Twitter Chat

I will start by saying I was not a believer at the beginning of this class that Twitter would a worthwhile educational tool. I can now say that I have completely changed sides.  As the deadline has approached I started watching others in this class complete this assignment (which looked a lot easier to do than I had thought at first) and was impressed by the conversations they had.  The more research I put into this the more I kept getting excited about the amount of interaction I would have with specialists and experts in education. 
Last night I finally got the opportunity that I was looking for.  Let me first say I am glad I have been working on my speed reading because the more people in a twitter chat (maybe 20 or so in #atplc) the more tweets there are.  I'm not sure where I stand on the clarity of interaction, but here are a few things I took away:

• I feel sorry for the person hosting! People naturally want to talk about a subject someone else brought up or stay on the first topic you introduced all the way until you end the chat.
• This means that people are engaged and have something important to say however, these professionals were there to discuss things relevant to their schools and professions, nobody was there to talk about anything outside of education (though everyone was very friendly and helpful)
• I have enough info to sift through YEARS of ideas for how to assess, view data, interact with students, parents, and administration.
• ....I didn't think it would be so nerve-wrecking at first to interact with high-level administrators in an online setting since this wasn't a face to face interaction (literally nobody there was a classroom teacher, there were specialists, and most were principals or superintendents).  I moved past it when I finally realized these people were not here to criticize input; it was the exact opposite: they wanted unfiltered input on the topic
• In a school or district meeting you have a lot of noise (side conversations), and you have the same in a twitter chat too, but EVERYONE sees everybody's conversation so although it made it pretty hectic, the side conversations were very interesting and insightful.

This is something I will be reflecting on for quite some time, and to be honest I'll join more chats in the future because this one was such a positive experience.  I plan to go in Monday and discuss trying out a few ideas I took away from this chat, which is the entire point of building your PLC!

Week 7

So I decided to work with Wikispaces.com.  The main purpose of the site is basically for you to be able as an individual to build your own...wiki space (ok so more detail, you can basically build your own site: how to's, a general share space, presentations in some forms, etc.).  Many people (me included) see the word Wiki and immediately think of Wikipedia.  There are a few similarities to be had (and in a few specific cases the pages pretty much look like something you'd see on Wikipedia).  The point of the website in education can take on a much larger role however.  I have previewed/reviewed a few Wikispace sites before and how teachers used this as a virtual classroom, some decided to use it as a post space for a class webpage, others truly saw the site as a way to extend their physical room, bringing out deeper collaborative ideas for their students and ways to connect to the community and digital world.

I can't begin to talk about this tool without mentioning educationalwikis, a HUGE site that contains an amazing collection of real examples of how it can be used in the classroom.  (The site also includes a great resource section that you may have seen in your MET classes before, which will help you with setting up your own site, navigating others, or just understanding what more there is to a wiki).

Since I am a little familiar with the tool, I decided during this blog to look at it from a PLC standpoint.  One way to accomplish this is that Wikispaces offers the ability to create a professional (or student) blog http://electroniclearner.wikispaces.com/home.  It works pretty similar to Blogger in a lot of ways, if you decide to set it up as a dedicated educational blogspot.  I can see this being just as effective as Blogger at building a PLN, communicating with your school, parents, students, etc.  If you want to build a dedicated class website http://bernadetterego.wikispaces.com/home this is a really good example of how design can really affect your site.  This example also does a pretty good job of segmenting all roles of your classroom (area for sharing works, student info).  However it is this part of the website that really ticks all the boxes of a PLN.  She does an amazing job of showing tools you as an educator can use in your classroom and ways to incorporate them as well.  It is Wikispaces like these that truly highlight not just how to teach your students, but adds to your professional repetoir when creating new ways to present, share, and engage your students as well! 

Week 5

       I was really interested in the reading this week.  The chapter addressed a lot of issues that had been bothering me, and it went even further.  It more or less gave you ways to lobby for a networked school.  I was really fascinated by the cost effectiveness of introducing a true networked room.  If we just gave all our kids computers (in the way many districts have done for a long time), but not truly use them as the tools we could make them into, we do not only a disservice to our students, but really we waste money adding an unrealized tool into the room.  If we network the rooms the nice little chart in the book breaks down just how much money districts would save per child each year.  It is amazing to see what you wouldn't really need anymore once you network your students correctly. 
       One of the sites I looked into this week was http://www.edweb.net/.  I went through several of the suggested sites, and I think edweb is one of the better ones.  I liked the set-up process and how it helps tailor the info and content to your interests and teaching field.  I was pretty impressed with the capacity this site has to offer.  Within seconds I was able to connect with my interest in learning more about strategies for hearing impaired students.
       I also signed into google+ for the first time as well this week (although I was setting up this account Thursday night, so I couldn't join the class discussion and really see it in action!).  Until I get to try this out more I'll hold judgment, but everyone on Twitter seemed happy with it I noticed, and hangout seems to offer a LOT of professional and classroom potential.

Week 4: The Networked Classroom

What are the advantages or disadvantages of a networked classroom?

       First the technology has to work.  I'm sure we've dealt time and time again with the frustrations of planning on a networked classroom and something goes wrong (i.e. the network goes down, or the Wi-Fi stops for some reason).  Another issue that the book brought up was ethics/safety, an issue that always concerns me, especially with my elementary age students.

        That point aside, let me share a story that I believe really fits this chapter well: We began an assessment of the regions of Missouri, we wanted our students to go deeper than just labeling a map so we included questions that required students to use all the tools at their disposal (notes, chart they made, text book, laptops).  One question we created asked "If you had a business degree which region of Missouri would you begin your job search in, provide evidence to support your choice" (or something along those lines).  As I walked past a student's desk he had pulled up a link to an area newspaper and had begun a job search in that area to support his choice!  All this in 4th grade! 

