Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Journal 9: Adaptive Technology


Journal 9: Adaptive Technology NETS-4
    To consider the needs of students with special needs, I investigated some concepts and tools that are helpful in the classroom.  I focused on two types of tools that offer communication and accessibility in the classroom.  I researched a low tech and a high tech tool for each.

Communication:
    AAC is a term that denotes methods of assisting communication. AAC means alternative/augmentative communication. I researched a low tech option and a high tech option to utilize in a classroom.  A low tech AAC device helps assist people through words and pictures. A high tech AAC device helps students communicate through a voice output device.

Low Tech--Find-It Beanbag Activities Set
    This set includes a theme-based beanbag for students to hold and explore.  The bags contain hidden objects that encourage fine motor manipulation and commenting.  Students can poke and shake the bags revealing new objects in the see through window. Students use an activity board and pictures to comment on what they see. The kit includes a beanbag, 15 items in the beanbag, an activity board with hook Velcro to use with vocabulary, sentence starters, a language sentence strip, and a detailed activity plan.

High Tech--Spring Board Lite
    It is a portable PRC product that uses a powerful unity language system. It includes a display of configurations/pictures and voice input.  The device is easy to use and its communication capacity can grow along with the user’s capabilities. It has easy to change access options when serving various skill levels of multiple device users.




Accessibility:
    When teaching special needs students, the ultimate goal is to help students become generalized into the general education population. In order to help students become integrated into a computer or tech class, there are input devices that can help with certain disabilities.  Input devices include a keyboard or mouse, something you use to put in information into the computer. I researched one hardware option and one software option.

Hardware Option-- Magic Touch Add-On Touch Screen Notebook
    You can instantly convert your standard notebook computer into a touch interactive device. The MagicTouch Touch Screen’s USB interface is compatible with Windows or Mac operating systems. This piece of hardware can be easily used in the classroom.
  
Software Option-- Eyegaze System
    It is an input device that allows individuals to control their computers through means other than standard keyboard. The Eye recording device allows for the student to control the cursor on screen without the use of hands.  This gives students the ability to type.  It accommodates a very wide range of eye conditions and the calibration system takes 15 seconds. 

Monday, August 8, 2011

Journal 7: My PLN


The Personal Learning Network (PLN) NETS-5

    A PLN is a network that you create and learn from.  It is a personal network that you create in order to find people or groups that share the same interests as you.  These interests can vary from teaching tools, news in Education, and technology. In the future, I hope to add to my personal learning network by sharing websites, new information I have learned about teaching English Literature, and any information on working with students who know English as second language.

Twitter
     Twitter is a great social networking site where you can connect with others who have the same interests as you.  While in twitter, you can participate in chats by using hash tags and a key word ex. #2Edchat.  Also, if you have a question you can go right ahead and participate then see what responses you get.  Some responses can include links that may be of interest to you.  I have not participated yet but was an avid observer in the discussion that was taking place.
    I began to build my personal learning network by following students who are also on a path to becoming teachers.  I am also following some educators who are interested in writing, technology, sharing English lessons and teaching resources, and whose interests also include in working with ESL students. I also found an ESL library group, which is a site for language teachers. In order to have a successful Twitter site that helps with learning more about teaching, lessons, and in expanding my knowledge, I need to have a network that is resourceful and shares the same interests I have in education.
    On Sunday 8/7/11 at 7:00 pm (EST) I participated in #2SirChat.  This chat deals with diversity, social justice, and equitable incomes in K12 education.  The main focus of the discussion was on how educators can assist in achieving equitable outcomes for children who have been historically discriminated against.  One person suggested that teachers should teach with accuracy and integrity.  If they are going to teach history, they must teach on historical moments when nationalism led to oppression both in U.S and abroad. This person also stated that it is important when teaching to honor multiple cultures, show enthusiasm, and teach on a common ground about immigrant history.  They also discussed about ways to go about this through a project such as mock trial.  There was also a focus on teaching students to learn to know vs. learn to understand issues in society.  I thought this experience was very positive because I learned that one can easily participate on a chat online by meeting with a network at a certain time and discuss issues on education and how to solve them.  With a network, I get feedback and links to information that would not have been accessible to me if I was not on twitter.


