Infromation Literacy Reflection #5

Information Literacy Quiz
Before actually beginning the activities for the technology project that were listed for this weeks learning, I noticed that I did not know much of the simple things, such as, the three Boolean search terms, or the acronym of URL. I can honestly say that I fell into the somewhat savvy category of the information literacy quiz.

Meta-Web Information
For the activity, I chose to go with the "Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus". I felt that the name of the subject for the website was interesting, because I actually asked myself was there really an octopus that could live in a tree and/or water? However, based on the appearance of the site, I quickly noticed that it was not a legitimate resource website for many reasons. First, I did not recognize the domain name. It just seemed as if it was made up. Next the extension of the site was (.net) meaning that it was a network site and it could be purchased by anyone or any group of people. Therefore, the site was not a reliable site to get academic type of information. Also, based on my analysis and readings from the November Learning site, I came to the conclusion that the site was a special interest type site. Moreover, this is not a personal page because there are no names followed by these symbols ~, % that may indicate it being personal.

The credibility of the website had quickly lessened once I began clicking on some of the links. The external links were associated within the actual site and blog page of where I assume the website had originated. Majority of the links sent me to the blog site named ZPi/Blog in which I noticed was posted at the very top of the home page as well. The embedded links that were within the passages took me to the Wikipedia pages to elaborate on actual animals, plants, or locations.

As I began searching for the main idea in the search engines, I noticed slight differences. I chose three different search engines of what is not commonly used called AltaVista, Excite, and Infoseek, instead of the popular Google and Yahoo. In the AltaVista search engine, it listed the items by the most looked or viewed sites and then descended towards articles or pages that may have had one or two words mentioned on their page. In the Excite search engine, it listed the search with two popular sites first. One being ask.com and the other being ehow.com. The search did not seem to abide by the popularity of what sites were viewed the most, however, it was listing in relevance of what the actual searched item was, and then descended to the links of why the site or subject was created. In the Infoseek search engine, like most of the other search engines, it listed the items that were searched or viewed the most. I did notice a slight number of advertisements to the websites of Amazon, Calibex, and Liberty Mutual. I believe the advertisements popped up due to certain words used to conduct the search itself and words that were within the subject searched for. For example, Liberty Mutual Insurance, had the word octopus in one of their Responsibility Project article that was published in September 16, 2011 by Charles Siebert. He wrote about a marine biologist by the name of Roland Anderson, that explained the "colorful" personality of the giant Pacific Octopus. Furthermore, the advertisement of Amazon was geared towards buying books and product on their website that mentioned Northwest Trees, Plants of Pacific Northwest Coast, and so on.  

Author
As for the author of the website and domain, I searched for them in the www.easywhois.com link, in which I was unable to get a match. It stated that the expiration date may have been displayed in the record of the date the registrar's sponsorship of the domain was currently set to expire, and I honestly did not understand the ongoing verbiage it stated. However, when I used the Yahoo search engine, I typed the subject Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus, and seen links to Wikipedia explaining how the site was an internet hoax created by Lyle Zapato back in 1998.

Purpose
The purpose of the website and creation by Lyle Zapato was to explain how internet literacy can be important. It was to show the false information that was shared on the site can be portrayed and thought of as a reliable source along with mixed links to the pages of real species and organizations. The creation of this site was intended for her 7th grade class in which 24 out of 25 believed the content of her site.

This project had no choice but to open the eyes of myself and I'm sure others, that may have not looked at the severity of information we come in contact with on the internet. And how some the information we may think is reliable, can be information that an individual or group of people put for their own specific interest. The November Learning site shed light on how we can filter through the unreliable sources just by looking at the domain, author, and purpose of that site. At least I know that when searching for information pertaining to academics, I can verify that the extensions used should be (.edu, .gov, and/or .k12). As for the search engines we use to find information, the November site mentioned that the well-known and well-used are more than likely maintained, updated, and upgraded as necessary as possible to keep up with the growing pace of the web. I enjoyed this project, and I can surely say that when searching for information, I will use these exercises we used during this activity to make sure the site I am using is legitimate.

