Stranger Activity

One of my most common phrases about the internet is, "if you thought of it...it must be on the internet". I feel that this makes me think about everything that makes me who I am being all over the internet. I grew up with a computer and started using it well before I understood how to use it or what it meant. In today's world, children are surrounded by technology and have pictures of themselves as babies all over their parent's Facebook, meaning before they can speak they are given a digital tattoo.

Finding out about strangers

Recently, I went to Google a stranger to attempt to see what information I could find and how quickly. Within minutes of searching, I can almost tell you everything about this man's life. No Sherlock Holmes needed to find out an address, phone number, relatives, work history, education, birthday, and even his hobbies. The speed at which I could gather this information floored me. If  it was so easy to figure out a great deal about this man how much is out there about me? I googled and looked around at my own digital tattoo. This search lead to nothing shocking but it did make me glad that I don't normally share much on the internet. I don't feel that the same can be said for my future students. I think it is extremely important to teach the effects of a digital tattoo to our student's. It is our jobs as educators to inform them how something as silly as a Facebook picture could cost them a job or a scholarship based on the small fact the school or employer searched them on the internet. I feel that children often think off themselves as bullet proof leaving little to no thought into how their image is being reflected.

Personal Learning Network: Twitter

Twitter is a social network that the majority of Americans have a slight idea of how it works. We see twitter hash tags in our television programs and even on flyers. As far as social networks go, Twitter is at the top of the heap. That  140 character limit Tweet can express so much and helps to keep individuals that are interested in the same topics connected. Twitter chats are instant live chats with hundreds of people all on the same subject to help share knowledge and help to feel connected. Although it is true that most social network sites are used for social and entertainment purposes, I believe that we can use them both professionally andeducationally.

My story with Twitter

Screenshot of Twubs of my Twitter Chat

In January, I created my own Twitter page(@GraceGasper). A class I was taking offered a professional light to Twitter that grabbed my attention. I always thought, "why would I want to read someone's short post or have more than one social media network?" To feel support is what my Twitter experience has shown me. I took this as an experience to try new things and found a few Special education sites to follow and read many articles they tweeted and finally desired to participate in a Twitter chat. I picked the New Teachers chat on Wednesday at 8 pm. I used Twubs to help connect me to the twitter chat and allowed me to slow down the thread in order to enjoy more resources. Many people were involved in the chat and even though I just said it was my first chat,  they responded back kindly. I mainly sat and watched, reading the article some posted and generally getting a feeling for the chat. I found the experience enlightening. Many of the teachers were just posting fun online tools and there was not much of a conversation but occasionally people would ask questions about their classroom and many links and pointers would be shared. I feel that this tool will be extremely useful to me as an educator. I often feel the need to talk with like minded individuals about my day as well as get others advice on struggles I will face as an educator. I look at this overall experience in an extremely positive light and hope that some of the friends I have made through these chats will help me to better my teaching craft. This chat helped me to find School tube which is an education based and community base YouTube.