Journal 4: "If You Give a Kid a Video Camera . . .;"

Campbell, L. O. (2012). If you give a kid a video camera. Living and Learning, 30-33. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/February-2012.asp
   
     I really love the idea of using video cameras in the classroom. I think it is a great way for students to work together and also share with each other their findings. I feel like this would open conversation in the classroom and also provide room for feedback from other students. I think that video recording makes children want to be more creative about what they are doing. This would result in greater understanding of the material because the student was actively engaged and interested in the material. It is something that they would remember for more than just a few weeks. I like the idea of using the camera for all subjects; no matter what the curriculum is, a teacher could find a way to incorporate the video cameras.
    My questions were how would I keep children responsible for the video cameras? The article addressed that by explaining that the children would check out/in the video cameras each time.  Many classrooms and school libraries have video cameras or ipod/ipads for rent with parent/guardian approval.  By checking out equipment, the school can keep track of the cameras and children can be monitored.
    My next question is what if there was damage from a student to the camera? Would the student/parent be held responsible for the fund to repair or replace the camera? I can see there being a problem with funding for the cameras themselves as well as who is held responsible for cost of repairs.  In order to check out equipment, parents/guardians would need to have signed a permission form stating they would be responsible for any damages.

Journal 3: "Infographics More than Words Can Say"

Krauss, J. (2012, 2). More than words can say, infographics. Learning and Leading, 10-14. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201202?pg=12&pm=2&fs=1

      The article was not very informative to me however it was intriguing.  I felt like the article defined what info infographics are, but did not give much more information.  The example given in the article was not very descriptive of what exactly infographics are or how it can help interpret information.

Q: What exactly are infographics? 
 Luckily, at the end of the article there were sources listed where a reader can get more information.  I followed that information and found David McCandless' TED video and website. 
After watching his video I have a much greater understanding and love for infographics.  McCandless explained (and I agree) that we are lost in information; we have an information overload and its difficult to decipher what it all means.  Data is wonderful but we need to be able to compare data sets to each other for more true answers.

Q: How can one use infographics in the classroom?
Infographics allow one to give ideas and concepts without having to read much text in between the data.  Being able to relate two sets of data is what brings us information.  Only knowing one set of data can be very misleading.  Infographics are a way of organizing and designing data to solve our information problems.  I think its great that we can incorporate other means of getting information to students who are kinesthetic or visual learners rather than auditory learners.

Technology Self-Assessment: School 2.0

A2.a. Digital-Age Learning Culture - ensure instructional innovation focused on continuous improvement of digital-age learning

NETS-Ts #1: Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity

I watched a very inspiring TED video.  The speaker was Ken Robinson.  He explained that human creativity is something that we need to nourish in our schools.  He explains that our western education system is focused only on science and math, which is only a part of intelligence.  He also makes an important point that we are having to educate children based on what we think the world will be like in the next 10, 15, 20 years.   Instead of telling children they are wrong or not doing something right we need to let them take chances and explore themselves.  They are not frightened of being wrong until we get them in the classroom.  We need to tell our children that its ok to be wrong, we are educating our children our of creativity.  Once in school they are expected to study the typical subjects like math science and history.  In those areas there is a right and a wrong, not room for abstract thought or creativity.  There is a hierarchy of subjects and the arts are at the bottom.  I would like to see drama, dance, music, art, gardening, and cooking.   With the exception of excellent teachers and schools, Ken Robinson is right, schools, are killing creativity.  

Journal 1-100 things that bring me HappYness

1. the beach
2. watermelon
3. holidays
4. coffee
5. music
6. blink-182
7. tom delonge
8. greek dancing
9. Madrid
10. Greece
11. Italy
12. friends and family
13. water
14. waterfalls
15. chocolate covered strawberries
16. the Chargers
17. a Chargers win
18. my education
19. traveling
20. new adventures
21. succeeding in something
22. summer
23. composting
24. gardening
25. Shakespeare
26. Vegan food
27. Nutrition
28. Yoga
29. Yoga Tropics
30. Hot Yoga
31. Jason Mraz
32. Death Cab for Cute
33. Swimming
34. Convertibles
35. Encintias
36. Walking barefoot
37. Customers at the bank
38. vacations
39. being able to walk instead of drive
40. living near the beach
41. going to concerts
42. pedicures
43. Alicia Silverstone
44. The Kind Life
45. Friends
46. Seinfeld
47. Ellen Degeneres
48. Oprah
49. Yoga pants
50. flip flops
51. strawberries
52. Manzanilla Olives
53. Cheese!
54. Mac N Cheese
55. Ginger Green Tea
56. Smoothies
57. Finding yummy ways to eat Kale
58. Knowing I wont have to work at the bank much longer
59. Live music
60. Concerts
61. Piano
62. Violin
63. Saul Williams poetry
64. sunflowers
65. farmers markets
66. ants on a log
67. girraffs
68. rain
69. bonfires
70. candles
71. my pink customized water bottle
72. comedians
73. accomplishing a to-do list
74. Cadiz
75. Spain
76. metro/subway
77. nice, friendly, sincere people
78. roommates
79. animals
80. sailing
81. Will Smith movies
82. volunteering
83. documentaries
84. reading
85. fruits
86. vegetables
87. New York City
88. living in San Diego
89. My support system
90. learning a language
91. butterflys
92. linguistics
93. creating something artistic
94. hiking
95. love
96. chai tea
97. green tea
98. Moroccan mint tea
99. contacts
100. winter

Journal 2

Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock!. Learning and Leading, 12-14. Retrieved from
            http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20100607?pg=1search_term=join
            the flock

Miller, S. M. (2010). Enhance your twitter experience. Learning and Leading, 14-17. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20100607?pg=14&search_term=join the flock

The article by Ferguson makes me want to use twitter for every aspect of my life; personal and professional.  She is very inspiring and encouraging.  There are still many aspects of twitter I do not fully understand like the hashtag (#) and the lists however I am confident I will figure it out and find it helpful in sorting information I want to receive. Ferguson explains that she has two separate twitter accounts; one for personal use and one for professional use.  Although on first thought this seems like a good idea, I think I would be too confused, constantly tweeting from the wrong account, and not able to keep my accounts straight.

Miller’s article recommended the use of a Twitter organizer like www.hootsuit.com or www. tweetdeck.com to manage lists and friends.  She also provides some terminology that was useful to someone like me who is unfamiliar with twitter.

Question: How do I familiarize myself with hashtags and how do I sort what hashtags I see?
      I understand that the hashtag is a way to search for similar information. If I want to talk about my favorite band I can use their name in a hash tag, #blink182.  You can search any phrase on the twitter homepage and all relevant tweets will be shown.  You can also see the trending, or most popular hash tags up to the minute. 

Question: What other professionals are utilizing twitter professionally?
     After some simple searching I found actors promoting upcoming movies, musicians releasing concert news and CD releases, sportscasters with the latest player info, writers and artists sharing their creative work, and cooks and chefs supplying you with a healthy and quick dinner recipe.  All the above professionals are using Twitter professionally.