Personal Learning Networks

Before this course, I used a lot of these tools but was unfamiliar with the term PLN.  Now I have become aware of how to use these tools to even further how I was using them before.  My love for Twitter has been reignited and I have been using it in a variety of ways.  I love that I can choose between lots of different tools and can have great discussions with other teachers.  My goal is to continue using these tools to grow my PLN into an even better resource for my teaching.  

Twitter Chats

I just finished by second twitter chat and I think I am a fan overall! I participated in #4thchat and #edtechchat.

I participated in #4thchat on February 6, 2017.  This was my first time with this chat.  The day we had the chat, the theme was an "open mic night" where they didn't have a specific theme or discussion topic.  I was worried that there would not be much chatter but I was pleasantly surprised!  I was able to ask different questions and respond to many different.  There was probably about 10-15 people involved in the chat and I thought that was a great way to get me started.  It was pretty easy to follow for the most part and I was able to answer mentions and retweet when I needed.  I did end up following many different teachers that were involved so I thought that was great.  Overall, I think that I had a great first Twitter chat with #4thchat and I definitely will be back.

I also participated in #edtechchat on February 13, 2017,  This was my first time with this chat.  The topic of this chat was about Digital Learning Day and using digital learning in our classrooms.  This chat had more activity than the previous one but it was very interesting.  I was able to get some great ideas for coding in my classroom and I did follow a couple of people.  Since, it was so busy I did feel like I missed some things, but I think that is okay because I still was able to get so many new ideas! I will definitely go back to this chat again and hopefully keep up with the pace a little bit more!

I am getting very comfortable using Twitter and love participating in Twitter chats! It is amazing how much my PLN has grown through this course and with Twitter!

Social Networks

In the past couple of years, my love for social media has grown, especially when using it to expand my education knowledge and ideas for my classroom.  I have been using social media for the classroom for quite some time and I love it!

One of my favorite social networking sites to go on is Instagram.  I have a personal account and follow a lot of teachers, but also just recently I have created a teaching Instagram account for myself.  I love being able to see pictures of what other teachers are using in their classroom and it gives me great ideas to what I can introduce to my students.  I also love that many of the teachers I follow have an account with the site Teachers Pay Teachers, because they can link up their products and sometimes I have snagged some great deals on products by following their Instagram accounts.  One of the main things that I love with Instagram is their new feature of Instagram Stories.  This allows users to post videos or pictures that are separate from their photo feed and are only displayed for 24 hours.  I enjoy watching the videos because the teachers can provide a lot of great advice and ideas and can explain it more in depth this way.   Here is a blog I found that has some of my favorites that I follow. Two of my favorite Instagram teachers to follow that are not mentioned are Bethany Humphrey (TeachingandsoFourth) and Brittany Briggs (Miss5th).  They post great ideas for student engagement and classroom community.  Bethany starts her days off with a student song, and I recently have added this into my classroom.  My kids love starting their day by standing on their chairs and singing this song! 

Another one of my favorite social networks is Pinterest.  I have been on Pinterest for many years now and my boards have become quite encompassing.  I have so many different teaching boards and I try to make it very organized so I can find things that I need quickly.  I love Pinterest because you can link up really anything and it will be saved.  Here is an article that I found of some good pinners and boards to follow on Pinterest.  I use Pinterest a lot to reach some of my kids for extension and for reteaching.  I love to differentiate as much as I can in my classroom, especially with how broad of a range I have.  Pinterest helps me find great ideas for all skill level that is still very engaging.  

Networked Classrooms

This chapter was a really in depth look at how you can incorporate technology in your classroom to become a networked classroom.  I thought it was really inspiring and made me think about how I can make my classroom more transparent. I especially thought it was great how the authors mentioned multiple times how it does not matter how many tools of technology you have, you can still be connected with the world in a variety of different ways.

I think there are a lot of positives to having a networked classroom.  Many people may think that too much technology in a child's classroom, would be bad, but I think that they are doing more good than bad.  By allowing children to explore and connect with other students around the world, they will be able to have more experience using safety skills online and seeing the world as it should be.  They need to play a part in this world and by connecting with students around the world, they will be able to learn so much about other countries, cultures, and students.  The authors also mentioned that the benefits of a classroom are they are transparent, collaborative, learning centered, accessible, communication based, problem.inquiry based-learning, and authentic assessment.

