Am I a Resident Or a Visitor?

I really connected with David White’s perspective on the differences between the resident and visitor internet user. I believe it is a much better analysis of the differences between the two types of users than the previous natives vs. immigrants approach.

I am definitely more of a visitor than a resident. I am very adept at learning how to use the technology, but I must see the purpose of it—how it fits my needs. I don’t fear technology, and once I see the purpose of using it, I am happy to spend hours tinkering with it to become really good at using it. But it is hard to motivate me to do it when I don’t see a purpose behind it.

Twitter is a good example of this. I have tried out Twitter multiple times in the past to communicate with friends and I never really liked. I found communicating with them via text, phone, or email to be a more efficient way for me to communicate with them, so I abandoned Twitter and didn’t use it. Now that I am taking this course, I am seeing how Twitter can be a useful tool to gain additional information in my professional life. It can be a great way to find resources to assist me in my teaching career. So now that Twitter has a purpose, I am much more interested in mastering it.

Another point that White made about the visitor that resonated with me was the privacy aspect of it. For me, it was a little different than the way White explained privacy and the visitor. White believed that privacy for the visitor was important due to fears of identity theft. It is not the fear of identity theft that prevents me from actively engaging in social media, but more that I have become more introverted as I have become older.

When I was a high school and in college, I was a very extroverted. I thrived on social interactions and I would have loved Facebook and many of the other social media networks. I’m sure that I would have been heavily engaged in those sites if they had been available at that time. Now, I really enjoy my privacy and my quiet time. I’m not nearly as social as I used to be. I have other ways that I would like to spend my time rather than being social on the web. So, again, maybe it comes down to the use of these networks not fitting my needs. Until I see a purpose that fits my needs, I believe I am unlikely to use the different sites. 

531 Response 2

Quote	What it means	Deeper Thinking
“. . . it’s your philosophy of kids that’s going to guide your beliefs and your actions in your interactions with them.”  — Ross Green	What you believe drives a child’s behavior will dictate how you respond to them. If you feel that a child is acting out because he wants attention or is trying to manipulate a situation, then you will likely have a punitive response to the child’s behavior. However, if you feel that a child is acting out in frustration, your response would be to find the source of frustration and remove it.	I agree whole-heartedly with the author of this article. Children who have behavior problems don’t want to be bad and misbehave. They do not want to be trouble-makers, but they are lacking social or thinking skills necessary to have the “correct” or accepted behavioral response. Too often adults assume these kids are “bad” and are behaving in a negative way for their own self-serving needs. When in reality, kids don’t want to behave badly, they just don’t understand the rules or don’t have the skills necessary to react in a way that adults deem “appropriate.” As teachers, it is important that we see beyond the behavior, to the real source of the problem, and work with the student to help them gain the skills necessary to work through the problem in a more appropriate way. It all comes down to whether you believe kids’ behaviors are intentional to gain attention, or if you believe their behaviors are a reaction to a deeper problem.
“Academic ability—which has really come to dominate our view of intelligence because the universities designed the system in their image. If you think of it, the whole system is a protracted process of university entrances.” — Sir Ken Robinson	The university system in both the United States and Europe has played a huge role in design of our educational system. It has consistently rewarded and required left brain, analytical thinking, and as such, our secondary school systems have designed their curriculum around those types of classes in order to meet the demands of the university systems.	I have been discussing this topic with my peers recently. As I look at the types of science classes offered at most of the high schools in this area, I have found that science offerings, like most academic offerings, in the high schools are mostly dictated by the University of California (UC) entrance requirements. The high schools structure their curriculums around the UC A-G curriculum, and if the UC system does not recognize a course as valuable for gaining entrance into the UC system, many schools will not offer the course or will offer the course as an elective with lower standards and expectations. I feel that there are so many courses that could be offered that would provide profound educational experiences for many students, but these courses are never offered because they are not deemed important by the UC system.
Creativity is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status. — Sir Ken Robinson	Creativity is as essential a skill as reading and writing when it comes to developing an individual and preparing them for the jobs of the future.	For too many years, and even more so recently with the enactment of NCLB, we have constrained our students to desks, told them that answers are black and white, and taught them to think in certain ways. We have limited and squashed their creativity, molding them into what we feel is necessary to succeed in this country. By doing so, we have neglected a very important skill for being competitive in our society today and in the future. It is through creativity that we become innovative. We have let that creativity go over the years, and now we must find a way to bring it back into our schools.
The Conference Board also found that their survey respondents believed most recent high school graduates lacked the basic skills of reading, writing, and math that were deemed necessary by employers. Among these basic skills, employers deemed this group to be most deficient in writing. Employers judged nearly three-quarters of high school graduates as unable to write at a basic level, for which competency includes knowledge of both spelling and grammar. — Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of the Future	Our students are graduating high school and college without the ability to write at the basic levels required by most jobs in the United States. We, as educators, are failing our kids when it comes to literacy.	By the time students have reached high school, basic literacy skills are no longer being taught. If the students have not acquired these skills by this point, few teachers will incorporate these skills into their instruction. Although students are required to take English classes, the limited amount of time in these classes prevents them from being able to catch them up. It is the job of every teacher, regardless of the subject they teach, to ensure that our students are gaining these skills. Literacy must be incorporated into every subject in our high schools to ensure that these students are able to graduate with the basic skills they need to compete and work in our society.
In general, the U.S. economy appears to be shifting towards jobs that require workers with greater analytical and interactive skills – skills that are typically acquired with some post-secondary education. — Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of the Future	According to this 2009 study, there will be an increase in jobs in the future that will need workers with higher analytical skills that are usually acquired from some post-secondary education.	I found this quote interesting because it seems to contradict Pink’s belief that there will be a radical shift away from analytical type (or left brain) type jobs. While I agree with a great deal of Pink’s rationale, I do not see this shift as becoming as drastic as he indicates, and maybe more inline with the findings of this report. I believe we are going to see more of a balance between left and right brain type jobs, which is still a shift away from the dominate left brain requirements from previous generations. Although we will see an increase in right brain jobs, I still believe that there will be a great demand for left brain type jobs such as engineering and science, and, as this report suggests, you are going to find them in the health care industry, medical manufacturing, the environmental industry, and in specialized manufacturing like aerospace.

