Participate 4.1.3 Digital Health Quest

• What is the most proactive means of ensuring the most balanced blend of technology and well-being?

Digital Health...I hadn't really thought about my own health as far as using technology goes. Thank you for making me more self-aware. I decided that less screen time at night is absolutely necessary for me. I tend to listen to a book while playing a game on my iPad at night. I began about one week ago not allowing myself to play a game at night. It was a bit difficult to let the book go, so I use the timer to give myself a limit. Both of these strategies seem to work well allowing me to get more sleep while still being able to "read" my book. I have not been able to completely avoid the iPad in bed, but not playing the games and limiting book listening time has cut down on staying awake late at night. A big plus is I am, feeling far less tired in the afternoons.
Last week I also became more aware of taking breaks while a school. I do use the Promethean board every day, but I use it with a presentation tool that allows me to walk around the room at any time. I have attached the presenter to my lanyard so I don't lay it down somewhere and lose it. Using a wristpad is a must for anyone who does any amount of typing. Prevention of carpal tunnel is essential to keeping the pain away.

• What can students and teachers do to make sure they get the most from technology while simultaneously safeguarding good health? 

Students and teachers alike need to take lots of breaks and limit screen time at night. Students are going to text so how about limiting when texts are sent? Teachers discussing this with students could lead to establishing better habits.

Navigate 1.3.1 – Discussing the LMS and CMS Quest

When would one need a full blown LMS?  

One would need a full-blown Learning Management System when more functions are needed than simply storage for files.  In an LMS learner participation can be tracked, courses can be scheduled, information can be transferred to other systems, registration, handling fees, and student records can be stored for later use. An LMS can be individualized to suit a learner's needs where according to Justin Ferriman, a CMS "...focuses on the management and distribution of eLearning and instructor-led courses. To put it another way, course management is often the main function of an LMS – a secure place to store and launch training to a subset of users."

Discuss the perceived differences in the industry between LMS and CMS in your blog.

A Learning Management System can include CMS functions but allows for the growth of the system. A Course Management System (CMS) is used as a repository for all learning documents. Even though the two systems are becoming blended together as technological advances are made, most believe an LMS is capable of far more than the simplistic CMS that is only used as a viewable database.

Resources:

"Content Management System Vs Learning Management System." Litmos. CallidusCloud, 11 Mar. 2015. Web. 19 Dec. 2015. <http://www.litmos.com/training-platform/content-management-system-vs-learning-management-system>.

Ferriman, Justin. "Course Management System VS Learning Management System." LearnDash. LearnDash, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2015. <http://www.learndash.com/course-management-system-vs-learning-management-system/>.

"Learning Management System." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_management_system>.

Navigate 1.2.1 Describe Roles and Functions in Online Learning Environments Quest

 image from: www.stockmonkeys.com

Many people are involved in running online courses. Here are just a few:

• LMS Administration - a technical position,  responsible for handling system upgrades, the data collection system, and user and course management
• Administration - responsible for establishing policy, monitoring courses and the learning environment, and oversees the teachers and facilitators
• Instructional Administration - responsible for scheduling courses and teacher assignments
• Course Developer - responsible for creating the course, finding resources, or purchasing content for a course to be used by the students and teacher
• Teacher (also called a Facilitator in some cases) - Manages the "classroom" and students, facilitates instruction, checks links prior to the course and report any broken links, adds announcements, contact students with how to get around the course, respond to student questions in a timely manner, score assignments,  provides feedback, keeps students on track, monitors student progress, contacts parents as needed, and manages the day to day interactions
• Student- responsible for learning the material to meet specific objectives, participating in discussions clarifying content, asking questions if further clarification is needed and uploading completed assignments.

Navigate 1.1.1 Delineating Between Synchronous and Asynchronous Content

Both asynchronous and synchronous online courses have advantages and disadvantages. 