Net Generations Reflection # 4

The article, Is it Age or IT: First Steps Towards Understanding the Net Generation, hit many valuable points. One statement mentioned in the article stood out to me due to a recent interaction with my three year old niece. The article stated that children may be developing greater digital literacy than siblings who are just a few years older. I agree with that statement a great deal. I remember being younger and the access to technology wasn't as accessible as it is today. There were no digital tablets, iPods, iPads, touch screen cellular phones, or even high speed internet. Like I mentioned before, I thought of my three year old niece who is hearing impaired when I came across that statement. I was stunned to see how she operated her kindle fire that she received for her third birthday. Although she is hearing impaired, she knew just how to operate and download the kid games and learning tools just by watching her mother one time. She began playing a matching game for numbers that was timed and won every time. I couldn't believe how quickly she grasped the concept of that game. Seeing that made me realize how technology has drastically changed the dynamic of learning and accessibility to information right at our fingertips.

I found the questions in this week's reflection very interesting. But most of all my answers as follows:

•               
Are you more comfortable composing documents online than longhand? I am comfortable with composing documents online rather then on paper. I believe it cuts out the drawn out process of having to write a rough draft then revise, when you can do it all at once on the computer.

•               
Have you turned your "remembering" (phone numbers, meetings, and so on) over to a technology device? Yes... I use to be the queen of remembering a phone number as it was given to me, however, I no longer can remember phone numbers besides my parents.

•               
Do you go to meetings with your laptop, iPad, or tablet? Yes I go to meetings with my tablet. 

•               
Are you constantly connected? Is the Internet always on whether you are at home or work? Is your cell phone always with you? I can honestly say that I am ALWAYS connected. I cannot be away from my cellphone for too long, otherwise I will freak out. As for the internet no matter where I am, I have access to it, whether it's my cellular, my tablet, or if I am at work or at home.

•               
How many different activities can you effectively engage in at one time? I can honestly say that I am a multi-tasker, I can be on average engage to about four things. Whether it's computer, cell, TV, or tablet. 

•               
Do you play video or computer games?   I don't really play video games anymore because I have outgrown it I believe, however, I do play games on my cell phone or tablet. They are great time wasters.

    

What generational category do you fall in or are you a mixture of a few? I am the Net Generation of when it first began. 



The implication mentioned in the article of the Net Generation, technology incorporated in higher education is preferred. However, it is the enabling of certain types of activities that are used with technology. The convenience of using technology and collaborating and customizing a course that is online or an activity that is used in a class depends on how deep the student can put time into a class due to their daily lives and busy schedules. But, for those that crave the accessibility of how convenient technology is along with the activities they can access at their finger tips, the Net Generation is more prone to wanting technology in higher education. After all technology is used constantly in all different forms throughout their daily lives. 

Reflection # 3

While reading the article on the Electronic Portfolio as a form of assessment, I thought back to a class that required an e-portfolio, and I remember thinking to myself, oh wow... I have to do that? At the time I had never done anything like that. I had heard of portfolios from friends that applied for jobs or had to develop a portfolio for a job they were seeking, but never had to do it for myself. However, my professor said something that allowed me to calm down and not get overly anxious. She said, the portfolio was something that would help us track our progress in how we were doing, and allow us to see where we may need improvement. After hearing that, I some how calmed down. It didn't feel like an actual assessment, it was something that I would put together in my own way, with my own thoughts and ideas. And after reading the article, there were several points made that brought this memory of this class back. Within the ten principles of Assessment for Learning (AFL), one of the principles fit right in the category of the class I had. It stated, AFL develops learners’ capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing. A principle I agree with. Because after taking that class I was able to look back and take notes of what I should or shouldn't have done, along with feeling good about a finished product I put together on my own. The ten principles target many points like focusing on what the student learns and being sensitive and constructive because any assessment has an emotional part. These principles are very important because they help shape the students ability to perform and create an assessment style e-portfolio that they are able to reflect back on and also critique along with their instructor.