Class 541 Reading Responses 7-10

RR7: Identify the key elements and process for Service Learning

Kaye defines service learning as “a way to connect school based curriculum with the inherent caring and concern young people have for this world.” They listed for stages necessary for successful implementation of the ITU: preparation, action, reflection and demonstration.

·      Preparation. In the preparation stage, the teacher and students will work together to identify a need. This process may involve internet research, field trips, and/or input from community members. During this process the students are using active learning and critical thinking to understand the problem and all of the underlying factors that are contributing to the problem. Also included in the process phase are identifying and planning the action stage.

·      Action. The action stage is where the students carry out their plans, applying what they have learned, to direct benefit of the community. The action phase can take place over the entire year, or maybe just a day. Students will use their own talents and skills to produce real results in their communities. These actions will provide them with a deeper understanding of their community their place within the community.

·      Reflection. The reflection stage helps the students turn their learning and experiences from the planning and action stages into personal growth and awareness through self examination and reflection. Reflection allows the students to take the time away from the academics and explore how their actions will affect their future. Reflection allows students to put cognitive, social and emotional aspects of the service learning into larger concepts of self, community and the world.

·      Demonstration. The demonstration is the way the students show evidence of what they have learned and accomplished through the project. This may be expressed through a presentation, performance, display or other means to show their mastery and understanding of the project.

Several key elements are also highlighted by Kaye, and are outlined below:

·      Integrated learning: the service and the curriculum are woven into each other so that each supports the other and together they create an enriched learning experience.

·      Genuine needs: the project usually centers around a real need in the community, where the actions of the students take on greater value and importance.

·      Collaborative Efforts: the collaboration is not just between students and student and their teacher, but also extends to members of the community, parents, organizations and even students in other schools, providing the opportunity for students to work with people of different and diverse backgrounds.