       I don't believe sort of work can be done with books and notes alone, how could it, and the whole point is that we are creating students who understand how to network in real-life.  A student who can tell you which region St. Louis or Kansas City is in can tell you that may be a good region to search for a job, but a student who can email, Skype, or job search an area will be far more successful in real-life.

       We can address the transparency, safety, and ethics problems with workshops for the teachers (something that should be done way more often) and addressed to the students and parents clearly.  The one thing that still need to be addressed better is the assessment portion, something I hope to be even clearer about as I progress through this MET program, assessment is not as easy as it sounds and the literacy aspect, the ability to use the tools (which is reinforced during the chapter as NOT being assessed, the learning is), and the incorporation of networking more often in the classroom.

Week 3-Twitter

       I'll start this off very honestly, I had avoided Twitter as much as I could.  It's easy enough to use so far, and a very simple tool.  Something about the permanence of my comments online, and the availability of my thoughts to a huge audience had turned me off to using it (and facebook as well).  I guess what I'm getting at is I am concerned with saying the wrong thing and it being on display for many to see, and in our career field it seems so much can be used against us that we really have to be careful with what we say, especially in print. 

Once you hit publish, there's no going back...

        My true hope this semester is to move past these issues, and not just see a meaning and relevance to using it in education (I already do after this week's reading, but I'll get to that at a later time), but to feel truly comfortable using it.  I know many in our field get set in a certain way about how we teach, and the more we are reading and discussing, the more I see very big changes ahead and we can choose to work with or against these changes. They're happening with or without us, and ultimately it's our students who should be the ones to benefit from the classroom of tomorrow.  My hesitance is usually not with using a new tool, it's the security concerns I have, but maybe I worry too much, maybe your comments will tell me if I'm alone in my thinking....(the book mentioned this as well so I know they gave some voice to my point of view)

Feel free to call me out if I'm being too pessimistic, I usually am!

        More to the point!  This week's reading: I had planned to just talk about what the book said about Twitter, but instead something else stood out to me in this chapter beside what I mentioned above.  The book pointed out the tools we have now are amazing but they will change quickly, instead we need to focus on the networks, connections, collaborations, and interactions we are making instead.  Those underlying principles are what makes a PLC work, not just the 'what cool ideas does someone have for this tool in the classroom?'.  Our tools will change, but if we keep that mindset we can adapt easily.

How to Build a PLN

       Teachers are one of the few groups of professionals who are almost always passionate about what we do for a living (we kind of have to be!), so in many ways I always viewed a teacher as a personal learning network member out of just their interest for new things in the field, their desire to problem solve, and the need to work collaboratively with others around them.  In our reading this week a picture was included that highlighted what I assumed a PLN pretty much was, just a connection between you and documents, curriculum, and other professionals in the field/building. 
      

http://edtechpost.wikispaces.com/file/view/MyPLN.png/256240556/MyPLN.png
Yes I know it's not English, but it captures the view of a PLN so well

       After doing some research and reading though, the biggest difference is the amount you as the educator put back in.  We encourage our students to be interactive group members in our classrooms and contribute to the knowledge of the group to build understanding, why shouldn't we be doing the same.  This is the concept behind a PLN, your a true group member, not just someone who comes along to skim for the knowledge you need without leaving any personal imprint.
     
        This blog is step one in PLN creation, our thoughts broadcast to our readers, and class members and the active communication that stems from it creates deeper understanding, new ideas, and collaborations that problem solve and move forward.  Off the top of my head when you use any of the following tools, you are building a PLN:

• http://www.youtube.com/ (when you comment, view, and create your own videos)
• http://beta.skype.com/en/ (you really can't be passive with using Skype)
• https://www.facebook.com/
• http://moodle.com/

The idea is the ideas keep building as you work within your PLN that you've built up professionally.

Reflecting back...



       This class presented me with quite a few new ideas that I felt were really applicable in the classroom.  I have been offered tons of sites and tools in the past from other classes, fellow teacher, etc. but most don't work their way into my classroom (too difficult for students to work with, too much research to even begin trying to use the tool, or the finished product could be completed on paper in just as meaningful a way).  One thing I loved and wish I had had more time with was the infographic.  I already used my example of branches of government with my class (I kept it simple so they would have a clear visual understanding), but now I am using that tool to redo some anchor charts in our classroom so it really draws their attention, highlights steps, or clarifies strategies they can use. 



Hand With Reflecting Sphere.  M.C. Esher



       The digital story project was a great process.  The weekly steps to complete it, and introducing new tools along the way to choose from made it that much more personal in its creation.  I felt an immediate connection with 'hey I can use this right now to show my kids how to write their personal narratives and what one would sound like'.  One of the more interesting parts to me was thinking of the process as a storyboard, know I would turn it into a movie, I realized what I pictured in my head needed not only to be explained in my words, but the pictures I included as well.  I once saw another teacher use it to have her students create a video of the water cycle where the students narrated the video as a raindrop going through the cycle.  I had always wanted to do the same type of project, but now that I am familiar with it, I actually am planning to use it this year!

       The main focus of course, was how literacy can be enhaced by technology, and I think the projects really made me stop and rethink constantly 'is this supporting my students literacy or is it just a neat tool for them to use as a project choice?'  It was that constant question that made me more self-aware of my own learning throughout the course, and I think that will be the greatest take-away from the past 8 weeks!