My PLN plan

I consider myself a fairly techy person.  I typically know enough to get by and I know where to find answers and help in navigating new technology that I am not familiar with so I can avoid showing my weaknesses.  However, through my Developing and Growing Learning Networks courses I was introduced to ways I could use technology in my network that I had never really considered.

Upon entering the course i thought I knew about all of the latest and greatest social and learning networks available, and while I did know about many of them, I didn't know of all of the ways in which they can be used.  

I would have never considered using Twitter in my building.  Twitter has been a little intimidating to bring into the school because there is so much content there that we, as educators, can not control.  BUT...  Announcements can be made, assignments can be completed, and a professional learning network can be found!  There are numerous twitter accounts that focus on counseling, libraries, and administration within schools.  Connect with those people!  Look at their followers.  Reply to their tweets and grow your network.

RSS feeds were something I was not familiar with when I began this course.  These were probably the neatest nugget I learned about during the past 6 weeks.  Through an RSS, we can create our own feed, simplifying scrolling be weeding out the things we are not interested in, and focusing our content so that we have a streamlined way of viewing helpful information to us.

The tools and strategies I have learned about will make my educational experience greater due to the resources I now have at my fingertips that I previously wasn't aware of.  I have always enjoyed taking information I have learned and sharing it with my colleagues.  My peers are always looking to the latest and greatest ways to connect with students, parents, and other educators, and I have no doubt these tools will be something they will be greatly interested in.  This course may even lend itself to some winter professional development.

EDU 5506

 When I was in the classroom, blogging was one of my favorite ways of maintaining communication with my students' parents.  I found it was a quick way to throw our fun activities onto a place that everyone could access, and it allowed them to see photos of their child in their school environment, and who doesn't love that?

I also quickly learned that other teachers love blogging, too.  What a great resource it was for ideas and community within the educational world.  So many fantastic educators would post their educational philosophies and ways their classrooms operated, along with fantastic activities for learning and development in the classroom.  Teachers are often so creative, especially those at the elementary level, and this was just a wide open forum for them to express themselves while providing excellent content for readers.

It is important to be careful when finding bloggers to follow.  Not every educator shares the same thoughts and ideas for their classroom and how it should operate.  You have very type A teachers, and you have some teachers who are a lot more laid back and spontaneous.  It is important to realize that a lot of blogs are opinion based and not fact based, and while fun and entertaining, most are not the law.  Be careful as you search for educational blogs and make sure that their content aligns with your core beliefs and goals for your classroom.

Additionally, many administrators are using blogs as communication tools.  Having admins who are blogging can be very helpful as we are learning and growing as professionals.  I, personally, enjoy the content that is full of real life experiences.  I have always enjoyed reading about others experiences and that does not change in the professional world.  We are often fighting the same battles and celebrating the same victories, and I find others' experiences helpful in navigating my own journey.