Chelsey’s Blog

Wow! This class sure ended very fast because of the restricted time limit. I enjoyed this class, and had a lot of fun with my final project. What I did for this project was made a Google map. For this map I based the information on the Evergreen Curriculum and placed it accordingly on the map. It was from a fifth grade lesson plan about Social Studies, and I decided to do this because I thought it could be useful to many teachers when they are teaching this lesson plan. I worked very hard on this project, but was not able to totally complete it. There are still some aspects from this curriculum that I could add to it, and I hope to complete it.

For this project, I mostly used the information that was on the website, but I felt like more had to be added to it. Because of this I would search the web for information, and I did place the resources that I used under the information I searched. Overall, it went well but I did have a few problems along the way. As I was working on it I would save my work as I went along, but in some cases I lost bits and pieces of all the work I did. This could be very frustrating to me at times, but I continued to work on it, and it slowly came together. Also, I had a problem with some of my work not being able to save.  I don’t know why this was happening, but if I pressed save it would not say saved. So because of this sometime I had to try things a few times. Another thing that was not working quite right was when I would try to embed vidoes. For some reason this was not working for me, but I will return to my map and try to do it again. I am very proud of all the work I have completed, and I have slowly been making it look proffesional and appealing to the viewer! Another great feature I love about Google maps is that you can convert it to be in Google Earth. I found this to be very efficient, because then there is more than one way that teachers can access this map. Google maps is something that I know I will be using in the future, and it is great that it is accessable on my Google account! Here it is, and I hope you enjoy it

Taking this ECMP 355 class was a very different experience for me. I was not sure if I would like doing a class mostly online because I like being and interacting with others in a class. Overall, this was a very valueable experience for me, and I got to learn things in a unique way! Elluminate to me was something that seemed crazy and I thought that I would not like it at all. But after taking this class, and most of them being over elluminate, I ended up really enjoying it. I do not always feel the need to voice my opinion in a class, but here asking quesitons seemed more comforting simply because usually everyone had the same thing on their mind. This class seemed to be one of the most interactive classes that I have taken at the university, because even though we were not face to face with everyone, it seemed like everyone in the class was very willing to help others if they were struggling.

Throughout this course it was my goal to comment on everyones blog in the classroom at least once. I did end up commenting on everyones blog, but most of these connections did not go very far in depth. Google reader was great for helping me keep up with reading the classes blogs, but in the end I could have gone in more depth and followed everyones blogs closer. Honeslty, I wish I would have had more time to follow some peoples blogs, because all of them seemed great and had interesting thoughts and opinions. With not following the blogs very close though, it seemed to me that a lot of the social learning I experienced was in the elluminate sessions. I felt this way because everyone would share what was on their mind, and voice their opinions sharing their thoughts! Because this was such a wonderful experience I would for sure be interesting in taking another online class, and a bonus is that they are very convenient.  Soical learnig occurs almost everyday with the people you will interact with, and I hope to continue learning things from others in the future!

I have been working very hard to make my Google map presentable and professional! For this map I am using the Evergreen Curriculum using a grade five social studies lesson plan, and it is a very interesting and I am becoming more comfortable with it and using the tools more effectively. What I like about using a Google map is that it can be converted to Google earth which is a great luxury to have if you prefer one program over the other. Sadly, I am having some difficulties with this program. As I go along and work on it, I was saving all of my work; but it seems that a slight glitch occurred because I lost some of my saved material. This was very frustrating to me because I worked on it putting time and effort into it, but some of this was wasted and I have to redo some of my work. I would post my map here on my blog, but I am still trying to sort some issues out, but maybe I will get it posted tomorrow or within the next few days! There will be more updates about it, and hopefully it all works out and turns out great!

I enjoyed mentoring for this class, but whish that we would have had a longer time span for this class so that I could have got more involved! I was given three mentors, but only got the chance to actually work with two of them. Melanie Holtsman was very excited to be working with me, but the times did not work out, and they ended classes at the beginning of June. When working with Brandt Schneider’s class, all I mostly did was comment on his students blogs and specifically would comment on their final projects they were working on. He had a variety of classes ranging from grade nine to twelve, and it was all about web design. Reading about their projects and commenting on them was fun because I got to get to know what kinds of things they were doing, and they were doing projects that related to what they had learned in class. Maria Knee’s class was very fun to work with, and we got to learn more about each other through e-mail and for the first time ever I skyped! This was a great experience, and I was happy that I learned how to use it properly and effectively. It was a fun time working with these classes, and it was a different experience to communicate with them through technology, but I honestly prefer being in a classroom and interacting with the student in a one on one type setting. Overall I would have like to have more time mentoring with these classes, but I still really enjoyed it, and would like to do something like this again

