Social Networking

With the internet today, your "private" life does not always stay "private". Sometimes your personal information is just one Google search away. When I Googled myself, nothing too shocking came up (thank heavens!)---my facebook profile was the first thing, then came my Myspace, then came a Cheerleading Safety Workshop I attended. There were even news articles from when I was in high school. The first was a Rose Festival article (I was on the Rose Court) and the other was regarding the "gang wars" at Parkrose throughout my senior year (This is an interesting forum that you should check out). After browsing the "web articles", I decided to do an image search and a video search. The images were all just profile pictures of my friends' facebooks and/or myspace. The videos were pretty great though! My last name means "hamster" in Czech so I discovered things like this :.

I became very aware of "social networking issues" when I started coaching HS cheerleading. Immediately all the girls on the squad started "friend requesting" and I had to turn them down and explain why I would not be their friend. Also, I took the time to delete all my pictures that were "inappropriate". Every picture of me holding a red cup, beer can, shot glass, etc. was removed. Even though the girls probably wouldn't ever see my pictures anyways, I did not want the window of opportunity to ever arise. Drinking alcohol is fine. It is a personal choice and as long as you do it in moderation I do not think it is that big of an issue; however, I do not want my girls to see me, their role model, in pictures with alcohol or any other harmful substance. One thing that makes this harder to control is the fact that I cannot control what pictures my friends or other people post. I could be in an album on someone's page and not even know it. This fact has made me much more modest about the pictures I'm in at parties.

As teachers, I think our personal life automatically becomes less of a personal concern and shifts more into the public sphere. Recently, I was at a bar with a bunch of my friends and had consumed a few drinks. Then I heard this woman say, "Miss K?" (which is what students call me at the elementary school where I work), I turned around and it was the mother of one of the 5th grade boys at the school. She had been drinking WAY more than I had but I still felt very embarrassed. She came up to me and we had one of those terribly awkward "bar conversations" and I kept thinking, "Oh God, I hope she doesn't tell her son she ran into me at a bar!". Even though we, as adults, have the right to a personal life, we still need to be aware of our position in society. We are molding the minds of children and acting as their role models and in some cases, we are the ONLY positive adult role model in their life. So I say "yes!" we do have an obligation to hold ourselves up to "higher moral standards". If I had children and saw one of their teachers at a bar and he/she had obviously been drinking more than a couple drinks, I would be concerned and wonder if it is a "regular" thing or if it effects how he/she is as a teacher. I would be uneasy about the kind of influence he/she had over my children. I know this may sound semi-hypocritical considering the fact that I work in a school and frequent bars often; however, I am trying to put it into the perspective of a parent.

I think the article we read by Carter, Foulger, and Ewbank revealed some interesting points, "whether we like it or not, teachers are held to a higher standard of moral behavior than the general population" and shall not "engage in conduct which would discredit the teaching profession" (Carter, p. 684). This is just a fact that we had to accept. Also, I do not think teachers or coaches should be "friends" with students on any social networking site. I understand that some teachers may use these sites as a means to "get to know their students" or "develop deep relationships" but really, this is the same as a teacher inviting students over to hang out. Teachers need to build their relationships in the classroom and confines of the school. Once you take it beyond the walls of the campus, you are just asking for trouble.

In conclusion, as teachers in an ever-changing, ever-dynamic world full of technolgy and resources, we need to be cautious and thoughtful in the ways in which we "expose" our personal lives. Never jepordize the opportunity to positively impact the lives of your students.

Marc Prensky Reflection

I am a “digital native” with a strong influence from my “digital immigrant” parents and grandparents. I had a portable CD player in my backpack everyday similar to today’s youth and their ipods and mp3 players in their pockets. I played a plethora of video games and watched TV everyday. Although I had digital native experiences all my life, I have always preferred the simpler, more authentic experiences. I would rather read a book (a REAL book with real pages that I could touch and smell) than watch television. I would rather go outside and climb a tree or play in a pool in the neighborhood than create a character that looks like me and climb a tree virtually in some online RPG. I was fortunate to have parents that also valued interpersonal and authentic experiences and limited the amount of time I could play video games and watch TV. They would only allow one hour per day on the computer or tv (unless we were doing something for class) and the rest of my free time was usually spent doing some kind of art project or riding my bike around the neighborhood with my sister and friends.
My feelings and thoughts regarding technology and education vary. It is no secret that “a really big discontinuity has taken place” and that “today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors” (Digital natives p.1); however, I still think that students should be able to access information in more traditional ways as well---not just “google it”. Teachers should teach old and new ways of finding information learning. Although some people think the old ways are obsolete, I still find importance in knowing how to look words up in an actual dictionary or encyclopedia. There is no reason why teachers cannot teach both ways and prepare students even more efficiently. As great as technology is, it is still not 100% reliable and should not be the main source of all learning. Even while writing this blog, I encountered an “error” and lost the first half of my work and had to start over---even though I thought it had saved. It is frustrating to rely on something that is not always efficient as the “old” methods.
As a student, I used computers to do online research, write papers, and create projects. We made videos, photo documentaries, power points, etc. I loved having the access to technology and the opportunity to create my own personal projects in creative ways. I am an advocate of using technology to engage students and create interactive educational opportunities; however, I still find value in the "traditional" ways of classroom instruction. I am currently a computer lab assistant at a public elementary school in South East Portland and utilize technology in the classroom setting every day---from math games to typing games and even testing. My experience in the school makes me view Prensky's articles in a unique light. On one hand, I fully understand and agree that large populations of today’s youth are extremely tech savvy and have tons of exposure to technology of all kinds. On the other hand, children of lower economic status are not as surrounded with said technology. It is incredible to see the contrast between individual children--some come in and can navigate the computer and internet with astonishing skill and efficiency, whereas others can hardly use the mouse or open a program. I think it would be detrimental to the lower-economic groups if education solely relied on technology or had "text message pop quizzes" (T4) because they have not had the same exposure as more affluent students.
In conclusion, I would love to see technology used in a beneficial and engaging manner in the everyday classroom setting but would want to weave it in with older, more traditional classroom techniques as well. Prensky says it best when he writes, "[a]s educators, we need to be thinking about how to teach both Legacy ad Future content in the language of the Digital Natives" (Digital natives, p. 4).

Assignment #1: Introduction

My name is Aika Marissa Krecek.
I would love to teach high school English/ Language Arts.
My favorite animal is a dog. I love all breeds but if I had to choose only one, I would say Border Collie. I love dogs because they are intelligent, loyal, entertaining, comforting, fun, and unique.