Is Technology Rewiring our Brains?

In an article in USA Today, scientists are asking that question. Students today are very different from the way they were 20 years ago. Today's students are what are called "Digital Natives". They literally grew up with technology from the time they were babies. Some scientists believe that their brains might be rewired as a result of this early exposure to computers and technology.  Here is the link to the article:
Has Technology Rewired our Brains

Do you notice that today's kids lack social skills and are less aware of non-verbal cues than they used to be?
I feel that the widespread use of technology has changed all of us. Children have shown the biggest changes because they have had the most exposure to it but I know many adults who are not aware of non-verbal cues either when they are busy with their cell phones and other devices.

My week of using Facebook for research. This is what I learned...

According to my Timeline, I joined Facebook on October 18, 2008. It’s been an interesting 3.5 years. During that time, I met a lot of new people who shared my interests and re-connected with family and friends with whom I had lost contact. I was especially happy when I found my dad’s family in the Scranton, PA area. My dad passed away in 2006 and once my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, she was no longer able to keep in touch with family the way she used to. I have to admit, however, that I don’t use the apps on Facebook very much. It was interesting and fun to give some new ones a try this week. These are the ones I chose to review:

Words with Friends-

This is a crossword game- a great way to build vocabulary and challenge your friends to do the same. You can get a classroom word challenge going with either individuals or teams (say two classrooms in the same grade compete). The first person who plays sends a challenge or a game request to someone and they play and send a challenge to the next person. I have just begun to play this game but my friends who do play it, say that it is fun, educational, and a great way to connect with people and use your brain at the same time.

Spotify- music. This is a site where you can listen to music and share tracks with your friends. I thought something like this might be helpful in music classes. A piece of music from any genre can be chosen and shared with the class via Facebook. It can then be discussed either in class or online. The selection of Original Cast Broadway recordings that I viewed was quite expansive and would be a great help to someone who was auditioning for a role in a school play, community or professional theatre.

Pinterest- Many of my friends enjoy this app so I was very anxious to try it. However, doing so necessitated the dreaded changeover to the Timeline format. I wasn’t crazy about the idea but went ahead and finally took the plunge. So far I have been pleased with the way the Timeline looks and what posts came up on it.

Pinterest is very interesting. You create your own “pin boards” with pictures of the things you are interested in. It is similar to Glogster in that respect. I can see uses for this app in a classroom setting. Students can create pin boards around a specific theme such a science or history. You can even design a pin board of things that represent you. When you first sign up on Pinterest, you are given suggestions of topics that may be of interest to you and then you are able to view sample pin boards done by professionals.

Sound Cloud- This is an app that enables you to record sounds, music, or podcasts to share with your friends. I can see the uses for this in education. A teacher can have students’ record podcasts on almost any subject and they can be shared within a network of students who can follow them. You have the ability to “see” the sound wave pattern of whatever sound you decide to record which is neat. This feature may be useful in science classes as well.

A friend of mine, who has written a book about her son’s struggle with schizophrenia, has recorded several educational podcasts using this app.

As a preschool and kindergarten teacher, I would like to see an app developed where I could find educational games and activities suitable for children and share them with a community of other teachers. This might be similar to the Circle of Moms app that I subscribe to. There you can connect with other moms to share your children’s’ milestones and share parenting tips. I joined a page called Preschool Teachers Talk, but I would like to see something developed further from that idea. Our kids are too young to actually have Facebook pages but it might be nice to have apps where games could exist for kids in that age range to play with parental supervision, similar to the apps that Starfall learning and other companies have developed for the I Pad and android tablets. The downside to this, of course, is that the kids may be getting an exposure to social networking too early in life. However, as our children’s first teachers, parents may be the best ones to show their children the proper way to harness the power of social networking.

Facebook for homework- a dream come true!

This week in class we are studying the educational advantages of using Facebook (yes, there are quite a few!). I will be reviewing several of the apps and deciding which ones might find a place in the classroom. Accessing some of the newer apps has come with a price, however. I did have to upgrade to the new Timeline. This has been a change I've been fighting for quite some time. I am not sure why.
Some of my Facebook friends do not like Timeline and say that having it has taken away their control of what they post on Facebook. Others like it and say it has given them better control of their posts and who can see them. In any case, Timeline will only be visible to me so that I can make whatever changes I need to before my new profile is completely visible to the public. I am very happy for that!

Please excuse the double posting.

I am not sure what happened but for some reason, the first post did not appear right away. I re-posted it, which resulted in a double posting. For the moment, I am going to leave it alone as I don't want to risk deleting everything at this late date.

End of Week 2 Wikis and Blogs

It is 8:27 pm and I have finally gotten both the blog (no more deletions thank you very much) and the wiki up and running. I am very excited about the progress I have made on both so far. I ended up posting two learning activities onto the wiki site because they were mentioned in the March newsletter for the child care center and I thought both were interesting. I am hoping that the creation of the wiki will be the start of a real working website for the YMCA Child Care Center that the teachers can use to connect and collaborate with one another. If successful, it can be used for many purposes such as developing learning activities, planning present and future curriculum and even planning field trips and fund raising events in collaboration with the staff and teachers at the main YMCA branch and the after school program sites.

Completing Week 2 Wikis and Blogs

It is 8:27 pm and I have almost survived the second week of class. The blog is up and running (no more deletions, thank you very much) and the learning activities have been posted onto the wiki site. I am very excited about both. I am hoping that the wiki will eventually become the beginning of a real working website for the child care center. If successful, it can be used for many purposes such as developing learning activities, planning present and future curriculum, and even planning field trips and fund raising events in collaboration with the staff and teachers at the main YMCA and the after school program sites.
   

All is not lost after all!

It has turned out that "The Luck of the Irish" is with me the day after St. Patrick's Day even though I am still of Eastern European Heritage and married to a man of Irish and Lithuanian descent. My blog page was still up on the other computer in the house and first two posts are saved!
So once again, here are the lessons I learned during the set up process:

1. I should practice what I preach to my preschoolers. Follow directions and don't rush. That applies now more than ever. I messed up while setting up my template colors and measuring my screen length three times and had to do it all over again because I kept forgetting to hit the save button.

Tom and Grandma having fried dough

2. If things don't go your way, don't give up. I had an awful time trying to get the link to my PB Works Wiki page in the right place but I kept trying. It still is not as high up on the page as I would like it to be but I am going to leave well enough alone. It is not worth risking the deletion of any more
posts!

3. Despite all the troubles I have had doing this, I am still looking forward to posting about all the exciting things I will be learning about in class each week.

4. I decided to keep the picture of Thomas and Grandma on the green downtown because it is such a nice summery photo and I am proud that I have finally mastered the art of uploading pictures.

Live and Learn

I have been working for several days to try and get the blog for my Ashford University Course Edu: 651: Collaboration and Learning in a Virtual Environment up and running. I finally had everything just
the way I wanted it. All that was left to do was to delete a post that I accidentally left blank. Well, guess what? I accidentally deleted ALL my posts !!  I wanted to cry but somehow I didn't. This is just another learning experience on my blogging journey. I am certain that there will be many more.