Reflective Post #9

Tweeting the Night Away: Using Twitter to Enhance Social Presence Summary:

            In the article, we learn how twitter can be used to help enhance the online classrooms to engage students in the missing “social presence.”  Twitter can be used to replace the social interactions that would occur outside of a normal classroom (i.e. passing a professor, talking to classmates, etc.) that wouldn’t happen in an online setting.  The recurring theme made throughout the article is the fact that Twitter is outside of the “classroom” setting to allow more flexibility than tools such as discussion boards or chat rooms that are part of the online system.  The article then points out some other positives that Twitter can offer, like fast responses to questions and setting up meetings outside of class time.  Other benefits include connecting with a professional community, supporting informal learning, and maintaining ongoing relationships.  Possible drawbacks for using Twitter include poor grammar (less than 140 characters), addictive, and time-consuming.  In conclusion, if users establish relevance for students, define expectations, and model effective use, Twitter can be a huge success and enhance the social and cognitive levels of students.

The Design of an Online Community of Practice for Beginning Teachers Summary:

            This article addresses the issue of teachers leaving the profession because they feel overwhelmed with a lack of support.  One way to combat this growing trend has been to provide a mentor teacher to help beginning teachers.  The mentor teachers can help provide guidance and assistance in struggling or under-developed areas for beginning teachers.  Another way beginning teachers can get help is with resources like lesson plans, relevant links, and materials.  EdNA Online is one resource site for beginning teachers to help relieve some stress from lack of materials, lesson plans, etc.  Using mentors, online resources, etc. can help retain teachers in the field and improve student outcomes.

What Parents Want in School Communication Summary:

            Anne O’Brien shows us a survey to help schools build positive relationships with the community and student’s parents.  Parents want the news to be as fast and easily accessible as possible.  This means using online resources to help provide parents with the information they want.  Parents want to be able to access information like: grades, policies, concerns of slipping students, etc. regardless of the child being elementary or secondary.  Again, most parents seem to want the information as soon as it is available to the public, so utilizing emails, websites, etc. is very important amongst community-school communication.

Five Steps to Better School/Community Collaboration Summary:

In the article, we are given five helpful steps to create a strong community-school collaboration to help improve classroom success.  Expanding our vision of school to include community is the first step to improvement in the classroom.  Community members helping in the classroom can help students relate to the information better.  The next step is reaching out to all stake-holders by contacting them and collaborating with them to help meet the needs of students.  Creating a resource map can help students understand the types of resources available outside of the school setting.  Connecting the curriculum to the real-world is another way to help relate the community to the classroom.  Finally, designing a challenge for the community can help promote collaboration amongst students and community members who might otherwise be uninvolved.

Reflection:

            After using Twitter this week (and in a previous class) I think it would be very beneficial to have Twitter discussions with a class.  Building solid relationships outside of a classroom setting can be very beneficial.  With a site like Twitter, you can pull resources from all over to bring to the table.  One drawback for me, would be the fact that I can’t utilize this in my own classroom very well, as kids are “underage” for Twitter usage.  If anyone has any suggestions about this, I’d be willing to hear them.

            Being a second year teacher, I know the struggles that many beginning teachers face in regards to “extra” work.  Some of the programs that are designed to help beginning teachers I feel do more harm than good.  Especially at this point in time, where OTES is being implemented, standards are changing, and testing is changing gears, something like the RE program just adds more unneeded stress.  The premise of the program sounds great, but when you break it down, it is just more “busy” work that the beginning teacher has to go through.  Now don’t get me wrong, there are several areas (reciprocal observations, observations, and discussing lessons) that are beneficial, but for the most part, it is busy work.  Most of the “assignments” were completed in student teaching, and year 1 and year 2 are the exact same thing.  The binder creation is important, but who is checking over these binders?  For most of the work I’m doing outside of the classroom, no one is seeing it except for my mentor and me.  When you finish a year, you complete a piece of paper to send in saying it is completed.  Again, who is looking at your completed work?  It seems to add more stress to beginning teachers and mentors to find time to meet and discuss assignments, observations, and planning on top of the everyday duties of the job.