May 8, 2008

EDUC 628

Spring 2008

Jady Skaggs

The Social Network that I finally decided to join and write my

ethnography on was Ning. I had never heard of Ning, until Dr. Lowell

mention it in one of his emails to the class. Then it caught my attention on

Classroom 2.0, which I had joined first, in an advertisement on the side. I

decided to see what it had to offer, because it seemed like it would be

beneficial and interesting too.

Gina Bianchini and Marc Andreessen created Ning, an on-line platform

for users to create their own social websites and social networks, which are

created around specific interest such as art, music, business, education an

many others topics.

One bonus of Ning is the choice of choosing one interest area to join or

different ones to join and become a member of. Education was the topic

area I chose. There were twenty-three pages of networks to join just in

education. Ning in Education, looked different and Steve Hargadon was the

creator, so I joined it. The biggest problem here is trying to decide which

network group to join, because there are so many network groups in each

topic. It definitely makes it hard to choose.

Now once you have become part of a network, you get to make a

personal page with your information. This page will keep track of all of

your discussions in the forum. The forum is a good place to post questions

and make comments on other members’ questions. The problem here is

that feedback on questions is not always immediate. Steve Hargadon is very

good about answering questions and making comments, but the rest of the

group is slower about answering.

Another neat thing about this network is the video tab, which has some

good informative videos on different ways to use technologies and

educators views on different subjects. A member can add videos to this

network too. One problem with this would be a member adding something

that did not go with how Ning can be used in education. The photo tab is

just a bunch of pictures being shared by members. Most of them have

nothing to do with education, but the potential of Ning to be used in

education is obvious. I can see the photo tab being very important in other

topic areas of Ning.

Ning has several other tabs that make it as cool as the other networks.

The gadget tab was fun. You can put a gadget on your profile page. There

are six pages with popular gadgets like twenty-four hour radio, a variety of

music videos, some video games and other gadgets to choose from. The

only bad part is you can only use one gadget at a time.

The most important thing that this social network site gives you is

connections to members who are interested in the same topic as you are.

These members are extremely helpful and have tons of resources to share

with you. There were several things I found in Steve Hargadon’s wiki.

Ning compared to the other social networks is a great one. You can

write a blog, invite friends, share photos or videos, join interest groups, and

keep track of all of it in this network. I would recommend this network over

all the other ones I have looked at, because it can be professional, or it can

be personal without the uncomfortable feeling of not fitting in. I notice

several classmates complained about not feeling comfortable in Facebook or

MySpace. As an education tool, Ning would be perfect for creating your

own network.

Works Cited

Ning. (2008). In wikipedia.org [web]. Retrieved 4/28/2008, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ning

Hargadon, Steven. (2008). Classroom20.com. [web]. Retrieved 3/29/2008, http:// www.classroom20.com

Andreessen, Marc. (2008). In wikipedia.org [web]. Retrieved 4/02/2008, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Andreessen

Bianchini, Gina. (2008). In wikipedia.org[web]. Retrieved 4/02/2008, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gina_Bianchinni

MORE ON STOLL’S OPINION

Guess what he is still dead set against computers in classrooms.  Most of his ranting deals with high school level complaints.  The only thing I agree with him on so far is computers shouldn’t replace teachers.  I found it interesting the way he bashed Seymour Papert who I totally agree with compared to the negative comments of Stoll.

I have been reading everyone else’s blog.  They are split kind of 50/50.  I did notice that those who taught higher education seemed to lean more towards his thinking, than elementary teachers.  Yes it is frustrating when money is spent on technology and it doesn’t work correctly.  The problems do not out weight the benefits of teaching students how to use technology efficiently.  If you have to teach a student how to use something don’t complain just do it.  Next time they won’t need your help and the lesson will go quicker.

