Journal #2: Affinity groups and Digg

Affinity Groups:

I took the time to research several Affinity groups provided by the course materials.  I found that many of them were out of date, and some of them were not really what I was looking for.  Classroom 2.0 did not provide me with anything worthwhile, so I continue to wonder if I'm using it correctly, or if it is simply outdated.  Most of the posts in the forums had fewer than 3 responses.  I then decided to research my own online presence and determine if I'm already a part of an applicable Affinity group for this assignment.  I have an Edmodo account that I use to communicate with my students, and over the summer, I actively use it to collaborate with other science Educators.  This summer, I also joined several groups on Edmodo during their conference Edmodocon, and am still active in some of the groups that sprouted up around that time.  Here is a link to one of the communities I'm a part of: https://www.edmodo.com/home#/community/science.  I find this to be a useful platform for teachers to share and ask for resources.  It's also very easy to link files and other documents through Edmodo groups, so not only is it useful, it's convenient and has many active members.

Digg RSS stream:

I was ready to not like Digg because I already use another blog reader, "Bloglovin".  However, as I started to use the Digg reader, I really appreciated the format the blogs generated.  The presentation is like an email feed where unread posts are bold, and read posts are unbolded.  It doesn't seem to add unnecessary colors or styles, so I can easily see the content, and scan blogs easily to find any relevant information.  I'm going to continue to use Digg to keep up with blogs of other science teachers, and other middle school sites and news feeds.

Question 1:  How can I meet with and collaborate with other educators online?

There are many online communities where educators actively share and ask for resources and ideas.  Edmodo, Facebook, and classroom 2.0 have many subject specific groups or forums that can provide valuable and timely collaboration between educators.  Explore the many online options to find one that works for you.

Question 2: How can I keep up with the multitude of blogs and news feeds about my interests and subject area?

RSS streams, such as Digg Reader can provide an organized and stress-free way of keeping up with, viewing, and archiving favorite sites and posts.  It organizes content much like email threads and allows you to "like", flag, and forward posts to twitter or Facebook.

About Me

About Roxy Yanko

Hello everyone!  My name is Roxy, and I teach 8th grade science in Monrovia.  I used to be a professional student, and in the end I finally received my degree in Natural Science - Geology from CalState LA.  I have been teaching for several years, and am ready to go back to school to work on my masters.  I'm very excited to be here and to start the EMM program at Cal Poly.

I got married in 2011, and finally, through the miracle of IVF, we are expecting our first child in November!  It's an exciting time in my life right now with reaching my teaching stride and potentially screwing the whole thing up by becoming a parent!  My hobbies have obviously taken the back burner in recent years, since becoming consumed with strengthening my craft of teaching 13 year olds chemistry and physics.  However, I used to enjoy photography, snowboarding, hiking, and relaxing on the lake or at the pub with friends.  (In fact, it was this "relaxing" at the pub that led me to meet my wonderful and supportive husband!)  I live in Monrovia with my husband and two cats.  Click here for a video of our cat, Creepy, catching a bug.

I consider myself pretty computer savvy, but that is mostly from the user end.  I have dabbled in graphic design for personal use with Pixelmator, and back in the 90's I learned basic HTML.  My students learned CSS over the summer and I learned a bit by watching them!  

I decided to pursue a Masters in Educational Multimedia because I had enough philosophy and theory coursework while earning my credential and then completing BTSA.  The way I feel right now, you could not pay me to take another "education" course.  I am much more of a 'hands on learning' type, and I feel that I can learn applicable skills with this program.  This degree may potentially open up a few more doors for me in my current place of work - who knows?

Here is a picture of me in my favorite environment - the snow!  Although I was born and raised in Southern California, I believe I was made for a different kind of place.  I hope that we have a better snow year ahead of us than recent years, and I am anxiously awaiting another "El Niño" year.

I look forward to meeting the rest of you, my peers in the EMM program.  I hope that we all have a great time learning from the coursework and from each other.  Here's to a great start everyone!