Thursday, January 16, 2014
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.
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I completely agree with your post. We have to incorporate more digital tools in education, but not just in the classroom. We have to use the current technology to enhance our networks. There are so many great things going on in education that teachers are doing with digital tools and social media. Unfortunately, many of these teachers are not "in our district". Therefore, it is essential that we broaden our professional learning horizons by using PLN's that exist through digital tools like Twitter, Blogger, Wiki's, etc. The 21st century classroom offers so much potential for both students and teachers. We just have to work together to get the most out of the tools that are available. As a high school teacher, I know I could rely on the students input in regards to many areas of technology. However, they must trust that I know the subject matter to guide them to reliable sources. Without PLN's I am not sure that this kind of balance can be achieved because it is going to take the global village to raise the next generation of learners.
ReplyDeleteHello Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteFrom my experience, teachers that resist the technology when it is there usually do so because they don't want to try. I have been an in-house presenter of seminars for Google Drive for my colleagues building wide and have been a presenter for Logger Pro data collection tools. Many of the teachers that said they could use it but would not follow through on it gave the reasons of they couldn't work it into their curriculum, did not want to take the time to learn the technology, or were afraid it would not work out and the tech plan would flop. Fortunately most seem willingly to try if they have more training. Most of the teachers have facebook and twitter but seem unwilling to use it toward an educational end. Fortunately younger teachers are more willing to try using PLN's. Change will some slow but PLN's will eventually become common.