Over the last few weeks, we have been building our Personal Learning Network (PLN) on Twitter. At first, I had some trouble finding the EdChats but eventually got used to it. I really enjoy using Twitter as a way of communicating with people in our GEN2108 class. Since it is an online course, it is hard to form relationships with classmates. Twitter has made this much easier!
My favorite part is seeing professionals in the field of education tweet out their observations, questions, and advice. I have learned a lot about what types of technology to use in the classroom to make lessons more interactive. The use of social media has changed my way of thinking about learning: students can use social media as a learning tool that allows them to reach out to people that they normally never would have met!
I have been able to communicate with both my classmates and professionals in the education field. I have formed relationships with my classmates, which is the most exciting part! I am so excited to continue building my PLN and meeting new people!
In 2015, The United Nations came up with a Sustainable Development project that involves fighting climate change, poverty, world hunger, inequalities, etc. The “deadline” for this project in 2030, so that now only gives us 10 years to accomplish the goals of the project. There are 17 set goals that are listed here. The website gives a complete overview and description of the goals for Sustainable Development. In short, when the project started, they were given 15 years to end hunger, fight inequality, fix climate change, help the economy grow, and a variety of other social issues.
When it comes to education, this is very important to teach to students. We, as educators, need to stress the importance of these problems in our classrooms. The goals of the Sustainable Development project cannot and will not be met without the help of everyone. It is not a project that can be tackled by just one area of the world, it is going to take everyone to pitch in and contribute. By teaching this to our students (especially at young ages), they will grow up to be more informed about the problems faced around the world. We can teach it in the classroom by giving take-home projects and showing more videos about the impact the Sustainable Development project has on society and the environment.
Since there is only ten years left to accomplish these goals, we all need to start working together. These are important social and environmental concepts that need to be addressed, and it will not work without the support and contributions from around the world! This is why we need to start teaching it to our students as well. The more they learn now, the more they will know later and that will help them in the future endeavors of fighting for change!
Technology in the classroom has proven to be one of the best inventions yet (depending on who you ask). As our technology progresses more and more, we find new ways to incorporate it into our lesson plans. There are so many types of educational technology, including; Skype, Google+, Remind, Twitter, and LinkedIn (just to name a few). By utilizing these in the classroom, students are able to communicate with their teacher and other classmates.
One form of technology that I find incredibly helpful and useful in the classroom is Khan Academy. They provide video tutorials for just about any lesson you can imagine. Khan Academy goes in-depth and explains content for students who may not have completely understood it in class. I like using Khan Academy on top of the lesson taught in class because it provides students with an alternative way of thinking.
This video shows a teacher using Khan Academy in her classroom. It provides a second learning opportunity to her students while they are still able to ask her any questions they may have. Khan Academy provides practice tests and video tutorials to help students master the content.
Khan Academy also provides lesson plans for a variety of grades and classes. One that I found was Operations and Algebra. It starts with adding and subtracting with 5, then moves to adding and subtracting with 10. It ends with word problems after the student has successfully mastered the first few steps.
Technology and social media is a huge part of our society today. People use it to promote business, artwork, or simply just their personal lives. In the professional field, sharing on social media can be tricky. You have to be careful about the pictures or comments you post, share, or even just “like”. While your posts can be harmless, someone could possibly take it the wrong way. It is critical to be cognizant of what you post because one wrong comment or picture could be the end of your job. Some examples of ways professionals could get fired for posting on social media are making comments about work, posting inappropriate pictures, or contacting students outside of the classroom.
In an article by The Daily Dot, a teacher was fired from her job by flaunting her party lifestyle and drug possession on Twitter. Carly McKinney, 23 (at the time of this article), had tweeted inappropriate photos of herself and admitted to having marijuana in her car in the staff parking lot. This was immediate grounds for her release. Be careful about what photos you put out there!
In another article, a man by the name of Scott Bartosiewicz made a comment on Twitter about drivers in Detroit. He said “”I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to (expletive) drive.” This comment was meant to go on his personal Twitter account but accidentally posted it to his professional account for Chrysler. Because of his degrading comment about Chrysler customers/drivers, he was released from his position at Chrysler.
And finally, in 2014, New Jersey School Boards made a new policy regarding social networking between teachers and students. This law requires all schools to have a written policy regarding electronic communications between students and teachers. Teachers and students may not “friend” each other on social media without the principal’s written approval and they are only able to communicate via the district’s computers. If teachers fail to follow this policy, they will be fired.
At the end of the day, it is incredibly important that you are careful about what you are posting on social media. You never know who is going to see it, who will get offended, or who will file a complaint to your boss about it. Keeping things professional in person and online are two very important aspects of having a professional career.