Diigo
     Diigo is a free social bookmarking, research, and sharing tool that allows one to create a network.  When using Diigo, I can highlight information I find interesting on a particular website and I can also bookmark the site, so I can come back to it later.  Another interesting aspect of Diigo is that I can share my information with educators in the network I have created.
     My Diigo network includes five people and my Technology class professor.  I am following a secondary school teacher interested in integrating technology to maximize student learning.  Another person is an ESL teacher who works with refugees and migrants.  Then I also have a teacher librarian who teaches English and ESL.  The reason I added these educators is because they share the same interests I have and also because I can learn from them.
    In my Diigo, I tagged a website that exhibits weekly education news for educators and information on leadership.  I also bookmarked a site called Story It which has so much information on word games and in how to create stories.  The next site I bookmarked is an online writing resource for teachers. It presents the best online writing resources for English teachers.  My last site includes information on how to make interactive books.  The reason I tagged these sites is because they have valuable information I can utilize in lessons when I begin teaching. 


Ning
    I joined The Educator’s PLN which is a personal learning network for educators.  I explored the site and decided to watch a video called “Why You Need to Fail” by Derek Sivers.  He is an educational speaker. His video focuses on the importance of failure for effective learning, growth mindset, and quality experimentation. He states that to learn something effectively one must make mistakes.  He states that if you don’t fail, you are not learning. He mentions an author that has a book on this subject. The author is Daniel Coyle and the name of his book is Talent Code.  Sivers also mentions how doing what one knows is fun but does not improve you.  I thought this video was interesting because Sivers talks about how students learn. He mentions there are the fixed and growth mindset in people. A fixed mindset person believes he or she is already good at a subject and does not make any effort to improve. The growth mindset is a person that continually puts effort to do better work. 

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Journal 8: Find the Truth on Pacific Tree Octopus

Journal 8: "Find the Truth About the Pacific Tree Octopus" NETS-3
Ferrell, K. (August 2011). Find the truth about the pacific tree octopus. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(1), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-august-2011.aspx

   In this article, Ferrell assigned his 4th grade class an assignment that was different but the assignment educated his students about the negative aspects of googling without using critical thinking skills.  Students learned to detect what pieces of information are valid and what is not.  Everything started when the assignment was given.   The directions were for students to start a research project by teaching them and improving their research skills at the same time.  Students were given two topics to research and share what they learned.  The first topic was “The Tree Octopus” and the second topic was “All about Explorers.”  After researching their two topics, students shared their  findings and discussed how there were some flaws in their research (Ferrell 34.)  During discussion, student compared their findings from the websites and found many claims and facts that were not valid.  The discussion continued towards what to look for in websites that are reputable.  Ferrell states that he has done many research lessons in the past but none had such a lasting impact like this one because students actively did their own research and learned in the process.

Question 1: When discussing what to look for in the research of factual websites, what did the teacher present to the students?
  
    Ferrell presented his students with the 5 W’s which are who, what, when, where, and why when looking at websites and deciding if that website has factual information that is valid.  They also went over how it is necessary to look for suffixes such as .edu, .gov, and etc. and to also double check sources.

Question 2: How are some students able to figure out that some information in a website is erroneous?
  
    As a teaching method, some teachers collaborate and create websites that contain information that is not factual. Ferrell states that these websites are created in order to educate students how to research and decide if a website is reputable. Student on their own realize that a website is not valid and therefore use their critical thinking skills.




Journal 6: Student Voices for Change

Journal 6: "Student Voices for Change" NETS-2
Miller, S. (June/July 2011). Student voices for change. Learning and Leading with Technology, 38(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2011.aspx
   
    In the fall of 2009,  a school in Iowa called Van Meter community school adopted a one laptop initiative in grades 6-12 and a strong technology focus throughout the district. The one laptop initiative ensures that every student is provided a laptop.  Since the initiative took place, the school environment has changed drastically where it is now an environment of respect, creativity, collaboration, and connection (McClintock 20.)  Students find their passion and their voices have been magnified as young educational activists.  The initiative greatly influenced their learning, and as a result these students gave testimonials to the Iowa House and Senate Education Appropriations committee.  McClintock states the students are now a voice for change in education and are making an impact on the future of all young people.  During the meeting, administrators and seven students from grades 5-12 spoke about their educational transformation through the use of technology. One student named Holly Baiotto in grade 10 talked about the virtual reality program and how she created connections with Rockwell Collins engineers and Iowa State University.  In this program, she developed 2D and 3D virtual reality projects on topics she was passionate about. Van Meter community school emphasizes on encouraging students to become leaders by embracing the thinking of the students and voicing their needs to be heard (McClintock 21.)  The author of the article also mentions that Van Meter community school highlights the importance of educating children to be comfortable with higher learning and to be confident young speakers.

