I used to teach English as a foreign language in college back in China. I never taught anyone from K- 12. I think k-12 is relatively more important education since it’s about basic knowledge and it’s a stage of children shaping their characters and style of learning. Online education’s popularity definitely could be an important way of learning for the students because as we discussed in the previous blog post, they are the digital generation. If educators do not know how to use technology to teach k-12, there would be a bigger gap between them.

Of course, not all the students are suitable for online education, because not everyone relies on technology to study, and what’s more, not all subjects are suitable for online environment. As a future online teacher, I’m still not very competent in educational technology. For example, about the “be able to explain the ethical and legal issues associated with online education”, I still need to learn more about it. So far, the only ethical and legal issues I know is the plagiarism issue.

I believe that online education is the future of K-12 education. This is only a start of the rapid development of the educational technology. Technology is everywhere, and the digital generation will be a bigger amount of children. They read online, they entertain online, they communicate online. There is no way that they can get away with internet or technologies. If education does not catch up the pace of the development of the technology, it will lose its followers.

Personally, I feel what I learned from this class is quite useful for my future ESL/EFL teaching, especially Diigo. I like it because it is easy to use and very convenient for class discussion. It is so much better than the discussion board on websites. Anyone can directly start a conversation of discussion anywhere on a web page, so that the question can focus on one theme of topic at a particular place where the original articles are.

I have learned what I need to teach online classes, although I still need to learn more about the other issues like ethical and legal knowledge about online education. I used to teach an online course only using an online teaching platform called BlackBoard since it was the only thing I knew then. Now, after learning all the other online teaching resources like diigo, PBL, twitter, web quest, slideshot, wikispace, google calendar, prezi, and a lot of other tools, I feel more comfortable and more confident in teaching online in the future.

What’s more, the article gave a lot of great ideas and tips for potential future online teachers. For example,   “student-centered activities, facilitation and moderating, problem-based learning,      collaborative learning, and peer evaluation” are some good strategies that are related to online teaching. These are actually strategies in traditional teaching, too. So, to combine online teaching skills and traditional teaching methods together will benefit online education to a great extent.

After sharing my website with my classmates and colleagues, 12 of them took the survey. I got many positive responses and support from them, which I appreciate so much about. They not only showed great support, but also gave me constructive suggestions, which I’m sure will help my web site improve in the future for my teaching and learning.

My first two questions are both yes and no questions. The first one is a very general question: “does this web site help you with your teaching or learning?” I’m glad that all my audience who took the survey gave me a positive feedback on this question by clicking “yes”. The second question is “do you find the web site well-organized enough so that it is easy to operate?” Still, most of them gave positive response, and one out of twelve readers clicked “no”.

The third question is a multiple choice questions with multiple answers. “Which part/section in this web site help you the most?” For “blog posts”, 41.7% of the readers vote for it, for “resources for students”, 50.0% of the readers think it is useful, for “resources for teachers” 66.7% of them like this one, for “sample group project & learning activity” 41.7% of them chose this one, and for “web site evaluation”, no one vote for it. Maybe because most of my collegues who participated in this survey are teachers or were teachers, they focus more on the teacher’s resources part.

My last question is an essay question which needs the readers to comment: “which part/section in this web site do you think should be improved? can you give some suggestions for improvement?” I got 9 answers, and 3 of them skipped the question. Form their sincere responses, I can conclude them into four different kinds of suggestions. First, the layout of the whole web site is not eye-catching enough, and some more pictures and multiple colors of the titles would make it better. Second, the navigation column is not very well-organized, and it would be better if it is set at the left side of the page. Third, the content of the blog tend to be a little subjective, and the author should provide unbiased opinion more. Fourth, although the resources have links to their original web sites, they still need more explanation on how to use them.

I think these four suggestions are great and very useful for me to improve my web site in the future. And most importantly, they also gave me details on how to improve. It is one thing that you create something from your personal view, and a total different thing that you see it from others’ point of view.

From the beginning of this semester when it is just a blog with one post, to the end when a web site is established, I’ve gone through different stages. From the point that I didn’t even know what a web site is till now when I’ve already learned many things about open source, web 2.0, diigo, wordle, PBL, digital generation, etc, I’ve grown from a ESL/EFL teacher to a teacher with technology. I feel proud of myself. I’m glad we have experienced this together!

