Post #1 Transliteracy summer 2015

I am a teacher during the school year who just quit my summer camp job so I can concentrate on school and other things that matter a little more. I have a three and a half year old who I am adopting because of an underlying family issue. I chose to do kinship for him (Luke) when he was first born because I didn't want him going into the system and I knew I could provide a much better life for him. Anybody that meets him tells us that he looks and acts exactly like me so you would never know he isn't mine. I live with my boyfriend in a little house in Medina and am very comfy where I am at now compared to over a year ago. Anyway, I am always connected through technology somehow, it's just hard to find the time to actually do things that involve technology, such as post every day about what is happening. I have taught in a Kindergarten class for the last year and am hoping to find something that suits me better as an educator. The experience I had with teaching that kindergarten class was not a positive one because I wasn't supported by many other people. It was a charter school inside of a day care and I didn't have the resources that I needed to help my kindergarteners reach their full potential. I was lucky to substitute teacher in some amazing places where I learned a lot about what I truly wanted to do. Thank fully I can go back to substitute teaching if I don't get hired into a school district and it's something that I love doing because I get to meet all kinds of people and the students are all exciting to see me when I come into a classroom. There is a little about me, now onto the other stuff.
     
The social media I currently use consists of facebook, twitter, pinterest, and parascope. Facebook is the one that most people know and I use it for status updates as well as garage sale sites that are easy and efficient to use. I use twitter mostly for staying updated on current events and following certain celebrities that I wouldn't otherwise come in contact with. It's pretty cool when you can talk to someone you would never have dreamed of talking to through the internet because we have the capability to be more connected. Pinterest is something I use for ideas, I believe I have made one post to pinterest and love that fact that you can find anything you are looking for (for the more part) without trying because other people are generous enough to take time out of their busy schedules to give information needed for everyone else to use at their own discretion. Parascope is a newer video blog type of site. It allows people to record or do live videos of whatever they want to allow other people to enjoy it. I think of it like a virtual field trip because if you wanted to see something like the Eiffel tower but could never make it there, somebody could record a tour of it and put it up on parascope for everyone to see. It isn't an interactive site as much as it is a video blog site. Those are the only social media that I participate in to date.

For the question of agreeing on the author's perspective on social media, yes I do to an extent. I think it's important for students to have the means necessary to grow with everyone else as the technology grows and gets more advanced and in depth. I think there needs to be a limit on what students can do in and out of the classroom because the devises used and given to students are not always monitored and that's when things can start to go wrong. As long as it is controlled, I see no issue with students being able to post on social media, but that is where the problem lies. Student now are able to access the internet via cell phone, tablet, etc. and if parents aren't hanging over their shoulders at all times, they really don't know what their child is doing on that device. Parental controls have the ability to prevent certain websites or apps from being produced on such devices. However, are we going to tell our children that they aren't allowed to do something such as a blogging site even though it is requested for a class they might be in? If so, then there is an issue but that is something that we as educators have to learn to work around and evolve with. There is a safe way to go about social media, but students have to be educated on these topics just like when they are in 5th grade they get
"the talk." Couldn't we as educators incorporate the technology based talk into our curriculum in order to safely incorporate it into their every learning lives. My initial thoughts are posted here as well as the author's perspective.

I choose to keep my life as private as possible when it comes to social media, because the way I see it is you never know who is watching and it can ruin your reputation in the blink of an eye. The past year I have cleaned up my facebook to where nothing negative gets posted and if it's something that is nobodies business, then it doesn't get put on facebook. I go by the "dirty laundry" motto. You don't want to show off your dirty laundry so don't intentionally put it out there for the world to see. Even in texts and emails, when it is sent out it is out for good and anybody can access it within a matter of time so watch yourself because you never know who is watching you.

I have learned from personal experience the good, the bad, and the ugly side of social media and I have also learned to protect myself from social media. There are always consequences to your actions, good or bad. My family is my world and I am very connected to them distant and close relatives and friends. I am one that keeps her friends close but enemies closer because it is important to look out for yourself. I have very few people in this world that I do not get along with and the most important thing to me is for my son and future children to grow up without questions unanswered. These classes I have taken have really made me think about what I am doing with my life and made me realize what is important. They have helped mold me into what I am today, although there are many other factors.