Zach's+445+Wiki+Workspace

__Hogan's Article:__ In today's world almost everyone has access to technology. People use technology for personal use, to run businesses, or just to enjoy oneself. In the article "An Educator's Social Media Guide," written by Aaron Hogan, Hogan talks about how to use Twitter to communicate with professionals in the Education field and how to grow as an educator. It took Hogan five years to figure out how to use Twitter to grow as an educator, but he claims it can help any educator to better themselves. He advises educators to follow people on Twitter that pushes their thinking. By challenging the way a person typical thinks, he/she can see a topic or issue in a different view from how they typical see. Hogan also suggest that every post someone post should engage, inform, and inspire. By reducing posting topics that have no relevance, people's time will not be wasted and will vies posts that are meaningful. Aside from giving advice about how to use Twitter, Hogan wrote about conversations educators have on Twitter that meet weekly and last for about an hour. These conversations use the same hashtag so anyone can join and can see what everyone has to say. People are more than welcome to lurk on the conversation, but Hogan encourages people to participate. "You have more to say than you likely give yourself credit for, and your work is worth sharing." Hogan mention this in his article and I could not agree more. Sometimes I feel too shy to speak up and share my thoughts, but I am sure whatever I have to say will add to the discussion being had. The benefit of being on Twitter is that it is easier to say what you want because you are not in person and have to time to think of what to say. This subject was covered in the "Instant Message, Instant Girlfriend" article. Hogan is telling new and old educators that Twitter can be a good platform to find new educators to network with and to constantly challenge oneself when we have small breaks throughout the day.

__"Instant Message, Instant Girlfriend" Response:__ "Instant Message, Instant Girlfriend" is a personal article someone wrote about how he had more courage talking to girls over the internet than in person. He was a sophomore in high school and had bad social anxiety. It was not easy for him to talk to girls in person, but on the internet he had no problem. He accredited his new charm to the fact he was alone and had time to think what to say instead of being on the spot. This idea can be used in the classroom by having students respond to discussion posts, or create a classroom social media site. Students can set up their own accounts and own user names to it simulates real social media. By having discussions online, students can take their time of what to say and students do not need to worry about speaking in front of everyone. The problem however is that the internet is not a separate place a person can go to instead of reality. Some students may not realize this and may live a different life online. The student the teacher sees sitting in the classroom could be a completely different person than how they act. Since students may be living a double life, it can be difficult to figure out who the student really is. If the teacher does set up a social media site for the class, the teacher can see how the students interact and see both of the students' in-class and online personalities.

__Personal Identity:__ From the activity we did in class, I realized that I need to build up my online identity. I was always told to try and keep my internet footprint small so no one can find me; however, it came to my attention that if I can not be found then I can be mistaken for someone else and hurt my chances for a job. The only information I could find was for my voting record and even then the information was wrong. My age was wrong and so was my cellphone number. I am glad that information was wrong because I do not want anyone to have my phone number that I did not give it to. However the fact remains that I can not be found on the internet and the first name to come up had a criminal record. I need to find a way to positively build my online presence so I am not confused with the other "Zachary Whites." After reviewing what other people have posted about the activity, it seems the most common form of information found were social media accounts, and either addresses or age. A few people had more of a online presence and that was due to dance competitions and being an editor. It seems the majority of the class could be found through social media or a few of people did not exist at all.

I think it's really cool in how you picked up on the point in Hogan's article that following along with a discussion on Twitter is important, but so is participating in it. It was honest of you to admit that you get shy sometimes during conversations like that, but that that is what might make Twitter a great place for you to share your ideas--because I know you have a lot to offer the conversation! Moving forward in conversations with your cooperating teacher or PLT or future employers, keeping up with professional networks and the conversations they're having might also provide you with more confidence to speak up as well. The double identity that is brought up in the instant message article is scary, but I think you had a great idea of setting up a social media site for the class to emphasize to them how important it is to treat people online in the same way you'd treat them in person. As far as your online identity, I think it's great that you are starting to think about how you want to build your online presence because finding nothing about you is a whole lot better than finding something negative, but finding something positive could open up future opportunities and connections for you. What are some ways that you want to add a professional online presence? Are there sites you want to join or things you want to create or what?

