Netiquette Page

Netiquette refers to the rules of etiquette for online contexts.  In this project, I explored many of the common rules of netiquette to design and write a page I could use to introduce to my students to behavioral expectations for online work.  I put the expectations in the language of the "Titan Way", the Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies (PBIS) framework used in my school so that when I share the page with students, the language will be consistent with other behavioral expectations  within the school.

Most of the rules of netiquette I ran across were already familiar to me from my own use of the Internet, so most of the time I spent writing the content was used to reframe these rules within the Titan Way.  This project also started me thinking about how best to introduce the topic to students.  In a traditional classroom, I typically send a portion of the first class period reviewing the syllabus and going over my expectations for the students.  In an online or blended environment, it may be easier to take the time for a discussion of the expectations where my netiquette page serves as a starting point, rather than a static set of rules.

In terms of technical skills, this website was my second webpage created using an original CSS document and my first use of an aside box.

Netiquette Page

RSS in Education

I started this project already familiar with RSS since I have been using it for personal purposes for a long time.  Reading an RSS feed is a part of my daily ritual in the same way that reading the paper was for my parents.  I think of RSS, when I think of it at all, as a useful, but mundane tool that life would be slightly less convenient without.

This is a very limiting perspective.  I've fallen into a rut where RSS is no more exciting or engaging than my morning mug of tea.  This assignment required me to set aside my familiarity with RSS to think about how I could use it differently to enhance my classroom.  In particular, I revisited a science news assignment I've seen many teachers do where students are asked to clip a science article from a newspaper and write a response.  Assignments like this have fallen out of favor as the number of students who get a newspaper at home has plummeted.  RSS offers a way to resurrect and improve the science news assignment.

Bringing a science news assignment into the digital realm actually offers quite a few advantages.  RSS makes it extremely easy to get articles from a wide variety of sources, raising the odds that a student can find something that will interest them.  In addition, when stories are clipped from a newspaper and a hand-written page turned into the teacher, only the student who found the article is likely to read it.  By sharing articles on a discussion forum, the entire class has the opportunity to read and respond to what another student has found.

Armed with a fresh view of RSS, I will be examining some of my other classroom practices to see how not only RSS, but other technological tools that seem unremarkable at first glance, could be used to engage my students more effectively.

EdTech502 Project Page

This web page, which is used to link to all of the major projects I completed in EdTech 502: The Internet for Educators, represents my first foray into the use of CSS.  A major component of EdTech 502 is learning HTML5 and CSS.  I entered the course with some basic, prior experience using HTML, but had always done my styling directly within the HTML code.  Having styled a web page both ways, I can easily see the benefits of CSS.  It certainly is much more straight forward to write a few lines of code in the style sheet which will then apply to all items with the <p> tag than to include a string of modifiers each time you use a <p> tag.  CSS also makes it much easier to experiment with layout elements and to change your mind; there is no need to seek out each individual <h1> tag to make a change.

EdTech 502 Project Page

Elements of EdTech

If you asked me a few days ago to define educational technology, I would have answered “using computers and stuff to teach better.” I expect most of us working “in the trenches” of education would use similarly simplistic definitions. In this assignment, I took the time to truly study and evaluate a much richer definition of the field. The AECT article used as a basis for this task reminded me of how complex a task it truly is to “use computers and stuff to teach better.”  Some aspects of the definition, such as ethical concerns, would not have crossed my mind a few days ago.

The complexity of the AECT's definition does not just impact my understanding of what the field is since educational technology does not exist on a purely theoretical level.  Whenever I make a choice to use (or not use) technology in my classroom, I am putting my understanding of educational technology into practice.  The complete definition of educational technology can provide a source of guidance as to how to make my use of technology as effective as possible.

By analyzing in a scholarly way which elements of the AECT's definition I find most important and attempting to explain why, I thought in much more depth than I have in the past about what is most important to me when using technology in my classroom.  This provided an opportunity to begin shaping my philosophy of educational technology.  I am sure this philosophy will continue to be refined as I progress through the program and I consider a growing array of issues and challenges within the field.

Elements of Educational Technology

Welcome!

I teach physical science and physics at Tartan High School in Oakdale, Minnesota.  As of this posting, I am a few days away from starting my sixth year in the classroom.  Outside of the classroom, I am an avid runner training to run the Twin Cities Marathon in a few weeks.

This blog will serve as my learning log as I pursue a Master of Educational Technology through Boise State University.  I will use this space to present artifacts and other documentation of my growth throughout the program.  Posts will be tied to standards from the AECT.

In the video below, I've described my goals for the M.E.T. program and beyond.