I have completed my first year of Education at the University of Regina, and I found that it was very challenging at times. A lot of people have told me that the first year is the hardest, and I honestly can agree with that one hundred percent. The reason as to why some people, including myself find is so difficult is because you are trying to be weeded out. For a simpler explanation, “only the strong survive.” I agree with this statement, because most people usually decide to drop out after or during the first year. People may decide this because they can’t handle the stress and time that school puts upon students. During my first year, I was very fortunate, and did not have to work. I am and will forever be great full for this because I do not know if I would have been able to handle it. The profs and classes put lots of stress on students, and in my case I get stressed out very easy when I feel like I don’t have enough time to get everything done. Another down fall for me and many others students is what the classes are worth percentage wise. For some of the classes most of the final mark is based on exams, and I simply am not a very good exam writer. I unfortunately worry about finals, then end up stressing myself out by not eating right, and not getting enough sleep. With projects and assignments I try to put a lot of time and effort into them, but it seems that in most classes they end up not being worth much of my mark, which I do not like one bit.  It is also a very stressful time because making the transition from high school to university is hard. For me, it took at least one whole semester to get used to everything and they way classes are structured. I was fortunate enough to do very well to my standards my first year, but I stressed all year, and it had an impact on me. Focusing on my studies was a big deal for me because I wanted to succeed, and overall it had a big impact on my social life. Personally, most of the profs seem like they could care less about you, and getting a pay check is all that matters. There is a tremendous amount of stress put on most students, and sometimes it would be nice if the university or profs could understand it is hard for students to deal with!

When you first meet someone their personality can say a lot about the type of person that they are. This can make you instantly like or dislike them. With the advancement with technology, it seems that people are less social with one another, and usually communicate in various ways through the computer. I find that it is harder to get to know someone specifically through the computer, because you need to actually meet them in person to decide what you think of them. It is always been a big thing that we are taught not to judge others; but it has been seen many times, and in many different ways how people prejudge others. It could be simply because of a rumor that was started about this person, or because what you have seen over the internet, but it is just not fair. What you may see on a computer for example through some one’s facebook page may be misleading to who that person really is. Also there is a possibility that someone might google you, but may find something that they may not like. The fact is that we are all humans, and may occasionally make mistakes in our lives that we have to live with. If a employer happens to see or hear something about you, then it may change their minds if they want to hire you or not. This is not the right thing for the employer to do, because even before they have an interview with you they are already determined not to hire you! It may not even be about what is on the internet, but what you exterior looks like. There can be many cases where a future employer may not hire you because of your appearance including piercings, tattoos, clothes, etc. To me this is unfair, and seems like a form of discrimination. Throughout life there will always be people getting judged for different reasons, but it is unacceptable to do this because you may not know who this person really is, or their personality.  I think the world needs to change, because getting judged by what has happened in your past or you appearance is wrong. In the Canadian Charter of rights and freedoms it states that everyone is equal, but when you judge and single people out then there is no equality among everybody. This is a very important topic, and I think more people should be more aware of what happens when you judge someone!

Recently, I have been feeling very pressed for time and frustrated. As this class is slowly coming to an end, and summer is close I am finding that I do not have enough time for everything. Some aspects of our ECMP 355 class are also making me seem stressed out just because I feel I will not get everything done in the specific time limit. I think this is currently this is just me being overwhelmed by everything, but this class seems to be coming to an end to quickly making me feel like I don’t have time. I am going to work very hard to try and get everything done, but it is hard and I hope to get it all done and over with, and receive a decent mark. I also recently just got a new job which makes me feel like I have no time! With only three days before this class is done I hope that everything will work out and after this I can relax, work, and enjoy my summer! I am very glad that I am not taking a summer class so that I can have some time off before I return to school in the fall!

