Social Media in Education

Wow--this says it all.

The Use of Social Media in Schools infographic by obizmedia.

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The SAMR Model

All educators know we need to incorporate technology into our teaching. However, many do not know where to start. The SAMR model is a good place to get guidance as you travel down the techie path--no matter if you just started or have been at it awhile. One of my students shared a link to someone else's discussion of the SAMR Model: http://gettingsmart.com/2013/07/the-samr-ladder-through-the-lens-of-21st-century-skills/ Please take some time to look at the graphic describing the different levels to the SAMR model.

Screen time for kids

My 7-year-old grandson was just here for a week. He spends all the time on a screen he is allowed to do. Of course, as grandma, I question whether this is good or not. Is it too much time? Is it educational? Why isn't he up and moving outside or doing something else? He watches a lot of YouTube videos and enjoys them immensely. At this point, he does have a lot of physical activity in the form of swimming, gymnastics, and outside activities when it is provided. I just wonder what he will be like as a teenager? I also wonder what technology will look like when he is a teenager. Lots to think about.

Happy, happy, happy

Traveling to Oklahoma and back, we listen to books on CD. Our daughter loaned us their copy of Happy, Happy, Happy. At this point I have never seen an episode of Duck Dynasty, but we are listening to their story. It starts out with a very dismal view of any technology from cell phones to computers. They do live a simple life and have been very successful doing it. Does that mean we should all ditch our technology and opt for tech-free lives? There are many people who spend way too much time with technology--I totally agree with that. Young people spend too much time with video game--I totally agree with that. I do not agree that it is all bad, however. My smart phone has been a marvelous tool! The jury is still out while we finish the book on how simple I want my life to be! (I know I don't want to wait for my husband to kill dinner before we eat.)

Google's Virtual Tours

The virtual tours on Google are amazing. Before you know it, you will be able to see anything in the world virtually--not just a picture but a 360 degree virtual tour. For those people in the world who by poverty will never leave the town where they live to be able to see any place in the world they want to see. Technology is truly amazing!

A visit to my past

What a delightful time I got to spend at my alma mater in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Christian University this week. I visited with the IT department about what was going on in their higher education world. Amazing how close we are in trying to move toward technology. They don't have some of the age restrictions we have in the K-12 arena but they have the same issues of how to meet the educational needs of students using the most efficient technology. Google Docs is everywhere but also the training issues are the same. It was so good to be there. Maybe I will return some day on their staff.

As I finish building our new La Crescent-Hokah school website,I sit back and consider where communication has moved to in our digital world. There is more information available at the tips of our fingers than ever before. However, we seem to be less informed in many ways. Parents complain because they didn't know this or that. It is all on the website but there is so much information--where do you begin? Are we in such an informational overload that we turn it all off?

The move to 1:1 is very exciting. Can you imagine each students having a device with him to access the huge knowledge base out there called the Internet? Now to teach them to use it educationally and not just for fun. How do we turn their entertainment use of media to an educational use? So much to teach and so much to learn.

MOOCs

It is difficult to open up a tech newsletter these days without finding something about MOOCs. This link brings up more things to consider: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/07/education/massive-open-online-courses-prove-popular-if-not-lucrative-yet.html?_r=0 Educators are still trying to figure out their take on MOOCs. Yes, we agree education should be available to everyone regardless of their ability to pay. On the student end of things, we see how difficult it is to pay the cost of a college education. However, as educators who have chosen teaching as a career, we also need to be able to earn a living. What is the solution to this problem? How do we open up educational opportunities and still support our educators? The next couple of years will be critical in the MOOC movement.

Twitter finds

Twitter is the one tool I have the hardest time taking the time to use. Not sure why as I always find great resources there when I do get on. Here is the blog of a recent twitter account I found: http://tech4teaching.org/wpblog/ She has some great things to share.

Infographics

Here is yet another great site, http://visual.ly/ where you can create an infographic. What is an infographic? It is the new way to organize and show data visually. These are very cool ways to illustrate a point. Here is an example of one: http://www.business2community.com/infographics/how-to-tell-a-good-story-infographic-0363026

Quote to guide today's educators

2013 promises to be a year of more changes in technology. Will it ever stop--I don't think so. This is never-ending field of change. How do we as educators provide the best education we can using the tech tools when they change so fast? Here is a quote I read recently in the Born in a Another Time, a recent report from the National Association of State Boards of Education. The quote is: “Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.” —Hebrew Proverb Wow--that says it all, doesn't it? We must move beyond our desks all in a row with the teacher at the front mentality. Students want to learn individually and technology makes that possible. We need to move into their time and see how they learn--then we can adjust how we teach to become more effective in delivering content. Here is the link to the full report: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/NASBE.pdf