PLN Reflection

RSS Feeds: Really Simple Syndication was in fact pretty simple. Essentially with the click of a button you can have access to all the information you need. Feedly was a great source into finding websites that had RSS feeds. The thing that is most helpful about RSS feeds is that with each link you look at you can gain insight on teaching tools and tips. For example, one of the things I found lead me to a website where you can sift through different lessons plans and find one that suits your learning objective. Twitter: This was also something I was completely unfamiliar with. After creating my account I started following a few of the people mentioned in the Richardson and Mancabelli book. My favorite one to follow is @edutopia because this has the best variety of articles and resources within the field of teaching. Until creating my account for this assignment I was completely unaware that you could follow people in a business aspect. I am still not 100 percent sure what it means to retweet; however, when I saw something that I liked I retweeted it. Interestingly enough some of the things that I found on Twitter had RSS feeds also. Diigo: I am torn on my feelings about Diigo because I really like the Diigolet toolbar option that allows you to highlight, bookmark, and post-it note various things; but, I have a tough time navigating through the website to find information in the first place. To me it just gets a little confusing because there is a lot going on. Once I did find something I liked it was easy for me to go back and see what I saved and why I saved it in the first place. Ning: I became a member of the Educator's PLN. The thing that is nice about being apart of this Ning group is that I feel a sense of community when I am on the site. Everyone there is wanting to share what they know and learn from others. It is laid out nicely with videos to watch, discussion forums to join, and articles to read, all pertaining to education. It's main focus is to enrich your journey to becoming a great educator. Like I have said many times before, I am not very tech savvy. Upon researching and trying to use these resources I felt overwhelmed and frustrated. I know that with a little more practice navigating them will not seem as difficult. I do really appreciate the purpose of all of these websites. The main goal is to share information, and it makes finding and sharing ideas very simple (for most people unlike me). It truly is amazing to have access to everything you could ever need to know right at your fingertips.

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Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship focuses on five ethical issues: identity, privacy, ownership, trustworthiness, and participation. These are main components into creating a safe and useful technological learning environment. Many people have differing viewpoints on the issue of digital citizenship being something that can and should be taught within the classroom. One beneficial factor of technology within the classroom is that there are NETS (National Educational Technology Standards) for both students and teachers to follow. These serve as objectives and guidelines for a safe and appropriate use of technology in school. Many schools today are integrated technology into classroom, and digital citizenship is an important factor that must be addressed to keep teachers and students out of harm's way.

With the way the world is today, technology is taking over whether we like it or not. I, for one, am very set in my ways and do not like technology that much; however, I do see and understand the importance of digital citizenship within the classroom. I feel that it is very important that proper etiquette is taught to students, but students need a good model to follow. That is why allowing students to use technology in the classroom gives them the opportunity to explore what they are capable of all while under the instruction of the teacher. Certain activities to promote safety are necessary for students to fully understand what is and is not appropriate.