I can’t imagine a week or even a day without using any digital device or away from the Internet. It becomes part of our life. Young people (born in the 90s and after) grow in the environment of technology and online communication. They use computer to do their homework and project, they text messages to their friends, they email, facebook, and twitter each other for more communication, they take pictures with digital cameras, the make movies of their own using soft wares or other online tools, and they share information through YouTube, myspace, and blogs like Olivia and Sam, two students in the profiles. They seem very different from kids 10 years ago when computer and Internet wasn’t so developed. Back then, when so many technologies remained uninvented or unpopular, kids use Internet more to chat when they can’t see each other. But now, they socialize online, they learn online, and they live online. If “digital” means entertainment 10 years ago, it means life nowadays.

We rely on technology for daily communication, for entertainment, and for teaching and learning. As a teacher in the digital era, learning how to teach with technology is an urgent task. Douglas Cruickshank says in his article “Technology Tools to Get Teachers Started” that “Educators and students are altering the very nature of the classroom experience by increasingly turning to technology as an integral component of learning.” He also introduces some useful online tools for teaching like Web 2.0, RSS, Web Site Reviews by Teachers, Online Professional Development, twitter, facebook, wikis, etc, and digital camera. In the video “How to Use New-Media Tools in Your Classroom”, Jim Moulton briefly talked about how to use digital camera in classroom. I think this is something new to me. I use digital camera a lot, but I never thought about using it in my classroom. With a digital camera in hand, one becomes a better observer, he says.

I will be more than interested in using digital camera in my classroom, as well as other technology. Students can use it in their own way, taking pictures or videos of their interests, their own understandings, and from their own angles. It can be very creative and very personal. And pictures are always more eye-appealing than words, so that students will pay more attention to them. However, digital cameras could be also a distraction in students’ learning. Students tend to get weaker in reading and writing if they depend too much on visual tools. And in some countries or areas, it is not very practical to use digital cameras in class, because not every student can afford or be allowed to buy a digital camera. But I think the pros like helping students be better observers, inspiring their creativity, making them more involved in learning are definitely worth the risk of the cons.

References:

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-global-kids-video

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-new-media-classroom-tips-video

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-technology-integration-manual

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-social-networking-technology-project

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-sam

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-olivia

The essential questions that I designed is for EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class at a intermediate level in secondary schools in China in the study of pronunciation of English.

Remembering question: How to pronounce all the vowels and the consonants in English?

Understanding question: Compare English and Chinese Pinyin system, find out which sound(s) are more difficult for Chinese speakers to pronounce?

Applying question: How to effectively pronounce those difficult sound(s) in English?

Analyzing question: What’s the relationship between pronunciation and effective communication?

Evaluating question: Read 10 words, record it on your computer, listen to the English native speaker’s recording of the 10 words, then listen to your own, and compare the two recordings to find out what you should improve.

Creating question: Design a simple by effective game of practicing pronunciation.

When you open the window, fresh air will come inside, so will flies. The creation of internet and the web is like opening a big window in people’s lives. What one can experience on there could be positive and negative. It does make lives quicker in many areas including learning process, but the fact that learning becomes too quick is not neccesarrily a good thing. The following paragraphs are going to discuss both the positive and the negative side of the use of web in learning, including reading and thinking.

The use of web makes learning process much quicker than that in traditional environment. Students can get the information they want in a very short time just by typing some words and clicking some buttons and links, so that it saves time and trouble to make work and study a lot more efficient. One doesn’t have to go to the real library to borrow a book by walking to the library and going through the whole searching procedure, or to look up a word in a real dictionary by turning pages. Through web, one can order books online and wait for the book to come at your door or even order a e-book, and one can search for words on an online ditionary. Besides, there are many searching engines on the web, like Bing, Google, Sohu, Baidu, etc. to help students achieve the goal of quick learning. Stefanie Olsen says in her article “Helping Children FindWhat They Need on the Internet” that “increasing numbers of children are using search as a starting point for homework, exploration or entertainment”. With the rapid development of the internet technology, the search engine will be much quicker and easier. “Future trends in search may also be helpful to children. The move toward voice-activated search like the Google voice search on iPhones and Android phones and audio and video search will prove beneficial to children with limited abilities, experts say.” (Olsen,  Stefanie)

Another good thing about learning through web is that students can learn more than they do in traditional classrooms. The traditional way of learning has many limits that can be found solutions to through web. In traditional classrooms, learning only involves real books, teacher-student conversations, and blackboards. It is not possible for students to just bring all the books that are related to the classroom, or for teachers to tell the students everything they need to know. The knowledge students can learn is very limited under this circumstances. But through web, they can search for knowledge of their interests any time and anywhere they want. The learning process could be like a “thesaurus” net, you learn something, and you relate it to something else. If learning is a liner-layout porcedure in traditional classrooms, it definitely is a net-layout procedure in web-based environment. It stimulates critical, broader and deeper thinking in this way. For example, the “Google For Educators” provides many tools for classroom that students can use to improve in their field of study. These tools are very versatile, like shown in the following picture that I Jinged from the Google website.

