I have learned that I need a support system that allows me to follow, collaborate, share, and communicate with others. All educators need some type of learning network. A Personal Learning Network (PLN) can be this for the educator. Most teachers want to learn more and get better at what they do. PLNs are the way to go. I like that you have choices. You can choose who you want to interact with and when you want to participate. If you are just getting started, you need to check out Dr. Mark Wager's article Personal Learning Networks for Educators: 10 Tips. YouTube has a great video, Personal Learning Networks for Educators , that will educate you on what a PLN is and how they can be used in the classroom.
An educator can go two different directions when creating PLNs. The two choices are Information Aggregation and Social Media. I have went down both paths so far. For the Social Media side, I have been using a Facebook account. I mainly use this to connect with family and friends. We have a Twitter project to create in this course, so I will soon be tweeting. Currently, I am leaning more toward the Information Aggregation side. I've created my first blog this week. It is amazing how many ideas I have seen on other people's blogs. I have had a website for years, but need to use it better as a PLN. Since starting this Master's degree, Diigo has become a favorite social bookmarking tool. I have bookmarked many valuable resources.
My biggest challenge is listening and offering help to others instead of taking great ideas. My goal is to start with the PLNs I have and build on those. I look forward to learning from others, making a connection with others, and sharing ideas.
I think you are going to find that both choices will have different value. The fun (and exhausting) part of technology is that there are just so many tools out there to learn!
ReplyDeleteI too am anxious to see what Twitter will have to offer me! I am still not fully understanding what I am doing with it, or Feedly! But I keep logging in trying to figure it out! We still need to set up a Skype test for our classes! My aunt and I are going to try and Skype- she teaches 2nd grade in Camdenton- I keep forgetting to tell you!! Great post.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy reading other teacher's blogs too. It really is amazing what you can learn as teacher just by reading blogs!! I would love to start my own blogs sharing classroom ideas too!
ReplyDeleteI feel like I am always taking ideas and I don't do a lot on the giving side. I have a hard time putting time into PLNs, although, I know that this is the best way for me to learn and for others to learn from me as well. I hope this course helps me get a better grasp on that side of things. Blogging is a great start. I've never done a lot with a blog, but I have had ideas for how to use them in the classroom with my students, so I'm going to be more comfortable following through with some of those ideas because of this experience.
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