Tag: education

February 2021: I’m Back

My last post was in December 2019. I’m no different than anyone else, 2020 was a year I will choose to forget and it ranks right up there with 2009 when I had cancer. 2020 consisted of finding out that my body is getting old and I did not know how to help myself.

I had a series of falls that resulted in fractured shoulder, smashed wrist, bruised elbow, sprained shoulder and contusions on my pinky, elbow and head. In addition, I had started eating what I shouldn’t eat, six years ago I was diagnosed with celiac disease.

Now I am on the mend and its a brand new month.

This month I will be reading the following books (plus more):

Forgiving What You Can’t Forget By Lysa TerKeurst” I will share the book review when I am finished and let you know what I think. Some of you may have completed her bible study of the same name. If so , let me know what you think AFTER I post tthe review. Don’t worry I’ll remind you!

James Liu’s e-Book, “How To Get Your Own Students Online And Charge What You’re Worth,”

He has a Facebook page plus a 21 day challenge to help individual who what to teach online and earn money. I am also part of another group where I am in the process of writing a curriculum .

Take Joy by Jane Yolen. This book is almost out of print. I was able to get used book (and I o mean used) So far I’m really enjoying the book.

Finally:

Challenged to Change Group with Nicki Koziarz

A 40 day journey that I will share, my challenge is to follow my planner: I can do this!!

Flooded: The 5 Best Decisions to Make When Life is Hard and Doubt is Rising by Nicki Koziarz  | Mar 16, 2021

I am part of the launch team for this book.

All of thebooks I mentioned above will have their own blog posts in the near future.

I’m back and better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Book Review: The Cyber Effect A Pioneering Cyberpsychologist Explains How Human Behavior Changes Online by Mary Aiken

A cyberpsychologist, really.  Yes really, we have progressed in our world to the point where we need someone to explain the type of person who is online.  In this case the character of the psychologist in  CSI: Cyber, (i.e. played by Patricia Arquette) is based on the author, Mary Aiken.  I loved that show and I learned a lot about that field of cyber, this book explains more . . 

Synopsis


The author explains the behavior of people who spend a lot of time online or use online. Mary Aiken’s  coins the phrase “cyberchrondria” to describe a whole suite of anxieties related to online search of real and imagined health ills.  In addition, she discusses why people develop relationships online as opposed to in person. 

Aiken has a number of recommendations to help avoid some of the pitfalls she sees in her research, for example, a separate Internet for children, which would be walled off from the dangerous Internet of porn and predators. Parents need to be vigilant, but unfortunately they don’t have all of the information the need to adequate and informed decisions. 

Book Review plus 4. 6 stars:

This book is fascinating and, but not a quick read.  While reading the book does each you a lot about safety . y, especially what to look for when searching the Internet. It is an interesting outline of a world that most of us touch every day but know so little about.  

This ARC was provided to me from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review. 

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Mentor Books: Good/Bad

“A mentor text is a written piece used in education as an example of quality writing used by an individual to illustrate a genre or text.” (ehow.com/about_5324946_mentor_text.html (2016)

Artists use other paintings and drawings to learn techniques. Teachers follow other teachers around to learn their styles. People use models of like material or models that represent something that they want to create. Writers in and out of the classroom are no different, they need inspiration, a good model or just an idea so that they can make their  improve their manuscript

I spent a lot of time looking at webinars to find the best approach and presentation.  However, I noted that in one of my presentations, it wasn’t very good and needed to understand the problem.  People who use mentor text in a similar method in order to help them correct a problem that they may be having with their manuscript.  I know that when I have attended trainings in the past most of the presenters encourage people to underline or take notes as they read a book.  I know that I have done that! I have found a passage or way the author has written a scene and wrote down my interpretation of the author’s style. I DO NOT COPY IT!

Copying a style of writing, it is just copying.  When you see how a writer has written a manuscript in a genre or trying to find a good rhyme,  it is good to take notes and use it for future or  current manuscripts.  Ralph Fletcher encourages the use of mentor texts in his books, when teaching during writing workshop. Reading for research is a month long “challenge” to read various types of mentor texts and blog posts on all different kinds of genre and techniques.  I didn’t really get into this year, but I will be going through it on my own at a leisurely pace.  What I really want to do is include the technology so that I can save my notes, the books and keep it handy for curriculum materials.

In the next coming months, I will be developing curriculum materials with one eye on educational technology and the other eye on working a skill or technique into a writing lesson.

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Accommodating Students with Special Needs: Five things to remember!

 When a students requires an accommodation(s) in order to access the general education curriculum that are at least five items that an educator needs to remember when developing their plan.  Not all students need an individual education plan.  They may need an accommodation, a general plan or specifica plan, but they all need to be written up in order to provide students with the instruction they need to learn!   

1.  It’s not about following the letter of the law but the spirit of the law.

An educator needs to remember that the law is designed to protect and help the students learn and access the general education curriculum in the classroom. The student should be spending as much time in the general education classroom as possible,while the students receives the instruction that they need. The spirit of the educational law is just that, it needs to utilized to provide the student with an education. 