Response to Nicolette: I do not know how I want to add to my professional online presence. I may try and start using my Twitter now, but I find the whole layout and functions confusing. I could sit down and learn it but I do not like how open it is. I have my Facebook account hidden to the point where people may only look at my name and profile picture, but everything is is completely private. There are not any sites I want to join. I did join one education website but that has only to gain liability insurance. They email me with offers and newsletters but I never look at them. Later on in life I may join something but only if the opportunity presents itself, I am not actively looking for something.

__**Online Professional Identity Project:**__

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz4w3SNpWKA -video https://docs.google.com/document/d/13r_oMFzl4A0KYUrbbuDhmvPjY9hUAj4ESHQT1tHZ84M/edit -rubric

__ Seminar 5 response: __

This week's readings were about using different forms of technology in the classroom. In the first article I read, "10 surprising ways to use Instagram in the classroom," gave different ways teachers can use an Instagram account to showcase his/her students. I really liked the idea of posting pictures from field trips so students can always savor the memories. I will definitely use this in my classroom since recently I have been more interested in taking photos to capture the memories. The question I have regarding taking pictures from field trips is how to get permission to do it? I know I need to send a permission slip home for parents to give me permission, but what happens if the parent does not want pictures taken of his/her child and the child feels left out? I may take photos of everyone and only post the photos of the students I have permission to post. Hopefully the students that do not have permission will catch on.

Another article I needed to read for this week was "Approaching Technology in English Education from a Different Perspective." This article followed one educator's life through new technology that was emerging and how he needed to adapt to the times. Since the article was written he mentioned how he is still not a technology person but uses technology in his classroom. The one thing that really stuck out to me from this reading was education technology is not about interest in technology but rather in student's learning with technology. When I started studying to become a teacher, I always thought we were trying to incorporate technology in lessons only because he could. After reading this article, I realized that technology in the classroom is primarily used for the students' benefit. I always struggled with trying to find a balance between traditional and technology strategies. After reading this article I started to come to a conclusion that technology should be used in the classroom when it benefits the student, but if a traditional strategy works better than I need ti use that strategy. My questions regarding this article is: as new forms of technology continue being developed, how do we as educators stay on top of learning new technology and developing it to fit in the classroom?

The last article that I read this week was "Enhancing English Language Arts Education With Digital Video." This article, as the title mentions, is about incorporating video into the classroom. Aside from different methods, the article also mentioned about the difficulties educators had trying to bring in new technology. Even recently, back in 2003, there was an article posted about how videos should not be used in classrooms since it is "inferior." The one thing that really stuck out for me was that students learn that videos are inferior to books because that is what the teachers and people say. I never realized until I read that statement that my teachers always said "the book was better than the movie." The article discourages teachers from promoting this idea so students can think critically of the film/movie and form their own opinions. I completely agree with this statement since if we tell students what the better medium is, than students will not appreciate what films/movies can show. My question form this article is that, as teachers start incorporating new technologies in the classroom, will teachers continue to be questioned why they are using technology in the classroom or will people accept that teachers may actually know best? This question is not referring to asking about why/how they are using a certain piece of technology, but more questioning if the teacher has the right to use technology to teach his/her students.

I think you asked some really important questions about the articles. In terms of getting permission from parents to post pictures, I think you would need to be creative in getting those students involved on posts--for example, taking pictures of hands or feet so that their face isn't shown. I also really appreciate how you're already thinking about how to stay on top of new technology that develops. It can be a really overwhelming thing to do as a teacher. The first thing is, I think the fact that you are going to create a teaching tool kit will help in that endeavor. If you're already starting to house a space where you add new tools that you see, then it will be much easier to organize. I also think getting connected to online teacher communities or following teachers' blogs who keep up with that will help as well. Finally, asking your future administration about opportunities to continue growing in that area will definitely show initiative and show that you are dedicated to serving your students with relevant and effective strategies. I think that the use of technology is growing to be more and more accepted, but having research that backs up your choices is always a good idea. Thoughtful post, Zach!


 * Seminar 6 Teaching Toolkit Brainstorming:**
 * Purpose:** The purpose of my teaching toolkit will be to create a website with different forms of digital tools I can use in my classroom. I would make a website so when my principal asks me how I am using 21st century technology in my classroom, I can show him or her the website with all of my tools.


 * Audience:** My audience will mostly be administrators so I can easily display what technology I am using. I will also consider other teachers as an audience so I can show other educators different technologies they can use to teach their students.


 * Contents:** The contents for my website will be: the different tech tools that my cohort has presented to the class, other technology I have found, technology that Dr. Young has shown the class, and uploading some of the reading strategies that Nicolette taught us in her class last Spring semester.


 * Three takeaways From the EP article:**
 * 1:** Make sure the layout is neat and organized so other people can follow it. If it is messy people, and yourself, may get lost in navigating it.
 * 2:** Make your website unique. You do not want it to be generic and it looks like all of the other toolkit websites out there. However, do not make it too unique that people are put off by it, it still needs to be professional.
 * 3:** I said earlier my audience will be administration and teachers, but my audience will also include parents know. Parents will be curious what their children are doing and would want to see what kind of strategies/technology I am using to teach their children.

Good job highlighting the purpose of your teacher tool kit. I also think including future employers and colleagues as audience groups is a great idea. I'd even consider ways to make your tool kit accessible and user friendly so that future parents and students could benefit from the resources you offer there. I think that including all of the tools that you have learned about so far is a great idea, but how would you break down those tools into different categories? How would you organize it? Please add a categories section with some ideas to this post. Thanks!

I think you've picked out some really great takeaways to help implement in your teaching toolkit. I think making sure your layout is neat and organized is one of the most important things you can do, mainly because even if you have the most amazing content or artifacts on your site, no one will ever get to them unless your page is easy to navigate. I also like how you brought up the idea of being unique--but you're right, you do have to strattle a line by making sure it is both unique and professional. I think using a theme throughout your toolkit is a good way to do that--it says something about who you are but also provides continuity to the project. I agree that thinking about parents as a potential audience member is a great idea. You might consider ways to communicate with parents through your toolkit. Nice job, Zach!

The different categories I will for the technologies are: in-class, out-of-class, project-based, and additional resources. The in-class category is where I will include different technologies I use in class (like Socrative) so the audience will know what technologies I am using to help teach. i will include a little description of it, and provide a video on how to use it. The out-of-class category will be what students will use to complete homework outside of the classroom. For example, the school I am currently assigned at uses canvas for homework. I will have a link provided so students may access it and parents will know how their child is doing homework online. The projects category is where I will provide links my students have used to complete projects there were assigned. For example, at the NCTEA conference I learned a new tool on how to create infographics. I will include the link of the website so the audience can see how we are doing projects in my class. Also, I will include a short bio and an example of the work completed based on the tool. Lastly, the additional resources will just be links to various websites to review games that teachers may want to use in their own classrooms.

__A Long Walk to Water__

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__Tech Tools Status 1:__

I have not made a lot of progress on my website yet, but I did take a class on how to use weebly to get use to it. I have created a few pages on my website and included my calendar. I am going to use my school's curriculum for my unit tab. I will combine the mini-units into bigger units so there are not a lot of mini-units tabs under the bigger "Unit" tab. I have also created a contact form that is currently linked to my NCSU gmail account until I get my official teacher's email address. Going forward I need to decide on a theme and make the page more colorful. I will also include an "about me" section with my teaching philosophy and where I got my education from.

__Tech Tools Status 2:__ I have finished writing the "about me" section but haven't uploaded it yet, I am still proofreading it. I have also found my units and am currently working on the descriptions of the units. Once my website goes online, I will post the real canvas links for each section. I will also upload the handouts so students can print them off at home. Going forward, I plan to upload the handouts under "resources", and upload pictures to my website. Then I will finish the website in its entirety.

Zach's teaching portfolio- http://zhwhite2.weebly.com/