Reflection 2

 My definition of Education Technology would be having unlimited amount of resources that you can learn, create, design, manage, and process digitally through different technology devices and systems.  After reading several definitions, I felt the main factor was having unlimited resources whether good or bad in a digital format.

In the different readings I came across including the article I read on exploring teacher acceptance on technology, I strongly see that although technology is what education is becoming, many people are hesitant in going through some sort of training or feel content with what they already know. This ties into how educators are accepting towards information technology. We all know and hear many times how information technology is powerful and great to gain access of the unlimited information that is out there. However, if the teacher does not feel confident in their own use of computer self-efficacy, they will probably not incorporate technology into their classroom. Nonetheless, this assignment with the MAPping has allowed me to feel another boost of confidence to implement technology into my classroom. I have been intrigued to learn more ways I can incorporate different technology concepts to teach to my future students. All it takes is being open-minded of trying new things and taking the risk of things that may or may not work. That's what being an educator is all about! We all want to find ways to engage our students and help them gain better ways of getting a great education, and technology is definitely the way to go. And with our students now a days constantly on social media and video games, what better way to get them pumped up about learning with technology. I grew up when computers was just beginning to be in the classroom. I remember a time when we had the small square looking apple computer and everyone in my class wanted to get that time of playing the snake game. But just that excitement alone had all the students intrigued with how the early form of technology worked. Now that there are many different forms of technology devices, it is highly important to implement education technology in our lesson plans and curriculum. By learning the skills and knowledge it takes to use technology in the classroom, it will keep we the educators and the students organized, not to mention paperless at time.

Reflection # 1

After creating a blog and being exposed to another form of reflecting my thoughts and beliefs in my rough draft of my educational philosophy, I believe that blogging is a great way of expressing my thoughts and ideas. This assignment has shown me how I can incorporate another form of technology in my classroom by guiding the students and showing them another way of writing through something they are already familiar with. Today we are in the day and age of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks. So we as educators should know that there could be a lot of positive outcomes by the use of blogging and be aware of the negative aspects that could be exposed to our students if we do not closely watch and guide them.

In the articles of both November’s and Steven Downe’s, there were many points given that made you really think. November targeted how the use of the Internet can be tricky, especially for younger students that are not use to the exposure of technology. November then went ahead to say that many students fall into the “well if it’s on the Internet then its true information”. Reading that, definitely had my eyes open because many children fall into that trap, especially if told to research materials on a subject and are not given the guidance or resources. The teacher should be aware and guide the students by providing them with resources, links, scholarly articles, and many other materials to assure that they are getting accurate information. That will also reassure the students on how to find legitimate information on their own if told to do so for an assignment. With wanting to bring more technology into the classroom, November also mentioned that as an educator, we need to really understand the dark side of the Internet in order to prevent bad ways of blogging if brought into the classroom. However, it does go hand in hand with the rules and procedures that will be given by the teacher to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Although blogging can be short, it is informal and it gives us the freedom to write our personal thoughts, concerns, and ideas. Which also gives us the opportunity to publish our writing for the world and most importantly our target audience to see. Steven Downe’s stated in his article that blogging helps us learn from the critique of others from the comments they provide and in actuality helps a student develop a new skill set of writing that is used later on in the students’ college education. I agree with Steven’s article on many levels because it does help develop all sorts of critical thinking skills, writing skills and information literacy among other things. And as a teacher I will definitely use blogging as a technology tool to allow the students to reflect on what they are writing and thinking. Which will also open the door to organize class discussions, posts, updates, announcements, provide summaries of readings, and form small groups for assignments/projects that will be in my curriculum.

