Reaction to "How Teachers Can Share Their Own Learning"

 "How Teachers Can Share Their Own Learning"

This article authored by Edutopia blogger Bob Lenz focuses on the importance of professional development for educators. According to Lenz, however, it is not attending the professional development seminar that is beneficial to the teacher (and his or her students). Instead, for professional development to have any benefit or real purpose, an assessment of teacher learning needs to be conducted. Only if teachers are actually learning, evaluating themselves, and improving their teaching practices does professional development have any value.

I thought that the author's views in this blog post were valid and I could connect what he stated about professional development in education to continuing education requirements for health care providers. I am a teacher in a dental hygiene program at a community college and I have an active Registered Dental Hygienist license. I am required to complete at least 36 hours of CE every 3 years to keep my license active. In order to get my CE for several of the webinars or seminars that I attend there is a written test that you have to take to get your certificate. Since there is an assessment of learning this gives the learning experience more value in my opinion. I feel that after participating in a course of some sort I should be able to demonstrate what I learned.

References: 
Lenz, B. (2013, November 20). How Teachers Can Share Their Own Learning. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teachers-show-their-own-learning-bob-lenz.

Reaction to "7 Things you should know about... Lulu"

One of our assigned readings from this week was the Educause article "7 Things you should know about... Lulu." I was interested in reading this article because I had never heard of Lulu before and was curious about what kind of a program it was. I was surprised and excited to learn that Lulu can be used by people that want to publish original works. I have authored one article in my career as an educator, but I am interested in doing more writing at some point. I was delighted that it sounds like Lulu is an easy way to self-publish and even get an ISBN for original material. The article mentioned that there are several templates to use on Lulu and ways to personalize the product so that it is just how you want it.

I can see several applications for Lulu in my own personal and professional life. However, I feel that Lulu might also be a way for the college students that I teach to prepare professional works themselves. Lulu is definitely something I am interested in investigating further.  








References: Educause. (2008, January) 7 things you should know about Lulu. Retrieved from: https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7033.pdf

Reaction to Richardson Chapter 6

In Chapter 6 of "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms" I learned more about the ways that Twitter and social bookmarking services can be utilized effectively by educators. I have no current experience with Twitter but have learned through reading this chapter and several related online articles that using Twitter is easy and can be useful. For example, if I had a Twitter account for my class, my students would all be required to follow me so that when I updated class related information, they would all get the notification quickly and in real-time. According to Richardson, I could also use Twitter to link to presentations or relevant articles for my students to access. (p.88)

Regarding social bookmarking services, in this chapter I was introduced to Diigo and was able to understand more about the bookmarking service that I am currently using in this class, Delicious. So far, I have liked using Delicious and have found that it is a neat way to organize links all in one place. I have found that tagging links is easy and following others with similar interests is a great way to find new resources. I am learning lots of new ways to collaborate and share information with others!

References: Richardson, W. (2010) Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.

Reaction to "The Power of Introverts: An Essential Understanding for Teachers"

 "The Power of Introverts: An Essential Understanding for Teachers"

This was an interesting article that I found on my Edutopia RSS feed. The author, Edutopia blogger Elena Aguilar, shares what teachers should know about introverted students as well as considerations for introverted educators.

I could relate to this article because I feel that I am an introvert by nature. I like my quiet time and prefer to work on tasks in solitude. I am grateful that I work with a fairly small number of students on a daily basis. My classes of dental hygiene students are no more than 24 students and I feel that I can have a more personal relationship with them and engage them in discussion more easily than I could if I were teaching to a large lecture hall with 80 plus students. Aguilar states that for introverted teachers it is sometimes necessary to take a quiet break and refuel between tasks so that you can temporarily transform into an extrovert when necessary. I feel this is what I do everyday.

Aguilar also states that as educators we should be mindful of introverted students and "take time to cultivate them" instead of only focusing on the outwardly participatory students. I try to get each of my students involved during class discussion, but I try not to force them too much out of their comfort zone.

Reference:
Aguilar, E. (2013, November 25). The Power of Introverts: An Essential Understanding for Teachers. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/power-introverts-essential-understanding-teachers-elena-aguilar.

Reaction to "How Do I Get a PLN?"

How Do I Get a PLN?

In Edutopia guest blogger, Tom Whitby's entry I learned what a PLN or Personalized Learning Network is and why I should have one as an educator. According to Whitby, a PLN is "a mindset" that embodies collaboration between education experts and professionals (2013). Benefits of having a PLN include access to information that you otherwise would not have, mentors in other geographic locations, and someone to hear your thoughts.

Whitby outlines steps for building a PLN and states that "20 minutes a day" should be set aside for education collaboration. I learned that I have already begun to build a PLN (without even knowing it) by following educational blogs such as this one. I need to remember after my Master's degree is complete to continue to engage in communication with other educators.

Reference:

Whitby, T. (2013, November 18). How Do I Get a PLN? Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-do-i-get-a-pln-tom-whitby.

Reaction to video "Using Wikipedia for Academic Research"

"Using Wikipedia for Academic Research"

For me, this video re-emphasized what I learned in previous weeks in this course about the use of Wikipedia in education. In our Class Wiki my group supported the use of Wikipedia by students and this video directly correlates with other research that we found on the subject. The author, bcveen,  explains that Wikipedia can be used as a first resource for research and how to use Wikipedia to find additional information.

What I learned in this video that I had not thought of before is using the outline provided by Wikipedia to make your own outline for a research paper. I think that this is a good idea. If not used directly for making an outline, the subtopics provided by Wikipedia would be helpful as well in making a concept map of related information that may need to be included in the research paper.

As an educator in the community college setting I do not want my students to use Wikipedia as a primary source, however I do support the use of Wikipedia in finding out initial information on a topic and I think that it would be helpful in outlining.

Reference: bcveen. "Using Wikipedia for Academic Research." Online video clip. You Tube. You Tube, 22 Jul. 2008. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Reaction to "Habits of Heart: Helping Students Reflect and Act on Gratitude"

 "Habits of Heart: Helping Students Reflect and Act on Gratitude"

I really enjoyed reading this entry from Edutopia blogger Maurice Elias. In his post, Elias explains the benefits of expressing gratitude and ways to foster this attitude in the classroom setting. Elias provides 5 activities that students can engage in that encourage an attitude of gratitude.

I think that it is important for students of any age to be reminded of the importance of having an attitude of gratitude. I also believe that educators should embody this mindset. In healthcare fields such as dental hygiene I think this involves appreciating everyone on the dental team including the front desk staff. In our clinic at the community college I take the time to say hi to the custodians every time that I see them and as a faculty member I hope that my students notice and follow suit. Each person should be recognized for the work that they do and the role that they play in making an office or a school run smoothly.

I especially liked Elias' idea of writing thank you cards. I feel that people do not do this as often as they should. I also liked Elias' idea of having students write reflective journal entries where they think about their actions and the actions of others and how they are connected. This is something that I may consider incorporating into the Patient Management course that I teach.

Reference: Elias, M. (2013, November 14). Habits of Heart: Helping Students Reflect and Act on Gratitude. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/heart-habits-gratitude-students-reflect-act-on-maurice-elias