Optional: Coming Trends

After reading the summaries and overviews for each of the six trends outlined in the 2011 Horizon Report, which one do you think will have the biggest impact on teaching? Why?

Also, which one are you most excited about coming to fruition (i.e., actually happening)? Why?

Your own response to this prompt is optional, but if it is completed it should be completed by midnight on Monday, 05 March 2012. Note that in addition to the entry responding to this prompt on your own blog this week, you are also encouraged to comment on your fellow students' blogs (at least those that elect to complete this optional entry).

Judging the Quality of Wikis

There have been many opinions about the use of resources like Wikipedia in the classroom. Some teachers refuse to accept information from students when their source is Wikipedia, while others are more than happy to allow their students to use it as an authoritative source. A group of scholars even examined the issue of the accuracy of Wikipedia.

At the heart of it, Wikipedia is a wiki that anyone can contribute to and anyone can change. How do you view Wikipedia as a resource for your students? Why?

In addition to the entry responding to this prompt on your own blog this week, please respond to at least two of your fellow students' blogs.

Your own response to this prompt should be posted by midnight on Friday, February 24th, 2010. Your comments on other students' blogs should be completed by midnight on Monday, February 27th, 2010.

Building Your RSS Reader

Using a site like http://blogsearch.google.com/ or http://technorati.com/ search for blogs that might be of interest to you based upon your own teaching background (e.g., grade levels, students, geographic location, subject area, etc.).

Select three (3) of these blogs to add to your RSS reader (and feel free to select more than three if you find others that are of interest to you).

Write an entry to your blog by Monday, February 20th, 2012 that lists the three blogs you have selected, the address for each of these three blogs, and a sentence or two about why you selected to follow them. Please include more than something to the effect of, "It was a blog about using technology in elementary school." or "It was about teaching high school mathematics in an urban area." There are dozens, if not hundreds or thousands of blogs that meet those criteria. Why did you pick that specific one? What about it caught our attention and/or interest?

There is no requirement to comment on others' blog entries this week.

Optional - Generations Wrap-up

One semester, while I was teaching this course, The New York Times had an article on intra-generational gaps. While we've discussed gaps between generations, the article cites research from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life project that uncovers the differences in technology use with young adults 3-4 years apart.

Read the article and discuss the ramifications of teachers having to essentially play by a "new set of rules" every 3-4 years because the students they see today could function quite diffferently than the students they see in 2014. You may want to include several of the following bullet points in your discussion:

• Do you believe that this is the case?
• If so, why do you think this pace is accelerating?
• Can you think of anything that you do differently than a slightly older/younger sibling?
• What are some advantages and disadvantages of this phenomenon?
• Since more people will have read this article instead of our readings that try to refute some of the generational studies, what would you say to a friend, colleague, administrator, public official, or a presenter at a conference who uses this article as a justification for their program or legislation?

To read the article visit http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/weekinreview/10stone.html

In addition to the entry responding to this prompt on your own blog this week, please comment on your fellow students' blogs.

Your own response to this prompt should be posted by midnight on Friday, February 3, 2012. Your comments on other students' blogs should be completed by midnight on Monday, February 6, 2012.

References:
Stone, B. (2010, January 9). The children of cyberspace: Old fogies by their 20's. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/weekinreview/10stone.html

Generation Me

In reading the Prensky items last week, it seemed that one or both of the descriptions provided for digital natives spoke to you and how you see your students. This week the Reeves & Oh and Twenge pieces has written examined the research about these so-called generational differences to see what we can say with confidence is actually true about today's student.

Based upon your reading of the Reeves & Oh and Twenge pieces, what do you take away from this whole discussion about generational differences? Having read all four pieces now, which one do you think makes the most sense based on your own students? Does the review of the research conducted by Reeves and Twenge really matter if Howe and Strauss or Prensky got it right in the first place?

In addition to the entry responding to this prompt on your own blog this week, please make a comment on two of your fellow students' blogs.

Your own response to this prompt should be posted by midnight on Friday, 27 January 2012. Your comments on other students' blogs should be completed by midnight on Monday, 30 January 2012.

Digital Natives

This week you've been introduced to some of the literature concerning today's students - who people think they are, what characteristics, they have, etc. Does any of what you read sound like your students?

For your blog entry this week, I'd like you to reflect on what these two authors have said. How have each of the author's described YOUR students? What have each of the authors said that doesn't describe your students at all? Are there any characteristics, traits or behaviors of your students that none of these authors have even mentioned? Basically, how do you students compare to what these authors have to say?

In addition to the entry responding to this prompt on your own blog this week, please make a comment on at least two of your fellow students' blogs.

Your own response to this prompt should be posted by midnight on Friday, 20 January 2011. Your comments on other students' blogs should be completed by midnight on Monday, 23 January 2012.

Introduce Yourself

To begin your first entry, provide us with a short description of where you teach, what classes you teach, what your students are like there, etc.. Remember that some of us, myself as probably the prime example, may not be familiar with all the different areas of Michigan (and possibly outside of Michigan) so the more information you can tell us about your school and the students that you teach, the better our interactions will be as the course progresses. Also include some information about yourself, such as what program you are in, what degree you are pursuing.

This entry should be completed by the end of the day on Sunday, 15 January 2012.