I found the class about my future classroom very interesting, and the good thing was that all of the class can relate to it. The guest speakers definitely kept my attention, and they had very meaningful knowledge to pass on to the class/me. As technology is constantly changing over the years, so have classrooms. It was very fantastic to see and hear these presentations because it was informing me of the ways the classroom operates in today’s society. This year I only got a little bit of experience of actually being in the classroom, but I am slowly learning the ways that it operates. Doing mentoring in this class was a good experience, just because for the first time I had the opportunity to skype. I had never done this before, but it was a great experience, and in the future I hope to use this in my class to connect my students with others. Incorporating technology into the class is a very good idea, because overall it will end up benefiting the students. I find that in today’s society it is valuable to understand most basic but even more advanced computer skills. Until I took this class, I honestly did not know about over half of the tools that we have used throughout this course. I am great full that I have been learning and using these new tools. In the classroom it is important for the students to understand the importance of why or how they are using technology. In my future classroom I would like to make sure that the students understand and grasp everything that they are learning or experiencing. I like how Clarence Fisher stated that the class should be a hybrid space. This is very important and I would like to incorporate this into my future classroom because it is very true that learning happens within the four walls of the classroom, but also outside of the classroom. He also stated that the success depends on the effectiveness of the learners. Like he said, kids do things by choice, simply because they will choose to do it. I agree with this, and in my future classroom I hope to help encourage the students to try new things and expand their knowledge. As society constantly changing, it is hard to inform students with info; but there is only so much you can tell them, and it is important to get them to the point where they are confident with searching for information. He said some pretty interesting things, but what stood out to me was when he stated that teachers are network administrators and help students connect with information, and other people. Kathy Cassidy had an excellent point when she said that technology is not always the best option for learning. I agree with this, but when stated this she was not trying to say that technology was not good to use, simply that sometimes learning should be done in different ways without depending on technology. An aspect she uses in her class that I hope in incorporate in my future classroom was guided reading. This is a very useful technique because it is a way for the students to help one another learn without technology. For this students are placed in reading groups and the kids have the same reading levels as one another. I like this because it is effective, and it gives students a chance to interact with one another. She sometimes uses a smart board to help her students learn math, and this is great because it lets the students learn in a fun effective way. I hope to have a smart board in my future classroom as it is useful for many things. Also, I found it very interesting how she incorporates Nintendo DS’s into her class with educational games. She has a very organized and willing to learn classroom, and it is amazing because it is only a grade one class and it is harder for them to grasp the concepts of learning. A paradigm that I hope to incorporate into my future was stated by Darren Kuropatwa. He says when learning something; watch it, do it, teach it, share it, and publish it. This is a great thing to teach your students to do, because they are taking what they have learned and sharing it with others. I thought it was incredible when he said that his students don’t read a book, but they write a book. They do this by stringing their blogs together, and with these blogs they create the textbook for the course. This really stood out to me and it is something that I would like to incorporate into my class. Personally, I find that it is fantastic when students will share what they know or what they have learned with other students. Also doing this helps to show the teacher that the students have learned something, and when they share this with their classmates it shows teamwork. He had some great ideas about the classroom, and I hope to use what he told me in my future class.

After reading the article by Will Richardson about You Need to Be “Clickable” and I agree that being clickable can either be a good or bad thing! I find it important that we should be the authors of our lives, and not let others do this for us. People may try to Google you one day, and of course you want them to see positive things about you, not negative things. If others see bad things about you, then they are liable to assume bad things about you and judge you before even meeting you. Will makes a good point by stating that when you are clickable then you are connected with other. This is very true and it can be a very good thing because other people can find you, and help teach you, or even learn with you! I find it to be a good thing to be clickable to others, simply because you can connect with others in a positive way. There are already many tools such as diigo and facebook that help connect others, and just being a part of these networks makes you clickable on Google. Connecting with others is important because you can share your ideas with others, and in the process you may learn or help others learn new things. Although for some people it is not good to be clickable simply because there might not be good things about you on the internet.  I hope to keep myself clickable to others, and have nothing but positive things about myself over the web!

After watching the youtube video about your digital dossier it helped me think more about my digital identity. This video shows that one’s digital file will constantly grow as that person grows. Someone’s digital identity starts before you are born because when in the womb a sonogram is taken, and this may then be posted on a website such as facebook or flickr as part of a welcoming process. When in the hospital the barcode that a newborn has states information about them such as their surname, their gender, the time of birth, etc. Then as you grow there is pictures that are captured and spread through the internet. As you grow, you will constantly be providing information about yourself when joining various sites on the web. When getting older and using credit or debit cards, your purchases are know with the date, the time, etc. Today, you can even be tracked because of the GPS that is in your cell phone, because the services provided can know where you are, and how many times you have been there. Also, throughout life you are constantly filmed by security cameras. The data that defines you is collected by various companies and agencies, and they collect and store this, and they make your identity before you are able to shape it. Watching and learning about this was surprising, because I truly did not understand all the aspects behind digital identity. I Googled myself, and did not find very much which is always a good thing . When I searched my name I did not find anything bad, and the types of things that I found relating to my name were on the ECMP 355 website, facebook, diigo, and some articles about my curling victories. I was pleased with these results, and I thought it would be fun to put out a Google alert with my name so I did! Before learning about this, I was not very cautious about the information that I was letting others know. I am glad that we learned more about this, because it just shows you should be careful about the information you give out about yourself.