Whew, what a semester! I will not lie or sugar coat it....this has been a tough semester for me! It was just a combination of things: changing schools and teaching positions, not getting started off on the right foot with grad work, and a large load of grad classwork. I overcame my struggles and dug deep inside to power through it all. Looking back, I learned so much in a short period of time and was exposed to so many different wonderful things that I never had (or forced) the time to do on my own.
This class has forced me to leave my comfort zone and try new things. I opened so many new accounts this semester I had to write down all the passwords because I couldn't remember them! Twitter and Instagram were totally new platforms for me. I now understand both of them, but still feel that what I can do in both separately, I can do in one platform on Facebook. Therefore, I am still searching for answers on that one.
As a reader, the thing that I am most excited about are the Online Book Communities! I did not even know that these existed. Now I can keep track of all my books in one online location.
As a teacher and librarian, I am so excited about podcasts and screencasts! I have already used both in my classroom. Actually, podcasting has SAVED my life the last couple of weeks! I have one student in my class who has oral administration for everything and it is so difficult to do with 19 other children in the room. I always felt like I was not monitoring the other students like I should because I was stuck in a corner, quietly reading so know one else would hear. After learning to make a podcast, I now record all of my tests ahead of time and let the student listen to it has he is testing using headphones. He has complete control and is able to pause it between questions. It has worked beautifully! Thank you for that! I am able to give everyone my attention now that I can podcast!
The most difficult assignment for me was cartoons and comics. You are probably wondering why because it sounds so easy. I just couldn't get my creative juices flowing to come up with material to use. It took me forever and I finally resorted to using nothing educational: a joke my son loves to tell and a personal experience. I will have to work more on using these and how to use them in the classroom. Students would love to create them, even if it's just teaching a concept. I will probably start there.
I really think that screencasts will be the most beneficial to students. Not only can teachers and librarians use this as a teaching tool, but kids can create their own too! They say that you don't truly understand a concept until you can teach it to someone else. What a great way to practice that!
Although this was my most difficult semester of grad school, it was also the most knowledge that I have gained. I will be able to use so many of these technology venues in so many different ways. I can't wait for summer to come where I can really have time to "play" with each of them more in depth and call them my own!
Now, off to podcast for our reading test tomorrow! Thanks for a great semester and valuable tools to use!
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Teens, Technology and Friendships
Lenhart, A., Smith, A., Anderson, M., Duggan, M., & Perrin, A. (2015, August 6). Teens, Technology and Friendships. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/08/Teens-and-Friendships-FINAL2.pdf
What an interesting read on teens and their online friendships! The data was collected using on-line and some in-person surveys of teens, ages 13-17. It was conducted between 2014 and 2015.
I anticipated the results to be a bit higher than they showed. 57% of the teens surveyed said they had met at least one new friend online through social media or gaming. Boys were more likely to have met someone new online than girls. Social media sites, such as Facebook, continues to be the most popular place to meet new friends, with gaming not too far behind.
One thing that shocked me was the percentage of teens that actually talk on the phone to keep in touch with their closest friends, a mere 13%! Verbal communication is becoming a long lost art and that makes me a little sad. I enjoy and even look forward to my daily talks with my best friend. It's just not the same as texting.
Girls are more likely to communicate by texting and using social platforms, where boys prefer to chat over gaming. Boys did have a large number of online only friends that they have only "met" while gaming. This is alarming, as you know nothing about the people on the other end of the gaming console. I personally know someone who's teenage "met" someone online, whom he thought was a girl. They began sharing inappropriate information and the other person ended up being an older man. Thank goodness the teen confided to his parents and they were able to talk to the police. This is a scary world we live in!
Although I am not a huge fan of gaming, 59% of boys do communicate using microphones and actual talking. This means that they are having actual conversations, not just texting. On the flip side, I have heard some of the conversations when my husband has played with random people and you NEVER know what they may say! This was before he invested in an actual headset with headphones, not just a microphone that played back through the receiver.
Social media is playing a crucial role on teens and friendships. The study shows that most teens feel better connected through use of social media, but have also been hurt through it. They receive support during difficult times in their lives or have seen events that they didn't get an invite too. None of those statistics are shocking to me, as an adult I feel the same way.
76 pages (160/150)
I anticipated the results to be a bit higher than they showed. 57% of the teens surveyed said they had met at least one new friend online through social media or gaming. Boys were more likely to have met someone new online than girls. Social media sites, such as Facebook, continues to be the most popular place to meet new friends, with gaming not too far behind.
One thing that shocked me was the percentage of teens that actually talk on the phone to keep in touch with their closest friends, a mere 13%! Verbal communication is becoming a long lost art and that makes me a little sad. I enjoy and even look forward to my daily talks with my best friend. It's just not the same as texting.
Girls are more likely to communicate by texting and using social platforms, where boys prefer to chat over gaming. Boys did have a large number of online only friends that they have only "met" while gaming. This is alarming, as you know nothing about the people on the other end of the gaming console. I personally know someone who's teenage "met" someone online, whom he thought was a girl. They began sharing inappropriate information and the other person ended up being an older man. Thank goodness the teen confided to his parents and they were able to talk to the police. This is a scary world we live in!
Although I am not a huge fan of gaming, 59% of boys do communicate using microphones and actual talking. This means that they are having actual conversations, not just texting. On the flip side, I have heard some of the conversations when my husband has played with random people and you NEVER know what they may say! This was before he invested in an actual headset with headphones, not just a microphone that played back through the receiver.
Social media is playing a crucial role on teens and friendships. The study shows that most teens feel better connected through use of social media, but have also been hurt through it. They receive support during difficult times in their lives or have seen events that they didn't get an invite too. None of those statistics are shocking to me, as an adult I feel the same way.
76 pages (160/150)
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Teens, Social Media and Technology Overview 2015
Lenhart, A. (2015, April 9). Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/04/PI_TeensandTech_Update2015_0409151.pdf
This article discusses how smart phones are shifting communication among teens. The data was collected online from 1060 teens and their parent or guardian.
I personally teeter in the middle of fence regarding smart phones. Yes, it is wonderful to have direct, anytime access to information. However, it does hinder our communication skills among each other and can interfere with family time.
I remember back to when I first got a smart phone. No, I was not a teen, but I was excited and seemed to use it constantly. My husband, who did not have a smart phone would poke fun at me for "being on the phone all the time." After he got his own smart phone, he understood just how addicting it could be, and not so much in a positive way. I see this trend with teens and this research does back that up with data and their usage of smart phones.
The studies showed that the teen African American population owned the highest percentage of smart phones, with 85%. The household income did drive the percentage of smart phone owners, but not as much as you would expect. 61% of households with an income of less that $30,000 had smart phones, where as, 78% with an income greater than $75,000. I would have expected the discrepancy to be a bit larger.
87% of teens have or have access to desktop or laptop computers. 81% of teens have or have access to gaming consoles or devices, with 91% of boys owning their own. This was not a shocking total for me, as boys tend to gravitate towards gaming.
Out of the teens surveyed, most had or had access to several different technology devices.
Mobile access to the Internet from a smart phone topped the charts with 91% of teens. Texting through messenger or through a message app is very popular, with the average teen sending or receiving 30 day. I thought this statistic would have been much higher than 30.
Facebook continues to be the top choice for social media platforms among teens. I thought with all of the other platforms, it would not have been the top choice, but it prevails over Instagram and Twitter.
Overall, the data did not surprise me too much, as I do have preteens in my house. I often say, they know more about technology than I do! Honestly it scares me somewhat because of what all they have access and exposure to due to the number of mobile devices and Internet access.
48 pages (84/150)
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