Teaching Digital Citizenship, is a term that covers a whole bunch of important issues. Mainly it’s the guidelines for responsible, appropriate behavior while on the internet. It’s an overwhelming array of skills to be taught and topics to explore. Students need to be active, creative, knowledgeable and ethical. The biggest problem is that when students are on line they are not engaging in ethical thinking. A lot of what kids are doing and saying on the internet is ugly, its a way that young people are able to talk badly and get away with it. So what do parents and teachers do to stop this? Take the internet away, lock the kids in the house and not let them have any contact unless you know who and what they are doing all the time? No, that is not the answer, I’m not saying that parents and teachers can’t limit their children on what sites they visit completely or what the kids will be saying when they are on these sites but we need to teach our children exactly how to use the internet to their benefit. Not to poison somebody else while they are using the websites. Most parents feel that they are pretty responsible parents but most don’t even realize that their child is on these cites. Of course I believe in checking up on my child, being friends with them on the cites that they are on but also having access to their passwords in order to check on the children. But I think the most important thing to teach are children actually how to communicate effectively and ethically on the internet. Be a positive role model to your children and all children that may be on the internet.
I googled myself, I didn’t realize that my name, phone number, address, and people I may be related to would show up, it also showed all the different accounts that I am associated with. I also then googled my husband, which was right under my name on the search, it even said that my husband would not be notified that he had been googled. Anyone could google you and find out personal information that could maybe at one point do harm to you. I don’t like that when you google people you can get access to exactly where they are located. I believe there should be a way to stop that information from being on the internet.
independent learning project
the last couple weeks which is cited to take a break from the houses were modeling and work on our own house. we needed to create a third bedroom for our middle son. so we had an area in the back of our house off our dining room that can be made into a bedroom. what we have to do with tear the wall down that was already there moving out 4 foot, and then rebuild the wall. no maybe you would think that would be easy, well technically it really wasn’t that hard time consuming yes. so the first step that we had to do was tear down the wall that was very easy. before we could finish tearing down the wall because it is a loadwearing wall, we had to make sure that we had the new wall support beam up. so we measured uncut and was able to get that load bearing support beam up. next then we had to line two by fours 16 inches apart to complete the wall. that is all that we got done for the first week.
personal learning project
Our ne
xt project was a bathroom, now this bathroom was so filthy that I had to completely scrub it clean using all kinds of bleach before we could even get started in remodeling it. we had to replace the toilet, the floor, and we had to repaint the whole thing. first off I started with painting the whole bathroom, and if you have ever painted in a small area like a small bathroom you know it is not very easy and it is not very ventilated. so when I was painting I had to make sure that after I got a wall done I left the room for a while that way you don’t get sick from the fumes. this took me a couple days to do because I had to do 2 coats some places I had to do even 3 because it was so stained and gross. after all the painting was finished my husband pulled the toilet up which actually is a very easy process you just make sure the water is shut off, and then really all you have to do is unhook the lines and undo the bolts. he did replace the toilet with a brand new one that would actually flush now. when we were all done with that we decided to tile the floor using ceramic tile, the first thing you need to do is make sure the floor is clean, you do not want any dirt or rocks or trash on the floor while you are doing this. then the easiest way to do this if your floor is not cement or level you need to lay cement board, you cut it to fit and then you have your subfloor down. after we did that then we started tiling, now the lady that we were doing this for did not want to go buy brand new tile, so she used used tiles that somebody else had so we had the several mismatched, so all we had to do was make a pattern. well I have done this several times I love coming up with new ways to create something a new look. now in order to do ceramic tile you have to have a tile cutting wet saw, you start in one corner and work your way out of the area some of the stones don’t have to be cut which is a plus but you do have to cut around the toilet and sink and sometimes even around the bathtub to make sure they all fit. you also have to use the paste that is for ceramic tile to get it glued down. now after you have done this you need to not walk on this for at least 24 hours, and then you can come back in and grout it. make sure when you’re picking a grout that you get the color that will match the stones, and then you just make sure that you get enough grout in these areas in between the stones, and then make sure you don’t walk on this for another 24 to 48 hours.
independent learning project
in the house we are remodeling, the lady really wanted shelfs put in where there was an old heater wall heater put in. so we had to disconnect all of the cords and take out the old heater. after we were able to accomplish this we measured for the size of the shelf that would be needed. we put two by sixes around the edges and stain them well first we had to sand them.then secondly we measured for the shelfs to be put into the wall. it was an extremely easy project all there is to it is getting the amount of boards that you need, making sure you have the color of stain you want and having sandpaper. all in all this project only took us just a short amount of time a few hours, most people could do this project if they have the right tools. you of course have to have I saw, tape measure and the level. I’m going to see if I can post pictures.
PLN’s
Personal learning network, is creating a “group” in your twitter account. Finding people that interest you and share the same interests, like teaching. I believe the hardest thing about growing your pln is finding people that you want to follow. Personal Learning Networks, have been around for a very long time. They started out for just your family and friends, maybe other people you worked with, or people that shared your interest. Personal learning networks can include tons of different communities – social networking sites like Facebook, blogs, Twitter, wikis, social bookmarking tools, LinkedIn, and so many more. Basically, anyone that you interact with is apart of your PLN, whether they are social contacts, professional peers, or experts in their field. Most of the learning takes place on-line now, because it is simple to find and connect with others with similar interests from all over the world. People communicating online is the easiest way of finding and sharing information and if you ask for it the group will gibe you feedback on ideas and projects that could help you do what you need to do. I will be using my personal learning network for education, here are some ways that educators are using their PLNs:
– Professional development – learn from content-area specialists
– Locate resources for your classroom, such as free websites and software
– Get lesson plan ideas from master teachers
– Learn about new technology and how to integrate it into your teaching
– Find collaborative solutions
– Find interesting links to education news
I think the best thing with personal learning networks would be that you could to chat and get feed back from all kinds of different people from all over the world.
pictures from independent project 1 & 2
Here are the pictures from my first independent project when we were installing the drywall.
the next project that we did an independent project was replacing the floor joists.
