Journal 9

Journal 9 "Teaching Green” Waters, J. (2011). Teaching green. THE Journal , Retrieved from http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/1105/journal_201104/#/12

John J. Water is a freelance writer who focuses on teaching green through the wealth of online resources. Classroom earth is a site that was created by the National Education Foundation in partnership with The Weather Channel. The sites purpose is to push environmental awareness and education in high school classrooms across the nation. A walk in the woods is the second site and is aimed at a younger grade level(grades3-5) and at schools in more urban areas such as San Francisco. Students in large cities rarely have the chance to experience the outdoors. This site gives these students a chance to do so, through virtual walks in the woods. The next site is Environmental Education for Kids(EEK!). This site is an electronic magazine for students in grades 4 to 8. It is also directed towards teachers and can have lots of useful information and tools that can be used inside and out of the classroom. The fourth site is called Ecological Footprint Quiz and is an online quiz that gets kids thinking about their ecological and carbon footprint. This is a great way to have kids understand how nature is affected by what they do on a day to day basis. The fifth site called PowerUp is for both parents and teachers and provides lesson plans and different tools to promote environmental education. The US Environmental Protection Agency Teaching Center site is the final site Waters talks about. This site is aimed towards teachers, as it offers a wide variety of lesson plans and classroom activities that are based on the environment.

Which site do you see most beneficial in the classroom and why?

I believe that the Ecological Footprint Quiz is very beneficial because it gives students a chance to better understand the big picture of global warming and how their day to day ways of life impact our earth.

Do you think environmental issues will become a largely incorporated topic of discussion inside the classroom as time goes on? I personally haven’t been environmentally educated up until recently. We were never taught about the environment and ones footprint. All I knew was throw away your trash and that was about it! Now a day’s websites such as the ones Waters discussed educate students in a simple, understandable way. With the constant increase in internet ability, I can see Environmental studies becoming a subject just like math or science!

Journal 8

Journal 8: "Should Schools Be Held Responsible for Cyber bullying?"

Bogacz, R, & Gordillo, M. (2011, March/April). Point/counterpoint: Should Schools be Held Responsible for Cyber bullying?. Learning & Leading , 38(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Point_Counterpoint_Should_Schools_Be_Held_Responsible_for_Cyberbullying.aspx

this site presents different views in an argument as Renee Bogacz argues that schools play a huge part in the direction cyber bulling goes. Bogacz has been a teacher for over twenty years and believes that educators and parents must work together to protect students. By playing an active part in the discontinuation of cyber bulling, we can witness its dimishment as we move forward as a culture.

Bogacz’s theory is challenged by Miguel Gómez Gordillo, an IT director for the Ascoiaión para el Desarollo Educativo (which manages K-12 schools in Guatemala). He argues that schools cannot be held responsible for cyber bulling. Instead Gomez believes that parents and society are to blame. He links the number of cyber bulling cases to lack of parental love in weak home environments. His solution is to establish a close knit communication family while simultaneously developing a plan for these families. He believes a healthy family will solve everything!

Whose argument do you support and why? I believe teachers and administrators are responsible for ending cyber bullying but it is equally the parent’s responsibility to keep their kids from being bullied. Educators must prevent bullying before it happens while parents must monitor it at home. No one person is to blame for cyber bullying.

Do you have any personal experience with cyber bullying? If so, please explain. When I was in junior high girls would bully me from my school through AIM instant messenger. This was put to an end when my mother saw what they wrote me on the computer. She is both a parent and a teacher (high school teacher) and quickly took matters to the principal. Unfortunately it only made things worse which is why I believe it needs to be stopped before it happens!

Journal 6

Journal 6

Warlick, D. (2009). Grow your personal learning network. Learning & Leading With Technology (36)6, Retrieved from http://istelearning.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Grow-Your-PLN.pdf

The article Grow Your Personal Learning Network (PLN) explained different types of PLNs and how they function based off member involvement.  With increasing technology our PLN is no longer restricted to our actual location. We can now access information and communicate with people across the globe. PLNs are key in order to communicate and improve the world of teaching through the use of the Internet. There are three main types of PLNs. The first is a traditional network called personally maintained synchronous connections. This network allows you to conversate and discuss questions with fellow educators throughout the world. the second PLN allows you to conversate and propose questions to multiple people or groups at once and time is not an issue. No longer are people restricted by work and time zones, these responses can come whenever it is convenient to those answering questions or participating in discussions. The third and final type of PLN is dynamically maintained asynchronous connections. This type of PLN uses a RSS aggregator that will bring information to us, rather than us having to search for information. Twitter is a great addition PLNs as it gives personal incite to other educators methods of instruction.
Warlick pointed out that one weakness of PLNs may be that we choose to only involve ourselves in networks that are similar to our own views, what can I do to make sure that my views are not stunted by my PLN?  By becoming aware of other views you can better understand their points and although you may not agree, there may be certain ideas you can get from others and build off of. As educators it is key that we set a good example for our students by exemplifying the importance of forming beliefs based off all different takes on certain situations.

How influential will my PLN be as I begin to teach in the classroom? Experience is key so in the beginning I will have to base my work off my PLN so it is essential to follow my own advice and build a PLN based off all perspectives and points of view. Never be close minded to new things! This new age of digital learning promotes growth in all aspects of teaching.