Asynchronous courses would be better for those with crazy schedules, or those living in different time zones who would find it difficult to be online all at the same time. This would be the course where content is delivered through various medias, including but not limited to presentations, video, audio, or written text. The participant logs on at their convenience to complete assignments during a specific time period. Email and discussion boards are used to interact with the facilitator and other participants. Email is useful for a discussion between the facilitator and an individual participant where the participant might feel uncomfortable with everyone in the course reading the post, or if the post is a question not related to the discussion. One drawback of asynchronous courses is if the participant has a question, it is not always answered right away.

Synchronous courses are better for those who need to have live interaction, immediate feedback, or need the structure of a scheduled time for the course.  The delivery method might be Skype, GoToMeeting, or Adobe Connect. The course can take the form of a web conference where there is a presenter who provides information and there is usually a chat available for questions or comments  and discussions on the content. This is more like a face-to-face class only everyone is on their own computer or phone while being virtually connected.

Participate 4.1.2 Digital Safety and Security Quest

• • What is the most important step we can take in terms of ensuring our digital safety?
  My first thought is education. Educate the public, educate our students and educate parents about digital dangers and safety. Perhaps our Tech Club will be able to create some Public Service Announcements to place on our school website.
  
  
  • What strategies can we take to help our students consistently keep digital safety in the forefront of their minds?
• 
  
Out of sight is out of mind so, we need to talk about digital safety on a regular basis, post reminders on our websites or LMS, and share news stories on digital safety. The information shared needs to be fresh, otherwise, students will not pay attention to it.
• Identity theft, malware, scams, hacked email, cyberbullying are not things we dwell upon or even mention very often in the classroom. The school or district more than likely does use a filter system on the network. Even so, if students are not good digital citizens and follow certain rules, they might run into trouble on the internet. Students share so much and so often that they think nothing of giving an acquaintance their locker combination, or their password.
• 
  

 
created by Charlotte Thornton on Scratch

• Diigo Bookmarks on digital safety

• Prezi on bullying created by Charlotte Thornton and WMS Tech Club
• 
  

Participate 4.1.1 Digital Rights and Responsibilities Quest

Each individual has digital rights and along with those rights come responsibilities. Individuals have the right to credit for original work, yet have the responsibility to cite any idea or work belonging to another person. Individuals have the right to privacy and have the responsibility to keep their personal information personal without sharing passwords or login information.

In reviewing several AUPs I found I particularly like the Rules of the Road for students. I particularly like how this list of rules is written in first person. When a learner enters a course, they have agreed to follow the AUP or Digital Contract provided to them. The policy should outline both the user's rights and their responsibilities to the community.

Like a face-to-face class, plagiarism can be a problem in online courses. I recently had an online participant upload a project that was copied from an article. I sent the participant an email saying I thought they had uploaded the wrong project because I had just read the same thing on www.@#!$%$#%.com. The participant responded within a couple of minutes with the correct project...they had sent the wrong project. We should not be so quick to assume the worst.

The punishable perils of plagiarism - Melissa Huseman D’Annunzio ed.ted.com

Copyright law is sometimes so complicated that the average citizen might need a lawyer to figure out whether or not something can be used. http://copyright.gov/fair-use/. Thank goodness there is Fair Use! One can go to the U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index online and look up what the courts consider fair use. If a person is using part of a work noncommercially and cites their source correctly, the law considers this fair use. Stanford University Library says fair use is: "the right to use portions of copyrighted materials without permission for purposes of education, commentary, or parody. - See more at: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/academic-and-educational-permissions/non-coursepack/#sthash.OvLhsCyB.dpuf" A link to Copyright Laws for Teachers...
Creative Commons Copyright is useful for those wishing to share their work with other people. As long as the license conditions are adhered to, anyone can use CC-licensed works. Here is a link to how to provide attribution for CC-licensed works. Anyone can obtain a CC license for their own original work here. Creative Commons says "All CC licenses require you provide attribution and mark the material when you share it publicly."

