uncomfortable to be on a computer screen in front of a group. I don't even like to Skype or FaceTime my friends, let alone give a lecture with my computer webcam capturing me at weird angles. Secondly, I think it is distracting for the people giving the lecture and the people following along. We tried to set up our laptops so that we could each stay in one seat and simply switch from computer to computer. This didn't work due to typical technical difficulties and we just had to keep switching for the main seat. I also think that since it is online and no one can see anyone except the person presenting, there is no way of telling what those people are doing. Are they even paying attention? Did we just waste our time giving a 30 minute presentation to empty rooms? This just isn't the same as a face-to-face meeting where you can see if your audience is engaged and change your ways if they aren't. There aren't transitions where nothing is happening, providing time for the audience to get distracted.

With that being said, I think we did fairly well. After we did a little research on polleverywhere.com, we realized that it really isn't too complex. We were worried about how we could possibly talk for a half hour about making a poll with minimal customizations. We wanted to meet the time requirement but didn't want to ramble on if we felt we'd covered everything. It all ended up working out, we shared all the information we wanted to and with minimal technical difficulties. I was proud of my group for their organized notes and online presentation and I'm just glad it's finally over.

Chatting with Professionals via Twitter

I have never used or even heard of Twitter chats before and to be honest, I was not excited to try it for the first time. I'm not really sure why I wasn't interested at first, it just seemed contrived, like only well-known educators trying to get people to side with their beliefs. I was pleasantly surprised to find that many different people participate in #edchat. Administrators, college professors, k-12 teachers and other people who are simply interested in the topic.

Last week, rather than participating in the chat, I acted as a bystander to see how it works. I was a little nervous this week that I wouldn't have much to contribute. It is easy to see which tweeters regularly participate in this chat as they get the chat going by posing discussion questions. The focus of this #edchat seemed to be "innovation." This wasn't necessarily a topic I would have preferred but I was surprised to find that I did enjoy it. I don't have many opportunities to communicate with professionals in my field, especially in such a casual setting. I also enjoyed that not only did I tweet with teachers, but  also principals, one followed me! I thought the chat was a little limiting because not everyone tweets back and it can end up as a one-sided conversation. Another limitation was that tweets were coming in so fast that it was hard to try and read them and reply, but that could be viewed as a plus. As an undergrad, I don't think I will use Twitter chats again. I don't like to spend a lot of time on social networks, this semester is extremely busy and next year I will be student teaching. I can see myself participating in chats as a professional because I like getting different perspectives from people I'm not closely connected with. I also think if I participate often, I would benefit because each week there seems to be a different focus.

Playing with Google Spreadsheets

I have never used Google forms or spreadsheets before this assignment. I actually really enjoyed creating the survey. I think it was incredibly user-friendly. All different question formats were available with plenty of options to make it work for any type of inquiry. I didn't enjoy working with the spreadsheets as much as I did with the forms but I do think it is a user-friendly program. Regarding my research question, I found a slight trend between the age a person first used a computer and how many hours per day that person currently spend on a technological device, represented in the graph below. It seems that the later a person used a computer for the first time, the more hours they spend on their device (laptop, smart phone, etc.) on a daily basis. I also found that regardless of a person's age, first experience with a computer, how many hours/day spent on a smart phone or any other variable, most people prefer to take notes and quizzes with a pencil and paper as opposed to online.

I believe that one of the key aspects to being a "good teacher" is to individualize each child's education to the best of my ability. Using a Google form for older students would be a great way to get to know my students. It would give them an opportunity to discuss their interests and let their teacher know what they'd like to learn about. Google forms could be used the same way to get to know the child's family, which is crucial to knowing each child. Parents can share their experience of their child's education thus far, their concerns or just take an opportunity to rave about their student. Third graders could create their own Google forms and spreadsheets from what they learn in class. They could also create surveys for their classmates to take and then use the spreadsheet to analyze the data as a math lesson!

[click HERE for a link to my survey]

Twitter!

I used to have a Twitter account, so I am experienced with Twitter. I decided to delete my Twitter almost a year ago. It just seems to be an outlet for complaining and a place where it’s okay for anyone to pass judgment. Most of the people I know are concerned about how many followers they have or how many people re-tweet one of their tweets. I do think that Twitter can be useful, though. Freshmen year I used to stay up all night on my computer. One night, I was awake until about 4 a.m. and saw trends about a catastrophe in Japan. It was the first news coming out about the tragic earthquake and tsunami in 2011. I just remember how amazed I was that I was receiving this news almost instantly from across the world. Just recently, the OU dean tweeted that the university was closed due to an armed robber more than twenty minutes before students received an e-mail.

I suppose that I could use a Twitter professionally. It wouldn’t surprise me if many of my future students’ parents have Twitters. It would be a quick and efficient way for me to share articles or websites I think parents might find useful. The only concern I have is that Twitter is informal and nowadays, that seems to bring trouble. As a professional, I’d have to be aware that information I share is not bias or offensive to my followers.

