Some districts ban the use of social media in and out of classrooms, and others encourage its use.   How do you explain such polar viewpoints?

I believe that some districts do not fully understand how social media can benefit the classroom.  More specifically, they don’t know how social media can be used as a tool to increase student awareness and get them invested in their learning.  Others would rather not take the risk even though they realize there is some reward.  Even though there is some reward, the district would rather not take the chance of allowing electronic devices in the classroom and chance students not being on task.  I know many teachers who have twitter accounts specifically for their students and it helps the students connect real-world events in their day-to-day life, back to what they are doing in the classroom.  Yes, the students could write inappropriate tweets, but the reward is so much greater than that possible risk.

I feel that technology has always been the future and students are using social media whether we like it or not.  We (as educators) need to realize this and create instruction that utilizes skills that the students enjoy using!  Student enjoyment = better learning outcomes.

One of the main reasons why I wanted to do Paleontology Project was because I didn’t know a lot about the topic.  Throughout my externship, I was able to learn more about the geological time scale and what existed during each period.  Also, I learned more about Pangaea and the formation of the United States.  Learning these two important pieces of information will help me a lot when I teach the evolution unit on lifeforms and landforms.  Finally, I learned a lot about shark teeth, how to identify and measure them.  This will help when I implement these strategies into my curriculum module.