M4 Reading Log Blogs

Principals for Web 2.0 Success
Daniel Light, in his article, Principals for Web 2.0 Success, shares ten suggestions for technology to be integrated into the classroom. 1. Invest in a virtual learning environment. He suggests that by using sites as Blackboard, Edmodo, Schoology, Moodle or Drupal, you are connecting a classroom to a specific meeting place. 2. Talk up the fact that web 2.0 can be incredibly easy to use. Teachers are afraid that the technology to using these programs can be overwhelming. So they won't try them. They are actually easy to use and filled with information. 3. Use web 2.0 tools for professional development and community building. By having PD on this subject, teachers can try out the technology and learn their uses first hand. 4. Show your support via social media as well as the old-fashioned way. Light suggests to principals to get substitutes for PD, to let teachers become more acclimated. He also says to send praise via texting to give teachers immediate feedback. I'm not so sure about that, as we are not to have our phones out during school. 5. Share success stories so teachers can learn from each other. We have a teacher at our school who was praised for learning how to email others. 6. Allow teachers to customize their personal classrooms. Making individual class websites will help to meet the needs of that class because not everybody needs the same thing on their web pages.7. Ease teachers' administrative burdens with simple productivity tools. This helps teachers with tracking the progress of students, as well as, individualizing their needs. 8. Update tools regularly. It is important that teachers get the current technology products. This takes away frustrations for both teachers and students.9. Keep communication open. Teachers are encouraged to communicate with students in both public and private online discussions. 10. Create clearly defined virtual communities to foster vibrant learning communities. It is important that students know cyberbullying will not be permitted.The discussion boards are for productive criticism because it is hard to put your thoughts out for everyone to see.


Social Networking Goes to School
Michelle Davis, the author, discusses schools having  a Facebook page. She says that it is a way people can learn about the school, sports, trips, etc. It also allows students a chance to blog about things happening in the school.Davis explains that according to research, social net-working is on the rise. She gave an example about a school in Florida doing a project called"Around the World with 80 Schools." The teacher used Ning, and the students had different jobs assigned to them to get the necessary information. Another school received a grant for smartphones. Blogs, twitters, chats are all ways to not only improve student learning, but educators, too. Many teachers are getting useful information via these sites to aid in their teaching.
However, there are obstacles that educators face with these social networks. One area, Davis describes, is schools barring teachers and students from"friending" each other, some school systems block the sites entirely. Then there is the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Davis warns educators that they need to be familiar with this act, as children under 13 are not allowed on many of these sites.Privacy is an important issue. Davis suggests that wikis, blogs, or other school social networking would be safer for those younger.

I'm not sure that I agree with allowing Facebook at school. Our school just started a Facebook account. However, it does let parents know about what is going on at school. I, too, have an issue concerning privacy. It will be interesting when somebody submits an unpopular blog.