I cannot agree with the majority of this book because the man is so against computers in the classroom. I think students should have as much exposure to technology as possible.  They should learn how to use them safely, because it is not always taught at home.  At the beginning of the semester we read about how some students never get to use computers because of poverty.  That is why schools have to be responsible for teaching students what is the right way to use the internet.

 I am having a really hard time finishing this book up because of his obsessive beliefs against computers in classroom.  I would like to meet the man now and see if he has changed his mind in the last 10 years. Maybe ask him if he has been to schools that actually use computers effectively.  

 Now seventeen years later, I use the computer to send messages to my colleagues and friends, for classroom presentation, to use as an instruction tool for kids to learn or reinforce concepts, to do research, to talk on line to groups of math teachers across Kentucky, and many other things.

I teach to learn new things myself.  I know some day students will be able to find any thing they want on the internet, but they will still need someone to teach them how to learn like Pappert said.

Now this is where chapter 11 ties in.  If, as teachers, we are suppose to teach students how to learn, we have to be taught ourselves how to use technology.  Not all teachers are going to have the desire to learn something on their own.  Some are like our students who need guidance, so that is why we need good professional development.  My district provided PD on how to use a promethium board (hope I spelled that correct).  We watched a presenter for 3 hours SHOW us how to use this INTERACTIVE board WITHOUT much interaction from us.  We really needed a small group work shop with 5or 6 teachers using the board.  A handful of teachers left not knowing how to use the board.

Districts are going to have to implement technology PD plans that involve hands on training for all teachers with immediate use of that technology.  My district trained on us how to use MAC computers two years ago before some of us had one.  A year later, we got one and most of us had forgotten how to use it. 

 I like the way chapter 11 showed the programs implemented in the three states.  I thought NJ was interesting because it goes along with what you have been telling us about networking with each other.  I believe the use of sharing, peer coaching, and mentoring would work well if  mentors are trained and good at helping others.  Every now and then you get trainers who use terminology that confuses, when they could break it down for those, who don’t speak that language to understand.

I notice someone commented on their blog about teachers not letting students on computers because they are afraid the students know more than them.  I don’ t think they are afraid of that teachers just don’t have high expectations when it comes to computers.  They think that if they have trouble with it then the students will probably have problems too.

In the class I teach, I have 5 students at a time.  We do a lesson using manipulatives, that they use to explore with.  Then the students get to use the computer to reinforce whatever is being taught.  After that we work on a practice sheet together.  I know that I don’t get to use computers in the way that this class is talking about, but they do show improvement in math, because of the computer programand the hands on approach.

I decided to join Classroom 2.o for my social networking.  I figured it would help me more than the other network sites.   I listed under Jady Skaggs. 

I also found some teachers who are using technology in an interesting way.  Sara Kajder is does workshops to show teachers how to use blogs as ways of expressing their thoughts about what they have learned or read.  They can comment on the other students blogs also.

I found it interesting that he felt that students should learn through trial and error.  Students who spend more time with something trying to solve it, by taking their time and discussing it with other students seemed more successful.  These went right along with a math workshop that I just attended.  The theory behind it was to let kids personalize the concepts they were learning through discussion, exploration, peer help and a context that had meaning to them.  The teacher does not go around telling them they are right or wrong she has them explain it to her.  If they can not do that she gets help from their peers to explain it or show it using manipulatives.  The teacher makes sure that the students see different ways to solve something.  After reading the first five chapters I was comparing his theory with Catherine Fosnot’s City Landscapes math program. 

Papert was really concerned about the fact that there should be more of a megachange in schools today with the type of technology schools have access to.  The problem is you can have all kinds of new things but if the ones in control of this technology can not see it’s importance it will just set around gathering dust.  That is why teachers and administrators all need to be trained or allowed to work with this new technology so that they feel comfortable with it.

The tone he used with computer labs made me wonder if he thinks computers would be more useful left in the classroom. His definition of computer literacy was more realistic than the other definitions.  He felt like literacy was just knowing the basics.  You were  computer literate if you could do things that went along with the computer culture.