http://www.google.com/educators/tools.html

Probably the best thing about learning though web is that it provides a much more equal opportunity for everyone to learn around the world, even the places that are commonly considered backwards in education, or the low-income students who can’t afford to pay for going to better facilitated schools. As long as they have a computer or any other equipment that has internet access, they can search and learn the same informaiton (as long as they are free) no matter where they are. “The Google Teacher Academy is a FREE professional development experience designed to help primary and secondary educators from around the globe get the most from innovative technologies.” (Google) What’s more, through online education, students learn ideas from each other’s cultures, which definitely deepens their thinking.

The efficiency, equality and quantity of knowledge are three major things that I focused to discuss here. So much about the “fresh air” side of the web, I also want to talk about “flies” side.

First “fly”. Using web for learning tend to make students lazier. Since one can get what they want through web, they become used to using web for information. Why bother working harder to read a real book, or stand up and walk around asking some body? But the truth is: what if they can not find the things they want? Would they just give up searching for it else where? The laziness could stop their will for exploring the real world and communicating with “real people”.

Second “fly”.  Searching by keywords through the web is what students basically do when we need some informaiton. “Online just gives you what you need, nothing more or less.” (Bengiveno, Nicole) The internet just select what is most relevent, and even highlight those words in case any waste of time. But it prevents them from reading the whole article, so the knowledge they learn could not be complete. What about other articles, paragraphs or other ideas? “Critics of reading on the Internet say they see no evidence that increased Web activity improves reading achievement.” (Bengiveno, Nicole) If that’s the case, can the web deepen students’ thinking, or just the reverse?

Third “fly”. Being too easy to get what one wants means the same easy to lose it. Spending hours or even days to find some sources make you remember. How can you forget if it’s a work of much effort? But it is hard to remember something you learn just within minutes, let alone to “facilitate deeper reading, learning, and thinking”.

Fourth “fly”. This is maybe the one that teachers and parents concern the most—web addiction. K-12 students (mostly under 18) are not mentally matured enough to control themselves when they are exposed to the all-you-can-see internet environment. Except learning materials, there are plenty of distraction facing them, like online games, social networking tools, entertainment pictures and videos, and online shopping stores. This could be a big challenge in their learning process.

There are other things that can negatively affect one’s learning through web, like the uncertainty of the credibility of online sources, uneaqual education opportunity when something is still not free to all, etc. However, you can’t just close the window for fresh air forever because of the flies. One needs to process his mind, and learn how to accept the huge amount of knowledge from online. If the web provides food for thought, it is your job to chew it before you swallow.

Click here to see Research Report by Nan Tong.doc in APA format

Use of Social Networking in Schools

The use of social networking has already become more and more an important part of online educaiton in recent years. It changes the way of traditional teaching and learning, and brings about a revolution in education. This article is about to discuss what social networking is, the use of social networking in schools, and most importantly its benefits and challenges.

1. What is online social networking?

They are softwares or websites that enable people to communicate via the Internet. According to Oxford online Dictionary, social networking means “the use of dedicated websites and applications to communicate informally with other users, or to find people with similar interests to oneself.” (Oxford Online Dictionary) These sites allow visitors to send emails, post articles and comments, build web content, and join in live chats.

2. Some frequently used social networking sites for education

2.1 Twitter: www.twitter.com

2.2 Classroom 2.0: www.classroom20.com

2.3 Facebook: www.facebook.com

2.4 Google Plus: https://plus.google.com

2.5 Plurk: www.plurk.com

2.6 Sophia: www.sophia.org

2.7 Learn Central: www.learncentral.org

2.8 ISTE Community: www.iste-community.org

2.9 WhoTeaches: http://www.whoteaches.com/

2.10 Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/

2.11 Technology Integration in Education:

http://www.technologyintegrationineducation.com/

2.12 The 21st Century Teacher: http://www.the21stcenturyteacher.com/

2.13 Better Lesson: http://betterlesson.com/

2.14 Diipo: http://diipo.com/

2.15 Intel Education Teachers Engage Community

http://engage.intel.com/index.jspa

(Kapuler, Tech & Learning)

The picture is from:

http://www.socialmediamom.com/2010/08/social-networking-in-schools-yes-or-no.html

3. Using Social Networking in class

In almost every social networking site, teachers who want to open online class can do the following things:

3.1. Start with choosing one of the social networking tools, and Create an account, edit profile, invite your students to join.

