Reflection on PLN

I definitely found the Personal Learning Network Activities very beneficial. I felt the Active Learning strategy presentations were advantageous to be done in a Webinar format. First, it gave us experience in presenting in such a format, knowing what to expect and what not to expect and secondly it allows for flexibility and shows us ways to reach our peers when we can not be in the same place.

I appreciate the weekly blogging with our peers, since collaborating with each other was one of the most beneficial tools of Clinical Studies. Such collaboration creates a support group and inspiring us with new ideas. I would have preferred it to be on Diigo which I feel is a better Web 2.0 tool than Blogger. After 16 weeks I still haven't figured out this program entirely. How do you copy and paste into your blog tried everything even shortcuts!!!! ? I feel Diigo is much more user friendly.

I am always looking for new ways to use Twitter and would like to research Facebook more since I am friends with many dog rescue groups on Facebook and it has been a great networking tool. I am sure it can do the same for Business Education.

The NBEA Connect tool is beyond beneficial. I wish I would have looked at this more int he beginning of the semester. I responded to a post that expanded my knowledge of Web 2.0 tools and really can use this information in the future. I enjoy incorporating technology into many lessons and so do my students. http://nbeaconnect.ning.com/forum/topics/resource-1 My post on NBEA connect was about a great website , http://www.marketingteacher.com Many many useful resources on this site and ALL IN ONE PLACE!!!!

The podcast I listened to was "Trends in Business and Business Education" by Raj Soin , College of Business , Wright State University. I am constantly telling my students "What's Hot " in business trends right now and where industry predicts future jobs. This podcast was on Itunes and was very informative http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/trends-in-business-business/id428373327

I tried to develop a PLN activity for my students who are doing a create a business project. I felt this would be beneficial for them to share resources with other groups, etc. Unfortunately various blogging programs are blocked at NW. ;-(. So I created my Learning Center for the that group to easily access resources ad the sharing has to be done in the classroom.

Learning Center II

Marketing Learning Center- Introduction to Business

In my Introduction to Business class we are doing chapter work and a project on Marketing. The trifold board in the pictures above was used during the lesson portion to provide a visual to key terms during textbook explanation. I further used the trifold by adding folders placed in front of the board with examples that corresponded with items in their project. For example, in my students' create a business project they are writing a SWOT analysis for their business, one of the folders in front of the trifold was labeled SWOT analysis and provide handouts that furthered clarified the subject and also provided examples of SWOT analyses from businesses such as Burger King, Ben and Jerry's, Pepsi Co, and others. Other folders that were in the learning center provided examples of mission statements, advertising, and applying the 4 P's of marketing from said businesses. As the students worked on components of their projects that would utilize the folders for ideas or they would make sure their portion of their project corresponds to what industry dictates.

The trifold was mobile since I often switch rooms and provided support for the student's projects. They were given a through explanation of how to use the learning center and as you can see in the picture above, when they needed ideas or further clarification they referred to the board and the folders. The eliminated many questions by the student and since I previewed the information it provided more sound examples and examples in accordance to what I am looking for rather then them using the Internet. I also teach this class in a room without Internet at times so this process really worked for the class. The students became very familiar with the board and learned to access it themselves without prompting from me. I noticed a tremendous difference in their examples once they started using the board as a reference. The students also commented on the process being easier than looking all over the Internet, which also saved valuable class time for me to further instruct. The final assessment (summative) will be on the completion and grading of their work, but a formative assessment of watching the students interact with each other and the learning center was utilized daily.

On line learning

I definitely feel online learning has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages and potentially an advantage as well, is that students lose the "social interaction skills" that brick and mortar schools offer. I feel this is a disadvantage and can be an advantage for several reasons. The majority of students need a social element to learning so they learn to be tolerant of others, act appropriately in a group/social setting, and develop essential soft skills. Brick and mortar schools provide opportunities for such interaction , but sometime the interaction could be a downfall to particular students such as those who are severe victims to peer pressure and/ or bullying. I currently have a student, two periods a day, who acts completely different in both classes and it is because of the type of students in the room. He cannot be the studious type that he really is in front of his friends and his grades suffer for it. I know he can do the work and do it well as I see it in my other class, but is victimized by giving into peer pressure to be the "class clown" thus affecting his quality of work and personality. Another advantage I feel to online learning is students are given the opportunity to be more selective with their interests in regards to classes. They can focus on certain subject matter that is realtive to thier chosen career paths. It also allows students to pursue other activities, such as acting, sports etc, while doing school work on a schedule that meets their needs rather than making academics a second priority. Lastly, if the cyber school allows interaction with Web 2.0 tools and not follow the "old school" classroom design, I feel it can be more beneficial if executed correctly. Cyber school needs to have oppportuniites for face to face meetings and extracurricular activities to be extremely effective.