Question 1: During the meeting where students gave testimonials, how did the committee react?

    As stated by McClintock, the legislators were amazed and moved.  Their question to the students and administrators was “what can we do to get out of your way?” which denotes that the school is making remarkable changes in education and the legislators of Iowa want to see more.  Some of the legislators thought the meeting was unforgettable and want to see this exhibited in other schools.  However, in any area of education, programs that are implemented take time and sufficient resources and funds.

Question 2: What did other students talk about during their testimonials?

    Another student named Maddy Darrah in grade 7 showed the committee a YouTube video called “Van Meter Student Connects with author Amy Efaw.”  The student explained how she made the connection with the author through Skype and Facebook.  There was also another student who is only in grade 5 and spoke about her blog, We Talk.  The work that the students are doing especially in technology goes beyond the basic standards of many schools.

Monday, July 25, 2011

All About Me Survey

All About Me Survey NETS-5
     My form is an online “About Me” survey for students to take and it focuses on educational interests.  The questions are presented in various formats including multiple, scale rating, and short answer.  The answers provided from the forms are reported back to me through Google Docs in an Excel spreadsheet that I can download.  Using Google Forms is an effective way of portraying to students how evaluating data is a professional practice that supports student learning and leadership.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Journal 4: One Size Never Fits All

Journal 4: "One Size Never Fits All" NETS-1
Courduff, J. (June/July 2011). One size never fits all. Learning and Leading with Technology, 38(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2011.aspx

        In this article, Courduff explains how the use of technology is the key to learning especially for students with special needs. Also the idea of integrating technology into the curriculum is not so difficult as it seems.  The Etiwanda School District in California implemented a district wide technology integration program for all teachers.  The training included Intel Teach to the Future and the application included effective use of Microsoft Office Programs in teaching and learning activities.  Some of these activities included digital storytelling, e-portfolios, and integrating emerging technologies such as interactive white boards.  The program was then offered to special needs and created a practical technology support plan for teachers working in specialized academic instruction programs.  
        The program was designed as a Community of Practice model that allows a scaffolded learning approach that provided assistive technology toolkits.  Results showed that it takes more than three years for teachers to make the transition from knowing how to use technology to integrating it into learning tasks.  Courduff states that in order for technology to be integrated meaningfully, teachers needed individual and group mentoring and flexibility, so the program was divided into three tiers. In tier one, the teachers participate in hands on workshop sessions to learn how to use the technology. Moving on to tier two, a teacher's training moves to the development of e-portfolios to student led conferences. For tier three, a teacher's face to face support and collaboration continues, but online collaboration becomes a larger component of the training.  
        The training was effective with positive results.  Students met their IEP goals faster and student performance on district benchmark improved.  Teachers learned to  match specific curricular tasks with technology resources that engaged students, increased their understanding, and enhanced their learning experience.  The goal was to create an environment that is engaging and inspiring for teachers and students, increases student achievement, and addresses students’ learning goals.  Some technology tools learned were to implement programs such as speech to text feature in Microsoft word, word prediction, and text to speech programs which changed the students’ attitudes toward writing.  The implementation of technology into learning and teaching is a slow progress, but the tools help address students’ needs.
Question 1:  Why does it take more than three years for teachers to integrate technology into learning activities?
Some of the complexities result from not focusing on students needs, IEP goals, time restraints on teachers, school culture, and administrative support.  If integration is less than three years, the focus on the students needs may not be as high because the teachers may become so involved in utilizing the tools learned.  More than three years gives the program enough time to integrate it meaningfully within the classroom, while being aware of the school’s culture and earn administrative support.

Question 2:  How are AT toolkits important to the learning and engagement of students?
AT toolkits consist of digital storytelling, Fusion Writers, and microphones to engage students.  The importance of the toolkits is that it increases content understanding and allows for students to meet their IEP goals.  For example, students who have difficulty organizing their thoughts and putting them into words on paper may not be motivated to write at all.  A program speech to text feature from Microsoft word allows students to dictate their stories on paper.  Students then visually see their stories come to life and their attitudes towards writing change because of the boost of confidence that a learning tool helped them achieve a goal.  After the story has been dictated, the student then can creatively go back and edit until the story is a finalized product.  Engagement is the first step through dictation and the learning comes from the practice of editing stories.

