Thing 23

I have learned so very much from this 23 Things class that it is hard to know where to begin. I had never before blogged although I had read the blogs of others. I can see the benefit of blogging and reading the blogs of others to gain and share knowledge, perspective, experience, to name a few. As a school social worker I have read student entries on MySpace and was surprised at the honesty and openness they showed when sharing their personal thoughts and feelings on the web.

I plan on taking a Learnport course or courses but have not decided on which one (s). I would like to explore the various capabilities of Google Docs to elicit information from staff and possibly parents. Podcast exploration will continue. I may attempt to incorporate the use of Slideshare's and videos as possibly a warm up activity in group or with individual students.

Overall, looking for ways to work smarter, not harder to make a difference with students, and to be a valuable resource in the buildings we service. Learning how to use the assorted Web 2.0 applications was not as overwhelming as hearing about them and trying to make sense of them. I think the video examples that were included in this class were invaluable!. I would recommend this class to others and have learned more than I ever thought I would.

Thing 22

I plan to continue to participate in additional online professional development and learning. The Summer 23 Things course was a very valuable learning experience, much more than I ever thought it would be. I enjoyed the self-paced learning which was based on my schedule, ability to focus, etc. and helped to optimize my learning.

In my experience it took more concentration to complete online professional development because I was able to learn and comprehend things based on my ability and willingness to concentrate and focus. The amount of time spent not focusing or being distracted during "live" professional development can be significant. When I am at home, I can attempt to learn something but if the timing is not right, I can try later when I am better able to concentrate.

I would enjoy more Web 2.0 training. I thought the examples given during this class were excellent and helpful and it broke down a seemingly overwhelming experience into one that was very manageable and doable. During this summer course I have learned things and done things that I have never done before including, blogging, participating in a wiki, imbedding widgets, slideshares, videos and audio. I activiely participated at the various web sites instead of merely visiting them!.

Thing 21

The uses of online videos by myself, as a school social worker, are as endless as they are for a classroom teacher. When covering skills such as anger management it would be interesting to find and use videos showing the incorrect and correct ways to handle angry feelings. If I am discussing conflict resolution, I am certain there are videos addressing this topic as well. I would be limited by my own creativity, the appropriateness of the videos available, and access to websites. YouTube is blocked at my school.

There are some students who would rather we not talk/lecture and would prefer to be given content through videos only!! As previously stated in my blog, the use of videos to supplement the content of what is being discussed and taught can be a positive thing. The exclusive use of videos is no more beneficial than the stereotypical teacher we can all think of (based on personal or professional experience) who would rely on the frequent use of movies at the expense of actually teaching.

Thing 21

Thing 20

Like with any medium a teacher uses in the classroom, there would be those students who enjoy podcasts and others who dislike them. Music, choir, symphony or band students would be able to be exposed to a limitless range of auditory information. Foreign language students could benefit from listening to native speakers and even creating podcasts using the language they are learning.

In terms of having students creating podcasts, it might be helpful to give them examples of the range of things they can do with podcasts. Group work and collaboration skills could be used as could independent learning skills where some students may thrive on working by themselves.

Personally and profesionally, I have been listening to podcasts for approximately two years. I enjoy the Social Work Podcast, and subscribe to several Las Vegas podcasts (all through iTunes). I look forward to the evenings when I am winding down as this is often the time I listen to the podcasts. I have not yet begun listening to them in the car, despite commuting almost 100 miles round trip each day. This is due more to technical issues (fm modulator for ipod use in car) than due to lack of interest.

Thing 20

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Thing 19

I listened to several podcasts related to my role as a school social worker, including The Social Work Podcast, The Autism Podcast and a Bipolar Disorder Podcast.

The Social Work Podcast is hosted/presented by a gentleman who has a background in music (jazz), he is a professional social worker and a doctoral student and adjunct college professor. His voice is pleasant to listen to and he appears to be up to date with social work best practices and current issues.

The Autism Podcast that I viewed and listened to had an advertisement on the home page for a type of software that was developed for the iPhone or iPod Touch that provided visual schedules for autistic students.

The Bipolar Podcast found at realmentalhealth.com was sponsored by a pharmaceutical company (Astra Zeneca). They had psychiatrists and patients who had bipolar disorder discussing symptoms, treatment, etc.

Not being in a classroom setting some of these questions for Thing 19 were more of a challenge to answer. If I were in a classroom setting I might explore interesting and relevant podcasts during classtime including surveying students about their interests and finding podcasts for them to listen to (or vodcasts for them to view and listen to) related to their interests. I can see the usefulness for podcasts/vodcasts as a supplement to the content area that was being covered in class.

The quality of sound being transmitted (via speakers) would be an important factor in the use of podcasts for the classroom as would quality of the speaker's voice. Using podcasts or vodcasts should not be the primary means used to teach in a classroom (on an everyday basis) but the use of these as supplemental tools could be beneficial.

Thing 17

I have never contributed to a wiki before and was initially overwhelmed with the task. However, if fifth graders are expected to do this I thought it must be manageable!! I enjoyed reading the wiki's of others and creating my own page. A wiki is (or can be) much more collaborative than a blog and different contributors to any given wiki made this topic interesting. I will continue to search for wikis dealing with social work and school related issues, such as treatments for various mental health disorders or helpful interventions to use with students. I am sure there are many more uses for wikis but I feel I need more time to process the implications of wikis.

Within a classroom setting the composition and use of wikis would be the collaboration that students would need to engage in and become comfortable using. As has been a common theme throughout my blog, I continue to be concerned about the student who struggles with reading, comprehending, focusing, or who has some type of developmental disability. The things that are being done in the general education classroom need to adapted to the needs of the special education population.

