Lopez, H., Gonzalez-Barrera, A., & Patten, E. (2013). Closing the digital divide: Latinos and technology adoption. PEW Internet. Retrieved on July 31, 2014 from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/03/07/closing-the-digital-divide-latinos-and-technology-adoption/
I decided to go back to this report because it had caught my eye earlier this week. It researches the use of technology by Latinos in the U.S. and includes the use of the Internet, cell phones, smartphones, computer ownership, and social networking.
According to the report, Latinos' use of the Internet has increased since 2009. During this same time period, the ownership of cellphones by Latinos also increased and is at par with that of whites and blacks. Additionally, 78% of Latinos go online and they are more likely to do so using their cellphones. More native-born Latinos use the Internet than foreign-born. Furthermore, those who use the Internet more are Latinos who are either proficient in English or bilingual. About 72% of Latinos own a computer or laptop compared with 83% of whites and 70% of blacks.
The report goes on to state the about 87% of Latinos use social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The majority of these users are foreign-born Latinos and their use is mostly in Spanish. Native-born Latinos use these sites mostly in English but also in Spanish.
The report also indicates that the higher the educational and income level of Latinos, the higher the rate of them using the Internet, owning cellphones and smartphones, and computers or laptops, and using social networking sites.
One of the things that at first surprised me about this report was that the majority of Latinos who use social networking sites are foreign-born and mostly Spanish speaking. But then it made sense to me because chances are their families are in other countries and this is their chosen form of communication.
Personally, I am glad to know that this technology gap is closing. In order eliminate the digital divide completely, however, Latinos will need to keep striving for higher educational and income levels.
Report Length: 46 pages
Count to Date: 196/150
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Instagram and Vine
Instagram
I created an Instagram account just over a year ago for one of my MLS courses. Instagram can be used in the classroom or library in different ways. For example, we can use it to take pictures of students' work and display it this way. We can also use it to promote an upcoming event or highlight a past event. I like the idea of using it to feature a student of the week and to capture our field trips! I would also like to use it to post pictures of special events at school such as an assembly or talent show.
I took a couple of these pictures last summer in Gilroy, CA where I grew up, LA Dodgers stadium, and here in South Texas. The first one is of my Chihuahua dog, Coqueta. (SORRY - I ended up taking screen shots because I could not figure out how to embed.)
Vine
I was not familiar with Vine. In fact, I barely started noticing the little Vine icon on some entertainment TV shows next to the Twitter and Facebook icons. So, I figured that it was some type of social media site. I learned a little bit more about it after reading the info in the links Dr. Perry provided. Basically, it's an app that Twitter bought that allows you to create very short videos and share them. I think it's interesting how the videos can only be 6 seconds long! This means that whatever video you decide to create, you have to be selective and to the point. It would be a good tool to use to teach students how to focus on just one thing. I can see using it for writing prompts. I also liked the idea of using it for flashcards or quick announcements.
I played around with it and ended up posting my very first video, but I didn't mean to. I was just practicing! It took me a little while to figure out how to delete it but I finally did. I included two other videos below starring my Chihuahuas -- Chiquita Bonita (RIP) & Cosita Coqueta and another one about something that I'm VERY happy about! (Again, I was unable to embed so I provided a link below.)
https://vine.co/u/1106782487364919296
https://vine.co/u/1106782487364919296
I created an Instagram account just over a year ago for one of my MLS courses. Instagram can be used in the classroom or library in different ways. For example, we can use it to take pictures of students' work and display it this way. We can also use it to promote an upcoming event or highlight a past event. I like the idea of using it to feature a student of the week and to capture our field trips! I would also like to use it to post pictures of special events at school such as an assembly or talent show.
I took a couple of these pictures last summer in Gilroy, CA where I grew up, LA Dodgers stadium, and here in South Texas. The first one is of my Chihuahua dog, Coqueta. (SORRY - I ended up taking screen shots because I could not figure out how to embed.)