2.  Listen to the students when assigning the accommodations.

The individual education plan that is designed for the student should be provide the accommodations that he or she needs to access the general education curriculum.  That is why it is important for the students to receive interventions prior to the during the development of the IEP.  This way the students and the teachers provide the accommodations that the students need and are good for that student.  Cookie cutter accommodations do not work for the students, nor should they be used to help the student. It is important to listen to what the student is saying and not saying as they are working in the classroom.
3. Students also have invisible disabilities.
The students may not have an educational disability that impacts their educational career.  It could be that the students have a chronic illness that may not be visible to the teacher. The educator needs to watch how the student is learning and what is causing the student to struggle in the classroom.  This would be up to the educator to make sure that they are aware of the laws that protect their civil rights.

4. Two laws regarding the protection of students with disabilities:
It is important to know and be aware of the following laws when setting up their students educational plans.  Instruction is not just the curriculum, but how it is provided in order to measure of how the educator can provide the student(s) access to the curriculum.  An individual educational plan may not be the route to go in order to provide them with access. 
       1. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504)  
       2.  Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
       3.  IDEA The Individual with Disabilities Act

5.  Disability is a protected class that we can all someday be a part of temporarily or permanent
This is the most important item to remember when setting up the accommodations for the students. Someday you may be have a temporary disability that requires you to need your civil rights protected and have accommodations put in place in order to do your job. 

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Who are in my Personal Learning Network? Why are they in my Personal Network?

 Everyone needs a personal learning network in order to be successful! This is a comment that I find a lot in the blog posts, job hunting advice and in the Bible. The individuals who are in your network can enhance and amplify your learning, success, creativity, happiness, joy and life.   
In order to develop and determine your personal learning network I propose that you list your responses and comments regarding the following five points:  

1.  Personal Belief System

Some people call this a moral compass, but it is an answer to what do you believe in and who has the ultimate power in your life.  My personal belief system is the Bible. I pray a lot and communicate with God.  I want to be obedient to his word and commandments. I need people to hold me accountable.

                                  2.  A Bucket List                                                             In the movie “A Bucket List,” the two hospital roommates make a list and set out to achieve those goals.  There are two components involved in the bucket list:  your mindset and your boundaries.  In order to make a bucket list, your mindset has to be open and your boundaries need to be limitless. Several years ago, I made a bucket list and I thought I put it in my Bible, but when I went to find it I couldn’t, so after fruitlessly searching for it, I made a new one. The list is typed, in my handbook and hs the following sections of importance –  primary goals as writing, teaching and traveling goals. 
–  secondary goals financial, relationship, health
– tertiary goals meeting people, habits, 

I have realized that in order to achieve those goals I need to make health and relationships a priority, followed by everything else so .… 

3. Develop your Personal Learning Network

a. Develop a type or characteristics of individuals that you want to associate with and why.
           
             Remember there are people in your life who you have little choice but to accept them as part of your existence, but it is YOUR CHOICE what kind of influence they have in your                   life. The people include:

              -Co-Workers: (workplace individuals, supervisors, team members and all other  staff members at your place of employ.”
              You DO have to be professional and give them professional respect.  You DO NOT have to                let them use you as target practice or tell you what your opinion is on ANY subject.

       – A social media friend has the same interests (educational technology, education, writer,                   blogger, book reviewer, author, entrepreneurial and/or presentation skills) and shares                      them with me, as I share with them. 
These are not individuals you know personally, usually.
 

4.  Boundaries

It is important to establish a gate around your life, it doesn’t have to be a solid wall, more like a picket fence that you can see over but people need your permission to come into your world.  The individuals outside this fence do not have the privilege to influence, direct or impact your life in any manner. 





5.  Council of Influencers


This council consists of you, you are the chairman of the board, and everyone in your council will help you meet your goals and positively influence you. This is a group of people that you choose, some may be close friends, some may be celebrities that have achieved your goals and want to know how they did it, or they may be individuals in between. You choose them, you accept them and the council does not consist of more than 10, usually only 5 people. They are who you touch base with when you make an important decision. As you change, your council of influencers may change or it may stay the same, but you need to constantly evaluate who is in your circle of trust.

This list is not exclusive the five points that are listed in this post, but they do provide an outline to help you select and develop your personal learning network.  It is not a short process and it should not be a long process, but it is a process that must be constantly re evaluated to determine if the personal learning network that you have developed has been helpful. 

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Let’s Salute the Week!

Salute the Week!!

The week has begun in a new month.  December is here and the holidays will beginning soon.  In addition, my family will not be together this holiday, for the first time and I am not sure how that will work out for all of us.

Yesterday I posted about Mystery Thriller Week and it received a lot of traffic.  Thank you everyone!!

This week will include some new reviews, one will be the connection an online Bible Study I am involved with P31 ministries.  I will be working on it this week, connecting with an author and establishing a podcast.  I would like to connect it to my blogs.

IN addition, this will the week that I will be exploring how authors are using technology to promote their work and produce their work using technology.

Hopefully it will be an interesting week!!  Let’s salute the week!

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