Visit Classroom 2.0
A personal learning network (PLN) is
an assortment of Internet tools that makes it possible for me to immerse myself
in a free stream of information that is very specific to my personal interests
and needs as a future educator. By using Twitter, Diigo, Blogger, Facebook,
YouTube, Google Docs, RSS feeds on iGoogle, and the next fun and exciting tool
that is to come, I am able to view information that I would normally have to
spend hours, days, or a lifetime searching for- but it all comes to me instead!
By being part of my PLN, no matter how often or to what capacity I choose to
participate, I have an advantage over others who don’t surround themselves with
like minded or goal oriented researchers for the sake of professional
development.
I never thought I would have a
Twitter account, but it has proven to be an amazing tool that makes it easy and
convenient to communicate or simply learn from people, organizations and
agencies that have an abundance of information to share. I follow some
experienced educators who have a passion for their work and enjoy sharing
tricks of the trade. I also follow many teacher organizations and publications
that provide resources for the classroom and give me a broader perspective of
education and how technology is transforming the classroom. Many of the
organizations are very specific with information about their cause; they
provide instant toolkits for topics such as bullying, creativity, disabilities,
politics, literacy, advocacy and anything that I would ordinarily research on
my own. Popping into EdChat is easy while on my dinner break at work. It was at
4:00 on Tuesday October 25th. They discussed the idea of BOYD, or
Bring Your Own Device to the classroom. A lot of what was said was about how
kids already do, but if used correctly, they can learn how to be more
productive with the same tool. It is a tough subject that is up for debate
because of equity and security issues, but there is no doubt that these tools
will be as standard as a number two pencil one day. Being part of a PLN makes
me feel like I’m part of something grand and it gives me confidence to leave my
digital footprint for others to follow and learn from. It is great to be able
to see the feed on my iGoogle page whenever I open my computer or be able to
catch up on relevant articles while in the grocery line. Twitter makes it easy
to be informed in a busy world.
I feel the
same excitement for Diigo as I do for Twitter because they pretty much go hand
in hand. When someone posts an amazing resource on Twitter, it only makes sense
to retweet it and then save it to Diigo. It is wonderful to search my own
bookmarks and view others’ by searching tags. I found great people to add to my
network by searching tags that I am interested in learning more about. I am
following educators who have invested time into their research and are generous
enough to share that with me- and I can’t believe the deal Jeff worked out to
get this all to us for free! The items that I tagged “PLN” are links that
provide new and avid users with information about how to create or utilize a
PLN and resources for expansion.
I joined
Classroom 2.0, which is a discussion forum for individuals who are interested
in social media in education. There is so much to explore and it is a self-paced
guide to understanding technology and getting comfortable with it in order to
implement it in our classrooms. I have viewed a lot of articles, discussions
and videos, and I love how it caters to so many different levels of interest
and expertise. Some of the videos I watched were very informative, and others
were simply creative ways to share information. One lesson plan I viewed
allowed me to observe a teacher’s unique approach to teaching, and another
video articulated how different today’s classrooms and students are from the
time I was in school. I will definitely benefit from having Classroom 2.0 as
part of my personal learning network.
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