Vine
I was not familiar with Vine. In fact, I barely started noticing the little Vine icon on some entertainment TV shows next to the Twitter and Facebook icons. So, I figured that it was some type of social media site. I learned a little bit more about it after reading the info in the links Dr. Perry provided. Basically, it's an app that Twitter bought that allows you to create very short videos and share them. I think it's interesting how the videos can only be 6 seconds long! This means that whatever video you decide to create, you have to be selective and to the point. It would be a good tool to use to teach students how to focus on just one thing. I can see using it for writing prompts. I also liked the idea of using it for flashcards or quick announcements.
I played around with it and ended up posting my very first video, but I didn't mean to. I was just practicing! It took me a little while to figure out how to delete it but I finally did. I included two other videos below starring my Chihuahuas -- Chiquita Bonita (RIP) & Cosita Coqueta and another one about something that I'm VERY happy about! (Again, I was unable to embed so I provided a link below.)
https://vine.co/u/1106782487364919296
https://vine.co/u/1106782487364919296
Final Reflection
Looking back, I wish that I would have taken this course earlier in my MLS program and not as my very last class. I learned so much!
Out of all of the assignments, I chose three as my favorite. First, I enjoyed the cartoons and comics assignment the most. It was fun learning about the three different tools we used -- ToonDoo, Pixton, and MakeBeliefsComix -- and creating our own strips. In second place was the Animoto assignment. I had heard of it before but I had never created my own video. The third one that I liked was learning and using Screencast-O-Matic. This is a very practical tool to use in education. I plan to become more proficient with all of these tools and I will definitely use them in my lessons. I know students would be fully engaged with any assignment using these options. So, I would also choose these three as the most beneficial for students.
By the way, I did also enjoy using audioBoo for my podcast and learning about Infographics and creating one myself. Looking into the online book communities was also useful. I had never done that before. Using YouTube for educational purposes is also a good option.
I am not much of a social media person, but being in the MLS program I had to open accounts with Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Facebook, and Tumblr. Although I don't really use these tools on a personal level and was even reluctant to open every single one of those accounts, I do see how they can be used for professional reasons. They are a good way to connect with students, staff, and parents and promote the library and the different activities we do. All of these social media sites are fairly easy to use. If I were to pick just one for professional use, I would probably pick Twitter to send out announcements, pictures, and videos.
On another note, I found the PEW Internet website incredibly informative. They have done so much research on so many different and important topics. For my Mining PEW I chose several short reports and presentations because there were a lot of topics that I wanted to read about. I liked how the website is organized because this made it easy to search. As an educator, I am sure that I will use this website often.
For some reason the most difficult assignment for me ended up being the Journal Readings. The difficulty came in finding good articles from the appropriate librarianship and technology journals. Sometimes I would find an article, but I just couldn't get into it so I would look for another one. On a positive note, I do feel that I became better at refining my searches when I used the SHSU Gresham Library website.
Lastly, this blog was an interesting experience for me. It's the first time that I had to submit assignments using this format. Knowing that others had access to things that I wrote did make me somewhat uneasy at first as I tend to be quite private in my personal life. However, I do see a good use for blogs in education.
Overall, I enjoyed learning about all of the different sites, tools, and options that are available to us on the Internet. I know that I will definitely go back and become more familiar with many of them and use them in the near future. I'm certain that they will make my library lessons more fun and that students will be more engaged.
Out of all of the assignments, I chose three as my favorite. First, I enjoyed the cartoons and comics assignment the most. It was fun learning about the three different tools we used -- ToonDoo, Pixton, and MakeBeliefsComix -- and creating our own strips. In second place was the Animoto assignment. I had heard of it before but I had never created my own video. The third one that I liked was learning and using Screencast-O-Matic. This is a very practical tool to use in education. I plan to become more proficient with all of these tools and I will definitely use them in my lessons. I know students would be fully engaged with any assignment using these options. So, I would also choose these three as the most beneficial for students.
By the way, I did also enjoy using audioBoo for my podcast and learning about Infographics and creating one myself. Looking into the online book communities was also useful. I had never done that before. Using YouTube for educational purposes is also a good option.