Educational Philosophy

Throughout my entire educational experience, I’ve had a number of great teachers that were compassionate about teaching. But I have to say my undergrad professor, Dr. M, enlightened my eyes to want to actually become an educator. She always told the class not to limit their abilities in what we want to do in our careers and life. Dr. M challenged us in ways to think outside the box and move away from our comfort zone or what we’ve all been taught growing up in the educational system. We all know from being younger, how we should act amongst our peers, how to use our manners, what is excepted and not excepted in society, that we’ve managed to duplicate the dos and don’ts into our classroom. Dr. M allowed us to think beyond and gave us the freedom to implement our ideas by developing projects and activities that we actually promoted on campus. Now I’ve had about three bad teachers I would say throughout my educational experience and honestly I can’t remember one of them because somehow I’ve managed to erase them from my memory. I can remember things that happened in the classroom, but cannot remember the actual teacher, which is sad to say. Although, my worst teacher I have to say was actually my Spanish 2 teacher in high school. She was a very sweet lady, however, her downfall was she always became overwhelmed with her personal issues outside of class. She allowed her issues to affect her way of teaching and poor into our learning time. Which then trickled into her organization of the classroom in every aspect. I believe she wasn’t a strong enough teacher because once some of my classmates saw her weakness; they were able to bring her down to a point that she could not even teach some days. It affected those that really wanted learn at the end of the day because she had no discipline or control of the environment. Now imagine that on a daily basis. It felt like the class became a free period for a lot of the students because there was no consistency, discipline, rules, consequences, and organization. I really felt bad for her at times, especially when some of the other surrounding teachers would come in the class to gain control for her. I didn’t learn anything in that class and all I knew was what I learned the previous year in Spanish 1.

To start off I believe the impact I received from my worst teacher was having control of the classroom. If there is no control of the classroom, you have lost the interest of the students and willingness to learn. In addition, there has to be a foundation established of all the expectations you have for you and the students before being able to grasp the attention of your students and take them to the next level of learning. And this is beyond setting the rules and procedures because that is a given. However, my best teacher has opened my eyes of knowing that learning can be fun and can be refrained from the typical lecture method, which is teacher-centered. My approach will definitely be student centered that encourages them to put on their higher order of thinking hats every time they come into my classroom. As an educator we have to incorporate different views on the ways of learning and teaching, as well as not limiting the endless resources that are out there and that are being developed. I believe a great teacher is someone who goes over and beyond to become a life coach. Being an educator comes with the territory of being an emotional, psychological, and supporter of the student’s well being.

My philosophy that I’m drawn closes to is Constructivism. However, I do believe that having other philosophies incorporated in your main philosophy, helps bring out a well-rounded classroom.  While reading over the different philosophies, I felt Constructivism described the foundation of what my classroom would be. I believe that creating and developing a learning environment where the students are able to experience a real-world setting, along with having collaborative work area, study areas, and resource areas; it will shape the students to get into their own ways of doing things, yet give equal opportunity to share responsibilities and ideas to finding solutions. In which I also am drawn to the Pragmatism philosophy in which education should be looked at as life itself and not just learning to get by. We as educators should capture the motivation of our students and give the opportunities to use their different talents and ways of learning in projects and/or assignments that bring out the positive outcome of the subject. I liked that Pragmatism brought out that students are not the same and sometimes cannot be taught the same way. Which then brought me to Howard Garner’s 8 intelligences of learners in the classroom. We have the math analytical learner, linguistic learner, nature, music, tactical kinesthetic, visual art, intrapersonal, and interpersonal learners. And as an educator I will incorporate all the many possibilities and create a diverse learning environment.

To get anywhere in our world you need education. And with technology rapidly growing I feel my motivation is embracing the new culture that has aroused by incorporating it into the classroom. I chose to be in the profession of teaching because I want to give people the opportunity to reach their goals and aspirations. Moreover, target students while they are young and trying to figure out what they want to do when they grow up, that with time, effort, and dedication, they will be exposed to countless opportunities to succeed. And with the use of technology in the classroom, it not only will make education fun and interesting, but it will create the room for new relationships to be formed inside and outside the classroom, accessibility to new information, and more. As an educator I will not limit the capacity of the use of technology. Technology will be incorporated in my lesson plans, giving the students the different opportunities to create, develop, research, and collaborate on projects they come up with themselves. Which gives them the freedom to find their own solution with the guidance of my instruction. With the ongoing training of the different ways technology can be used, I will make sure that I am up to speed on the many ideas technology could be used in my classroom.