Life-long Learning

PLN vs. PLE

I needed to read the articles several times to fully grasp the concept of PLN and PLE.  Personal Learning Networks are the people that you would link your PLEs to.  They are the people that you will eventually learn from and may also teach as well.  Personal Learning Environment are the tools and extensions (Twitter, Evernote, Diigo, etc.) that we can connect to so that they can serve as supplementary materials in our quest for more knowledge.

Metaphor

PLN and PLE can be compared to several aspects of being a teacher (in the traditional sense).  PLN can be the students, parents, administrators, community members, and other teachers, the stakeholders.  They are the people who we link up with and learn from each other.  PLE could be all the materials I need to function as an effective teacher: classroom supplies, professional development, even access to the internet.

Within PLN & PLE

Some components found in PLN are the social networks used to access friends, for example, Twitter, Facebook, or Linked In.  It seems common-sense, but I should mention that in order to get to those friends, you have to be a member of these networks as well.  PLEs are tools in your vault that you have chosen so you can better function in your career.  Here are some examples:

• Diigo
• Evernote
• Blogger
• Google Dictionary
• Engrade

PLN & PLE Conclusion

Throughout the course I have been mentioning the fact that schools need to develop a technology-based Professional Learning Communty (PLC).  By creating PLN & PLE, this can be achieved.  Three years ago, a colleague of ours created a PLC this way, but after she left, we had no knowledge of how to continue and what she even did to establish the system.  By have the PLN, we can continue with communication anywhere and anytime.  Students too, can use this concept to post discussions, share tools, and expand learning.  This is a great way ensure that learning endures.

Web 2.0 and Beyond

Part One - A New Web Generation

I know for a fact (after reading information about Web 2.0) that if not for Web 2.0, I will not able to create this blog and post it up for people to see.  I would not be able to customize my blog, my email page, and even edit papers with other people in other places in real time.  That said, I am so glad that it was invented.  I have used features (unknowingly) of Web 2.0.  For example, two summers ago, our school's Title I Needs Assessment Team created our report through Google Docs and we edited our report together without having to write it on paper first, then type it, then edit it.  We were able to split the tasks and work on different parts of the paper without stressing out about needing to type it later.

Part Two - The Future Web Generation

Semantics is the order of words when we speak.  For example we would normally say "I am tired."  The change in semantics happens when the statement becomes Yoda-ized (I made up a new word just like Elvira...teeheehee) like this: "Tired, I am."  They both mean the same thing, but the latter emphasizes "tired" instead.  
The next world wide web in the making is Web 3.0 or Semantic Web.  With Web 2.0, the system cannot recognize telephone numbers and personal information.  Semantic Web is being designed so that it can easily recognize those things (including international phone numbers).  I suppose the whole motivation behind its creation is for a search engine to be more selective and objective when presenting its resources.
There are a few drawbacks that I see in this new development.  I am very weary about posting my personal information on the web for people to get access to.  Look how long it took me to be convinced that blogging is a good thing.  With all of the online predators, especially towards children, Web 3.0 will raise the risk of our young ones getting found and being harmed.  Another issue that I think would be detrimental is the whole notion of filtering information so that only certain ones appear.  There may be 30 million results that post, but that does not mean they are not being used.  The tail end of that 30 million may be a primary result for somebody else whose search key phrases are different from mine.  No piece of information is wasted.  Because I am a big fan of classic movies, many times I do not know the actor's names, I just type in what the movie was about and eventually I find what I am looking for.  With Web 3.0, it sounds like I have to be very specific with my search in order to get results.  I am not convinced yet.

Part Three - KickResume

KickResume is a Web 2.0 Application that helps people create their resumes online for free.  It is very easy to use and contains many all of the basic components of a resume.  You also have the option of adding sections to your resume.  When finished, the resume can be downloaded and saved as a PDF and you can log in anytime to make changes and updates.  This is perfect tool for students, especially in the high school level, students taking Cooperative Education and Training courses, and anyone preparing to get into the workforce.
Now, the downside.  After downloading your finished resume, it will be difficult to make changes because it is saved as a PDF.  Yes, you can add text over the PDF, but you cannot correct errors.  You would need to go online to make the corrections through your KickResume account.  That said, if the internet is down or you cannot find a connection, it will be very difficult to make those corrections.  Of course, in today's world you can go almost anywhere to get an internet connection, but you never know.  Another downside is that the website does not publish your resume to potential employers.  Actually this is both a good and bad thing.  You would have to print or email your resume when applying for jobs.

Digital Literacy - A Stakeholder Effort

Article: "Making Sense of Digital Literacy Education" by Ian Quillen (July 2, 2010)

Synopsis of the Article:
The article describes some actions that the Common Sense Media (CSM) organization took to create a curriculum on teaching digital literacy in schools.  After much research and observation on how young people bully each other on social networks, CSM's chief education and strategy officer, Linda Burch realized that the position of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. DOE is correct in saying that schools should teach digital literacy to all students.  Based on findings, a new curriculum was created by CSM: Digital Citizenship in a Connected Culture, which is composed of five units: Digital Life, Privacy and Digital Footprints, Self-Expression and Identity, Connected Culture, and Respecting Creative Work.  The curriculum follows New York's State Standards and is being aligned with the Common Core State Standards as well.

