10 Questions

As a class in Integrating Tech, we're compiling survey questions to ask students about their online habits. Assuming that demographic questions will be asked, here are the ten I'd want asked:

1)  How much time do you spend on the internet? Daily? Weekly?
2)  How much of that online time are you on social media sites including, but not limited to, facebook, twitter, blogging platforms, etc? Daily? Weekly?
3)  At what age did you first start regularly using the internet?
4)  Do you have your own computer with internet access? If so, at what age did you get it?
5)  Do you use facebook? If so, what do you primarily use facebook for?
6)  Do you ever feel anxious if you are unable to check a social networking site?
7)  Do you ever use social networking sites to help with productivity? If so, how?
8)  How many friends do you have on facebook?
9)  Of the "friends" you have on facebook, how many of them are people you regularly encounter and talk to   in real life?
10) Of the "friends" you have on facebook, how many of them are people you have never physically met?

Wikis in the Classroom, you say?!

I've actually had a few classes that have had class "wikis," but they've all been very helpful.  Wikis can be a one-stop-shop for information on projects, syllabi, class notes, and discussion. Students who may be too shy to speak up in class or too late to add their input before discussion moves on can use online wikis to add their two-cents and participate. People (like myself) who sometimes find my mind wandering during lectures can refer back to course wikis when I've missed something important or didn't fully understand what was said in class.

Below are a few resources I've found when searching for "wikis in the classroom" and similar searches. I've posted my favorites. Peruse, if you so wish.

Five Strategies for Using Wikis in the Classroom

Wiki Walk-throughs

10 Best Practices for Using Wikis in Education



Results of "Social Media and YOU!" survey

For class, we were asked to conduct a survey via our friends on facebook, twitter, wordpress, etc. on people's social media habits. Here's my survey and results:

Social Media and YOU!

Graphs and Charts on the survey

My personal favorite question was if people thought social media helped or hurt productivity. A lot of interesting answers. I think that, if used correctly, social media can really help someone be very productive, but I do understand how it can be more easily used as a distraction. Oh Facebook, thou cur! Thou double-edged sword!

Internet Research

1) What are some of the findings in the Pew Report that intrigued you?


I wasn't terribly surprised by anything that the Pew Report had to say.  When it came out in 2007, I was a senior in high school, and the findings seemed to be on par from what I remember.  All my close friends had a myspace or facebook, but the ones who seemed to use it more frequently to communicate were the girls, like the Pew Report said.  They were more likely to jump to facebook instead of myspace, since facebook was a bit friendlier with photo uploading which you could tag friends in pictures.  I remember guys trying to talk to me more on myspace to flirt or date, which also goes along with the Pew Report's findings.


2) What are some of the behaviors displayed by the teens in the videos that intrigued you?

What mostly intrigued me was the number of "hits" both videos had received.  Neither video was terribly interesting or comical or informative.  Sexman is simply going on about a "girl fight" that was "kick-ass" while Boxxy rambles on about her name and how she has a crush on some boy she meant on a game server. The interesting part is how nonchalant and easy the teens are talking to a camera to post to thousands, if not millions, of viewers.  Neither seem especially "cool" or that they would be "cool" in a more average social setting.  Sexman has some serious braces work and seems to be in the middle of puberty.  Boxxy is also awkward because of her constant fidgeting and her inability to focus on anything she is talking about.  Yet both of these videos seem to have a following of people who would never have had the opportunity to see or hear these individuals if not for youtube.

3) What were your results from this quiz? Were you surprised? Why or why not?   

I was a "digital collaborator.  The summary of what that means was: 

If you are a Digital Collaborator, you use information technology to work with and share your creations with others. You are enthusiastic about how ICTs help you connect with others and confident in your ability to manage digital devices and information. For you, the digital commons can be a camp, a lab, or a theater group – places to gather with others to develop something new,

 I'm not surprised by this outcome too much.  I do go on the internet multiple times a day for work, school, student organizations, games, social sites, news sites, and to create my own work.  I blog to practice my writing skills as well as to run the student club "The Media Underground."  Neither are very good since I'm new to the "blogging" thing, but I hope with time I will improve and can use them as writing samples for future jobs.


I'm incredibly awed by the whole "internet-thing" because of all the possibilities that come with it.  The riots and protesting in Egypt right now are happening because of people organizing on facebook.  Social networking and internet forums build communities and publics that otherwise wouldn't exist.  These publics are capable of influencing government, creating social change, or simply entertaining us.  The power of the internet is just stunning.

Reflection on Lesson Plan #1

What I learned for designing this first lesson plan was...

I learned a very organized format for writing up lesson plans.  I've never written one before and had no idea where one would begin.  I've seen "templates" for lesson plans online, but they pretty much seemed useless, with a box labeled "MONDAY" with a little space to write out what you'd do, and then it'd move on to "TUESDAY."  Getting up and teaching students is daunting enough, but not being prepared seems terrifying.  I realized I design plans as units, trying to think of different ways to tie in ideas so that everything leads into the next assignment.  It makes lessons seem more interesting to write if I view it as an on-going story in which everything should be relevant to what has already happened.

What I would like to know more about lesson plans...

Concept maps were very interesting, but I'd like other ideas like that to work into lesson plans.  Like I've said before, this was the first plan I've ever made, so I'm not overly sure what else one could do with the lesson plan format rather than just changing what is discussed in class or the assignments.  I think to keep students' attention, at least half of the assignments should be interesting if not fun, so ways to keep attention and interest up would be very beneficial to learn.  What you think that students should have straight access to my lesson plan, or a separate syllabus written up for them, specifically?  Or maybe something else for students to look at would be helpful?  Are there times where teachers should "hide" what is coming up in the semester (besides pop-quizzes) or should students know exactly what they will be working on next?

Lesson Plans Using Assessment Strategies

Here are links to sites that outline lesson plans and ways to assess them. As an English major, I'm drawn towards plans that emphasis creative writing, good writing skills, or understanding and critical analysis of literature.

What is Good Writing?
I like this site the best.  It give students rubrics to be aware what was expected of them

The Power of Fiction

You Can't Handle the Truth: WebQuest on the Crucible

Assessing Learning

3 Links about assessing learning:

Teacher Vision
I liked teacher vision because it has many different methods of assessing learning and education.  If one method doesn't seem effective or useful, teachers can look at other methods and see examples or references.

Defining and Assessing Learning
This is a bit more arduous to get through, but it has statistics and goes indepth into what learning is and why assessing it is important. 

Multiple Intelligences and Education
I thought that the previous websites didn't take into account the theory of "multiple intelligences" appropriately for assessment. It's interesting to think of how assessment can extend past essays and tests when multiple intelligences are taken into consideration.