I will post pictures of the finished project but we didn’t quite get the floor done so have to save it for another time.
independent project week 3
This week for the independent project we had to take out the old windows and replace with new. Thankfully it was a warm day and we were able to get it done in this house we are remodeling we have7 upstairs windows and then we have 3 basement windows and two egres windows downstairs also. This weekend we replaced two of the windows upstairs in the bedroom.
first of all to remove the window you remove all trim around it inside and out.next you remove the glass sliders, then you will remove the frame.Installation of a double hung window that fits approximate spaceyou’ll notice for holes on the inside of the new frame you placed shims beside the holes to make it tight and fit in place.You screwscrews into the screw holes in the frame and the shams into the studs. You will then repeat this process for all four of the holes. next you will spray foam insulation in all the holes in the gaps make sure that the foam insulation is for Windows.this process will take approximately 1 hour to dry. Then the next step is to trim the excess film that has expanded over the edge.the last and final step will be to place the trim back around the window of inside and out. Now you have replaced the window and now we get to repeat this what 11 more times I think.
Passion is the key to teaching
Passion based learning, an article about how you need to have passion for what you are teaching that child. I never thought about having passion about every thing that you teach but I think that is the key to being a successful teacher. One of the key statements that popped out at me was “How does this look to someone if they are seeing this for the first time?” Teach with passion and with patience. What if you were to teach and not show passion for what you teaching, how would students become interested in that subject? You have to teach like you absolutely love what you are teaching, it wouldn’t matter what the subject was, even it isn’t your favorite thing to teach. For example if you were to make a meal at home that is not that appetizing to you, you would not tell your children that it wasn’t your favorite thing to eat, you would make it sound like the best food in the world. Otherwise your children might not even want to try it if you make it sound not the best thing in the world. It is the same as teaching, if you want your students to have passion for learning you have to make it sound the best thing in the world. Vulnerability is something that all teachers need to teach but it does not mean a loss of power, it means that you can go down to their level and teach something new to a student so they can understand and want to learn the new materials. It said to take on a new learning posture with your students by telling a story about what your going to teach, or by showing why it is so amazing to know the new information. Get in touch with your inner geek. I thought this was very funny when I read this, but then the next sentence says it will allow your students to do the same thing. If you can make your students passion learning, it will influence the rest of their life, they will always be hungry to learn to things. I wish I would of had a teacher that had passion for teaching, I might of cared when I was in elementary school or even middle school or high school but I didn’t and I had to find my own passion in learning when I finally became a college student. Wouldn’t it be amazing if children came home from school and couldn’t wait to tell their parents all that they had learning that day. My children come home and when asked what they did that day or what they learned they say nothing, it was boring. I don’t want that for my children or anybody else’s either. I can’t wait to start teaching and make a difference in children’s lives.
Independent-Learning Project Week 2
This week we had to fix the hole in the floor, first we had to fix the joist in the floor, So we headed down to the basement to where the problem was. Ok the first step was to take out all the damaged wood, including sill plate and joist buttress in which we had already done that. So then we measure for the sill plate and the joist buttress, cut them, then we treat them with fiber cement. First we have to put them together before we can put them in place. To install you screw them to the joist that has been removed or shortened. Now we take floor joist that overlap at least 6ft but really should overlap to the center support. Screw them directly to the existing floor joist, have one end on the sill plate and the other on the center support by at least 4 in. The buttress end of the joist must be toenailed screwed in to the buttress. So now all the joist are in place. So now we can go upstairs to focus on the hole in the middle of the floor. We have to measure the hole and cut 3/4in plywood to fit exactly in spot to cover the hole in the floor as the subfloor. Now we need a 1/4in wafer board to act as a spacer to bring next 3/4in flooring level with the floor to be ready for the new flooring that we are going to be laying in the next few weeks.
More possiblilities for children
I really enjoyed the article “what’s on your refrigerator”, I know as a mother I have had plenty of art work come home or a well deserved A+ paper brought to me to hang on my refrigerator. My children are very proud and want it to have the recognization that it deserves. I always feel guilty when I have to put one of those papers away because my refrigerator can not hold anymore. I love the idea of the clothes hanger with clothes pins on it, you could display all of the papers and artwork for a longer period. In the article ” allowing (and accepting) students choices is hard” really gets to me, my children get horribly bored with school and I think a lot of that is because they don’t have a choice on any of the subject matter of how they are taught. I believe students would have a good opinion on this subject because if they were able to be in on the “how, why, and when” something is taught they would be more interested in it and want to learn. For instance my sons school believes it is best to teach all the core classes in the morning because they think the students will make sure they are at school on time and ready to learn. I have to agree with my son, he feels that he is tired in the morning and would like a class that he doesn’t have to concentrate so hard in to make sure he makes the good grades. Don’t get me wrong I think all the classes that are offered at school are important just some are “more important”. As kids get older I believe they should have more choices, I mean my son is a Junior and he doesn’t get to pick very many of his classes ( he goes to a very small school) when I told him that he will get to pick most of his classes at college and that he will probably only have 4 or 5 he was extremely surprised. He figured it was just like high school where everything was just laid out for you. Hacking your schooling was very interesting, I feel like that teenager really is on to understanding what kids need these days. Being happy is the one that sticks out to me, my kids don’t like school, they go because they have to. I wish that they would want to go and learn but school is not about making the children happy, its about teaching them, trying to get as much education to stick with them that is absolutely possible.
aimeed2 