Journal 3: Abracadabra-It's Augmented Reality!

Journal 3: "Abracadabra–It's Augmented Reality!" NETS-3
Raphael, R. (June/July 2011). Abracadabra-it's augmented reality!. Learning and Leading with Technology, 38(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2011.aspx 
        
        Recently, interest has expanded on developments that allow direct participation with augmented reality (AR.) Raphael mentions that adding layers of information on the real world is not new and it is something that is continually being developed especially during economic uncertainty.  AR is being driven  by an increase in mobile computing, processor speed, and greater access to bandwith.  As a result, the greater availability of these products are changing the way people interact with computers.  Finding ways to introduce AR to students is imperative for educators because students will then have access to channel their creativity.  AR is beginning to cross paths with education and educational technology through children’s books and AR curriculums that have been released.  In his article, Raphael introduces one example of how AR is being introduced today through AR authoring tool Zooburst which is a simple intuitive digital storytelling tool for creating AR viewable pop up books.  Zooburst is an interactive app where students drag and drop elements into stories, create narratives from scratch, characters are linked to text or sound, and digital portfolios can be created with a discussion forum.  Other examples are presented as well through mobile apps like Wikitude, an app that provides information about the immediate environment.  Some apps are virtual telescopes like Pocket Universe and Star Walk which allow one to point a device up to the sky and see information such as star names.  There are also AR games like TagDis and the Hidden Park which create projections and allow one to map an environment onto a physical space.  Overall, AR tools encourage students to feel at home as creators in an age where technology is becoming very accessible.
Question 1:  What are some AR programs that are out in the market?
Some AR programs out in the market are Zooburst, Wikitude, Pocket Universe, Star Walk, TagDis, and Hidden Park.  Raphael specifically mentions about the benefits of Zooburst which is a storytelling tool for creating viewable pop up books.  Through Zooburst, students can drag or drop elements into stories, create narratives from scratch or bring digital creations from other applications, characters can be linked to text and sound, creative work can be exhibited through digital portfolios and include a discussion forum.  Last but not least, Zooburst adds teacher management tools where teachers can create student accounts and a private environment for students’ responses to each others' work.  This is a powerful way for students to feel comfortable with technology and also have the freedom to use their creativity.  
Question 2:  How can Wikitude be used in the classroom?
Wikitude provides information about the immediate environment.  For example, on can point at a monument and have historical images and information pop up.  A teacher may implement this during a field trip to a museum.  The teacher can be the only one with the device and program and point to specific paintings ect. that pertain to what is being learned in the classroom.  The information that comes up in the application can be presented to the students and the teacher can make connections to the material he or she is teaching in class.  The use of technology is open to many forms of implementation in the curriculum.

Journal 2: Join the Flock

Journal 2: "Join the Flock" NETS-5

Ferguson, H. (June/July 2010). Join the flock. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2010.aspx
           
            Ferguson states that the reason for becoming a part of the Twitter network is to develop a PLN which is a professional learning network. This then transforms Twitter commonly know as a place for social networking into a community of learning. An educator may build communication and collaboration dedicated to making learning fun.  To build this community, it only takes a small commitment of creating an account, but the amount of time put into it depends on the person. The tools to help one build his or her own community of learning are creating an account, learning to follow people who share same interests, tap into other network lists of people, learn and read from people you follow, give by retweeting which means repost something interesting another person said, then later expose oneself by participating in conversations, and finally tag a tweet by using hashtag. Hashtag allows one to post a tag to the streams of the educators who follow that hashtag.  The best part of building this community is that one is learning from people who share the same interests as oneself but can also learn from those who have more information on topics that one wants to build on.  Having a network means that the availability of information is constantly streaming meaning that it is always there and one can also go back to certain posts or conversations.  Ferguson also comments on how twittering helps one succeed because of the network one creates.  The PLN or professional learning network is at one’s hands available when one needs help on strategies for class. If one posts a question, the whole network of followers are there to reply with any information they have.