3.2. Add documents (Class schedule, course description, syllabus, requirements) to homepage.

3.3. Release discussion topics, so that students can communicate and comment on each other’s discussions.

3.4. Give homeworks.

3.5. Add external links to class-related websites.

3.6. Upload vedios for explanations or tutorials to youtube, and share links.

3.7. Be open and available to questions.

4. Educational Benefits of Using Social Networking Technologies

4.1 With enonermous information and knowledge online, it is less possible for students get bored in an online environment than in traditional class.

4.2 Classroom becomes Less limited in time and space, for students do not have to sit in one classroom or have the class at the same time. It can even connects students from anywhere around the globe as long as they have internet access.

The picture is from: http://www.educator.com/technology/should-teachers-use-facebook/

4.3 The teaching-learning style changes with instructors becoming a facilitator and a web master, while students becoming more participent, more independent, and more involved. It “allows teachers, who often feel isolated” in traditional classrooms, to “revolutionize the way they connect with others”. (Davis, 16) Moreover, for students, especially for those who are shy and don’t like asking questions or discussing class issues face to face.

4.4 Students tend to have a better sense of belonging to the class, “once they have been invited to attend, become a part of that history as they participate in the event.” (Kinnaman,10) Students could maintain constant interests in online environment.

4.5 It is a good way to protect the environment for much less paper and other materials are involved.

5. Challenges That Students Face When Using Social Networking Technologies

5.1 Students tend to focus on the entertainment functions instead of education.

The picture is from: http://virtuallearningworlds.com/?cat=7

5.2 In some areas around the world, social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter are blocked like in China. “Many educators who see the value in social networking face significant obstacles to incorporating it into their school days. Both Twitter and Facebook are blocked by many school computer networks.” (Davis,18)

5.3 There could be violation or intrusion to students’ personal information or life, like ID stealing online. “Millions of things can go wrong.” “Schools also need to pay close attention to federal laws like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.” (Davis,18)

5.4 Cyberbullying is another factor that is threatening the safety and harmony of online education. “Cyberbullying and threats of Internet predators through social networking sites and instant messaging programs are initiating numerous problems for parents, school administrators, and law enforcement on a national level”. (Kite, 158)

5.5 Too much use of social networking technologies can lead to a lack of real-life communication. Students and faculties tend to see each other less, so that they could end up isolated from the real life.

The picture is from:

http://sandym325.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/is-social-networking-in-classrooms-innovative/

5.6 Poverty still exists in some areas, which makes education not equal to everyone. What’s more, it could cause a bigger information or knowledge gap between students who can receive online education and students who can’t.

5.7 Information explosion sometimes is not neccessarily a good thing. In fact, students tend to get lost in such a big amount of information without organizing them well, especially when they have more than one social networking

The picture is from:

http://useyourhed.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/s-m3-social-media-marketing-madness/

The use of social networking in online education is a unstoppable trend. With its development and improvement, it will thrive much more greatly in the future. Hopefully by then, safe online environment and equal rights to education will not be much concerned as they are now.

References

Davis, Michelle R. Social Networking Goes to School. Education Digest;

Nov2010, Vol. 76 Issue 3, p14-19, 6p

Kapuler, David. Top 20 Social Networks for Education.

http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=2980 (2011)

Kinnaman, Mindy. SOCIAL NETWORKING SUCCESS. Campus

Activities Programming; Oct2010, Vol. 43 Issue 4, p7-10, 3p

Kite, Stacey L. Assessing Middle School Students’ Knowledge of

Conduct and Consequences and Their Behaviors Regarding

the Use of Social Networking Sites. Clearing House; Jul2010,

Vol. 83 Issue 5, p158-163, 6p, 3 Charts.

Oxford. http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/social+networking?region=us

2011.

The blog I’m going to follow is Free Technology for Teachers, and the link is as follows:

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=50

It sometimes comments on new technologies, introduces some useful tools, and also discuss issues, events, and ethnics about online education. I think it’s a good source for teachers and students who take online classes.

About the blogger
Richard Byrne:

Richard Byrne is teaching US History and Civics to high school students at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in South Paris, ME. He has also taught courses in global studies and English/ Language Arts.
In 2009 he was nominated for an Edublogs “Lifetime Achievement” Award.
He is a Google Certified Teacher.

He is available for professional development workshops, and he can offer workshops on the use of video creation tools in all subject areas as well as workshops about classroom uses for Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Books, Google Search, and developing an online personal learning community. He can also customize a workshop.