Week+10

=//Today's class​//= = Various readings: =

That class would be really neat to teach, but by then I expect that it would be more 'normal'.
=== I wonder how involved the parents will really be? There is a comment about having to reply to more e-mails, but I expect that those parents would have called anyways. Some people still delete e-mails without reading them, or don't check their e-mail accounts for days/weeks. It would be wonderful if we were all at the 'same place' when it comes to technology. It is hard to function in a group where one person or household does not have e-mail now. I remember when I had only one e-mail account, and that was my work one. Few enough people had e-mail that it was ok to receive any e-mail at work, since it was not a significant distraction. I usually am off-line when I am at the university, so I go for several hours without checking my e-mail. Our family is also still using one family e-mail. My uottawa.ca e-mail is forwarded to the family account. My husband now has his own, and I have a work one still, but we both check the same account. This can cause problems, but not too often. We have lots of folders! Each of our children has their own e-mail account. === === Then comes the texting and cell phone issues ... we have three cell phones. At this point my husband has taken over the family cell phone, and I share one with our son. I still call houses first and do not keep permanent track of people's cell phones. A cell phone is generally for emergencies and short messages, not long conversations. Maybe one day all of our phones will be on un-limited (or close to it) plans. That has not happened yet. ===

__Media Literacy: What is Media Literacy?__
=== In today's world there are many messages whcih are conveyed to us through the media. These messages are designed to convey specific messages. They may not present both sides of an issue, or may be biased in other ways. We all need to realize this and think before we believe what we read/see/experience. Critical thinking skills and good questioning skills need nurturing and development. Educators can contribute to this. Students can learn how to create and craft messages and they can l earn how to be an informed, educated consumer of the messages. ===

__Literacy is not Enough__, by Ian Jukes
=== 21st century fluency: Glasser in 1996 showed how higher order thinking skills (HOTS) are developed, as opposed to lower order thinking skills (LOTS). "Velcro learning", where the student does, and possibly teaches somebody else, results in higher retention. ===

__Attributes of Digital Learners__ by Ian Jukes
=== Today's students read in a F pattern rather than the usual/older Z pattern. So much for the lower right hand portion of the page. Newspapers already knew that readers read the upper half of the page more than the lower. Now the top left hand corner is probably the most expensive. I find it interesting to read about the differences between digital learners and traditional educators. Being a new teacher I believe that I am more aware of what I need to do so that the students learn than somebody who has done this for years and has 'settled'. TIme will tell. ===

Updated IT quiz data:
=== I feel much more comfortable with the technology than I did at the beginning of the course. I knew that familiarity and practice were the keys for me to move ahead. I also knew how time-filling computers can be, so I was hesitant to jump in. During my second practicum I am open to using more technology, but will follow the lead given by my AT. Since I will be teaching math, I expect that there will be more student-used technology. I am still a bit anxious about graphing calculators, but I will practise before we use them :-) ===

Today's multimedia presentations:
Me first :-) I think that people my age would appreciate this style of presentation more than 21st century learners. My multimedia presentation is on teachertube.com. The link is on its own page.

In case of emergency: bruce.summers@ocdsb.ca

Jenny and Karen: "their story" talks about three generations.

Jesse and Allison: to the point. very creative. I saw this yesterday and worried about mine. The audience for this is 21st century learners.

Alex, Daljit and Andrea: Extensive use of white board. Survey was a good idea.

Luca and Justin: drama aka Scrooge. Wonderful!

Dane and Matthew: focus on differentiation and motivation. Started with Ferris.

Natasha, Taylor and Kristin: lots of information. Like a newscast. (vlogIT)

Brad and Alex: cellphones and the 21st century learner. Neat gabcast (5 minutes are free).

Stephanie, Lily and Patrick: lots of different software ideas.

Sejal and Lisa: Good ideas.

Laura and Jenn: The digital learner. Good use of music. PSA style.

Steve and Graham: neat music. No words but strong message.

Shannon and Amanda: very cute stuffed people/animals/puppets.

Final thoughts:
// ​It is Wednesday lunchtime. I think that I have covered all the readings which were requested. I think that I have reflected and commented as much as is needed/expected. Any changes from now on will be typos. I always seem to find them after the fact. I enjoyed this course and learned a lot. I feel more conifdent and more prepared to reach those 21st century learners, the digital natives amongst us. I learned yesterday that I have been recommended to the FSL Hiring Catalogue of the OCDSB. It is another small step towards a job. My fingers are crossed that this will all work out. Thanks Bruce. I'm confident that our paths will cross again at some point. //


 * Helen **

//PS I have started to build an electronic portfolio using a wiki. Here is the link:// HPGravesSmith.wikispaces.com