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.

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