Digital Learning Communities

This post is covering two subjects: Social Bookmarking and Digital Learning Communities (DLC)

  

 Social Bookmarking is basically a way to store and share resources! I prefer to use Pearl Tree. Using a curator site allows you to organize and file the sites that you find beneficial as well as see who looks at your folders and shares them too. Most sites, like Pearl Tree, allow you to create a shortcut up beside your omnibox - that way when you are on the site you can just press the button and save the site into your resources.
The photo to the right is my dashboard on Pearl Tree, my social bookmarking site.

The second thing I want to address is Digital Learning Communities (DLC). I LOVE my DLC's! My top 5 are:
 1.Instructional Technology Integrator and Coaches.
2. Google Art Project
3. Connected Classrooms
4. Makers, Hackers, Artists, and Engineers
5. Photoshop and Lightroom users

Basically with a DLC you are making connections with other people - usually professionals in the same industry or with the same interests. The five I listed above are my favorites because the help me professionally and personally. As an art educator and technology lead teacher I need to stay up on current things - thats just one way these DLC help me. Another things I love is that if something isn't going right or not working in my class - I can post in one of these communities and almost immediately I have advice or fixes that have worked for them. It's so amazing to know that someone possibly on the otherside of the world  has experienced the same thing I am going through and wants to help me be successful! How amazingly awesome!
The best way to get involved in a DLC is to research ones that you like - once you select one make sure to create a post introducing yourself and a little bit about yourself. Then review some of the most recent posts and offer comments, thoughts, suggestions. The more you interact the more successful and beneficial your DLC's will be!

Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship...no wait don't go get your child. Digital citizenship seems to be a term that most people are starting to learn, but think its for young kids to study. WRONG. Its for everyone. Plus I tied this into comics...you know what - go ahead and go get your kiddo, you can both read and benefit.

"With great power, comes great responsibility". That quote from the spiderman comic book series came to mind when I saw a play on words with it used on the Common Sense Media site dealing with digital citizenship. After investigating this site, other sites and reading a few articles - I realized that I wanted my blog post about Digital Citizenship to have a superhero feel to it. Sooooo - being a good digital citizens, instead of googling computer graphic images and just copying and pasting without giving credit, I went to copyright free photo imaging souce called Morgue file and downloaded an image for free. I then went to a great photo editing site call Pic Monkey and added in my words, graphics, and comic book overlays.Now you know the secrets to my cool graphic, you are very welcome.

In my research on Digital Citizenship the three things that really stood out to me were digital access, digital security, and digital etiquette. I intentionally selected the superheros for each word. Let me explain:
Digital Access, as defined by Mike Ribble , basically states that everyone should/deserves to have access to digital resources and that there should be no digital exclusion. Working in a low socio-economic school system, this really hits home to me. It is so frustrating to see the amazing opportunities that other students who are in 1:1 schools systems have at their finger tips. My school has 1 ipad cart. yep. One entire middle school arm wrestling over an ipad cart. I think it is our job as educational leaders/teachers to fight for resources for our students. That fight might be in the form of writing grants or even going to local businesses to have them offer funding. I would like to see the wall of digital access SMASHED (get it? because HULK SMASHES) down and more equatable situations.
Digital Security is my second most important digital citizenship quality. Superman represents this aspect. DUH, I mean what is more secure and steadfast than superman? well assuming you aren't Lois Lane waiting for him to come home for dinner.
I don't think anyone can stress enough the importance of security when on the web. Not only can people access your personal information they can access you and your loved ones. Just today I had a student in my class walk over toward my computer with their phone and cord in hand. He said "Mrs. J - I am going to plug my phone in and let it charge on your computer". I responded to him with "Student Name, I happen to like my job so I need you not to do that, please." As he looked at me funny I asked him where had his phone been this week? He responded with "my pocket". I laughed and said "no not physically, cyberally?" (yes I think I just made up that word - its mine - and I thought I would never contribute to the tech industry). I continued on to explain to the student that I had no idea where he had been on that phone and that he could have picked up a virus that he then by plugging into my computer would share with the entire school system. No thanks buddy, I like to eat.
Lastly for me in regards to digital citizenship is Digital Etiquette. Just like in life, how you act depends on the setting you are in at the time. Your church voice and mannerisms are going to be drastically different than your Saturday football game approach. In fact, I believe in church you will be apologizing for the things you said about your teams coach and his mama the day before. Just like in a parent teacher conference meeting - it would be unacceptable for you to sit in silence and just watch, never contributing to the goal of the meeting. That same principle goes for online communities that you are involved in. You need to participate and contribute toward the goal. Also your presentation of your electronic self is important. How tense do you get when you receive an EMAIL IN ALL CAPS? I immediately go into "ohhhhhh nooooo sheeee didn't mode" before I even know what the content or gist of the email was about. You have to remember that you cant tell tone or feeling online and stay calm. That is why I used Captain America to represent this trait. He always seems to stay calm and gather his facts first before acting.

Hopefully my three most important digital citizenship traits help you in your quest to navigate online!

Creating a Blog

Creating a blog has always seemed, to me, rather pompous. Forget the fact that I am not an incredible writer. I never have been. Some people express themselves through the written, I mean typed, word. I express myself through my art. Just let me post a picture or a graphic of the point I am trying to get across. Even forgetting all that I still have always wondered, why bother with a blog? Who am I that anyone would take the time to read my daily musings? More really, who am I to think I should push my internal thoughts out onto the world?
Are my short and witty facebook posts or my perfecly hashtagged twitter posts not enough?
Apparently not.  I say that because more and more companies, schools, and organizations want links to my blog. They want to know what I think and how I present myself to world.
So my resume isn't enough? My verbal representation to the many questions regarding my philosophies and reactions to hypothetical nonsensical situations weren't enough to show that I have what it takes to complete the task?
Not anymore.
In a world that is now lived online - I as an educator, even a poorly written one, have to be one step ahead. How can I prepare my students for these same demands if I can't perform them myself?
I have to be able to wield the mighty pen, scratch that, the mighty keypad and model for my students the expectations of this digital world.
Online portfolios of writing samples and musings are a must. So here I go - embarking on getting myself up to date with online teaching and the Georgia Virtual Learning TOOL course. So now I will be blogging my experience and my thoughts as I move forward.
I'm not sure if I should apologize to you all for having to endure the typed musing to come or if I should just laugh and say "eh, could be worse". I know I have read many a blog that hooked me in with just a few sentences that by the end I was thinking, we should gather all the readers of this blog and form a class action lawsuit against the blogger for wasting our time, emotional distress and all that jazz.
Hopefully that won't happen to me! Sorry for the irresponsible use of commas and unending sentences.