My Philosophy

Context

• I believe my first perspective that forms my philosophy comes from my family. My mom was born in Iowa and comes from a very conservative family. My dad’s family is Italian so they’re loud and outspoken. I have a brother ten years older than me and a sister three years older than him. I spent a lot of time with adults who held high expectations and taught me to have a strong work ethic through example. My parents divorced and remarried when I was young. When I was sixth grade, my step-brother moved in with me, my mom and my stepdad. He was always in some sort of trouble and caused a lot of stress in our house. I did my best not to let it affect me in school but it could be a big distraction. I can relate to children whose struggles at home carry over to school and I think it is very important for the teacher to create a comfortable and safe classroom. I want to know my student’s families and how what they enjoy doing outside of school. This way, I can help the children relate to what they learn and make it important to them. It is the only way to keep students engaged and feed their desire to learn. My experience as a student was generally positive. School was fairly easy for me and teachers always treated me well, although there’s only a few who I enjoyed learning from. These teachers knew me as an individual and personalized my education. I want to make every day meaningful for my students and teach them lessons they’ll remember forever. The reason I want to be a teacher is because of three very special children I’ve babysat/nannied for almost seven years. I watched them learn and grow and change, yet still remain who they are. I’ve also learned so much from them and I’d be lucky if I have the privilege to work with children throughout my life. I’m writing this philosophy for elementary children, but more specifically for children in the first six years of their life. I believe the years before school, when the brain is rapidly growing and the child is learning the basic skills of life, largely determine their success in school. This is why I want to nanny after I graduate. I can work closely with one child or a few children to help them develop socially, intellectually and emotionally in all aspects of their life, not just school.

Conceptualization of learning

• From my education in psychology, I know that when someone learns, synaptic connections are made in the brain. New structures form, changing the way the child thinks about any particular idea or object. Learning is largely replacing old information with new information. I think when a child learns, they are usually replacing an old idea with a new, more complex idea. I think children learn without realizing they’re learning, which is why ‘play’ is important. An assumption I make about learning is that just because one child is successful at a particular lesson, that another child the same age will have the same level of success. My experience tells me that every child develops differently. One child might not be as good of a climber as another, but may learn the alphabet first. Some children are more emotionally aware than others and some are better at utilizing language. Children are also much more capable than I think most people assume and become more capable through personal experience. Repetition is necessary for learning and not at all a bad thing.

Conceptualization of teaching/leadership

• I think my role in the learning process is a facilitator. I want to guide the child’s learning but the child should essentially take control of their education. If I work as a nanny and start when the child is born, I have the opportunity to work with the child from the beginning. For example, I can allow the child to initiate interactions with me but I can show the child ‘peek-a-boo.’ By observing the child in their exploration of the environment, I can see what they pursue or what they struggle with and use that to guide and teach him or her. My role is to do what is best for the child’s development, not what is convenient for me. I believe this is a real problem in our education system and also in parenting, like putting a child in front of a television to keep them occupied. When a child feels like they’re being listened to, they will reciprocate that action. On the rare occasion I dislike a teacher, it’s usually because I feel like they talk down to me. I never want to make a child feel disrespected. The best way to establish this relationship is to encourage the child to talk about themselves; their interests, goals, family, ‘favorites,’ or anything they wish to share! I will listen, observe and record what I hear and see. It gives me the chance to learn about each child so we can establish a connection.

Goals for students/clients

• The most important goal I have for my students (or any child I may take care of) is make them a lifelong learner. Education is incredibly valuable because it creates opportunities and has the power to change the way other people think. A person who is always asking questions is always seeking knowledge. Another goal I have is for my students to be good readers and knowledgable of language. Graphemes surround us and it is vital for children to interpret them on their own, establishing independence. It will also allow them to communicate with their peers, teachers, and family more efficiently. In college, so many of my classes connect with each other. I learn the same concepts in new ways from different professors. Somehow, those core concepts are taught in different classes so I see how it connects to the different subjects. It is important for children to be educated in different content areas but to also be able to make connections between content areas.

Role of technology

• Technology can have a positive or negative impact on the learning experience depending on how it is used. I don’t think technology should replace all other materials, but should be used when it is the most beneficial. I think society has determined that technology is extremely important and it makes sense for children to be knowledgable about technology. I think the use of technology should be determined by the school system. The students should be equally exposed to the technology available and taught by someone knowledgable in the field. It would be hard for the use of technology to be determined on a set of national standards because not all school systems have the same access to technological resources.

Blog #2

I am pretty comfortable with technology. Not as comfortable as I used to be but I use it quickly and fairly easily on a daily basis. I have an iPhone that I just bought in November so I use that everyday. The three things I use my phone for most are Instagram, checking my e-mail and online shopping. I have a Mac that I use almost entirely for school, unless I'm playing bubble spinner. I don't like to be on the computer or my phone all the time. I'm easily annoyed when I'm spending time with people and they can't separate their phone from their hand. I used to spend a lot of time on the computer in middle school and played around with HTML coding but that's not how I'd like to spend my time now. Since I don't spend as much time on the computer as I used to, I'm not as familiar but I can work my way through it. Although getting used to all these blogs has proven to be a little complicating at first considering I'm turning this post in late because I couldn't navigate around our web page (but I think I've got it all down now!) I think technology in the classroom can be helpful if used properly. My boyfriend has two little brothers in middle school and they use iPads and other gadgets in class. I was surprised because I would think that to be an incredible distraction for children in the classroom (especially since he was texting my boyfriend from his tablet in class). I also had a concern for children who can't afford this kind of technology. Are they stuck using a pen and paper while watching their classmates excel in a field that is becoming increasing popular in our life? From EDCT 2030, I hope to learn ways of using technology that make we want to replace "old school" ways.

Mallory Mazzola