I am not much of a social media person, but being in the MLS program I had to open accounts with Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Facebook, and Tumblr. Although I don't really use these tools on a personal level and was even reluctant to open every single one of those accounts, I do see how they can be used for professional reasons. They are a good way to connect with students, staff, and parents and promote the library and the different activities we do. All of these social media sites are fairly easy to use. If I were to pick just one for professional use, I would probably pick Twitter to send out announcements, pictures, and videos.
On another note, I found the PEW Internet website incredibly informative. They have done so much research on so many different and important topics. For my Mining PEW I chose several short reports and presentations because there were a lot of topics that I wanted to read about. I liked how the website is organized because this made it easy to search. As an educator, I am sure that I will use this website often.
For some reason the most difficult assignment for me ended up being the Journal Readings. The difficulty came in finding good articles from the appropriate librarianship and technology journals. Sometimes I would find an article, but I just couldn't get into it so I would look for another one. On a positive note, I do feel that I became better at refining my searches when I used the SHSU Gresham Library website.
Lastly, this blog was an interesting experience for me. It's the first time that I had to submit assignments using this format. Knowing that others had access to things that I wrote did make me somewhat uneasy at first as I tend to be quite private in my personal life. However, I do see a good use for blogs in education.
Overall, I enjoyed learning about all of the different sites, tools, and options that are available to us on the Internet. I know that I will definitely go back and become more familiar with many of them and use them in the near future. I'm certain that they will make my library lessons more fun and that students will be more engaged.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Mining PEW
Lenhart, A. (2013). Teens, social media & privacy: Reputation management, third
party access, and exposure to advertising. Retrieved on July 29, 2014 from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/06/25/teens-social-media-and-privacy-reputation-management-third-party-access-exposure-to-advertising/
In this research, Amanda Lenhart reports that teens care about their privacy when it comes to social media sites. Teens are overwhelmingly using Facebook more when compared to Twitter and Instagram. Lenhart states that teens share a lot of personal information on their social media sites such as pictures, school, and even their email address and phone numbers. However, only about 60% of them set their privacy settings to "private" or "partially private" on Facebook, for example. In comparison, 64% of their tweets on Twitter are posted as public.
According to Lenhart, teens also take steps to protect their online reputation. Some teens do this by deleting or editing their own posts, deleting others' posts, untagging photos, or even deleting their accounts. They also delete or unfriend or block people from their accounts. Some teens even post using some type of code words. For the most part, however, most teens do not care about how third parties may be using their information. Lenhart also suggests that teens may not comprehend exactly how their personal information may be used by the different social media sites.
Lastly, as far as advertising is concerned, Lenhart says that teens have mixed feelings about this. Some kids like it and some don't. Some teens do understand that they will be getting online ads in their social media accounts and that these may at times be inappropriate.
I enjoyed this report. It provided information that I wasn't aware of. For example, I had heard last year that teens were now using Twitter more than they were using Facebook. I see that this is not the case, however. Twitter usage by teens has grown, but they are still overwhelmingly using Facebook. I am glad that teens are taking measures to take care of their online privacy. It was interesting to note that most teens consider their Facebook account as something more private than their Twitter accounts since their FB accounts are mostly private but their tweets are mostly public.
I opened a FB account for the first time earlier this month because of this class. So, I am not exactly sure how it works and who has access to it. I don't know if there is a minimum age limit to open up an account, but I do know that lots of kids at my elementary school say that they're on FB. I hope that their parents are keeping an eye on their accounts, though.
Report Length: 26 pages
Count to Date: 150/150 pages
party access, and exposure to advertising. Retrieved on July 29, 2014 from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/06/25/teens-social-media-and-privacy-reputation-management-third-party-access-exposure-to-advertising/
In this research, Amanda Lenhart reports that teens care about their privacy when it comes to social media sites. Teens are overwhelmingly using Facebook more when compared to Twitter and Instagram. Lenhart states that teens share a lot of personal information on their social media sites such as pictures, school, and even their email address and phone numbers. However, only about 60% of them set their privacy settings to "private" or "partially private" on Facebook, for example. In comparison, 64% of their tweets on Twitter are posted as public.