Although there are many benefits to having a networked classroom, I think that they are some disadvantages, too.  One of them that comes to mind is the digital divide.  I am pretty fortunate that most of my students that I teach do have access to internet and some devices, but I do have some students that do not have any access.  This can make it difficult to do things at home, but at least my school has access to a class set of Chromebooks that I can use within my classroom.

What I have done to slowly make my way to a networked classroom is to take one type of tool and work with that and show the students how to use it.  I have used Padlet and TodaysMeet to do quick formative assessments in reading and math.  This has worked well within my class.  We use Google Docs to connect with each other on assignments and such.  I have also introduced Mystery Skype and having a buddy class which we Skype and write letters even now and then.  This has been fun for them to get to know different students around the country.  When I started learning how to Mystery Skype I looked over Pernille Ripp's various blogs about the topic.  I have linked one here.

I believe that networked classrooms have great benefits to our students for the long term in growing their love for learning about others and becoming a lifelong learner.

Twitter

Twitter username: @kirstenbiehl

I have used Twitter for a couple of years now and have loved it! I love looking and discovering different teachers and authors so I can keep up with news and information going on in the world.  I also extremely enjoy the 140 character limit.  I know that a lot of people find this annoying to trim down their tweets, but I think it is great to keep it short and sweet.  I do not feel stressed to include a lot of information in my tweets, but provide links or media to help me get my point across.

I do have to say, that I have become more of a sidelines person with Twitter in the past.  I retweet and like a lot of things, but creating my own tweets has also been not as frequent.  I would say that this would be my goal through this course.  I want to be more present and interactive on Twitter.  I am excited to see how it goes!

Our text compared Twitter with Edmodo.  I have just begun to use Edmodo and think that I like Twitter better.  I feel that it is easier to access everything in one place and there are no limits to what is on Twitter.  I think that students would like Twitter more, too, since that it encompasses more of the world and I still believe that it can be safe.  Using Twitter with students, would be a great learning experience to practice safety online and reading nonfiction with all of the news links out there.

Last week, I posted about a link with the hashtags for education and I believe that this is helpful in channeling what I want to focus on with Twitter.  I have spent some time on this and trying to tailor my Tweet Deck to match what I want to focus on.

Personal Learning Networks

Richardson and Mancabelli make a great point in their first couple of chapters in their book.  They discuss how there are big shifts in today's learning.  Educators need to change with the shift, or else they will play and hindrance to their students' learning successes.  Although, educators need to keep changing as education shifts, it has become much more easier and more self-sufficient to discuss and grow in your education and conversations with peers.  Teachers can discuss with other educators about different practices that they have been using that have helped with their classroom.  The authors listed multiple outlets that one can use to grow their personal learning network (PLN) such as Twitter, Diigo, Google Reader, Blogger, and Facebook.

I believe that schools need to utilize and facilitate learning and use of these networking tools so that they can reach more of their families and become more technology aware in today's ever-changing world.  The authors mentioned seven common traits that schools immersed in global learning networks show: students better prepared for life, classrooms engaging, students responsible for their learning, individualized instruction, adults building problem solving strategies, safe students, and schools saving time and money (Richardson and Mancabelli, 2011).  I believe that these traits are such positive traits, that the overwhelming sense that one may feel when starting this task is worth it.  Our job as teachers, is to prepare students for life outside the classroom and for them continue their learning for the rest of their life.  I believe that diving into PLNs to connect with teachers from all over is a great way to set students up for success.  Collaborating with teachers, not only in your building but throughout the world is extremely important for your student's well being.

I have experienced a tremendous growth in my creativity as a teacher and my connections with other classrooms and teachers through PLN's.  My favorite ways to connect would have to be through Twitter and Facebook.  I found this article that has a comprehensive list of popular hashtags found on Twitter for educators.  I have only recently started digging into my PLN's and I know I have a lot to learn and contribute, but I am optimistic of seeing the positive traits in my students and myself as an educator.