Things to Consider:
1.  Do you believe CNMI PSS should adopt the Digital Citizenship in a Connected Culture curriculum?  See http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum for more information.
2.  Do you teach (formally or informally) digital citizenship to your students?  How do you monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your teaching?
3.  Do you think that teaching digital literacy is the responsibility of teachers?  Please explain in 1 or 2 sentences.

Reflection:
Just recently I was reminded of something by my colleague, Elvira.  She attended an Anti-Bully session in Saipan and she shared something with me that made sense, one which I never actually sat to think about before.  Anger is a natural, human emotion, we should accept it.  Violence, on the other hand, is a learned behavior.  It should be controlled, prevented, and stopped.

After reading "Making Sense of Digital Literacy" by Ian Quillen (2010), I am reminded of what Elvira said.  Our behaviors are learned.  For many people, these lessons are taught at home by parents, guardians, and any relatives we look up to.  Quillen's article rests on the fact that students' behaviors online should be taught at school.  From my understanding, Quillen states that a school system is responsible for doing this.  I disagree.

A child's upbringing is a community effort.  A child's first classroom is in his/her home.  Parents are the first and foremost teachers who children learn from.  If parents teach their children manners, respect, courtesy, generosity, etc., then their acceptance to learning and practicing digital citizenship in school will be inevitable.  In contrast, if parents show their children rudeness, selfishness, hate, etc., then teaching digital citizenship will be like wading through molasses.  This is not to say that it is solely the parents' responsible to teach children.  In some case, parents do.  It is the influence of friends, other adults, in other words, community members, who may influence a child to go against their parents' teachings.  

Even with all of our efforts to educate students on the harmful effects of bullying and cyber-bullying, the problem is still here.  I just read an article about 12 and 14 year-old girls who are charged in the suicide of 12 year-old Rebecca Sedwick in Florida last week because she was cyber-bullied.  She died on September 10, 2013 and after investigating, the two girls were finally charged in October. See http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20745709,00.html.  After learning of Rebecca's death, the 14 year-old posted on her Facebook account that she knew she bullied Rebecca and that Rebecca killed herself, but she doesn't care (she used a more hateful expression though).  Interestingly (and disgustingly) enough, the 14 year-old's mother was arrested on Friday, October 18, 2013, for brutally beating two boys.  See http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/florida-mom-teen-accused-bullying-girl-committed-suicide-arrested-child-abuse-charges-authorities-article-1.1490366.  This, in a way, proves what I just mentioned about what parents do and teach influence their children.  

Yes, we as educators have the obligation to teach our students responsibility and citizenship when using technology, but in order for our students, our children, to grasp and appreciate digital literacy, the partnership of all stakeholders is necessary.

Antenille's Blog About Blogs

For years I have honestly wondered what the deal was about blogs.  For me, it was redundancy.  People on facebook create their statuses, discussion boards are created in courses, twitter allows others to see what you're doing.  This is TOO much!  
No one has ever given me an answer about blogs that I was satisfied with and besides, I didn't want anyone to know every single thing about what I was thinking, what I was doing, and what is going on in my life. Those things are reserved for important people in my life.  Today, I learned something new.  After watching the YouTube video on blogging, I now understand the value of blogs, especially in the classroom.  From my understanding, blogs or formally, web logs, are posts (allowed to be longer) that we publish that focuses on important events and movements, not necessarily from my life, but from my interests.  Newspapers are very selective about the articles they write and print, blogs make it possible for people from everywhere to communicate about everything, especially common interests.  I watched a documentary on Netflix (I forgot the title) about this "average Joe" Chinese man who blogged about the tyranny of China's communism.  He not only wrote about the discrimination and human rights violation of his people, he uploaded videos to support his claims.  The government tried to stop him.  He was invited to Germany as a guest panelist on their Blogger Conference, but was detained in China by the government.  His blogs made him famous.
"Being an expert is not talking about yourself," (Patel 2012).  This is exactly the reason why the Chinese blogger became famous.  He did not blog about his miseries, he blogged about his people's and with this, sought the assistance of world leaders.  He was recognized by many people from around the world for his noble deeds.  The end of the film shows him leading other bloggers into the movement of revealing to the rest of the world the suffering that their government is inflicting on its people.
I can definitely use blogging by connecting course topics to student thoughts, but that becomes tedious for them.  Instead, what I would really want to see happen at our school is to for the us teachers to begin blogging about strategies that work, what we're having issues with, and new information that may help our school run more effectively, etc.  I see the communication with teachers is very limited because of all the tasks we have to do.  By having a blog, we can all be actively connected to our school and each other as we are a team.  A setback of blogging could be grammar and punctuation issues.  Also, some teachers (like myself at first) may need convincing or training to use blogs.  I think the motivation and consistency might be problem as well.  With students, they may become too distracted with blogging.  It's a little daunting to think because if we are going to do this, each teacher as about 90 students all together and having to read and organize all blogger's posts will take up more time than is necessary or productive.  According to Backbencher 2013, three drawbacks of blogging are that everyone in the world could see your post which opens you up to much criticism and insult which leads to low self-confidence, and lastly, more pressure to post blogs if people are interested in what you write.  It may seem ridiculous for the latter to be a negative, but this will eventually take up more of your time.
I think blogging would be excellent in class, but I still need to research on how to make it effective.