Thursday, November 3, 2011

Journal 7


Discovering my Personal Learning Network


 A PLN or Personal Learning Network is the establishment of a community of people that share relevant information and new ideas with one another. These people typically share similar interests and goals with one another and join together through online networking systems such as Twitter, Diigo, or Classroom 2.0. These online resources allow communities of individuals from all over the world to support each other, connect, and consult with new ideas. Recently, I have established myself on these learning networks in regards to my interest in education. I am able to connect with people who are well experienced in the field and receive their opinions, feedback, and resources regarding the institution of education. Our education system needs to evolve with these new technological times. It is important as an educator to keep up with new inventions and ideas in order to challenge our future students. There are numerous resources out there on the World Wide Web that have opened my eyes to a new perspective on education. In developing my PLN, I have discovered its importance to the success of myself and my future students. It is a privilege to be able to connect with a renowned teacher from across the world and share ideas with him or her. Fifty years ago, one could not have even imagined the ability to connect with people the way we can today.
I have always heard of Twitter, but I simply refused to get one until the day I walked into EDUC 422. I always thought Twitter consisted of people who were obsessed with each other’s lives, and that was not my intention or desire. Once I created my account, I never imagined the endless possibilities with Twitter. I primarily use my account to “follow” people who have experience teaching and are interested in the betterment of education in general. I am currently following about 10 educators at the moment. One prominent educator on Twitter that posts a lot of fabulous quotes is Nicholas Provenzano. One particular quote from Nicholas that stood out to me was, “Education is not something we deliver, it is something we create.” He has so many inspiring and insightful views on education. Another woman that I met through #ntchat on Wednesday night at 5:00 p.m. was Lisa Dabbs (facilitator in this particular chat). She has taught for many years and was also a principal for numerous years. She is well established in the education community and was very helpful in the #ntchat. Before joining the chat on November 2 at 5 p.m. I downloaded Tweetdeck. This was very helpful as it organized my chats into different columns and slowed down the feed so that I was not overwhelmed with quick updates. The topic of discussion that was led by Lisa Dabbs was what principals could do to establish a welcoming relationship with new teachers. I wanted to participate, but I was not sure on the process of teacher-principal relationships. This chat made me realize that principals need to make their teachers feel welcomed into the community. I learned that principals should be people that new teachers feel safe to come to if they may need help. They should not feel judged by a principal, rather they should be able to freely questions and receive productive advice. As Lisa Dabbs pointed out, "The best principals lead by example. They are in the classrooms and on the fields and are always there to support you." Even though I did not know much about the subject or question at hand, I made sure that I let everyone know on this chat that I was thankful these resources and support groups are out here for new teachers. The words of wisdom and courage truly made me more excited and inspired for teaching as a career. 

Diigo is a unique web-based resource that incorporates a bookmarking system and also allows its users to connect with people with similar interests. Diigo's bookmarking service allows its users to bookmark several websites through their online storage system. This is beneficial because it expands the use of online resources making it accessible from any computer. Like Twitter, Diigo offers users the ability to connect with one another and share relevant web resources. I use Diigo primarily for educational purposes. I am currently following 9 prominent educators. They are constantly posting various links that provide advice and ideas about the education system. One particular link I found interesting was posted by Tara Seale. It was a link to a website that displayed the most read blogs by educators. This was helpful because not only was I able to connect with even more educators, but the blogs were a good read and very informative, being that they were considered the most popular and most read. Dana Huff is another person I chose to follow on Diigo. While being an English teacher, Dana has a Masters in Instructional Technology. I found that she had amazing insight to the connections of technology and education. While being a member of Diigo, she is also a member of Delicious, another web-based bookmarking system. This is beneficial because she syncs her bookmarks together which provides a larger list of resources to utilize. Michelle de Silva is another person that I follow on Diigo who is a Social Studies teacher for middle school students. I find her interesting because she posts interesting sites related to history and recent news on discoveries from across the world. Having a degree in History myself, I can definitely appreciate her resources. One important thing I noticed about Michelle was that she used the highlighting feature within Diigo.This is helpful because it allows the reader to jump to the sections of an article of most importance.


I joined the digital network called Classroom 2.0.This online community of educators is very useful because it includes numerous blogs from educators, live chat webinars and recordings about various educational needs/purposes. One interesting aspect of this website is that you need to be approved in order to become a member. This ensures that everyone on the site is there for educational purposes and are truly interested in the betterment of education. Not only do you make your own profile, but you can also send other educators comments/questions about specific items posted, such as example lesson plans. This is a very interactive way to obtain new ideas and connect with important people.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Journal # 6

Parr, B. (2011, July 16). Google : The complete guide. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2011/07/16/google-plus-guide/


 Ben Parr delves into the world of Google +, a new social networking tool that combines aspects of Twitter and Facebook. Google + allows its users to form and connect with various social networks in relation to particular interests, such as education. Rather than just obtaining mass amounts of friends in relation to Facebook, one can simply organize social groups into categories such as acquaintances or best friends. This helps users share different things with different groups of people. This allows for an easier and accessible way to manage privacy policies. Another interesting feature that Google + provides is the aspect titled, "Sparks." This search engine located within Google + allows users to discover relevant articles pertaining to your specific interests. Once an article of interest is found, the users can set up Hangout sessions to discuss with many different friends at once. This feature allows its users to have a live web chat with numerous friends and be able to see and talk to each person at once. Google+ also incorporates aspects of Twitter because it allows its users to re-share information and connect with people of similar interests. These aspects can greatly help build an educators PLN.


How could Google + be implemented in the classroom?
First of all, Google + will help build an educators PLN. The classroom can benefit from this greatly because they know their teacher will be up to date on all aspects relating technology and/or education. The greater the PLN, the more informative and relevant the educator for the benefit of the classroom.


Brogan, C. (2011, September 30). Educators: Google plus is for you. Retrieved from http://www.chrisbrogan.com/gpluseducators/


Chris Brogan takes the world of Google + and discovers the elements that would be useful in a classroom. One of the most interesting ways that he states Google+ can be useful in the classroom is if the educator posts class discussions or debates. This way, the teacher can share this information directly with his or her students and everyone can have a chat or discussion on the topic. The way that one can make this more interactive is if the teacher sets up a Hangout session with the class and everyone can partake in a live group discussion. This is also beneficial because students can ask the teacher any particular questions they may develop while finishing their homework or other various assignments from class. The teacher can also bring in a guest speaker and include them in on the Hangout with the class. The guest speaker could be a prominent figure from anywhere in the world because Google+ allows you to connect with so many different people. This opens students up to greater possibilities in life through the constant interaction and development of new knowledge.

Would this be realistic for any teacher at any level?

I believe this aspect of Google+ should be monitored based on the maturity level of the students. I can not see a group of third graders utilizing these tools very much, but I think it is important to introduce them to it. Middle school levels could appropriately use these sources if monitored. I think it is important to begin children at early levels discovering new aspects of technology. They are already experts at technology, so why not engage and challenge them to the new developing technology.