Blog #3 Reflective Posting

I can honestly say I am hooked on Google.  I use Google on a daily basis and have for years as a tool for searching for information.  I also use my Google Chrome account and many of the wonderful features that is offered with Google.  I would definitely say that if you were to poll people across the globe that Google would have to be the top search engine in the world and it has been a tremendous asset to me in education.

On the subject of searching I read the article The Information Behavior of the Researcher of the Future and I have determined that I may be a combination of a couple of the search types that researchers have identified.  The two types I feel that represent the way I search is both Checking Information Seeker and Viewers.  I use a lot of cross-referencing from multiple sources to validate information such as mentioned in the Checking Information Seeker description.  This also helps me break the "filter bubble" because I like to search for different views.  I also like the term "Power Browse" found in the Viewers description.  Many times when reading or searching I will power browse through material to get to the pertinent material that is needed.  I am sure a lot of 21st century learners do the same.  In any case, it is interesting to learn about the many styles of searching for information.  

I am surprised and not surprised to find that many teens do not really know how to filter and search for information.  I teach 7th grade students and we have daily access to Google Chromebooks so I get to witness their inability to determine what to use or what is good material versus material they should not use.  I think partly they become distracted or overwhelmed by the volume of information.  Other problems may be not knowing the vocabulary or not having the ability to pick out key search terms.  In any case they should be able to mine information better than they do.  Did I mention I teach more than just science?  RR

Blog #2

What commonalities do you see between these 4 resources?

All of the resources discuss the overwhelming amount of data and technology out there for our use and how we need to organize, make sense of, and curate this information for learning.


 Are there any places where they seem disconnected?

I think the video focuses more on the sheer numbers in terms of the data and technology.  It really doesn't give a lot of detail on how to use the data/technology, only that there is a massive amount out there.  The wrangling routine discusses how he handles his daily doses of data and he lays out his process of how he makes meaning of it all.  The other two discuss more on how the data and technology can affect classrooms in a positive way.


 Do these resources offer any insights or ideas related to your learning goals?

The Journey from Digital Literacy to Digital Fluency and Creating Classrooms we need both provided insights as to how technology can be used to make the classroom more engaging and effective.  Twitter was mentioned in one article as a way to create an effective PLN for professional development and discovered ways to incorporate technology in the classroom.

Blog #1

Introduction:  Helllo, my name is Rob Roberts and I teach 7th grade science at Camden Middle School in Kingsland, Ga.

Learning Goals for this semester:

• How to implement technology into the classroom and increase student technological fluency.
• Use this technology to build an inquiry based platform for learning in order to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts.