Classroom 2.0 Experience, PLN Step 9

In the short time that I have been involved with Classroom 2.0, I can clearly see the benefits to such a community. I like that every person with a profile on the site can interact with each other and are dedicated to becoming better teachers and learners themselves.

I think that it will be very beneficial for me to be able to interact with educators around the world because I hope to be a history teacher and there's more history out there than just American. I think being able to talk about the topics I cover in class with someone who lives in that country and has seen the effects, or has family who has been affected, will be very insightful. I'm very excited to interact in this community more.

I joined a group about history resources, and I think that in and of itself will be very helpful. It has many links to sites and lesson plans that will help me as a beginning teacher.

Innovation Studio

I loved visiting the Innovation Studio on our Innovation Campus during class on Thursday! I had never been to that campus before and found it to be a great opportunity for me to learn about some of the amazing things our university is doing.

I had no idea that we had access to a space like the one we saw. I was inspired throughout the tour to start generating ideas of cool and fun things I could do with all the advanced technology there. And all at such a low cost!

I was very interested in the laser cutter. Right now, my mind is on Christmas presents and what I am going to give to my friends and family. I think that the laser cutter offers many unique opportunities for gifts: engraving names into Yeti mugs, cutting boards, etc.

Also, I have always wanted to try my hand at sculpting. I'm not much of an artist, but I do believe that anyone can learn, and I would love to attend a class with the sculptor there. I was inspired by the works-in-progress of his that were on the shelf in the last room we saw, as well as the faces that he showed us in the 3D printer room.

There is so much value in having this kind of technology available at a low cost and with guided instruction on how to use it! These kinds of spaces can help inspire a new love for something within a person, and could create a better appreciation for handmade objects and the arts in our society.

Webinar #2: Education Week, PLN Step 8

The second webinar I watched was produced by Education Week and APEX Learning and its topic was Equity of Opportunity: Closing the Achievement Gap.

Many of the points the speaker, Lisa Williams, had were similar to what was discussed in Ali Michael's workshop that I attended here at UNL last month. She was very adamant that diversity matters, especially when most teachers are white women.

Williams also discussed how teachers and school staff who have been a part of the education system for 30+ years are finding it hard to change their viewpoints. The changing groups and learning styles of students are subtle, and older generations of school staff are more susceptible to staying with the system.

The lens of equity is a tricky one to see through, especially when the teachers' races, gender, sexual orientation, etc. are different than their students'. Williams, similar to Michael, says that the first step is to look within yourself and reflect on your problems and your privilege. Then, learning about the cultures of your students is key as well. Cultural competency is a large part of becoming a great teacher who values equity.

This webinar was very enlightening to me. It highlighted a lot of the same things that the workshop speaker did a few weeks ago, and that has made me realize just how important this topic is in schools. As someone who is bouncing around the idea of teaching in an urban school setting, I think this webinar aided me in a lot of ways.

Webinar #1: News Literacy Classroom 2.0, PLN Step 8

The first webinar I watched was on Classroom 2.0. The webinar dealt with News Literacy, which I think is a very interesting topic considering all the talk of "fake news" in our country at the moment. The chat began with recognizing how difficult it is to find real, credible sources in this day and age. I think that acknowledging that fact is often the first step to releasing yourself from the echo chambers many of us have created for ourselves online.

One concept I found interesting during the webinar was the idea of "circular reporting" where news sources cite each other back and forth, without any new information or fact checking. I had no idea this was something that happened in journalism and I can better understand how difficult it really is to find true information.

One of the graphics in the slideshow for the webinar was about how fake news sources surpassed mainstream ones in the amount of shares they received in the last three months of the election cycle last year. The expert speaker, Tiffany Whitehead, noted that this can make it very hard for parents to discern between fake and real news. If parents can't tell the difference, they can then become the ones who are sharing those types of articles and telling their children about them. This creates a cycle where the students begin reading the fake news and believing it as well.

News and media literacy are important concepts for anyone and everyone in our society. It is our job as teachers to help teach students what is credible and how to know if it's a credible source. Students can then take home that knowledge of credibility testing back home to their parents, and it could change our society for the better. As a future social studies teacher, I feel that this skill fits within my niche very well. There are many connections that can be made between the present and history, so teaching news literacy is a skill that I feel I need to be able to share with my future students. This webinar has helped me see the tricks of the trade to discerning credibility and I hope that I will pass that knowledge on to my students.

Module 10 Assignment

Steven Witten's video on Making Things with Maths was interesting. It was hard for me to get into it and be able to become really interested in what he was saying because I haven't had math at this level in a long time. It was hard to get past the mathematical concepts to get to the point of what he was saying. That being said, once I was able to get past the "I don't want to listen to this guy talk about math for an hour" stage, I really liked what he had to say. Using technology to teach math and science in practical ways is a true game changer. Not just memorizing equations or writing out problems, but using programs like the blue circles in a box and being able to apply the laws of motion to them makes the content more realistic and applicable.

QR code to the youtube video: 

For the maker activities in class, I viewed Google Cardboard, Makey Makey, and the Apple Learn to Code activity. Google Cardboard was amazing! I had no idea that for $20 I could have Virtual Reality in my pocket! I love that there are so many experiences you can download for free and utilize in everyday life. My entire group was so enamored with this that we discussed creating a Google Cardboard compatible app for our final project. 

Makey Makey was cool as well, although I'm not sure I can see it being used in a secondary classroom. I enjoyed being able to touch the different objects and they control the mouse, keyboard, and other parts of the computer.

The Learning to Code app was pretty cool as well. My group is thinking that we will be making an app for our final project, so seeing some basic coding elements was very useful and insightful for us. I liked how the app made it seem like a game, rather than a boring how-to list.