Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Week 15: 7th Graders PLE and "Two Questions That can Change Your Life"

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (PLE)



With this video, we can see yet another example of just how good the students of today are at technology based projects. It was interesting to see the ways that this student participates in a "paper free" science class. I really liked the way that this student highlighted the freedom that students are afforded with technologically based classes. One thing this student also pointed out was that electronic assignments are not like book work. Students seem to not feel as bored when doing tech assignments. This video also did a good job of illustrating that information still must be verified as valid, even if it is being posted on a blog. It was unfortunate to hear that this student has yet to hear back from the professor they emailed about their project, but in the future I feel more students will be able to get electronic feedback from teachers/professors.

All in all, I feel like my PLN or PLE (whichever you prefer) is somewhat similar to this 7th grader's, but they definitely seem to have a more advanced hold on these 21st century tools. They are doing work that is based on electronic media, such as blogs and google doc presentations, and at least attempting to share it with peers and academics alike. This student has definitely embraced the digital age and it is exciting to see. I am continuing to expand my own PLN and it is growing daily. There are so many outlets for learning and sharing online, and this video is yet another example of how effective these can be.

Two Questions That can Change Your Life: Daniel Pink

Two questions that can change your life from Daniel Pink on Vimeo.



This video was profoundly thought provoking. Basically the two questions it asks are very simple: A.) What is your sentence and B.) Am I better today than I was yesterday? The first question involves what sentence would accurately summarize one's life. For instance, Abraham Lincoln's sentence would be "he preserved the union and freed the slaves." This was a new thought for me. Asking this question of yourself can be self-reflexive to an extreme point. In the end, I feel like my sentence is really not ready to be written yet because I have not progressed far enough in my life to really accurately place anything. I have a lot of long-term goals that I want to be my sentence, but they have not been realized as of yet. The second question is actually one that I am familiar with, and actually have been practicing since I was 15 years old. One of my dad's oldest friends has been a long time principal in Tampa Bay, Florida. When I was about 15, he told me about this question and I have actually tried to use it. It has been helpful, the only problem than can occur from it involves when you are not sure if you can actually evaluate yourself. All in all, both of these questions seem ridiculously valid and pertinent in people's lives.

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