Week 3 - Twitter

I have to say that I was a little apprehensive about the idea of Twitter in the classroom. After reading the 9 reasons to Twitter from our textbook I can see it's educational value. I first acquired a Twitter account about 2 years ago and never really understood the point behind it other than it seemed like a list of look-a-like status updates from Facebook. When I first made my personal Twitter account I only followed a few close friends and highly famous people. After digging around I see that there are numerous educators and educational sites that are a part of the Twitter community. I finally created a teacher account on Twitter that allows me to communicate with fellow educators, but also educational sites that post numerous articles and links on a number of different educational topics. I find the biggest benefit of this tool is the ability to network with other educators. I came across an article on TeachHub that gives 50 ideas as to how to use Twitter in the classroom. My hope is to find a way to integrate Twitter in some way or another in the near future. Getting all of familiar with technology and access to technology is my first step. Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2010). Web 2.0: How-to for educators. Eugene, OR: ISTE.

Week 2 - Ch. 1 & 2 Reflection

After reading chapters 1 and 2 of Personal Learning Networks it is very easy to see that we as educators need to rethink almost everything we are doing at this point in the educational world. In other words we need to transform the educational system as a whole rather than reforming it. Many teachers that I currently work with are continually stagnant with the content and the way they convey that content to their students. The idea of technology use in their classroom is not present, which makes it somewhat difficult for certain students to stay current with the ever changing technology trends in the world around them. I think a huge component to teachers using technology is to first get familiar with it and in turn feel comfortable using it, and not just the basics. Teachers need to take the basic technology ideas and apply them in their classrooms. Only then will they be able to integrate the technology effectively. Richardson and Macabelli make it very clear that an extreme amount of learning can happen through the use of PLNs. These PLNs allow for large amounts of growth both personally and professionally. It seems as if when we are able to connect to one another easily we are more willing to learn and in a way that will benefit us as teachers. These PLNs also allow for us to take our learning into our own hands and make meaningful connections. Only then are we in control and have the option to learn as little or as much as we possibly can through these PLNs. I think PLNs are a great idea and according to the authors on page 41, schools with personal networks have seven common traits that stand out above the rest. These seven traits sound great in a perfect world where students have easy access to technology. However, for me that is not the case. I'm hoping that one day the district I teach in will be further along with technology and our students will have access at their fingertips whenever they need it. After looking at the list of tools in chapter 2 I realize that I am socially interacting with these tools, but I am only using a few of them for the learning interactions. I hope to change my interactions throughout the rest of this course and really allow myself to network and become the best teacher and student possible. Resources: Richardson, W., & Mancabelli, R. (2011). Personal learning networks. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.