Thing 13

I struggled with this Thing. I do not see me using this during the limited time I have with students each week, but I do see where student's knowing about this free application and photo sharing site would be something they might find fun and creative to do in their personal time. On a personal level, I can see myself editing and manipulating photos with the applications from Thing 13.











http://www.flickr.com/photos/40216008@N05/3716299545/in/photostream/



http://www.flickr.com/photos/40216008@N05/3717123142/in/photostream/

Thing 12

I am not completely certain as to how I would use online photo sharing since I do not have a "classroom" so to speak. I would possibly share personal photos and travel photos with students who seem to be intrigued that we (school staff) actually have a life we live outside of school!! It would appear that caution would be needed because sharing too personal of photos during discussions or to provide examples could be problematic.

Thing 11

Since I am a school social worker and do not have a classroom, I am uncertain how I would have my students use slide share presentations. However, I can see myself using this medium (depending on the student or the group with whom I am working) to provide information or a brief overview of a topic before dealing with the topic in a more in-depth level.

So many students these days tune out to lengthy, verbal information and the visual component provided by slides could be helpful. I think it might be "fun" for the students to find humurous slideshares to incorporate into a social emotional lesson as an icebreaker or just doing something "different" than they are used to. One drawback is the reading and comprehension skills that are needed by students if an audio component is not included in the slides.

Anger Management Techniques for Teens: 3 Great Tips To Deal With Anger

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Anger Management Techniques for Teens: 3 Great Tips To Deal With Anger

View more documents from Michael Lee.

Thing 10

I wish I would have known about Google Docs years ago when I was word processing all of the forms to be sent to teachers and parents. I think it gives a more polished and professional look to documents compared to the standard word documents. I think obtaining teacher input may be easier (for them to provide) since this is done on line. There is no risk of anyone else mistakenly viewing the document, nothing to keep hidden from the probing eyes of other students (while sitting on the teacher's desk). Also, virtually nothing to get lost and nothing for the teacher to worry about placing in someone else's mailbox or misplacing.

One small downside (if you can call it that) is that as the solicitor of information, I would be the one printing off the responses to review and then include in my social work report. Of course there is always the issue of the computer or network being down and not accessible. There will likely be some people who want a hard copy (in their mailbox). These may be the same teachers who refuse to respond to my emails but will willingly talk to me in person!! The person to person element is still needed to inform people what I will be sending them and why!

I would need to think about how to use this with student's since many have reading or writing issues. I could certainly develop pre or post tests (surveys) that focus on skills such as anger management, conflict resolution, etc.

Thing 8

Another new application that I have heard about but can now understand and use!! With every new Web 2.0 "thing" I learn about I see the amount of my free time increasing exponentially!! How many endless minutes and hours have any of us spent looking up web sites then saving to our favorites. I will definitely be using delicious and will encourage others to become familiar with this as well. We currently have an ISD social work website that would be wonderful to have a delicious connection to various therapies, intrventions, social stories, and assessment we can share with out coworkers. Face to face networking (and resource sharing) seems to be happening less frequently but it will be great to access others resources and willingly share our own.

Web 2.0. Impressions, Implications, Opinions

Wow!! Web 2.0 is even more amazing than Web 1.0. The interactive nature, the immediacy, the transparency and the collaboration that is happening and will continue to occur. I wonder what Web 3.0 has in store for the world?

An individual teacher, student, and classroom cannot exist in isolation to be effective in teaching the skills needed to today's students. I wonder what type of personality will begin to be drawn to the teaching profession. The mastery of content will possibly not be as important as the ability to find information, collaborate with others, and work in conjunction within the school building and with the outside community. What about the student that takes certain classes because they want to be left alone? Is this helping them in the long term?

As a school social worker I spend much time teaching problem solving, anger management or conflict resolution skills. I wonder what other skills will need to be taught? Collaboration, team work, sharing, trusting others? I wonder what students and staff will be left behind? Many students spend hours on the computer (in isolation, in the comfort of their own homes). If you are technically skilled and skilled with web applications is that enough? People skills will be more important than ever for the 21st Century.

Thinking and Learning in the 21st Century

Change is constantly happening around us, for better or sometimes for worse change will happen. Unfortunately, school systems and they way things have been done are very difficult to change. I am unsure of the numerous factors for the resistance to change. In Micigan you have the MEAP and MME exam which does judge and impose sanctions on schools for poor performance. These exams do not appear to measure 21st Century Skills but more rote (non-creative) types of things.

Critical thinking, literacy, good work ethic, good communication skills have been important and will continue to be important skills to possess. It certainly seems that we need to also teach and model collaboration skills, team work, and cooperation to name a few of the skills needed for the 21st Century.

Who will be left behind? The socially akward and isolative student? The cognitively impaired or learning disabled (especially in the area of reading and comprehension?). Thankfully, schools and libraries have made access to computers easier for the econimically disadvantaged to access technology, the internet, etc.

I wish this technology was available when I was in school in the 1970's because we could have learned so much more (and quicker, too!!). College (undergrad and grad school) in the early to mid-1980's was just a continuation of high school. The teacher was the "expert", they imparted their knowledge, we read the textbook, wrote papers, and we were the dependent and passive learners.

Being allowed to sit and observe students in various classroom settings, I have not observed many differences in the role of the teacher and student compared to when I was in school. There is a certain comfort level and familiarity in that!! Maybe there is more truth than we know in the saying "Familiarity breeds contemp".

Thoughts about blogging

I have read the blogs of others before and have learned many things about the person because of their blogs. For more personal blogs it does give some insight into how the other person feels about things, what their opinions are, etc. I am not certain that I will participate in blogging of a personal nature btu at this time will feel more confortable with blogging about professional or educational topics.

First Time Blogging

This is my first experience with blogging. Overall, setting up the account and choosing the template went smoothly.