Tools, Tools, and More Tools

 As we pass the halfway point in this course, I stopped to think about all of the tools we have come to know over the last 6 now 7 weeks...and it has been a lot! 

Here are all the tools I have used and participated in or tried out in the last 7 weeks

• Blogger
• Blog Platforms
• Wordpress
• Twitter
• Feeder
• Reddit
• LinkedIn
• Flickr
• Pinterest
• MERLOT
• Refind
• Goodreads
• Futureme
• FoldingStory
• Hypothesis
• Padlet
• Symbaloo

And these are only some of the tools presented to us! As someone who does not use much social media or digital platforms, this has been quite the experience. I will admit, it was a bit overwhelming at first but as the weeks have gone on, I have really enjoyed finding new tools to use for specific specialties. As future instructional designers, it is important to have a well rounded tool belt so to speak that can be utilized in specific situations. 

With the amount of tools that can be used for social media and instruction, there is lots of room for creativity and adaptability for any projects you may come across. I know that I have broadened my scope for technological tools in the past 7 weeks and am excited to utilize them in my current and future professions. 

Out with the old, in with the new!

 Since starting this blog, I have not given much thought to the overall design of the page itself. Which seems a bit ironic as an inspiring instructional designer.....

As part of one of our challenges this week, I decided to give my blog a bit of a refresh and change some of the décor style elements. 

Before

When I began the blog at the beginning of the semester, I chose a design that was simple and easily created. I chose this particular design and set up because it was how the blog came, I didn't dig too much into the design elements as I was focusing more on the content I would write about. My original design had the blogs centered and the widgets off to the right...very plain and simple and there wasn't much thought behind them.

For my refresh, I chose a more subtle them, using my favorite color for the background. I also chose to limit the amount of blogs that appear in my home screen. I did this because I know it can be quite overwhelming to see every blog ever posted all in one long drawn out screen. I also chose to place the widgets at the bottom of the feed. In this section you can see the blog archives for each month, the most popular blogs in my whole account, as well as search for blogs (I am assuming you would more use this section for a more established blog).

After

Overall, I am happy with the new design elements. I am sure that as I progress an become more comfortable in the blogging world, I will add/change other elements, and even research outside information to make the appearance even better!

What is the cost of social media?

I am currently sitting in the airport awaiting my flight. As I am looking around, I see almost all people are immersed in something on their cell phones or tablets, even those who are traveling with someone else. Then I thought about what they could be doing on their phones....by the looks of it, they all seem to be on some type of social media based on the manner in which they hold their phone and scrolling with their thumbs. 

In this course, our central focus is on social media, however, when is enough enough? For a majority of people, their lives are dependent upon technology and social media, but at what expense? I feel as though because of social media, there is a disconnect with human interaction and it becomes difficult for people to have conversations face to face. 

Social skills are depleting among the younger generations as they have spent their whole lives in the social media era. They are also bombarded with ads, propaganda, and unrealistic beauty standards that they see on social media. As a high school teacher, I see the impact this has on young people first hand. 

We normally discuss the advantages and the bright side of social media, which is all great and true, however, their can't be a day without the night.

So this brings me back to main idea, what is the cost of social media? What do we lose?

FutureMe

Something that I have always enjoyed doing with my students at the start of a brand new year, is have them write a letter to themselves in the future. On the first or second day of school, we sit down and write a letter to ourselves to be opened at the end of the school year (usually the last day or two). The groan and complain while writing it, but then always get so excited to receive their letter at the end of the year...my seniors this past year were in awe and so excited!! They write about their goals for the year, where they want to be in five or so years, what the future looks like, etc. I leave the requirements very open as it is their letter and no one will read it but them.

Now...with all of that being said, we write our letters old school and then I hang on to them for the year. Well sometimes...okay most of the time...I myself will forget about them. This leaves all of the responsibility on me to remember and ensure they get their letters back.

With FutureMe students can generate their letters digitally and decide when they will want to receive their letters. This tool allows you to generate a letter to yourself and have it emailed to you at a specific date! I am so glad that this tool was posted this week because I had never heard of it before but am so excited that I found a tool that I can implement into my classroom. This brings in the social media / technology element that I know my students will be more inclined to engage in than writing on a piece of paper! 

Badges...Do they work?

I have really been intrigued by the use of digital badges. They promote competition and motivation, in my opinion. However, how effective could digital badges be in a traditional K-12 classroom setting??

Well...this is what I would like to find out! This course has offered a variety of opportunities (more to come I am sure) to receive or administer digital badges. So far, I have received one in an area that I would have never expected...blogging! That badge gave me the motivation I needed to keep blogging and pursuing different content to cover in my blogs. Now, I want to take this 'reward system' and incorporate it in my traditional classroom. 

Some things that I would do to transition this to a traditional classroom setting would be to incorporate some tangible reward to the digital reward. I primarily teach seniors in high school, so to them, a digital reward may not be a fully sufficient motivator. Components that I have considered would be to include a file within their google classroom that allows the class to see their badges and the badges awarded to others. I would then create a system of the number of badges they receive could be exchanged for something tangible like a snack or extra credit on a test or a pass on a low grade, something where they can see their efforts in more places than digitally. 

Then I question, if I make this a two part deal, am I really utilizing the concept of a digital badge?

