Me-Time

THIRTY MINUTES FOR ME

            It is not very often that I actually have thirty minutes to spend by myself.  Working with seventh graders all day, coming home to my own seventh grader not to mention my husband, dog, and mother-in-law, does not give me very much time to spend alone.  I told my family that one of my assignments was to do something for myself for at least thirty minutes.  They were told that during the thirty minutes my phone would be off and it would be if I had moved to Timbuktu.

            I decided to take the thirty minutes of me time to go to one of the parks in my development.  I left my phone in the car and chose a bench away from everyone else to just sit alone.  I took the time to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and peacefulness of my surroundings.  I enjoyed just watching the wildlife around me.  I watched a family of ducks swim around on the pond.  I enjoyed watching the ducks follow each other around and quack at each other.  I also was able to watch a pair of sand hill cranes (which I like to call pterodactyls because of their size) dig for food while yelling as loud as they could.  They make the most amazing sound I have ever heard.  There were a few squirrels running around.  The squirrels in Florida always make me laugh.  Being from Ohio originally, I am used to plump squirrels, and the squirrels here are so skinny.  I enjoyed watching the birds that dive under the water to eat.  I am just amazed at how long they can stay under and how far they go before they come back up.  I was also happy to get to see an alligator swimming along.  He wasn’t bothering any of the other creatures, just catching some rays.

            I really do enjoy the wildlife here in Florida.  Again, being from Ohio, I am used to cardinals, robins, wrens, and other small creatures.  I just find the creatures here to be unbelievable.  They always make me smile.  I find watching them to be one of the most relaxing things to do around here.  I could have sat on that bench for hours, but at last, it was time to go back to reality.  I enjoyed my thirty minutes of “critter-watching” and found it to be one of the most relaxing things I had done in a very long time. 

           

Harper Collins E-Book Controversy

The E-Book Controversy

The use of e-books has grown exponentially with the growth of technology. In fact, e-book use has grown over 36% in just the past year. Recently, HarperCollins Publishers began enforcing new restrictions on its e-books, requiring that books be checked out only 26 times before they expire. Assuming a two-week checkout period, that is long enough for a book to last at least one year. This has caused quite an uproar in libraries across the country. I do not believe that the rule is fair to libraries or patrons of libraries. There should not be limits placed on the number of times an e-book can be checked out, just like no limits are placed on actual books that are checked out. One positive that has come out of this whole controversy is that people are more engaged in the topic and are discussing it. This has increased the amount of circulation in libraries which means more and more people are reading. Many people are not even aware that e-books are available from libraries for check out. The controversy with HarperCollins has increased this number also. Although controversy always has a down side, this controversy has accomplished a great goal...getting more people to read. 

In the end, I do not agree with the rule from HarperCollins.  Whether the book is a hard copy or an e-book, it is still a book and limits should not be placed on the number of times it can be checked out of the libary.

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/889452-264/harpercollins_puts_26_loan_cap.html.csp

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/business/media/15libraries.html

Cathy's Key

The first thing I noticed about this site was has "busy" it was. I actually found it distracting to manipulate because of the graphics. That may be a function of my age. People who are younger may enjoy the look and feel of the website.

I do like that it is very interactive and believe this would appeal to a wide variety of people. The move towards more virtual learning has been growing. This site, I believe, is just a small look at what is going to be coming or that may already be out there.

No Technology!!!!!

I have no problems being without technology for 30 minutes or longer. I actually quite enjoy it sometimes. I love going somewhere with my family and we leave the phones in the car and just enjoy each other. People sitting at dinner with their family and texting is one of the things I find very annoying (even if I'm not involved).

I also love to sit on the couch at night with no television, no phone, no computer, and just reading a book. A real book made from paper, not on any device.

Moodle

Christine DeRienzo

October 16, 2011

CECS 5200

Moodle and Blackboard

            In my profession as a teacher, many of our online professional development courses are run via Moodle. I never really gave much thought to it before joining this class. This class is the first UNT course I have taken that has not been on Blackboard.

            In searching to find additional information as to what the major differences are with these systems, I found some very interesting information. I found that Moodle is an open source learning management system. It is free to download, share, improve, change and customize. Blackboard is a proprietary learning management system and is typically used by educators at institutions. This is because it is not free and a license fee is paid each year.

            I have never really interacted with Moodle the way I have with this course and I must say that I really enjoy the ease of use of the system. I like the interactive communication and instant access (via my phone). In the courses I have taken for work, I never really delved deeply into the benefits of the system, but I must say now I will.

http://www.emergingedtech.com/2010/11/moodle-2-versus-blackboard-brief-comparison/

My Experiences with Facebook

Christine DeRienzo

CECS 5200
October 1, 2011

My Experience with Facebook

            I fought joining social media for a long time.  Mostly I fought it because I thought I was too old to get involved.  I always looked at social media as being for teenagers or twenty-something’s.  It was only after some of my colleagues were talking about it at work that I decided to see what all the fuss was about. 

            I must say I have been happier than not with my choice to join Facebook.  I have really enjoyed re-connecting with people I have not seen in 25 years or longer.  There are many friends I had in high school and college that live all over the country and we never kept in touch.  If it was not for Facebook, I probably would have never caught up with any of these people.  I like to see people that I graduated with that are already grandparents.  Kind of makes me laugh…and feel old at the same time.  In an article by Ellison, his research shows that online interactions do not necessarily remove people from their offline world but may indeed be used to support relationships and keep people in contact, even when life changes move them away from each other.  This is exactly how I feel about the use of Facebook.  With the world today being so mobile, Facebook is a way for us to keep in touch throughout all stages of our lives.

