Felisita's 445+Wiki+Workspace

__Seminar 1 Prep Reading Response:__

The article by Aaron Hogan, “An Educator’s Social Media Guide,” offers fellow teachers his insight on how to use social media to grow as an educator. The overlying reason for why Aaron believes social media helps teachers grow is because it provides a space for educators to get together and communicate ideas or concerns amongst each other. What Aaron has made me understand through his article is that social media can help me communicate with other educators in chats that would challenge my thinking as well as give me perspectives other than my own and this in return would lead me to grow professionally. Social media can be used to read and listen to fresh perspectives and to discuss new ideas that could serve me as an educator in the classroom. Aaron Hogan goes into further details on social media apps that can help me filter out certain followers that I particularly like and enjoy since there is so much information on Twitter feeds. At the same time, he offers details on apps that schedule tweets so as educators we still have time to spend with family and friends. Overall, being a connected educator through social media helps expand knowledge as educators and allows me as an educator to stay connected with new ideas and fresh perspectives that allow me to grow as a professional. (Hogan 2016)

Todd Plitt discusses in his article, “Social Media Find Place In Classroom,” how social media has been a central part of the learning environment in the 21st century and how schools are using social media to educate students. As someone that grew up with technology, I understand the importance of teaching students how to be digitally literate. The most important takeaways from this article were that it is important to provide structure and guidance in order to successfully use social media and the Internet to maximize student learning. I really liked that the article mentioned concerns that many educators have, such as myself and how those concerns can be fixed. For example, some concerns that I have about using technology in my classroom is the having adequate internet service at the school. I worry that if I have my lesson using technology that day and for some reason, the internet is down, I will have a big problem on my hand. However, I know that there is a solution to this because although I cannot control the internet, I should have backup plans at all times. Other concerns that I have on using technology is to use it just for the sake of it. What I mean by this is that I will incorporate technology in a way that is not actually enhancing student learning but rather taking the place of pen and paper. I want to be able to make sure that when I use a tool that I am using it in ways that benefit my students and not just to say that I am using it. An idea I have about this concern, in particular, is to read, research, and ask myself, "Is this really helping my students?" and I think that also conversing with colleagues will help me. Therefore, the article helps to inform me on how I will use social media in my classroom because it says that as an educator I must be able to show my students how to find relevant and important information as well as useful material from the Internet to help my students learn. Although there are fears from many educators on the use of technology, the benefits of using technology in the classroom as well as teaching students how to use it outweighs those fears. My main takeaway from this article was that social media is a way that I can connect with my students and in my future classroom, I will be using technology as a tool to do so. (Plitt 2011)

__Online Professional Identity Follow-Up:__ As someone who uses the internet and creates profiles for various social media websites as well as educational websites, I have begun to create my digital footprint. To me, it is very important that the digital footprint I have created conveys messages that I want others to know about me as a persona and professional. The activity we completed in class made me aware of how important it is to watch carefully what I post online because everything can be found through a single search engine such as google or pipl. I really liked the article, “Controlling Your Digital Identity Is as Easy 1-2-3,” that is on the wiki site because it provides me with information on how I can control the way people see me online when they look me up. I personally believe it is important to have some type of online identity as an educator for students and for employers to see me as well as get the message that I want to be sending across the internet professionally.

I think you did a great job pulling out the main points of the articles. I totally agree that social media can be a platform for educators to stay connected--something you will definitely want to make sure you do as you move into your first year teaching. You mentioned how in Plitt's article that he did a good job discussing the concerns that many educators have and how they can be fixed. What are your concerns with using technology in the classroom? What are some ideas you already have about ways to address those problems or some ideas that Plitt suggests? **Please add more detail to that section**. It is awesome that you have already started a positive digital footprint! Now you just need to figure out how you want to craft it to present your best self to future students, parents, and employers.

Professional Identity Presentation: []

__Seminar 5 Reading Reflections (9/25)__ First, in the article “Approaching Technology in English Education from a Different Perspective”, my main takeaway was that preservice teachers should think about using technology in the classroom that stimulates student learning and not just to obtain student engagement. The author, Melanie Shoffner, makes great points in the importance of using technology in the classroom and how it should be an inherent component. Shoffner (2013) says, “Student learning should always come first when we consider how to use technology in the ELA classroom; cool applications do not replace the need for sound pedagogy” (p. 2). Shoffner stresses the importance of using technology as learners because it allows preservice teachers to look at technology as part of their own learning. Furthermore, the main takeaway from the article, “10 Surprising Ways to Use Instagram in the Classroom”, by Hanna Hudson was that teachers can use social media such as Instagram in the classroom for educational purposes. The article offers 10 different ways in which teachers can use Instagram and one of those ways that I particularly liked was to share reading recommendations. I liked this strategy because this can allow students to express their interests as well as spark new ones by looking at what their classmates have posted. Using Instagram for this allows students to tie together digital media and literacy and I think that this is an amazing way to get students reading. Lastly, the article “Enhancing English Language Arts Education With Digital Video” offered various compelling information. First, it encouraged me to understand that film offers a positive aspect in the classroom and that it should not be seen as an inadequate measure compared to original text. Film and digital video enhance student learning because they are using multiliteracies to read and compose and as a preservice teacher I should take advantage of this.