I would argue, that yes, I am still using the digital badge concept, I am just adding another component to the system, and in reality, who doesn't want more rewards for their hard work?!

As this is still in the development and design phase, I think that the use of digital badges could have an impact on competition and motivation within a K-12 setting. I think this will place another component of engagement within the classroom and give the students something to strive for. 

School Is Out...Kind Of..

As I approach my first day of summer vacation...beginning today at 2PM..I wanted to take a moment to reflect on all that I have learned this year in my professional setting. As a high school teacher, it has been a whirlwind of a year! What started as one of the first "normal" years since Covid, a month into the school year we were hit with Hurricane Ian. My area took a direct hit and it was catastrophic...not only the physical and property damage had been done, but a great deal of emotional damage as well. We had students and teachers lose their homes, people lost it all. We then picked ourselves, brushed it off (as best we could), and returned to school in less than a month. This in itself was a monumental task as we are one of the largest school districts in Florida.

With that being said, overall it was an amazing school year! But how does this relate to my own courses and my own schooling journey? The course I have taken at FSU over the past few years have not only helped my knowledge gains, but I have been able to take a majority of what I learned in these courses and apply them to my professional life to ensure a better education for my students!

EME 6414 has definitely had a huge impact on how I will teach my courses next school year and what social media influence can have on education. A lot of the tools we have looked out and played around with can be used (with discretion) within a high school setting to promote engagement. For example, bogging would be a great idea to have students track their educational journey through the course and give them an outlet to share their thoughts and ideas. Digital badges, like in this weeks readings, I think would have a good impact on high school students, as they are relatively competitive by nature. 

Key point from my rant is that I will take a great deal of these social media outlets, with district guidelines in mind, and incorporate them into my own teaching, especially for the seniors who will be moving on to college in that coming year!

The Ultimate Rabbit Hole

 Let's talk about Pinterest...

Pinterest in my opinion is one of the better forms of social media. I mean, what is not to love about it?

You can find hairstyles, recipes, lesson plans, workouts, and more (too many to name) all in one place! Pinterest can be used in a variety of ways and the user can use it for whatever their interests are by pinning them to a board...hence the name Pin - Interest. This platform leaves a majority of the content up to the user, which I think is the main appeal...especially for the 'lurkers'.

I personally use Pinterest for many daily activities. I have multiple boards dedicated to different components. I have a professional board dedicated to Pedagogy and different classroom techniques and décor ideas. I then have personal boards dedicated to fun recipes, holiday related recipes, hair cuts and styles, and much more. 

As I have stated in previous blogs, I am not much of a social media contributor, as I am more of a lurker, however, Pinterest allows me to lurk and get ideas for all aspects of my life!

10/10 Recommend 👍

Social Butterfly Challenge #EME64114

Blogging has become a real joy for me! I love to write and since this course I have a generalized focus on Web 2.0 and the tools provided, I am finding it very easy to engage in this type of community (or network - your choice)! I really do think that I will continue blogging even after learning all that Web 2.0 has to offer - I just have to narrow down a concept or idea - or maybe it will just be an area to write my thoughts and opinions, who knows?

This week I spent a great deal of time focusing on the provided tech tools, the concepts of communities and networks, and the concept of 'lurking' - probably my most interested topic. As I scrolled through my feeder I noticed that a great deal of my classmates shared some of the same interests that I have this week. Ericka also focused on the use of some of the tech tools that have been provided so far. We both are engaging in a majority of the tools and trying them all out. Reddit is going to be the next journey we both take!

I started working with Reddit and admittedly got a bit

overwhelmed - planning to give it a second shot thought! 😀

Lurking is something that can be seen as controversial or unnecessary personally use social media for this the most! I do not have much to contribute a majority of the time, but I do like to keep up with what my friends are doing via Facebook. Bloggerdude and I share this tendency. Some questions posed to this are, are we afraid to contribute or we afraid to put ourselves out there? For me, like I said, I just don't have much to contribute. I think if I had more to say, I would post more - but probably not. Up until this course, I did not give social media much thought. I prefer to be low key and not leave much of a digital footprint. Shaniqua also shared similar views as I and Bloggerdude and has also opted to become less of a lurker and more of a contributor!

Tweet #1 - I love the concepts of badges within an online setting. I think it sparks engagement and motivation and I am excited that my classmates share that excitement!

Tweet #2 - This article really sparked my interest! I was excited to engage with my classmates in this topic as I am not a big social media person. It was interesting to read about the perspectives of others when it comes to social media.

Badge 1 For The Books

My newfound social media presence has paid off, as I have received my first badge - Blogmaster!

While I do not think I am quite the master yet, it is very appreciative to be recognized for the hard work I have been doing, trying to immerse myself in this digital universe. Now that I have 1, I am excited to move forward and learn more about the digital badge and the other ones that can be received!

I found this journal article that conducted several studies on the use of digital badges in several settings: nonformal, K-12, and higher education. It was interesting to see the different results, however, a common them among the studies found that the use of digital badges does entice learners at all levels and implements another motivating factor.

Check it out if you are interested in learning more about digital badges! 

Roy, S., & Clark, D. (2019). Digital badges, do they live up to the hype?. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(5), 2619-2636.

https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bjet.12709