Joe Waski's DU Masters Program Blog

  Algorithms  Source: Geeks for Geeks This week I chose to dive into and investigate algorithms.  The topic of algorithms is very broad and almost impossible to fully cover all topics and usage of algorithms.  I will keep this in general terms and focus more on social media algorithms.  Overview of Algorithms: According to the article, Algorithmic Awareness , by Media Smarts, algorithms are defined as a set of step-by-step instructions for solving a problem or completing a mathematical or computational task. Algorithms sort data to find patterns and make predictions or recommendations. The term is often used to refer specifically to computer programs trained to make predictions.  This definition is the overall definition of algorithms.  Brent Barnhart defines social media algorithms in his article, Everything You Need to Know about Social Media Algorithms as   a way of sorting posts in a users’ feed based on relevancy instead of publish tim...

Professional Learning Networks source: Creating and Curating your PLN-HLS What is a PLN?  A PLN is a professional Learning Network.  PLN's can consist of people, groups, communities, or systems.  PLN's can change over time as well as one's involvement within a PLN.  PLN's are any group that engages in collaborative learning with others outside their everyday learning community (Brown & Poortman, 2018).  The ultimate goal of a PLN is to benefit children.   My PLNs?  When taking a look at my professional life, I find that I belong to many PLNs.  My current and past colleagues, my past networks from different colleges that I've attended, the wrestling community, and networks I've made online.  When I gauge where I find myself on the spectrum of the Seven Degrees of Connectedness Infographic provided by Rod Lucifer, engagement within those professional communities differ.  I mostly find that I am at Stage 7 Confidant in PLNs that a...

 Introduction Blog  Contact:   jwaski@jsmorton.com    Hi all.  My name is Joe Waski, I look forward to learning about social media with everyone while taking this course.   This is my 17 year teaching.  I have certifications to teach high school math with an LBS1 and an ELL endorsement. I'm contemplating going for a Technology Specialist endorsement as well.   Here is some professional information about myself.  I spent my first year substitute teaching at District 207 this is where I made networks that lead to my first job working for one of alternative schools that served the district.  My first full time teaching job was at North Cook Young Adult Academy in Palatine.  NCYAA had a total of 3 campus and was classified as a Regional Safe School Program that served at risk youth outplaced by their homeschools for behavior infractions.  I worked at NCYAA for 5 years, unfortunately the campus I worked at ended ...

 Final Blog In your opinion, what is the most difficult aspect of incorporating technology into a STEAM classroom?  Why is that particular aspect so difficult to over come?  The most difficult aspect of incorporating technology into a STEAM classroom is to do it in a natural way that follows the flow of the project.   I noticed as 21 st century educators we are quick to implement new technologies into our classrooms.   This can be problematic as some technologies seemed to be forced into the classroom.   There are a lot of great tech tools out there, finding the right one for the right project can be difficult.       Which letter of the STEAM acronym do you think you have learned the most about during this course?  What have you learned? When thinking about which letter of the acronym STEAM I learned most about, I believe there is a tie between Technology and Engineering.   I really like learning about how Engineering and how t...

EDU 782 Mid Term Blog     So far this course has been very helpful with providing different tech tools to investigate and use.  While learning about tech tools has been great, the most helpful content that I've learned was about the 4 C's of 21st Century Learning.  The 4 C's include Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Creativity.  While the 4 C's are great to incorporate with STEAM the 4 C's can fit in with any subject and does not necessarily need to be used only with STEAM.       I can see myself incorporating the 4 C's of 21st Century Learning on a daily to weekly basis.  I like to use discovery lessons for students to discover the content that we are learning in class.  I can easily fit in the 4 C's into their collaborative group lessons. I've always had great engagement within my class from most students.  I believe by using the 4 C's weekly and in each of my group activities I will have even more engageme...

 Final Reflection Learning Specialist/Instructional Specialist Proposal Source: Boom Cards Website Overview: For the past 7 weeks we put together a proposal to fix a problem or need in our classrooms using technology.  After we identified our need we hypothesized a solution utilizing technology and implemented that solution.  The problem I identified was the lack of time teachers have to plan and grade.  I proposed implementing a technology tool, Boom Cards.  Boom Cards is a user friendly platform that allows teachers to assign pre-made or created cards that are formative assessments.  The platform self-grades so that alleviates time planning and grading. We implemented our tech tool and then held a peer review or reflection on the implementation.  I thought the implementation of Boom Cards in my classroom was successful and will move forward with utilizing my purchased license of Boom Cards on a weekly basis.    How has the process been? The...

Step 3 Reflection   Source: Beaumont Independent School District We have just completed Step 3 of our Instructional Designer Project.   To this point we have chosen a need in our room that technology can help solve.   For this project I choose to implement an instructional technology platform, Boom Cards , into my class to help me save time with planning and grading.     How has the process been? The process has been very positive.   Since starting this project as I plan for my classes I try to think about how I can add a technology aspect to help support student learning.   This process opened my eyes to the importance of using technology to help support student learning.   Our students are getting more technologically advanced everyday and starting earlier and earlier with using technology in the classroom.   Have there been challenges ? To this point I have not had any challenges and the process has been pretty easy to follow and...