According to Lenhart, teens also take steps to protect their online reputation. Some teens do this by deleting or editing their own posts, deleting others' posts, untagging photos, or even deleting their accounts. They also delete or unfriend or block people from their accounts. Some teens even post using some type of code words. For the most part, however, most teens do not care about how third parties may be using their information. Lenhart also suggests that teens may not comprehend exactly how their personal information may be used by the different social media sites.
Lastly, as far as advertising is concerned, Lenhart says that teens have mixed feelings about this. Some kids like it and some don't. Some teens do understand that they will be getting online ads in their social media accounts and that these may at times be inappropriate.
I enjoyed this report. It provided information that I wasn't aware of. For example, I had heard last year that teens were now using Twitter more than they were using Facebook. I see that this is not the case, however. Twitter usage by teens has grown, but they are still overwhelmingly using Facebook. I am glad that teens are taking measures to take care of their online privacy. It was interesting to note that most teens consider their Facebook account as something more private than their Twitter accounts since their FB accounts are mostly private but their tweets are mostly public.
I opened a FB account for the first time earlier this month because of this class. So, I am not exactly sure how it works and who has access to it. I don't know if there is a minimum age limit to open up an account, but I do know that lots of kids at my elementary school say that they're on FB. I hope that their parents are keeping an eye on their accounts, though.
Report Length: 26 pages
Count to Date: 150/150 pages
Mining PEW
Madden, M., Lenhart, A., Duggan, M., Cortesi, S., & Gasser, U. (2013). Teens &
technology 2013. PEW Internet. Retrieved on July 29, 2014 from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/03/13/teens-and-technology-2013/
This report focuses on teens and their use of technology in 2013. For the past eight years, the number of teens who use the internet has remained steady at 95%. However, what's changing is the way teens access the internet. Before, teens were using desktop computers or laptops to go on the internet, but now, with a significant increase in teens with smartphones and tablets, this has changed. Nowadays, teens prefer to go on the internet using their smartphones or tablets instead. According to the report, about three-fourths of all U.S. teens are "mobile internet users." Out of these, one-fourth use their cell phones only to access the internet. Interestingly, this applies more to girls than boys, especially older teen girls.
The report also indicates that about 93% of U.S. teens either have access to a computer or own one. More white teens own computers than blacks or Latinos. About seven out of ten teens that have access to a computer may have to share one with family members. About one-fourth of teens own a tablet and almost 80% of teens own cellphones, about half of these are smartphones.
I agree with the report that it is important to pay attention to what teens are doing with technology because they are the ones that set the trends for others. Therefore, it is an indication of what is to come. I wasn't really surprised with the findings in that I see this happening every single day either at my school or in my community.
I don't think I would like to be a teenager nowadays because although the technological advances of today are extraordinary, I feel that kids can never really disconnect. I grew up in the 80s and life for teens back then was much more relaxed. We were connected but with our family and friends. To me that is more important. Don't get me wrong, technology is great, but we don't necessarily have to be connected 24/7.
Report Length: 19 pages
Count do date: 126/150 pages
technology 2013. PEW Internet. Retrieved on July 29, 2014 from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/03/13/teens-and-technology-2013/
This report focuses on teens and their use of technology in 2013. For the past eight years, the number of teens who use the internet has remained steady at 95%. However, what's changing is the way teens access the internet. Before, teens were using desktop computers or laptops to go on the internet, but now, with a significant increase in teens with smartphones and tablets, this has changed. Nowadays, teens prefer to go on the internet using their smartphones or tablets instead. According to the report, about three-fourths of all U.S. teens are "mobile internet users." Out of these, one-fourth use their cell phones only to access the internet. Interestingly, this applies more to girls than boys, especially older teen girls.
The report also indicates that about 93% of U.S. teens either have access to a computer or own one. More white teens own computers than blacks or Latinos. About seven out of ten teens that have access to a computer may have to share one with family members. About one-fourth of teens own a tablet and almost 80% of teens own cellphones, about half of these are smartphones.
