Blogarithm of a Learner

Professionally, knowledge of copyright and creative commons rules helps me to have a clearer understanding of what I can or can’t use from the internet.  I really haven’t ever noticed CC on any of the sites I have looked at – maybe just because I wasn’t looking for it.  Now that I am aware of CC, I will look for it, especially when I want to use/take something from a site.  As I become more comfortable with Web 2.0, and begin sharing things on the web, it is great to know what I need to do to protect my creations!

One article I found of interest was a post on Free Technology for Teachers. The post is regarding the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics  Illuminations website which has many lesson plans and activities for math students. The reviews in this post led me to a website called Calculation Nation that has some great math games for students.  I teach 7th grade math and am always looking for online educational games that are appropriate for this age.  The two games I played are complex enough to engage students for more than just a few minutes, and I like that.

My initial thought about Web 2.0 and its role in teaching and learning is that I am going to have to think about it some more!  And, can I think big enough? It is overwhelming in the sense of how much information is available and how many people there are with whom I can connect.  I think there are many ways in which Web 2.0 can change my professional practice, most of which I haven’t thought of or figured out yet.

In broad thinking, I believe Web 2.0 could help make my teaching much more “real world” based because with the web I have much easier access to people in the real world.  Many students desire to see the connections of what they are learning in the classroom with what is happening in the real world, so I think this is one way to engage our “digital learners”.

As far as supporting my own learning, obviously this course I am blogging for is an example of using web 2.0 to help me learn.  As well, I can easily connect with other teachers to share ideas or ask questions.

I want to be a lifelong learner and consider myself to be someone who enjoys learning.  As I watched the video about Lifelong Learning, I got excited because I feel like many of the habits are a part of my life.  The one that resonated most for me was the second habit of accepting responsibility for your own learning.  How can you learn much at all if you don’t accept responsibility for that learning?

The most challenging habit for me is to view problems as challenges.  When I encounter problems, my initial response is often to be frustrated.  I want to complete my task easily and efficiently and problems mess me up with that!  In the long run, I usually get past that frustration, but it would be simpler to skip past that stage .

The habit I view as most important is play.  When I want to learn about something, I usually try to read about it (to learn from others wisdom and experience) and I try to find a way to see an example (again to learn from others).  However, I haven’t truly learned it until I play with, — do, practice, try, experiment with — what ever I am learning about.

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