EC&I 831: Social Media & Open Education

         I sat through the October 18th chat on Social Media, Networked Learning and Identity.  Here are a few things that I got out of the presentation:
 1.  To have any positive affect, educators need to find ways to build serious academic live online, present semi-public selves, and be connected and invested in the works of their students and peers. They need to be present in more than one world and build social capital.
2.  Open source movement- sharing knowledge to solve problems and to have various perspectives.
3.   CMS (course management system) vs. PLN (personal learning network)
4.  Before: Knowledge protected, After: Knowledge liberated.  With internet resources, knowledge is now not exclusive.  It is open.  We can all learn from one another.  This is the idea of open education or open education.

"Open Education is the simple and powerful idea that the world's knowledge 

is a public good and that technology in general and the Worldwide Web 

in particular provide and extraordinary opportunity for everyone 

to share, use, and reuse knowledge."

~William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

         He makes a point to emphasize how great open teaching is.  He shares that this online classroom is open to the public.  Therefore the room is filled with people who are taking the course for credit and those who choose to be there.  I do like this idea of open education, especially since I feel that all schools should welcome the concept of open classrooms.  Teachers should be open to have other teachers see them teach and feel free to observe others.  This with the intention to improve as teachers, not to be judged by others.  However,  I am not sure as to how I feel about the open teaching in this type of environment.  I am conflicted because I do not feel that it is fair for those who are taking the course for credit and who are paying to be there.  I could have mistaken what he was saying, but I just do not know how much I would like it if I was a paying student in the course and needed to amuse the present public.  I do however like the idea of being able to have a greater wealth of knowledge and learning from one another. Ultimately, it is true that knowledge should be accessible for all. 

Innovation Week

It was nice to have a break from technology and being sort of "forced" into doing something else.  And by forced, I mean that we were given time to explore other things in lieu of tweeting, blogging, etc.  So what did I do with this time?  I spent time reading and drawing!  Reading for pleasure and drawing are both two things I enjoy, but they are the first things to go when I have school.

Reading for pleasure this past week reminded me how easy it is to get caught up and lost in a book.  For me, a book is where my two worlds collide.  I am able to get swept up into another world and put all that is happening in the real world aside.  Now when I compare reading for pleasure and reading for school, there is no comparison as to which one I would prefer to be doing and which one is more enjoyable.  In a sense it can be summed up as reading something because I want to versus reading something because I have to.  I think sometimes as educators, we tend to get caught up in testing, standardization, etc., that we force our students into unpleasant reading experiences.  In addition, we know some books may not be at the exact level of a student, so we direct them elsewhere leaving the student to be reading something he or she does not have any interest in.  So basically what I am trying to say is that yes I believe reading and improving literacy is extremely important, but we also need to find ways to motivate and captivate our students' interest and imaginations so that they will want to read.  With that said, students should have a time where they are able to have choice in what they read, whether it be at their level or not.  If we give them this option, they will find a book that interests them.  And as adults, we all know reading a book that stimulates our interests is over half the battle.  Giving students this experience will hopefully develop an enjoyment towards reading and will read for pleasure and also not be so against having to read for assignments.

Drawing, another thing that whisks me away.  It's something that helps me with to alleviate stress and to clear my thoughts--its a wonder why I have not done it while school has been in session.  My drawing ranges from doodling to sketching to perspective, pending on my mood.  Doodling is one of those fun mindless things that allows me pay attention to other things while simultaneously doing it.  I actually find myself concentrating better when I doodle as oppose to when I don't.  Perhaps, it's because I am not spacing off.  Ha.  I think perspective drawing pleases my left brain as I am one who enjoys straight line and using a ruler.  Sketching is the most challenging yet the most rewarding to me.  It forces me out of a detailed oriented perspective to see the whole picture.  I have to look at whatever I'm drawing as a whole rather than focusing on one specific part before moving to the next.  This sometimes is frustrating to me because things do not come together until then end.  It can get defeating because my drawing looks nothing like  what it is suppose to be all through its beginning stages.  But drawing, like reading, is something I want my students to enjoy.  I would like to be able to incorporate these things into my classroom teaching as I find it important for students to be able to express themselves through art and to stimulate that right side of the brain. 


Doing these things this past week has been refreshing.  But it was also interesting to see that how easily I can get caught up in things when I don't have to do other things.  Other than reading and drawing, I spent more time studying and invested in other classwork.  These things were done unintentionally.  I think I did it because I did not feel as though I had to designate or compartmentalize my time.  Just looking back on this week, it has made me realize how easily it is to be swept up in the busy and sometimes chaotic lives we lead.  Many times we do not recognize how much of our time is invested in to certain things and how much we are constantly on the go.  I am appreciative that I am able to be constantly on the go, but at the same time I need to not lose sight to what is important to me and what I enjoy doing. 

Say Thanks

 Ways we can express our gratitude:

Make a Thankful Tree

Write a letter expressing thanks

Hold a ritual--verbalize what you are grateful for

Make a list on your birthday--one thing for each year

Testing out QR codes!

Please scan.

Click here to make your own QR codes!

Creators and Empathizers

In his book, A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink describes the Conceptual Age as one defined by creators and empathizers.  Because of abundance, Asia, and automation, the United States is able to take a different perspective than they have during previous time periods.  With such resources, our country is moving toward occupations needing people who have the ability to do the following:
1.  Create artistic and emotional beauty
2.  Detect patterns and opportunities
3.  Craft satisfying narrative
4.  Combine seemingly related ideas into a novel invention
Since we are moving into this new ear, individuals, businesses, large corporations, etc., are going to have to change the way in which they go about doing things--change the way in which they think.  The economy is requiring for less left-brain dominance and a stronger showing of the right-brain. 