I agree with the report that it is important to pay attention to what teens are doing with technology because they are the ones that set the trends for others. Therefore, it is an indication of what is to come. I wasn't really surprised with the findings in that I see this happening every single day either at my school or in my community.
I don't think I would like to be a teenager nowadays because although the technological advances of today are extraordinary, I feel that kids can never really disconnect. I grew up in the 80s and life for teens back then was much more relaxed. We were connected but with our family and friends. To me that is more important. Don't get me wrong, technology is great, but we don't necessarily have to be connected 24/7.
Report Length: 19 pages
Count do date: 126/150 pages
Monday, July 28, 2014
Mining PEW
Rainie, L. (2013). Teens and libraries. PEW Internet. Retrieved July 28, 2014 from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/01/23/teens-and-libraries/
In this presentation, Lee Rainie discusses her research on teens and libraries. She focuses on 7 different things that she found in this research. I have listed and briefly summarized these findings below:
1) Teens live in a different information ecosystem: Teens are saturated with technology (i.e.: cell phones, internet, social media, texting, games, etc.)
2) Teens live in a different learning ecosystem: Internet has been positive and teens are more independent, but their attention span is shorter
3) Teens' reading levels match/exceed adult levels: Teens are reading more than adults (for research, homework, pleasure)
4) Teens use libraries and librarians more than others, but don't necessarily love libraries as much: 16-17 year olds use the library more than other groups but other groups think libraries are very important
5) Teens have different priorities in library services: They would like to have online book recommendations, "redbox" kiosks to check out, apps, e-books
6) Teens will behave differently in the world to come: Their brains will be "wired" differently - this may cause positive or negative cognitive outcomes
7) The public and teachers recognize this and want libraries to adjust to it: Search skills and digital literacy is important
Overall, I found this to be a very interesting presentation. It is true that teens are completely saturated with technology nowadays. Technological advances have allowed kids to have access to a wide range of information and equipment. Because of this, I have noticed that kids seem to be much more aware and perhaps seem even smarter than other generations of students that I've had. In actuality, I think that they only seem smarter but are not actually more intelligent than students I had back in the 1990s or 10 years ago. Teens nowadays have different needs in libraries because of the change in technology. But, they still go to libraries to do the same things as kids in the past - read, research, socialize. In the classroom, we taught research skills in the past, but now we just have to teach these skills in a different way and with different equipment.
Finding #6 above is what I am really wondering about. I do think that current generations may be "wired" differently. Will kids be able to or expected to produce more than they are now due to technological advances? I am not sure what the outcome will be or how different students may be 10-20 years from now. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Presentation Length: 39 pages
Count to date: 107/150 pages
In this presentation, Lee Rainie discusses her research on teens and libraries. She focuses on 7 different things that she found in this research. I have listed and briefly summarized these findings below:
1) Teens live in a different information ecosystem: Teens are saturated with technology (i.e.: cell phones, internet, social media, texting, games, etc.)
2) Teens live in a different learning ecosystem: Internet has been positive and teens are more independent, but their attention span is shorter
3) Teens' reading levels match/exceed adult levels: Teens are reading more than adults (for research, homework, pleasure)
4) Teens use libraries and librarians more than others, but don't necessarily love libraries as much: 16-17 year olds use the library more than other groups but other groups think libraries are very important
5) Teens have different priorities in library services: They would like to have online book recommendations, "redbox" kiosks to check out, apps, e-books
6) Teens will behave differently in the world to come: Their brains will be "wired" differently - this may cause positive or negative cognitive outcomes
7) The public and teachers recognize this and want libraries to adjust to it: Search skills and digital literacy is important
Overall, I found this to be a very interesting presentation. It is true that teens are completely saturated with technology nowadays. Technological advances have allowed kids to have access to a wide range of information and equipment. Because of this, I have noticed that kids seem to be much more aware and perhaps seem even smarter than other generations of students that I've had. In actuality, I think that they only seem smarter but are not actually more intelligent than students I had back in the 1990s or 10 years ago. Teens nowadays have different needs in libraries because of the change in technology. But, they still go to libraries to do the same things as kids in the past - read, research, socialize. In the classroom, we taught research skills in the past, but now we just have to teach these skills in a different way and with different equipment.