            Although I believe that Facebook overall is a good thing for society, I also see the negative side of Facebook use.  I personally have never been hacked on my Facebook page but I have plenty of friends who have.  It is very un-nerving to me to see how easy it is for this happen.  There is very little that can be done to prevent it and sometimes I just feel like it is a matter of time before it happens to me.  I always make sure that my settings are set to maximum privacy.  But, with all of the changes that Facebook makes on a regular basis without any kind of notification to the users, it makes it very difficult to keep everything at maximum security.  I will continue to be vigilant in keeping my information safe and secure.

            One other area that I see being a potential problem with Facebook is the check-in feature.  Although it is kind of cool to see where your friends are or have been, if the settings are not right on your account, any person who is at the same place can see you check in.  I had this happen when I first started using the check-in feature.  I was at EPCOT with my family and checked in at Test Track, I then received notification that some other person, who I didn’t even know, was also at Test Track.   That experience really made me uncomfortable.  Since that day, although I changed my settings, I do not check- in anymore.

            As far as Facebook in education, our district has a very strict policy about usage.  Items posted on your Facebook site can be used to terminate employment if they are deemed inappropriate for educators.  We have been told on numerous occasions to be sure our pages are secure and are set to only friends seeing our information.  I guess this is a “cover us” kind of policy.  The last thing a teacher wants is his or her students to see her photos on Facebook from her night out at the local bar.  We are strongly encouraged to not friend any of our current students or students that we had that are still in the district.  So, using Facebook as a means of communication is not an option for me. 

            As time goes on, I am not sure where Facebook will end up in education.  I know from a personal standpoint, I will continue to use Facebook to keep in touch with people who live far away from Florida.  I do see the benefit of Facebook outweighing the risks.

Reference:

Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C. and Lampe, C. (2007), The Benefits of Facebook “Friends:” Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12: 1143–1168. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x

Wikis and Blogs in Education

Christine DeRienzo

CECS 5200

September 18, 2011

Benefits and Drawbacks of Blogs and Wikis in Education

            I have not used either a blog or a wiki before.  This class is the first experience I am going to have with either.  In thinking about the topic of this reflection, I had a hard time deciding what I should focus on as I am feeling overwhelmed at the possibilities that are available to me as an educator.

            I started by searching for literature related to blogs and wikis.  Again, there was so much information available; I chose to look at this assignment as what would best benefit my seventh graders.  The first thing that I found was how the collaborative features of wikis make them well suited for co-operative learning (Schaffert, Bischof, et al., 2006).  One of the main focuses our school has this year is to incorporate more and more co-operative learning into the classroom.  The use of wikis goes along with this goal. 

            According to Duffy and Bruns (2006), wikis can serve many different purposes in the classroom.  Many of the purposes cited by Duffy and Bruns (2006) are uses for wikis that I would find beneficial in my classroom.  These include mapping of concepts.  I like the idea of using a wiki as a brainstorming tool to map out a concept.  I also can see the benefit of students using wikis to develop research projects with the wiki serving as ongoing documentation of their work. 

            I send out a parent e-mail on a bi-weekly basis.  After doing research on wikis and blogs, I am going to look into setting up a class information wiki that will let parents and students know what is coming up in class.  This will also serve as a communication tool between me, students, and parents.  I also like the idea of using a wiki for sharing of curriculum with other educators.  There are so many great ideas out there and it would be nice to be able to collaborate with educators in other places to see what is and isn’t working in the classroom.  One other use I can see for a wiki is a subject wiki where I can provide information to students related to assignments, homework, and an upcoming calendar. 

            I see the “real-world” collaboration as one of the biggest advantages of a wiki.  Also, going along with that, is the pulling together of the strength of many who are doing the same thing.  Being that I really don’t know a whole lot about wikis, I do have some concerns with the security and safety of using a wiki.

           Blogs in education could be used as a space for the sharing of opinions where teachers and students could learn from each other.  Blogs, just like wikis, also promote collective and collaborative learning.  Journaling would be one use of a blog that would benefit everyone in the classroom.
 
            The quick and easy creation of a class website via a blog is one advantage.  My son’s band director has a blog for the band where he shares information about upcoming events.  I never really thought about it as something for myself as an educator as I didn’t know the ease of creating it.  A blog is also a great place for students to practice and improve writing skills.  They can also collaborate on projects without being in the same room together.  Another advantage of a blog is that students who are too shy to speak up in class get an opportunity to have their opinions heard.

            On the other side, blogs take time to keep updated.  It would just be one more thing in my day that requires 25 hours already.  Maybe through this class and learning from my classmates, I can learn ways to accomplish keeping a blog without it taking up a great deal of time.  Being that a blog is not like a chat, the “conversation” may not be in real time.  A blog would be very difficult for students with low computer skills.  Another problem would be for the students who do not have computers at home.  My school has about 15% of the student population who are considered “FIT” (Families in Transition).  These are students who live in hotels, tents, or shelters.  Most of these students do not have access to computers other than at school.  This would be a major concern I would have with either a wiki or a blog.
 
            In reflecting on this topic, I know I still have a great deal to learn.  I am extremely fortunate to be in this class with so many people who have already provided insights about things I would have never thought of just three weeks ago.  I look forward to attempting to utilize this technology in my classroom and to reflecting on what works and what doesn’t. 

References

Duffy, P. & Bruns, A. (2006). The use of blogs, wikis and RSS in education: A conversation of   possibilities.  Proceedings of the Online Learning and Teaching Conference 2006,  Brisbane: September 26.

Schaffert, S., Bischof, D., Buerger, T., Gruber, A., Hilzensauer, W. & Schaffert, S. (2006).  Learning with semantic wikis. Proceedings of the First Workshop on Semantic Wikis – From Wiki To Semantics (SemWiki2006), Budva, Montenegro: June 11-14, 109-123.