Question 1: How can twitter be implemented in a classroom where resources such as computers may be limited?
            Twitter can be implemented into the curriculum by creatively finding solutions to limited resources in a school.  Some students may not have access to their own cell phones or internet at school but the school can provide a learning environment where online networks can be accessed.  For example, a teacher may ask for permission to have class at the school’s computer lab once a week and if that is too much he or she can request twice a month.  The request is subject to negotiation.  While at the computer lab, the teacher can show students how to set up and use twitter accounts and then create their PLN based on what she is teaching from the curriculum.  If he or she is teaching the class how to analyze and interpret stories then the twitter account can be set up on discussion of a specific story.

Question 2: How can students succeed through the network they create?
            Through the network they create on twitter, students can discuss a specific story by posting their own thoughts on the story and creating a discussion forum.  They can also choose to follow others who are educators and have uploaded information about different opinions on a specific story that is being discussed.  Students then can retweet what their classmates post thus creating an environment on learning.  One strategy of teaching is socratic seminar where discussion is opened by one person and all classmates participate.  Twittering is a form of socratic seminar teaching except that it is online.  Students become learners and educators in an online world where the teacher can remain the overseer and give students the power to control their own learning.

Technology Self Assessment: School 2.0









        I researched the 2nd NETS-1 module, Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. I read an article Too Cool For School? No Way! by Punya Mishra and Matthew Koehler.  The article explains how we live in an age of cool tools such as Facebook, Iphone, Flickr, blogs, Cloud Computing, Smart Boards, You Tube, Google Earth, and GPS can be repurposed as classroom aids that change the way we think about teaching and learning.  Mishra and Koehler state that in order to integrate and repurpose the tools, educators are required to have a specific kind of knowledge called technological pedagogical and content knowledge, TPACK. It is a knowledge of embedding content, pedagogy, and technology and it lies at the intersection of what we teach and how we teach.  The reason I chose this article is because it is topic in today’s society of how to make classroom instruction creative and engaging for students based on their interests.
In the article, I learned that each technology has a potential and a problem that educators need to understand before using them for pedagogical purposes.  There are several steps in repurposing a cool tool.
  1. Knowing the rules of the game/application and which rules to bend, break, and to leave alone.
  2. Transformation of content needs to be intellectually accessible to students.
  3. Deep understanding needs to be developed through training and deliberate practice.
There were three examples provided that can be repurposed for educational instruction which are Microblogging, Visual Search Engines, and Music DJ Software. I thought it was interesting how Visual Search Engines that include Viewzi, Cuil, and Clusty  can help students understand intertextuality in an English class. Intertextuality is a concept that texts often refer to each other in complex and intricate ways in order to create webs of meaning. Students use a search engine where they input a famous line or a character’s name.  Students then see how words and phrases are borrowed and how the words or phrases can have separate meanings in different contexts.  Finally, teachers can create discussion around the nature of intertextuality.  As I searched some of the engines, it looks like Viewzi is no longer available since 2010. 
Try these out:

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Journal 1: 100 things that make my heart happy!

Here is the list of 100 things that make me happy:

