Week 4 - Networked Classroom

Network classroom teacher, Clarence Fisher described the networked classroom as an environment where the teacher does not just teach and the students do not just learn. They actually become co-learners and co-teachers who all hold some responsibility in the goal setting and achievement process. Although I do not have a network classroom, after reading further I do see the benefits of having one. I also came across an eSchool News article that summed up the benefits and why it's important for social networking to exist in schools today. Both the text book and the news article claim that student engagement, collaboration, achievement, and technology skill level all increase when networking is infused into the learning. This task is extremely hard in my school, because most networking sites are blocked. I have tried to access sites such as Edmodo, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Skype and they are all blocked from student use. I have emailed the tech department with explanations of how these sites can benefit my students, yet they still refuse to grant access. Right now I guess I could say that I have been lucky enough to network with numerous educators from around the world. These educators have given me numerous strategies and techniques on how to incorporate technology within my teaching and I hope to continue down that path. One crucial element that is a negative for me is district support. I would also think that assessment could possibly be one of my personal downfalls where networking is concerned. I need to get familiar with it and try it out in order to get comfortable with it. Overall, I do realize that the networking starts with me and I will continue to push for that to happen within my school. I am excited to take the numerous resources I've come across thru this course and my readings and add them to my list of favorites.