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.