Cell Phone Use in Learning

While I feel there can be many upsides to everyone having cell phones and there are ways to utilize such technology in the classroom, I am going to take a "no" stance on using cell phones in learning at this time. I feel at this point the drawbacks out weigh the benefits. I never really had a problem with students having cell phones on them, especially since my teaching experience began in a collegiate setting and almost everyone had one. When I went into the high school setting at the tech I had to train myself to look for students using cell phones since I already used to seeing students have them.

My personal issues with cell phone use in an educational setting are as follows:

1. The camera. I had a student take pictures of me while I was writing on the board. If it was not for my other students telling me I wouldn't have found out about it. I feel students have a ready available camera at all times can create havoc for us as teachers and for other students. The pictures can be used in a negative way towards teachers and other students.

2. Its distracting. I know myself I am distracted by sending and receiving texts while I am trying to concentration on something and I'm an adult who cares about my work. Not many teens have the discipline to avoid such distractions.

3. Not all students have cell phones, many can't afford them or their parents have prohibited them from having them. I wouldn't want to violate a parent's decision or make a student feel bad if they don not own a cell phone. Often parents have given their kids cell phones in an event of an emergency and using cell phones in class whether it i s texting to post or making a call, can incur charges to the parents. Obviously if you plan on using such items in class, parent permission must be obtained first.

Video Peer Review

I definitely feel there is a value to peer reviewing when used appropriately and by people who have the necessary knowledge to do so. I think peer reviewing before an instructor grades an assignment enables students to help one another and helps to motivate kids who are not giving it there all when they see their peers giving it their all.

Peer reviewing can be difficult because you do not want to offend anyone or hurt their feelings. One practice I do with peer reviewing is not counting the other kids grades, since kids tend to give their friends a better score and those kids they might not like so much a not so good score. I take their peer review into consideration by I am the "expert" on the topic so the grade comes from me (someone experienced ). I especially feel this practice is necessary in college, since I am paying for the opportunity and want the expert opinion.

When it comes to the domains and peer reviewing, I feel it is included because we need to include our students in the decision making process of their education. This helps to self motivate and allows the student to feel they have invested time and interest and we appreciate their opinions and insight. Collaboration with students, whether it is student to student or student with instructor is a very powerful tool in the classroom establishing a culture of intrinsic motivation.

Learning Center- Career Learning Center https://sites.google.com/site/msschmittsbusinessed/career-clusters-learning-center

My learning center is based on career choices and preparing for applying for jobs and the interview process. This learning center is linked to my class website. The student can go on the home page of the class website and click on the Career Learning Center link or in the sidebar on Career Learning Center. This professional development topic is introduced in almost all the business electives and is consistent with the senior graduation project. Some of the students have already asked me to review their resumes and this learning center would be a tremendous help to them. The Learning Center consists of a section on different career cluster choices, which is a topic we discuss in the 7Th grade business explorations class, online resources for finding a job, cover letter, resume, and thank you letter samples and worksheets. It also has a link for an interview preparation guide. The entire learning center has an introductory PowerPoint presentation uploaded on the site, explaining the steps in preparing for a job interview and proper correspondence.

Blog # 3

a. Name and URL: Cool Cat Teacher http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com
The Best 50 schools using social media http://edudemic.com/2010/05/the-best-scholls-using-social-media
b. author and bio: Vicki Davis is a teacher and IT director in Camilla GA. She has created award winning international wikis, has done work in China, and won the 2008 award for the best Edublog. She was featured in Thomas Freidmans book the The World is Flat. She is a fulltime teacher, wife and mother of three.
c. why blog was selected: Social media is usually blocked from classrooms in high schools. I feel if this is the means of communications almost all of our students are using and they have that much interest in it, we should find a way as educators to be able to use it in our classrooms to spark student interest. It is also important to teach our business kids the power of social media in business for profit and nonprofit organizations.
d. posting selected- I choose her post about the social media in the classroom
e. summary and my reaction- I find it very interesting the ideas these schools used to embrace social media in their classrooms and schools as a whole. The article lists 50 schools using social media such as facebook and twitter and some of the ways they use them are incredible. While most of these schools are colleges and universities it provides great ideas how high schools can use social media in lessons and to build a community with their students. One of the schools tweets their menu for the day in their cafeteria, while another used twitter for a trivia challenge. Some simply sent out inspirational quotes for the day. Again i find this very interesting and really engaging for the students.