Week 6 Reflection

I am actually relieved to be finished with my reflective essay for EDU 651. I always felt like I was never able to put my full effort into the assignments in this class. I've been juggling this class and preparation for the drastically increased class sizes I will have this coming school year. While I did not spend as much time designing the mock classrooms for this course as I probably should have, I did spend a lot of time redesigning my own Blackboard site using what I learned in EDU 651. If the best way to create the conditions in which learning can occur is to create realistic scenarios then I can't think of a better situation. As of this afternoon, my class sizes stand at 45, 42, and 40.

Week 5 Reflections

This week was a little rough. I spent most of my time working on my classroom website. That means I really didn't spend the time on my Ning, Facebook, and PB Works sites that I probably should have. To tell the truth, I was frustrated working on mock classroom sites that I do not intend to implement in my classroom. I felt like I was wasting my energies on this exercise. I was, however, very impressed with the work of my classmates on their sites. I plan on spending more time this week exploring all of the tools that Google makes available.


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Location:Kellogg St,San Marcos,United States

Week 4 Reflections

I've had time this week to think about Thomas Friedman's "Flat World" as it applies not only to education, but also how it applies to my personal life. During the sixteenth century, the first century of European expansion and exploration, it took up to two years for a decree from Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (Carlos I of Spain) to reach the colonies in the New World. The pace of life and of change was necessarily slow as a consequence of the speed of communication (or lack thereof). And yet, because of the increase in the volume of ideas communicated by the recent innovation of the movable-type printing press the sixteenth century was a time of great intellectual, religious, and social change. As the volume of printed material increased throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the pace of change increased. The spread of Enlightenment ideals was dependent upon the ability to be published and spread far and wide. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw the speed at which information can be shared and spread increase exponentially. The telegraph, telephone, radio, motion pictures, television, and eventually the Internet and the World Wide Web rounded out this first phase of the democratization of access to information and education. The Web 2.0 is the second phase. It's the ability for anyone with access to an internet-connected computer or device to create and share content. It's also the ability to collaborate with anyone around the world. The pace at which this next phase is developing and changing is absolutely astonishing. The pace of communication and the pace of change could, once again, go hand in hand. This week I was able to share a video and pictures from my recent trip to Europe with friends all over the planet on Facebook almost instantaneously. That's a shade faster than the two years it would have taken Charles V. :-)

Week 3 Reflections

I have been using Facebook for almost three years, so using it this week was not a new experience. This was, however, the first time that I explored possible educational uses of Facebook. I was surprised to find applications on Facebook that are useful for something other than killing time. I was most impressed with the Webinaria Screencast application. I could definitely see myself using this application to upload a screencast my lectures with my SmartBoard. A majority of my students already use Facebook. It might be a good idea to take advantage of this to provide my students with something other than a gossip network on Facebook.

I also learned that teachers and Facebook privacy seem to be a bit of a hot-button issue. The issue of free speech on Facebook inflamed the first-amendment passions of my classmates. I do agree that we should be able to express our opinions, even if they are not complimentary to our employers or the educational system in general. However, I approached this situation as a legal question. Teachers are public servants, whether we like to admit it or not. A different set of rules applies public servants when it comes to free speech. The Supreme Court has upheld the right of governments to fire employees who say things that damage the organization or its mission. At this point it does not matter how passionate I feel about my right to say whatever I want. I must be aware that what I say or do online will have an effect on public perception of my school and myself, and the possible damage to my credibility could have a effect on my ability to effectively serve my students and parents.

Week 2 Learning

This week I learned a great deal about the versatility of online learning and collaboration. I've been traveling across Europe for the past two weeks. Thanks to my iPad and the universality of 3G and WiFi connectivity all over Europe, I was able to keep up to date in this class and participate in the discussion forums. Learning is no longer confined to the classroom, or any other static location. Social networking sites like Facebook and blogging site like this one allow a greater degree of communication and collaboration with people around the world. The great challenge is to be found in developing the skills and practices to use these sites effectively as truly powerful collaborative tools to take learning beyond the classroom to a greater audience.


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Location:Atlanta Airport