·      Reciprocity: during service learning, each member (student, teacher, community leaders, etc) are able to exchange information and ideas in a way that each member has the opportunity to both teach and learn.

·      Civic Responsibility: service learning helps students to realize their roles in their community and how working towards these needs helps them understand the true concept of a democracy.

Kaye, C. B.  (2004). The Complete Guide to Service Learning: proven, practical ways to engage students in civic responsibility, academic curriculum, and social action. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Press.

RR8: LIST ideas and resources you can use for your Service Learning and ITU (Task 11).

Our group will be using the theme of “Green Carlsbad” and my classes will be focusing on the restoration and conservation of the lagoons in Carlsbad. There are three lagoons in Carlsbad; Buena Vista Lagoon, Agua Hedionda Lagoon, and Batiquitos Lagoon. Each of these lagoons has their own foundation, which works to maintain and preserve the natural state of each of the lagoons. I will be focusing on the biological and geological aspects of the lagoon and its preservation. I plan to include some or all of the following ideas into my lessons:

·      A field trip to one of the lagoons to visit the nature center and hike the trails around the lagoon. During this time, we will be paying particular attention to the different species of plants and animals that inhabit the lagoon and their interactions with each other. We would also examine some of the conditions that are threatening the lagoon and the plants and animals that live there.

·      I would use the experts at each of the lagoons, having them speak to the class either at the field trip, in the classroom, or through technology like skype to talk to the students about the current conditions of the lagoons and what actions are needed to maintain or improve the conditions of the lagoons. This could be expanded to include any additional experts on some of the species who live there and are threatened or endangered.

·      I would have my students perform community service hours at the lagoons. Each of the lagoon foundations has need for volunteers for a variety of roles to help in the preservation of the lagoons.

I’m sure as I investigate this further, I will find many other ways to use local resources to aid myself and my students in this project.

RR9: Begin your ethnographic research on your school site to complete your ethnography for EDSS 530 and to complete Task 3 for the ITU

We have each taken a role in completing Task 3 of our ITU. We will be working on our assignment together through Google docs. A link to our ITU document can be found here.

Note: we will be working on our five individuals as we get to know our new students. This information will be added to the document at a later date.

RR10: Revise your team's Task 2: ITU Cover Sheet. Make sure you use the ITU assignment template and ppt to guide your work.

We have been working on our cover sheet and sharing ideas and information through Google docs. A link to our current cover sheet can be found here.

Class 531 Reflection – Week One

What is like to be a student in my class? What is like for a student to move through classes in a day at our school?

In my class, a student would find that most of the work is group and collaborative based. The students sit at tables in groups of three to five. The students at each table have roles within their group they must perform each day. Some of the students are the task managers, and have to make sure their peers stay focused and on task. Others may be resource managers, ensuring that their groups have the materials they need to complete their assignments. Other roles may include readers, reading materials aloud to the class, or recorders, taking notes for their group at the table.

A typical day would include both whole class instruction as well as group work. Whole class instruction is often conducted as part of an interactive lecture, which would include demonstrations, discussions, and hands-on samples. During these lectures, class participation is required. Students in my class would be asked to contribute to at least one whole class discussion a week as part of the participation grade.

Group work would often follow the short lecture and may include hands-on laboratory assignments, group response to questions and prompts, or completion of graphic organizers. During this time, I would walk the room to work with each group as needed and to assess their understanding of the assignment. I would also ensure that the students are all contributing to the group work and provide individual help where needed.

At the end of class, I would again address the whole class to review and summarize what we have discussed and learned that day.

Our school is a traditional school, where the students have six periods lasting approximately 55 minutes. Because of the short periods, it can be difficult to get in all of the activities that I may want to include in a lesson. Sometimes I have to plan my lessons over two days if they involve extensive laboratory exercises. However, I do get to see my students on a daily basis, and that makes it easier to scaffold the learning from the day before. Additionally, the campus is large, and that can make it difficult for students to get from one location to the next in the prescribed amount of time. I do feel that the students can feel rushed with the quick pace set by the schedule. However, I feel that there is a very positive attitude at the school shared by the students, administrators and teachers. I really enjoy teaching here.