Visitor or Resident?

Here are a few key points from the clip:
1.  Visitor:  They leave no trace.  Social media is a vehicle to staying connected to those they have preexisting relationships with.  They are goal oriented and use the internet with a specific end point in mind.  The network is a specific tool that will allow for them to fill their needs and only that specific need.
2.  Resident:  They see the web as a social space where they are free to roam.  Their presence still lingers though they are no longer online.  A key factor in being a resident is being visible--erosion happens and therefore they need to continue building their presence.
3.  Educational Ideology- Learning happens between the individual, content, and expert.
4.  Twitter is a residential platform that meets sociocultural needs.
5.  Some platforms are designed for individuals to be residents within, while others challenge users to go in with a resident mindset.
6.   As a society, we need to approach technology from a cultural and motivational perspective.

I am working on NOT being a tourist.

After watching the clip, I have a clearer understanding as to what it means to be a visitor versus being a resident.  Am I a visitor or a resident?  Currently I am most definitely a visitor and a wannabe resident.  I have always had a visitor mindset because I want to be careful with what kind of information about me is out there.  I've also always been someone who is very goal oriented.  I use internet resources to attain these specific goals.  I do not take the time to roam around.  And honestly, I've always been a little weary with how much of myself is exposed on the world wide web.   However, this presentation showed me that it is possible to be both a visitor and a resident.  For occupational purposes, I am 100% in becoming a resident. And I think it is okay to have a visitor mindset when it comes to my personal life.  Twitter will probably be my greatest challenge in becoming a resident as it is a platform that erodes quickly.  I need to be able to tweet enough so that I am visible.  Because I am so hardwired to being a visitor, I need to challenge myself to change my perspective to that of a resident.  I need to use these amazing tools with the mindset of a resident.


I am a work in progress:
1.  Pinterest- Obsessed and could spend all day repining things.
2.  Twitter- Working on being more present.  Definitely do a lot of lurking.  Most of the time, I don't know what to say. 
3.  Diigo- Love all the links from twitter and other things I am reading.  I just never remember to diigo them.
4.  Blogster-  Like Twitter, working on being more present.  Challenging myself to blog just cause.
5.  Facebook-  It is probably where I am the most resident, but unintentionally.
6.  YouTube- Have an account, and that is basically it. 

What A Blessing

This past week, more than ever I realized how wonderful and what a blessing it is to have technology.  It is the simple things such as an email, a phone call, receiving a text message, or a even a post on facebook.  Its funny how people tend to be brought together by unfortunate events and wonderful life changing events---two opposite ends of the spectrum.  But now during times such as these, because of technology, people can come together so much more quickly and conveniently than ever.  So for making life a lot more bearable during rough patches and more joyous during times celebration, because of the connections that are allowed to be made, I thank you technology. 

Finding a Passion

Here are my thoughts....

1.  Art-  I have always been driven by anything that allows me to be creative.  My personal choices in this are would be drawing, painting, pottery, and doodling.  I have had formal training in drawing, painting, and pottery.  With the exception of doodling, without a time being set in my schedule to do these thing, I rarely get a chance to do them.  I doodle on everything, especially in my notebooks.  Hopefully, I will make some time to get back into these things as they were once something that took priority in my life.

2.  Science-  I am currently pursuing my single subject credential in science.  Science is something that I have always enjoyed.  In the MEd Curriculum and Instruction program, I am to write a curriculum, and as of right now it will be science driven.  I would like to incorporate what I am learning from this class to make it technologically involved.

3.  My Thesis-  I am currently in the process of working on my thesis.  It deals with the growth and development of adolescent girls through experiential learning.  I have had the privilege of going to summer camp since I was 11.  I was a camper for 6 summers and a staff member for 7.  It's because of this experience, I truly believe in the value of experiential learning (or perhaps now I can include situated learning?)  Summer camp has been a huge part of my life and I attribute a lot of what I learned in the "informal" setting to those experiences.  Therefore, I decided to do my thesis dealing with something I hold near and dear to my heart.

4.  Literacy-  I recently took a course in regards to Children and Adolescent Literature.  It spawned my love for reading back up again.  I love finding ways to integrate picture books into learning.  It's entertaining to see how people of all ages can appreciate a good picture book.  I've also come to enjoy books geared towards the teenage years.  They are usually quick reads and not at the level I should be reading, but (1) it gets me to read, and (2) its for the audience I want to be working with.

5.  Traveling-  I have been fortunate to have grown up traveling.  My parents have instilled a desire see and experience as much as possible in me.  I just love everything about traveling with the exception of being stuck on a plane breathing in recycled air with the crying baby and the child kicking the back of your seat. 

6.  Water- This may sound like a weird one, but I need water in my life.  Growing up in Hawaii, I have constantly been around water--may it be the beach, at the stream, pond, taro fields, or playing in the rain.  One of the requirements of where I settle, is having a nearby water source.  In addition, I do not think I could live in a landlocked state.  In college I was on the crew team, and one reason for joining and continuing to row was because it allowed me to spend consistent time out on the water.  Water brings peace and a sense of familiarity.


So I don't know if I'm heading in the right direction.  I know that these are big and broad ideas, but these are some driving factors in my life.