Finding #6 above is what I am really wondering about. I do think that current generations may be "wired" differently. Will kids be able to or expected to produce more than they are now due to technological advances? I am not sure what the outcome will be or how different students may be 10-20 years from now. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Presentation Length: 39 pages
Count to date: 107/150 pages
Mining PEW
Lenhart, A. (2012). Digital divides and bridges: Technology use among youth. PEW
Internet. Retrieved on July 28, 2014 from
http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/04/13/digital-divides-and-bridges-technology-use-among-youth/
This is a presentation that caught my eye because of the title. It's about a talk that Amanda Lenhart gave at a conference called "Media and the Well-Being of Children and Adolescents." Lenhart discusses the differences in use of technology among youth of different races. She begins by pointing out that
Latinos use the internet a little bit less than whites. She also includes that more whites own cell phones than Latinos or African Americans. Furthermore, according to Lenhart, about 23% of all teens own smart phones regardless of their race. Lenhart also points out that about one-quarter of Latinos are not sure whether or not their phone is a smart phone. She also notes that teens' use of social networks and Twitter has increased significantly since 2006. African American teens use Twitter more than whites or Latinos do and lower income youth use social network sites more than those of higher income. Latinos send or receive texts slightly more than African American teens and whites text less. The majority of teens have private settings on their social media accounts. Lenhart contends that teens believe most people on social media are nice and that only a few are mean. Lastly, she states that kids seek advice about using the internet and cellphones responsibly from parents, then teachers, and thirdly from TV.
To be honest, I liked how this presentation started because it stayed on topic as far as differences in technology use of kids of different ethnic groups, but then it seemed to go off-topic. I was hoping that Lenhart would include more information and more comparisons like she did in the beginning. Regardless, I did learn from the presentation. It did surprise me, though, that some Latino teens didn't know whether their phone was a smartphone or not. Something else that surprised me was that African Americans use Twitter more than whites or Latinos put together. This presentation is from 2012. I seem to remember that just last week I heard on TV that more Latinos use Twitter nowadays. It was also interesting to me that Latino teens out-text both African Americans and whites. I always figured white teens would text more.
Presentation Length: 15 pages
Count to date: 68/150 pages
Internet. Retrieved on July 28, 2014 from
http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/04/13/digital-divides-and-bridges-technology-use-among-youth/
This is a presentation that caught my eye because of the title. It's about a talk that Amanda Lenhart gave at a conference called "Media and the Well-Being of Children and Adolescents." Lenhart discusses the differences in use of technology among youth of different races. She begins by pointing out that
Latinos use the internet a little bit less than whites. She also includes that more whites own cell phones than Latinos or African Americans. Furthermore, according to Lenhart, about 23% of all teens own smart phones regardless of their race. Lenhart also points out that about one-quarter of Latinos are not sure whether or not their phone is a smart phone. She also notes that teens' use of social networks and Twitter has increased significantly since 2006. African American teens use Twitter more than whites or Latinos do and lower income youth use social network sites more than those of higher income. Latinos send or receive texts slightly more than African American teens and whites text less. The majority of teens have private settings on their social media accounts. Lenhart contends that teens believe most people on social media are nice and that only a few are mean. Lastly, she states that kids seek advice about using the internet and cellphones responsibly from parents, then teachers, and thirdly from TV.
To be honest, I liked how this presentation started because it stayed on topic as far as differences in technology use of kids of different ethnic groups, but then it seemed to go off-topic. I was hoping that Lenhart would include more information and more comparisons like she did in the beginning. Regardless, I did learn from the presentation. It did surprise me, though, that some Latino teens didn't know whether their phone was a smartphone or not. Something else that surprised me was that African Americans use Twitter more than whites or Latinos put together. This presentation is from 2012. I seem to remember that just last week I heard on TV that more Latinos use Twitter nowadays. It was also interesting to me that Latino teens out-text both African Americans and whites. I always figured white teens would text more.
Presentation Length: 15 pages
Count to date: 68/150 pages
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)