Social+Media+Reflections

Module 1 Reflections:

Over the first week of this course, it has become apparent to me that over the past several years, I've had my head buried in the sand, regarding the use of technology in my teaching and personal life. The students I teach today are different than they were 10-15 years ago, and I need to adapt my methods of teaching to better reach them. The biggest challenge will be to overcome my students' perception of technology as a recreation-first source, and help them see technology as a source of information to enhance their educational experience and make them better people.

I created a Wiki, something I had heard students and other teachers talk about, but I had no clue what it was or how I could use it in my teaching. The Commoncraft video helped me understand the concept of a Wiki. I'm going to give it a try with my students this week, asking them to view a video lesson, and using the Wiki for them to post comments and questions they would normally ask in class. We'll see how it goes.

I'm looking forward to creating a Facebook page, learning about Twitter, and other types of Social Media in the next few weeks.

Module 2 Reflections:

I joined FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn this week. I've still got a long ways to go to learn what and how to post content on these forms of social media.

I found the readings on Netiquette and Internet Safety informative. I'm generally a polite person, so most of the Netiquette tips were common sense, but for some people using social media, education on Netiquette is definitely necessary. I developed a presentation to show my high school swim team to hopefully avoid cyber bullying issues in the future. I have skimmed my district's Acceptable Use Policy in the past, but over the past week I've read it much more carefully and now I have a better understanding of this document. If I could change one thing, I would tie outside cyber bullying to our extracurricular Code-of-Conduct document, which would penalize athletes, potential Homecoming/Prom Court members, and student council members for any acts of cyber bullying outside of school. Not too many of the readings I looked at mentioned YouTube (although I'm sure there are articles out there). Kids post some crazy things, which they may look back on in the future with regret.

Module 3 Reflections:

I think back to college and working on group projects 25 years ago. It was sometimes challenging to find a time and place for everyone to meet and work together. Today, I am collaborating on an activity with a classmate living in another country, and doing so while I am on vacation inFlorida.

Education is no longer limited to the four walls of a classroom and the eight hours in the school day. Students now have access to information from experts throughout the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their communication with each other is seemingly non-stop.

My goal as a math teacher is to harness this energy and enthusiasm for social media and the internet, and direct it towards productive activities that will improve their math and problem solving skills. I can envision one day a global learning community, where students from around the world collaborate and learn from each other. I became friends with an exchange student fromSouth Africaduring my senior year in high school, and learned a lot about his country. Today’s students could potentially have this type of experience on a regular basis.

Module 4/Final Course Reflections:

"Ignorance is bliss". I now have a much fuller appreciation for this statement. Prior to taking this course, I had almost no experience with social media of any type, other than hearing it being talked about by others. After taking this course, I have a much better understanding of what social media is, and how much I still need to learn to catch up with regular users (a lot). I plan to attend a Twitter workshop tomorrow after school - I now know what Twitter is, I have an account, I know how to follow others, but the whole hash tag thing is still a mystery. Likewise with Facebook - I now have my own account and I'm part of a group. I need to sit down with a real-life friend to show me how the privacy settings work before I put too much out there for the world to see. The next time "Web 2.0 tools" comes up at a faculty meeting or in-service, I now know what that means and how I can possibly use it in the classroom. Social Media does not appear to be a fad that will go away in a couple of years. Since I plan to teach for many more years, its time for me to jump on the social media bandwagon.