EDET 543- Blog #5

My PLN has grown tremendously thanks to my time in this class. I had basic knowledge and had even used a lot of these tools before, but I had not really created a functional PLN of my own. I am anxious to put it to better use once I have my own classroom and I have an actual grade level and class to plan for. This has been a great opportunity though to lay a foundation and educate myself on PLNs.

Twitter Chat

I recently participated in two Twitter chats. I had never participated in a chat before and I was honestly pretty skeptical about them, but I ended up being really grateful for the opportunity to try them. I used TweetDeck for the chats and it took a little getting used to, but it worked well for me.

The first chat I participated in was #kinderchat. It started out very informal with a lot of discussion about the Olympics instead of the determined topic of how to help families in need. I am not sure if that is how this chat is every week, or if this was uncommon because of a big event going on. Eventually the conversation got to the actual topic and I was able to ask for suggestions dealing with one student and family. I was impressed by the immediate feedback and questions wanting more information that I got. The facilitator of the chat said I could direct message her if I needed more suggestions. Overall everyone was very kind and it was clear there are many regulars which I am assuming is why this chat might get a little off topic. This chat moved very fast and was overwhelming at first especially since it was my first one, but it did not take too long to catch on. I would like to try this one again as I get more experienced with Twitter chats.

The other chat I participated in was #SMARTee. The topic was mentorship and this chat seemed more formal with the facilitator asking questions and everyone responding. To make it easier to follow the questions were numbered and then you put the corresponding number with your answer. (Q1, A1, etc.) I found that this really helped since people would still be answering the previous question after a new one had been asked. I thought the questions were great. I have not had my own classroom yet so I could not contribute much to the questions about being a mentor, but I answered what I could taking into account what I would want from a mentor instead. My favorite question was the last one, “What's the best piece of advice that your mentor gave you that you still feel is necessary to pass on?” As a new teacher, I was very interested in the responses. This chat was a little slower than #kinderchat so I was able to easily follow the conversation. Like the #kinderchat, everyone in this chat was welcoming and friendly. Between both chats I followed several new people and gained new followers myself. I had a great experience with my Twitter chats and I am looking forward to participating in more!

One of the participants in the #SMARTee chat put it on Storify. You can find it here.

EDET 543- Blog #4

After using Twitter for the last couple weeks, I have seen how social networking sites can be beneficial for educators and how many options there are for creating your own PLN. This week I looked around at several other social networking sites and decided that I wanted to focus on two to start using.

Pinterest

I have had a Pinterest account for a while, but I have primarily used it for recipes and fitness ideas. I decided this was a good opportunity to really look into all there is for education. I know our parents have used Pinterest when planning our classroom parties and we have looked for a few art project ideas in the past. Since I already use Pinterest for other things, I think this could definitely be my new favorite site to use for education as well. I like that Pinterest is visual and you can scroll through pretty quickly and stop when something catches your attention. I like to see pictures of what others have done and alter it to make it my own. I love that there is everything from lessons to classroom organization/decoration to printables to art projects all in one place. I found that searching is very helpful as well. I can search for a specific thing or search for boards. I found endless early childhood education boards. I also looked around for boards focused on differentiation and found several good ones, I shared one below.

http://www.pinterest.com/teacher4needs/differentiated-instruction/

My classroom Pinterest board- http://www.pinterest.com/s_jaegers/classroom/

Ning

I had heard of Ning before but had never looked into it. I found a couple pages dealing specifically with early childhood, but they did not seem to have very much recent activity so I decided to join the Elementary Tech Teachers Ning. I’m still waiting on the approval of my membership, but so far this looks like a great tool. There are pictures, videos, blog posts, and a place to talk with other members all in one place. This seems like a good way to connect with other teachers and share ideas. 

EDET 543- Blog #3

I definitely enjoyed this week’s reading. I think the real life examples were important to share and really gave me a picture of what can be done in a networked classroom. The advantages to a networked classroom are numerous, but there are a few that stand out to me. First, I believe collaboration is one of the best things that comes out of a networked classroom. Students need to know how to work together. When I was in school group projects usually meant everyone went and did their own thing and then we tried to piece it together at the end, which was difficult and caused most people to dislike group projects. Collaboration is completely different. Technology has made collaborative work much more practical and natural for students to do. Students today also have the opportunity to share ideas not only with other children in the class, but students around the world. Communication skills are also used and developed constantly in a networked classroom. I think the combination of collaboration and communication is going to give students great advantages throughout their entire life. This style of classroom also forces teachers to constantly update their teaching and prevents them from falling into a rut, doing the same things every year.

Right now I do not have my own classroom and can do little more than offer ideas and suggestions to the lead teacher in my room; however I think I can still lay a foundation and plan for when I am on my own. I have the opportunity to network myself and get connected with other educators which will be even more useful when I have my own class.

A networked classroom can benefit all learners regardless of their individual needs. The main thing that has stuck out to me so far is the resources you have with your network. When faced with any need that a student may have, you have an immediate place to go to get help, ideas, advice, etc. It is also easy in a networked classroom to alter lessons to fit individual students. 

EDET 543 - Blog #2

I have been using Twitter in my personal life for a few years now and I absolutely love it. Twitter has definitely taken over as the main social media site I use. I mostly follow my friends, but I have also followed accounts that have to do with my interests (NFL football, running, nutrition, etc.). I had not thought about using Twitter professionally until I began the MET program last year. I started a new account that would be used for that purpose, but I honestly have not done much with it.

This week I have really started looking around at all the people out there I can connect with through Twitter. I think this is going to be my favorite tool to use for a PLN. I am already familiar with using Twitter and check my personal account constantly so I think it will be fairly easy to transition to using it professionally as well. I had never used or even heard of TweetDeck before, so I am still learning that tool but it seems it will be helpful.

I am really excited about all the ways I can use Twitter. Until I actually have a classroom, I feel a little limited but I can definitely make note of all the good ideas I see to use when I do have a class. I think once I have a classroom I would also like to use Twitter for parent communication. It seems like a great, easy way to send out quick reminders as well as links to student work. Depending on the age of my students, I think I might like to have a student run account where they can share what we are doing in our classroom. I like this because as opposed to a blog, they can share just quick, short updates with parents or other classrooms.

My Twitter is @MsJaegers

I also found this site that listed some good people to follow on Twitter
33 education twitter accounts you should be following

EDET 543- Blog #1

"Students need educators to teach them to cultivate and utilize networks for learning, and this fact creates a tremendously exciting moment to be in schools" (Richardson & Mancabelli, 2011, p. 7). I think the authors are absolutely correct in this statement. I have definitely enjoyed their view on technology in education throughout the reading so far. Online networking is not something new for me. I have had internet since I was in elementary school and would come home after school and IM (instant message) with my friends for as long as I could until someone needed the phone in my house and I had to get offline. My networking experience however, has had little to do with education which is exactly why I chose this program for my master's degree. I need to know how to use technology in a classroom which is very different than simply using technology. The one educational technology class that was required for my bachelor's degree did very little to prepare me for my student teaching where I walked into a third grade class filled with blogs, wikis, podcasts, webquests, and response systems.

I also believe that as educators we should always be striving to grow and improve our teaching. I think that PLNs are an excellent tool to assist in that. I no longer have just the teachers in my building to go to for help or ideas. I can collaborate and get ideas from all over. I think this class will be beneficial to me because it will force and motivate me to find time to create and expand my own PLN. I am just starting my career in education and technology is going to keep advancing. We need to join together to figure out the best ways to utilize it with our students.


Resources:
Richardson, W., & Mancabelli, R. (2011). Personal Learning Networks. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.