Reading the article “9 Elephants in the (Class)Room That Should ‘Unsettle’ Us” brought to light many of the issues present in our classrooms and in the education system as a whole. It discusses everything from the obsession with grades to forgetting content after tests. These are the two elephants that stood out to me and … Continue reading Addressing the Elephants

The articles we were assigned this week were packed full of information and very interesting to read. As I was reading, I was also thinking how I relate to the things being stated in the article and why they appealed so well to me. “My Generation Essay: Redefining Education” is my absolute favorite article we read this … Continue reading Learning.

Here is the digital story I created: https://www.wevideo.com/embed/#1024148326 Advertisements

Embarking on an independent learning project was both difficult and rewarding. I was able to learn a topic that interests me and about myself and how I learn.  As I’m sure you know, the topic of my ILP was American Sign Language something I hope will be useful to me and my future students. It was … Continue reading Wrapping it Up – Final ILP

Visuals are a great way to make things interesting and attract a persons attention. Often when we speak in a public setting or present anything we use visuals to enhance our presentation and keep it interesting. Creating a visual for my independent learning project was tough because I did not know what I wanted to showcase … Continue reading Creating Visuals

Podcasts are a great source of information and are easily accessible. They range from topics such as education and health all the way to pop culture and entertainment.  I have always been a fan of podcasts, but have only ever listened to podcasts about pop culture. I had never even imaged using a podcast in the … Continue reading Let’s Get Digital

Weekly Check-In This week, I continued to practice ASl throughout the week and on my free time. I am starting to get better but I am not completely satisfied with where I am just yet. I still have lots of room for practice and improvement. One of my biggest issues now is flow and comfort. … Continue reading Practice makes Perfect – ILP 7

The issue of technology taking over our lives has been a topic of debate for as long as I can remember. I am only 20 but I still remember the times of dial-up internet and how I would spend countless hours on AOL Instant Messanger or instant messaging with complete strangers on IMVU. That was all … Continue reading Digital Mindfulness

This week for my independent learning project I decided to venture back into the past and learn a little more about the history of American Sign Language. As I’ve been practicing the last couple of weeks, I realized I knew very little about the history of ASL and how it began. I decided that this … Continue reading A Brief History Lesson – ILP 6

There is so much that goes into digital activism that I am finding it difficult to find a place to start. The internet can be both a wonderful and a terrible place. There are many people who use it for good but there are those who use it as a way to get to others in … Continue reading Digital Activism

Googling yourself can be a fun activity and was probably a favorite passtime when we were younger. I remember always googling myself and my friend and being so excited when we were able to find pictures and facebook pages. I have now learned being able to find these things so easily is not nessicarly a … Continue reading What Can You Find?

PHOTO CC – By: Nadar Digital Citizenship is something that has been engraved into our brains since as long as I can remember. We are constantly reminded that we must be good digital citizens and if we can’t, we have no business being online. We are constantly reminded of our digital footprint and the impact … Continue reading Understanding Digital Citizenship

Today’s assignment was to write about a dream, whether it be a recurring dream or a dream I had recently. You can find the assignment here! I thought this was an interesting assignment because  I don’t often remember my dreams so I thought the challenge would be interesting! The Backstory: Like I said, I don’t … Continue reading Day 8 #DS106 Challenge – Dream it…Write it Assignment

Initial Reaction: When I initially signed up for this course I thought it was just another reading class that used technology! It was on my required course material, and really thinking about it now, I never really read the course description because it was required anyways!  I soon found of that this class required much … Continue reading Digital Literacy Class Reflection

What was that sign again? Relearning sign langue has proved to be much harder than I anticipated! I personally feel like I am not advancing the way I should be and am not making the most of this learning opportunity! I decided its time for me to change things and really start getting the hang … Continue reading New Game Plan! – ILP 5

Today’s assignment was to write a story using the alphabet. I used a random word generator to get me started and went from there. It was actually incredibly difficult to try and make sense of the story. I still feel that what I ended up with still makes no sense, but I tried. I also … Continue reading Day 3 #ds106 Challenge – Write an Alphabet Story

Today starts my 30-day #ds106 assignment challenge. For my first assignment, I decided to do a photo assignment as it is the simplest and want to ease my way into it. I decided to click the randomize button a couple times and did the last assignment I landed on. My assignment was to take a picture … Continue reading Day One – #ds106 What’s In Your Gullet? Assignment

ds106 is an online course open to all who choose to participate. When I initially started looking into it I was both confused and intrigued. I had never heard of ds106 before, but it seemed extremely popular and had been going on for quite a while. It combines digital storytelling with the openness for the … Continue reading What is ds106?

What is Inquiry-Based Learning? Inquiry-based learning is where students are in charge of their own learning and are given the opportunity to ask burning questions they’ve always wondered about. However, inquiry-based learning should spark the curiosity of students and allow students the opportunity to ask questions they are interested in exploring further. According to Edutopia’s “What … Continue reading Inquiry-Based Learning

Considering my mistake last week, I decided to take it slow this week and go back a couple of units, but also branch out and look for other resources to help my learning. I went back and reviewed the vocab words and phrases on the StartASL website from the previous units to further my understanding and get extra … Continue reading ASL Learning – ILP 4

Photo CC – By: Pavlina Rupova A PLN or a personal learning network is “making connections and building personal relationships with teachers, school administrators, university professors, and experts around the world”. That is according to the 9 step article by Teacher Challenges I read about personal learning networks. I took the teacher approach as I … Continue reading Learning from Others – PLN

Photo CC – By: Dagmar Onasis Trying to relearn sign langue has proven to be a greater challenge than I anticipated. I want to share with you my successes, failers, and the mistakes I’ve made in the past week as I am attempting to learn sign language. One of the biggest mistakes I made this week … Continue reading Taking it Slow – ILP 3

PHOTO CC – By: Alan Levine The idea of passion based learning is taking a students interest and allowing them to use it to learn better. Exploring a students interest will ensure they are motivated, engaged, and interested. These are three important aspects of learning in my opinion. If a student is interested in what … Continue reading I Like This! – Passion Based Learning

Photo CC: By – Daveynin Embarking on the journey to relearn sign language has already been quite enjoyable. I have done a significant amount of research and have gathered multiple resources to help me as I continue this journey. I mentioned in my last post that I found a great website that provided free lessons for … Continue reading Let’s Begin! – ILP2

  Selecting a Ted Talk to discuss proved to be much more difficult than I anticipated. I have watched many Ted Talks in my life and often enjoy listening to the speakers. I automatically began thinking about talks I have already watched but decided to find a new one to discuss. I recall watching the Education … Continue reading Gangland Daughter to Teacher

PHOTO CC – By: WerbeFabrik After reading the syllabus I went back and forth with what I wanted to do for my independent learning project. I considered graphic design, sign language, and calligraphy. These are all things I have an interest in and I think would be beneficial for my future as a teacher. They all … Continue reading Relearning Sign Language – ILP 1

Photo CC – By: Hugh Guill When I think of the word education, I picture many students sitting in front of a teacher dozing off as they lecture. This is the image many people associate with education because we imagine school as the tradition 7 hour day with teachers constantly lecturing. An idea that has … Continue reading Let’s Change the way we View Education