Here is a link to my LiveBinder list of Digital Citizenship links.

Participate 3.1.1 Access to the Digital Community

photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/markmorgantrinidad/5129077263/in/photostream/

Many of my students do not have access to the Internet once they leave the school building. Cost and lack of skills seem to be the most prohibitive barriers to digital connectivity for parents. Even with the statistics showing there are many places in the USA lacking dependable connectivity, there is good news.

I am lucky to have reliable access compared to many areas across the country. We also have high-speed internet here at home while many places do not.

Dec. 10, 2015 "... if Title IV receives full funding, school districts will be able to use as much as $1 billion of this block grant for ed tech. Additionally, districts will be able to expend Title IV dollars on solutions to bridge the so-called “homework gap” – which describes the problem of students lacking any or adequate Internet connectivity in their homes." This is great news for Internet access in the hinterland!

Even more recently Bernstein says on Dec. 11, 2015: "Since the E-rate program’s creation as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, U.S. Department of Education surveys show that Internet access in public schools increased from 35 percent to 95 percent, and library connectivity grew from only 28 percent of public libraries providing public Internet access, to today’s reality, where virtually all libraries provide free access to Internet-enabled computers and WiFi, according to the 2014 Digital Inclusion Survey." 

Bernstein, Ally. "ISTE Advocacy Network." International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). ISTE, 09 Dec. 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2015. <http://connect.iste.org/communities/community-home?communitykey=f63a5f3f-859c-45b6-9bb5-2afe9f834c98&tab=groupdetails>.

~Charlotte

Participate 3.1.2 Digital Resources and Netiquette Quest

Participate 2.1.1 Collecting Reputable Digital Resources

Diigo bookmarks list

For me, the three most useful tools in reference to collecting reputable digital resources are the University of Maryland, Edutopia, and the Berkely site. Berkely and UMD are education sites and Edutopia is an organization dedicated to improving education in general.

Joe Barker (retired) and Cody Hennesy both subject experts at Berkely wrote and contributed to the evaluating websites page on Berkely's library website. University of Maryland the authors were subject experts associated with the University. The author of the Edutopia article is Julie Coiro,
Associate Professor of Education at the University of Rhode Island. 

Students can be taught to safely collect tools and resources that can help them maximize their learning through lots of modeling and practice. Students could be required to use a checklist for evaluating information each and every time they conduct research such as the following:

• Does the site have the information I need?
• Who published the information and what is their level of knowledge on the subject?
• Why is this person/organization publishing the information? 
• Does the site provide different viewpoints?
• Are there links to related sites and have sources been cited?
• Would anyone be offended by anything on this site?

Artist: Scoyo Arts
Iconset: Badge Icons (28 icons)
License: Free for non-commercial use.
Commercial usage: Not allowed

Participate 1.1.1 Character Traits

photo from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/togawanderings/6988486459

Mind your Digital Footprint! Whatever you post online is available to the world forever. Ask yourself whether the posting would make you uncomfortable or would cause unnecessary drama. Would you mind if someone shared it with others?    Digital Citizenship Posters to display in class.

Differing viewpoints - In science, presenting a different viewpoint is encouraged. There are times varied viewpoints make for an awesome professional online discussion. We should accept what others say as meaningful and use scientific evidence to explain different points of view. A blog post explaining how to use discourse.

Timeliness - Make sure to respond to posts and provide feedback within a reasonable amount of time. When facilitating an online course, learners often feel anxious and need feedback as soon as possible. Feedback should be provided before subsequent assignments are started.

~ Charlotte

Participate 1.1.3 Ideal Digital Learning Community

created by me on Tagxedo.com

An ideal digital learning community would be easy to access, useful, and easy to navigate. If it were not easy to get to, people would think they were wasting their time looking for it. Easy access could include the web address. It should not be so long users cannot remember it. It could also be the name of the DLC. The DLC should be easily read on all devices, mobile and desktop. If the DLC were not useful, there would be no point in joining. There are far too many useful sites and DLCs to waste time on one that is not useful to an individual. The same goes for navigation if the users are struggling to find their way around the DLC, they will leave.

Join a Professional Learning Community... - edweb.net  [PLC, DLC, digital professional - edWeb offers webinars and a place to exchange ideas and resources in an effort to improve teaching and learning]

Community | PBS Learning Media About pages | PBS - pbslearningmedia.org   [PBS, DLC, digital learning - A learning community of educators working together to improve education]

University of the People – The world’s... - uopeople.edu  [DLC, digital learning, free online learning, MOOC - non-profit, tuition-free, accredited online university]

Participate 1.1.2 Joining a Digital Learning Community Quest

Digital Learning Communities

Since I have been a member of Delicious and Diigo for years, I decided to open a Google Bookmarking account. It was very simple to open and is just as easy to use as Diigo and Delicious. I have yet to find a way to import bookmarks from either of the other two sites, but I do have a nice, new and clean workspace.

I explored the five DLCs listed below.  

IEEE is a community where teachers have access to abstracts but must pay to read full-text articles, therefore, I did not read any of the articles found there. 

Digital Learning Community for Scotland - A site where the government of Scotland has requested teachers of Scotland to read, analyze and comment on how to best use technology to support education.  Having recently visited Scotland, I was interested in what was happening in their education system. I like how those involved in the classroom are consulted when a big idea is being developed.

I also explored edweb. Wow, this is one of the most comprehensive learning communities so far. If it has anything to do with education, it is probably discussed here. Classroom management, digital citizenship, assessment, Web2.0, game-based learning, bullying, blended learning, coding, gardening, mobile learning, safety and the list just goes on and on. Yes, I did join this DLC, just for another place to explore further. I particularly like the openness the members have to share thus, making education far better than individuals going it alone. The more sharing, the better education becomes, in general, which advances the idea of teachers as professionals. As a full-time classroom teacher, this DLC is the most useful to me. One where I am able to ask those with a particular expertise questions.

PBS learning Media - I was already a member of this community, but took the opportunity to explore it further. Here members will find free resources, lesson plans, and digital media as well as training, professional development courses and even a student app where students can view resources their teachers share. PBSLearningMedia offers a place to create lessons and assignments similar to Discovery Education.

University of the People - free online university courses. Like many online courses, students are expected to participate in weekly online discussions, assignments and assessments. The interactivity is limited to graded discussion boards.

One other site for connecting with other educators is Google+. I am one of the earliest members of + and remain an active member of several communities there such as Google Certified Teachers, NBCT, Google Classroom Educators, Science on Google+ and several others.

IEEE Xplore Abstract - Digital learning... - ieee.org  [DLC, digital learning - teachers helping teachers improve together]

Digital Learning Community | Turning... - digilearn.scot  [Scotland DLC, digital learning - A DLC for teachers in Scotland]

Join a Professional Learning Community... - edweb.net  [PLC, DLC, digital professional - edWeb offers webinars and a place to exchange ideas and resources in an effort to improve teaching and learning]

Community | PBS Learning Media About pages | PBS - pbslearningmedia.org   [PBS, DLC, digital learning - A learning community of educators working together to improve education]

University of the People – The world’s... - uopeople.edu  [DLC, digital learning, free online learning, MOOC - non-profit, tuition-free, accredited online university] Google+  drawing from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aidan_jones/3575000735

Blogging from SC

Hello everyone! I'm in Simpsonville, SC, not too far from GA.
Setting up this blog was a very simple process since I used Blogger on several previous occasions. All I needed to do was to go to Blogger and click create then begin typing.

I am always looking for new and fun ways to learn and teach, so I joined TOOL. Digital learning communities are an effective learning tool for many people, especially those who like to work different hours than most people.

I look forward to learning with you.