Thing 5: iPhone Update

On the way to the 21st Century Skills conference this morning, my colleagues were discussing the update on the iPhone. My life has been so upside down lately, I was unaware of the update! I don't live under a rock. I do know the new iPhone came out! Many of my friends are getting the new phones, but now I get an UPDATE! So I went to read some of my feeds for thing 5 and to my excitement, there is an entire article about my new update I am working on as I type! I love multi-tasking!

This great article, explains the features on the update. First of all, I can finally allow my children to add more apps. I have been out of pages for quite some time. We can do this by creating folders. The update allows up to 12 apps to be placed in folders. It will even name the folders based on the apps located inside of them! Another great feature is in regards to mail. I can now merge all of my accounts into one United Inbox. This feature will allow me to check all of the mail at one time instead of having to check each account! Another great feature is called multitasking. Funny, that is my middle name! I can open an app without closing another! This will come in handy when the kids are playing on the phone!

I love the reader for my RSS feeds. I really want to be more diligent in growing professionally with these features. There is so much I can learn in 15 minutes a day! I am considering teaching this as a staff development on my campuses next year! Any feedback on that is welcome!

One last thing about RSS feeds...have you ever seen a site with no RSS feed? To create one, all you have to do is go here,cut and paste the URL and click on "to RSS".

Thing 4: Blog-uation

Reading different types of blogs, I see so much value in the implementation of the classroom. There are so many different genres, but the majority I read contain strong opinions. For the purpose of education, I can see these blogs as great research material as we find teachers doing similar tasks around the country and updating the results on a blog. Cross-comparing these instances can create breakthroughs in education!

In Marc;'s Edtechblog, we see a new perspective on reading. As a tech facilitator, this should be part of my mindset. Ashamedly, it never occurred to me that this would be a great supplement for reading live books. I just love books. I don't really enjoy audio books. I use them mostly due to time restraints! However, this opens a whole new world for learners! Yeah! One of the comments suggests using it as a center! Loved it! The article points out that blog writing IS different from other types of writing!

When I read a blog, I question the validity of the information. Being a skeptic, I don't know who these folks are out there on the WWW! I come from the old school that still calls it the World Wide Web. I am ready to move into the next century of the Whatever Whenever Wherever!

Reading comments gives so much more insight. In this post from PBS Teachers, I was really curious to hear what others thought about this well-written letter that spoke the truth in love! It allowed me to feel more confident in speaking my mind about an opinion, but also delivered it in a respectful manner. Verbally this art is somewhat lost it seems. Most people would rather not say anything at all!

Blogging can allow students and teachers to communicate on many different levels. Student to student, student to teacher, and student to the world relationships can build bridges of mass amounts to acquire new learning. Several blogs I read by educators and other professionals promote proper use of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and proper use of our language. When students begin to blog and read other blogs, the grammatical aspect is based on the purpose of the blog. The more personal leveled blogs allow student to express themselves. I do see students that do make an effort above and beyond in some cases strictly because these avenues are PUBLIC!

Overall, I love blogging and wish I made more time for it. My family has a blog we have failed to update for some time. Some of the comments I read on blogs discuss the fact that educators don't feel like that have anything to say or that no one cares. This is how most of us feel, I imagine. Together we are building web communities of learners through blogs! It's simply amazing!

Thing 2: Thoughts about Web 2.0

How could we use these tools from Warlick's article? Wow! In the classroom and among an entire campuses, the world CAN change. When I was a kid, we just wanted world peace and hunger to stop. We watched TV and played early versions of Pac Man, played outside, and talked to our neighbors live. Reading the article alone is enough to wrap your head around. What comes to mind to me is all of the training the teachers have had to step out of their box and step into Web 2.0. I get discouraged because I think I can't make that happen. However, I did think of what I CAN do. Model. I don't have these things set up among campuses for those who desire to grow technologically. I SHOULD! I NEED to. If I don't step out and apply it among teachers, how will I get teachers to implement these things in their classroom. Besides, it's easier to sell something after you have already purchased it!

I feel like a broken record. Wait, do you even know what a record is? They are the vinyl "discs" used way back in the olden days record players. The record spins around on the turntable as a needle is placed in the ridges on the record to produce sound. Anyway, I digress. I know that children are living in a digital age. Most students have never even opened an encyclopedia. They use the internet for everything! It's our world and I love the videos on you tube that were presented in this class! Engage me. I want to continue to push and be pushed into the digital age until I grow out of it or die!

Thing 1: Reflections on Lifelong Learning

Funny. The original post title was "lielong" learning! Leaving out one letter can change everything. Good thing I caught the typo! However, it really made me think. I grew up believing lies about learning. I didn't believe in lifelong learning. I believed that you learned something and were done. Move on, right? You get a diploma and you're done, right? Get your degree and your done, right? I encountered a paradigm shift of thinking in the process of getting my master's degree. I realized I had a natural desire to learn. Before I began the program, I attended staff developments out of a need to become better in my professional career. There was a need. After I completed my degree, I needed time off from classes. What I realized was that I missed learning! I missed "being taught" something new and experiencing the joy of discovery!

Watching the presentation online, I noticed my mind wandering immediately. I was curious as to how the presentation was made. I found myself trying to figure out the software! The steps in the intro were very basic in reference to how we learn and the old school box we find ourselves in. I like the "too old" excuse. Sometimes I use it so I don't have to play certain video games with the kids! Sure that is probably wrong, but I have to at least be a little bit interested in something to learn about it!

It's true, though. It's never too soon or late to learn. It can be done in a structured or non-structured environment. If you are open minded, you are likely to learn something anytime and anywhere.

In response to the reflection questions, I found the most challenging habit to me would be to view problems as challenges. In regards to my job, it seems I don't mind this so much. My job lends itself to this habit! The skill I have to embrace these challenges don't carry over in my everyday life most of the time. I recently had a plumbing problem under my sink. This wasn't a challenge to me. It was a PROBLEM. I can't fix it. I also don't have the money for a plumber. After it's all fixed, I find it almost impossible to replace the flooring and sub flooring! One thing did come to mind. I wondered if there was a chance someone could teach me! My initial response negatively impacted my ability to see this challenge in the beginning!

Naturally for my personality, using technology to my advantage seems to be the easiest habit for me. I tend to lean in that direction for most things. When I think of gifts, re-organizing, learning, connecting, and communicating, I go to the computer!

The most important habit I desire to attain throughout this course is accepting the responsibility for my own learning. I set out to take this course because it's my job to know this information. As a technology facilitator, I desire to open up as many doors as possible for the educators on my campuses! I want to be able to practice habit 7-to teach and mentor others! Therefore, as an online class, I commit to taking the responsibility seriously and I must say, it is extremely exciting!

I enjoy learning about good habits. So many of us beat ourselves down about our bad habits. It's refreshing to focus on some positive habits for once! I need the break!