1. My family
2. Anything artistic
3. Reading
4. Cupcakes
5. Enjoying a glass of wine
6. Travelling to new places
7. Bright colors
8. Vanilla Chai Tea
9. The messiness of eating pomegranates
10. Mango and Pineapple
11. Going for a jog
12. Orchids
13. New jogging shoes
14. Crayons
15. Coloring books
16. Sundaes
17. Mojitos
18. Fries with ranch
19. Hot wings from Buffalo Wild Wings!
20. Having a blue moon drink once in a while
21. Spending time with my nieces and nephews
22. Painting
23. Drawing
24. Taking pictures
25. Going to the beach
26. "Carne Asada" Sundays with my family
27. Celebrating my birthday, in general celebrating life
28. Middle Eastern food
29. My Mom's tamales, enchiladas, and caldo the albondigas
30. The smell of mugginess when its hot and it just rained
31. Facials
32. Getting my hair done
33. Listening to Arabic music by Haifa Wehbe and Nancy Ajram, even though I don't understand it I like watching their music videos.
34. Steak with ranch is a good combination to me
35. Baking cupcakes and cookies
36. Cooking
37. Listening to Belanova, spanish pop rock group
38. Learning about different cultures
39. Cookies and cream ice cream
40. Reading books by Julia Alvarez, Isabel Allende, and Paulo Coelho
41. Relaxing on a hammock
42. Spring break 2008 in France
43. Attempting to learn new languages
44. Growing into who I am
45. Keeping life simple
46. The smell of new books
47. The smell of new crayons because it reminds me of kindergarten
48. Spending time with my mom
49. Helping out my Father around the house
50. Chinatown in New York
51. Helping others
52. Fulfilling a goal
53. Dark chocolate with almond nuts
54. Being curious
55. Reminding myself that life is a journey
56. Listening to Cher
57. Mermaids and fairies
58. Spending time with my sisters
59. Willow trees
60. Bouganvillia flowers
61. Camping
62. Dancing
63. Barnes and Nobles Bookstore because I could be there for hours just browsing.
64. Magazines
65. Mexico
66. Coffee shops
67. French food
68. Crepes with nutella and banana, eclairs, and cannolis
69. Victorian architecture and furniture
70. Candles
71. Speaking Spanish
72. Fanta strawberry soda
73. A chicken, pepperoni, green pepper, mushroom, and onion pizza
74. Hummus and pita bread
75. Homemade flour tortillas
76. Happy meals from McDonalds
77. Butterflies because they remind me of my childhood and of my grandpa.
78. Italian food
79. Limoncello
80. First day of school
81. Girl's Night out
82. Spending time with my cousins
83. College days
84. My college friends from the east coast
85. Cape Cod vacation with friends before graduation 2009
86. Summer 2007 in Rome, Italy
87. Family reunions
88. My long hair
89. Relaxing under the sun
90. Taking my nieces out to the movies
91. Watching foreign films
92. Art museums
93. Festivals
94. Writing during my free time
95. Listening to my parents, aunts, and uncles converse about the good old days.
96. Postcards
97. Weekend mornings of doing nothing
98. Planners
99. Settings goals
100. Living in the present and enjoying every moment.










Monday, July 11, 2011

I am Alicia


       Hi everyone! My name is Alicia Angela Lopez.  I was born and raised in Fallbrook, California.  Some of my interests include writing during my free time, reading books by multicultural authors, and if I get a chance I also enjoy drawing and painting.  My ethnic background is Mexican American and I love everything about my culture.  I come from a large family of eight children and I am number five “numero cinco.” I have a double Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Visual Arts Studio with an emphasis in painting from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.  I decided to leave my family’s nest in California and moved to the east coast at the age of eighteen.  I had a wonderful experience living in Massachusetts and was able to visit places I never imagined I would have when I was a young girl.  I experienced seeing snow for the first time and was able to see every season. My favorite being fall.
Before leaving to Massachusetts, I had a difficult time coming to terms with the idea that I was moving away.  I come from a really close family of ten.  My childhood consisted of being around so many aunts, uncles, cousins, and of babysitting my nieces and nephews.  From kindergarten to second grade, I went to Maie Ellis Elementary School.  I will never forget my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Blanchard.  After second grade I attended Fallbrook Street Elementary School, Live Oak Elementary, and then Potter Jr. High Middle School.  Finally, I ended up at the only high school we have in town, Fallbrook Union High School.  I loved living in Fallbrook and I loved being around my family, but I felt like I needed to move far away and experience something different.  One can say I enjoy being adventurous which is how I ended up obtaining my undergraduate degree out of state.  When I arrived at Holy Cross, I was culture shocked because the environment and student population differed so much from California.  I graduated from College of the Holy Cross in 2009.  After graduation, I moved back to California because I missed my family and the southern California culture.
My experiences with technology are standard.  I prefer to stick to the basics such as checking my email, facebook, editing pictures, sometimes shopping online, and also texting.  I try to keep it as simple as possible, but I feel that I need to jump on the bandwagon of familiarizing myself with blogging, twitter, and even creating a website.  Students today live in an age of technology and information overload that educators need to become familiar with tools to connect to students and at the same time introduce different styles of learning.  I am open to learning more on technology even though at times I can get somewhat frustrated when something becomes complicated but I try to remain positive and open.
I think it is important that educators commit to diversity and life long learning. The reason I chose to apply to CSUSM is because the environment is committed to professionalism and in preparing thoughtful educators. When I begin teaching, I want to be prepared for my students and be able to apply the tools that I learned in the School of Education.