The three articles offered very valuable information that I can use in my own teaching. To begin with, the most important aspect of the articles was the fact that technology is essential for the 21st-century classroom. Technology offers ways to enhance student learning and should be used with purpose. In the article, “Enhancing English Language Arts With Digital Video” the authors Young, Long, and Myers state, “In order for classroom instruction to be most productive, it must be open to all modes of communication” (p. 6). These modes of communicating range from film to digital videos and as a preservice teacher it is important that I understand that digital videos and technology, in general, is an asset to enhancing student learning and I should use it to its fullest extent. Furthermore, the articles offered various strategies to use in the classroom such as making vocabulary more engaging with Lexipedia or Visuwords. These websites allow students to explore connections and associations with words and they are using technology while doing this. I know that I always hated having to learn random vocabulary and then having quizzes on the vocabulary that I felt didn’t correlate with that I was learning. By using technology I can certainly improve student engagement and have students interacting with the vocabulary to make it more meaningful for them.

Lastly, these articles made excellent points that allowed me to further understand how great technology is for myself as a preservice teacher and for my future students. However, I did have some questions arise as I was reading them. For example, I worry that if I teach in a school where technology is not readily available for my students outside as well as in the classroom how can I incorporate all of these excellent strategies?

Good job thinking through the articles, Felisita! I think you ask a really excellent question about the availability of resources in schools. This is definitely something that is going to come up when you teach. First of all, I think it's important to ask in a job interview (or at the beginning of your student teaching internship :) ) what is available to you so you can start planning around that. Second of all, I think if the school does not have resources available, you can try to rely more heavily on what students have available to them at home or personally (a lot of students have their own phones, etc.). Third, if resources are limited in the school and in students' own lives, then I would really consider getting active online and requesting funds for resources from websites like Donors Choose. Instead of just accepting a lack of resources, take action to change it. You'd be surprised how many people are willing to help!

__Initial Ideas about MSL Electronic Portfolio or Teaching Toolkit__ I am thinking about using an Electronic Portfolio because I think it would serve me better. Purpose: The purpose of the MSL Electronic Portfolio will be to show the work that I have completed. For example, I want my audience to see that I am a creative and competent teacher that has an array of examples and completed work that will set me aside from other teachers. I want my portfolio to serve as a medium in which others can see my philosophies and reflections. Audience: The audience for my portfolio will be future employers and parents. Possible Categories and Contents: What would be included in my portfolio would be unit plans, activities, assessments, etc. The way that I want to break down my categories would be having a classroom/teaching philosophy, the unit plan that I will create this semester, and mini-lessons completed in class that shows my mastery in digital literacy as well as in my methods courses.

So, based on who you said your audience was, what other purposes are there for your electronic portfolio? And what specific work are you talking about in the purpose? Also, can you break down more specifically the categories that you could include in your electronic portfolio to organize what you would want future employers and parents to see? Please add more detail to both of those sections. Thanks!

Seminar #8 Reading Reflections 10/16: After reading, "Electronic Portfolios 2.0" by Dr. Young, I was able to use the information and relate it to the electronic portfolio that I will be creating for this course. To begin with, my first takeaway was that as I construct my electronic portfolio I should consider creating a theme that I will use throughout because it is important to create a meaningful design that portrays critical thinking. Furthermore, another takeaway that I have is that when creating my links to showcase my work, it is important that I embed the requirements in a subtle way. What I mean by this is that the reading says the requirements of the portfolio should be embedded within the portfolio in a more integrated way. My last takeaway from the reading is that I should include a reflection of my electronic portfolio after I have completed it. Dr. Young states, "...students have come to understand how much the electronic portfolio serves as a tool for critical reflection" (p.187). Being able to reflect on how the electronic portfolio is an important component because it allows me to show that what I created had a purpose and impact on me as a future teacher.

A theme is definitely important. I like that you picked up on the fact that a theme can make a website more meaningful--it can also set you apart from other teachers in job interviews. I think integrating your work in a subtle way is a good idea as well. You don't want to have massive blocks of text or super long pages--you want to provide links to those sources where they can stand on their own in a clear, clean way. Reflecting on your EP after you're done can serve as a great way for you to think about how you plan to use it in the future. Nice job, Felisita!

EP: https://education.weebly.com/

MSL Portfolio Continued Progress: Layout: white/black- efficient navigation tabs Images: technology, flowers Quotations: “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” – Helen Hayes Categories: professional growth, digital technology, digital citizenship in student learning, assessments, lesson plans, activities.

Seminar 11/6/2017 [|A Long Walk to Water-Linda Sue Park]

EP Status Report 1: Date: 11/12/17 I decided to start from scratch and completely begin another webpage from Weebly instead of redoing the one I had made previously. I created the domain- [|http://fhercules.weebly.com] I decided on the background for the home page: a blossomed flower and a quote- "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela I added my twitter/LinkedIn account using the social media app option the website had.

I created the following tabs: teaching philosophy, resume, digital citizenship in student learning, professional growth (student teaching placements)

I am having some trouble with the resume because I have not made one for a long time and I don't know what needs to be on there.-

EP Status Report 2: Date: 11/20/2017 I updated my layout because the layout was not fitting for the content I was going to add. Furthermore, I added my teaching philosophy and I did this by looking at my old one and updating it. I also added a lesson plan that I worked on during this semester that I really liked. Lastly, I added an introduction in my "home page" about myself.