No Clue This Week...

So this week we talked more about digital literacy and how the definition of literacy is changing. We discussed that our future students need to know so much more than just how to read and write or they may fall behind.

The reason why I titled this post "No Clue This Week...." is because it seems as though we have talked about literacy a lot this term, not just in our internet for educators course but in others as well so I don't really feel like writing about that again and after brainstorming for awhile I was struggling to figure out what to write about.

One moment worth mentioning from class is when Cara made the comment that previous generations may not be as technology savvy as our generation but then we came to realize that Mike and and our guest speaker Dean knew more about technology than the whole room combined! So that kinda put us in our spot. After all, Mike is the one showing us all these new apps, widgets and websites that make us feel smart in the world of technology.

Also, thanks to Mike I don't feel as lost as some others when it comes to completing some of the weekly tech tasks, like organizing our blog list. I wouldn't call me a technology nut just yet because it feels like I have to make an effort to use everything he has taught us. Not all of the efficient, time-saving apps have made it into my daily routine, although I notice that I am using them more than not.

I am starting to like this blogging thing too.

Creating Wikis and Resources....

Well this post marks the end of another week full of new experiences, new tools, valuable information and good snacks in our Internet for Educators class. 

We started the class with an asynchronous class where we were suppose to contribute to a wikispace that acts as a learning and resource site for teachers who are dealing with digital literacy, identity, dualism and citizenship. With technology going the way that it is, it is important that educators fully understand these terms so they are able to prepare and protect their students when they go online for inquiry projects, socializing, or just for fun. 

Also, that this was my first time taking part in creating a wikispace and I must say this was a great tool for everybody to work together and build a resourceful site where we are able to see what everybody was able to offer. Being over the internet we were able to instantly see other peoples information that they had posted and we were able to do it from the comfort of our own home (I chose to do it at the school though because their couches are comfier). My first impression of wikis are that they are a great way to share information when it comes to group work. I feel like that last statement should be in caps because it really was so easy, although I did not create the wiki. 

We were also suppose to have a conversation with guest speaker John Finch but had to cancel due to the weather. He has been rescheduled to come Monday January 27th. His absence allowed us to have class time to work on our blogs, about.me sites and organize our feedly home pages. 

Looking forward to posting some more interesting and cool projects that we come up with in our future classes!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back! This week marked the beginning of a new and final semester at Brandon University. When picking which courses I wanted to take in my final semester of school I naturally chose Internet for Educators, which is a follow up course to ICT in Education. I learned so much last year and I believe there is so much more out there to learn that I did not hesitate signing up for this course. Part of the requirements for this course is to create a blog that reflects on what we covered in the past week, as well any speakers we had come to our class. That being said, ICT as seen by Steven is officially back in business.

As mentioned, it was the first week of classes so we mainly went over course objectives and expectations but we were also given a couple ideas to promote ourselves using the  internet by using sites like about.me and twitter. If you are interested in viewing my online business card or following me on twitter they will be posted at the bottom of the blog. 

We also took some time to talk about a couple terms that were related to class. These terms were Digital Identity, Digital Dualism, and Technological Determinism. These terms covered how we are described online by the data that is available, the belief that on and offline worlds are separate and distinct, and finally that technology drives the social structure and cultural values of a society. I think that this was a great start to discussions because it seems as though some people do not take into account how they are viewed online and they may not believe that their online actions will have real consequences. This can lead to an even deeper discussion such as cyber bullying but I won’t get into that here.

That pretty much sums up our first week back in Internet for Educators. Hope you enjoyed, and as promised here is my about.me business card and twitter handle.

http://about.me/stevenkaskiw/

@MrSkaskiw