Personal Learning Network – What's it to you?

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After watching the video on networked students I immediately thought of who was in my Personal Learning Network? Who do I reach out to for ideas, thoughts, guidance, etc? How do we connect? I then thought about whose network I was member of, and specifically, whose network do I support?

I learn the most from my use of Social Media. Using Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs and now Twitter (thank you Dr. Thompson!) to connect with friends, professors, classmates, and other professionals involved in the Education Technology community, has been an invaluable tool. With these sites, I can communicate and learn, firsthand, about virtually any topic almost instantly. The information shared, and topics considered are usually accurate as those in my network, I personally selected and trust. An added bonus to my PLN is reaping the benefits of my PLN’s network, as they too, presumably have quality people to whom they can reach out. The beauty of this concept of Personal Learning Networks is how quality and relevant resources and information are being evaluated, tested, filtered and shared constantly and on SUCH a huge scale to support one another. Take this, for example: I can share a lesson that I’ve created, with a member of my network. He uses it, loves it, then shares MY lesson, his experiences, successes, and recommendations with his network and in theory, this could continue on and on. It’s impressive to think that something I generated could benefit someone anywhere in the world. In return, I can benefit from the same thing. Granted, I would tend to be more cautious as the connection becomes more distant. But that’s not to say the consideration would not be made and/or tailored to my specific wants and needs. 

As I consider myself an integral piece of the members of my PLN, whether they know it or not, I am also that to the networks of my colleagues and definitely my students (yes, students). Most of the teachers at my school know me. They know who I am, what I teach, and most importantly, that I am the “techie teacher”.  But, for whatever reason, while the interest in integrating technology may be there (or maybe not) very few teachers on campus regularly reach out for ideas and support. For most, my role to them is rather one sided as they may not immediately see the value in all that I propose. Regardless, I know they see what I post. They read what I suggest, and maybe not immediately, but “when they have time” inevitably, will go for it, take the plunge, and do something new and technologically innovative for their lessons. (Win!) The images below are a sample of what I have posted to our school’s email conference and a list of everyone who read one of my postings and suggestions. It’s pretty impressive, no? 

I made this posting at the beginning of the year to let my teachers know about Dropbox and give them a few suggestions on how they could use it to make their jobs MUCH easier.

My students, fortunately, lack the luxury of being so passive with my involvement in their Personal Learning Network. Aside from my role as their teacher, I FREQUENTLY push them to learn more through using technology to support and enhance their own learning experience. As in the Networked Student video, my students often participate in class discussions (Edmodo) with each other to share resources, videos, and websites they have found useful on a specific or lesson. They, unbeknownst to them, evaluate websites to determine quality and reliability as they relate to our lessons. They also, determine a site’s relevance to them and their needs for mastering a lesson. They use Web 2.0 tools to create personalized material and content. They even watch and create reflections based on videos I have posted that related to how AWESOME and functional using technology is for their learning!

To me, using your Personal Learning Network is as important as being a functional member of other’s PLNs. In doing so we perpetuate great ideas and concepts, modify those that require change(s), and continually support on another, the needs of those involved in education, ending with the students’. I believe the quote is “It’s better to give than to receive”. In this case, those in need are usually teachers looking for a better way to reach his/her kids. So, what better way than to lend support and indirectly make an impact on a student? 

Reflection: Class Activity on Searching and Managing Online Resources

My experience with the activity in my course's learning module, searching for and managing online educational materials, was fairly simple, yet valuable. To be honest (and I’m slightly embarrassed to admit this), until this course, I had not used Google Scholar. I was not even aware it existed. In the past, I had used Google to find what I needed. The Quia.com website, for example, I came across years ago by doing a Google search for web-based testing (or maybe online testing). Then, like now, many results came up. Back then, like now, I spent a great deal of time reading and sifting through Google’s results to identify the most appropriate site for my needs. Using just Google, I found many sites pertaining to web-based testing, but at the time, most were not what I was looking for. It’s important to mention, at the time, the resource (Quia.com/web) came up on the first page of search results, while now listed on the third (and really, who goes much past the first page of results?). In any event, I suppose this is another example of the ever changing World Wide Web and the resources it contains.

Similar to Google, I found many of the traditional search engines (Ask.com and Yahoo!) yielded similar results. However, I did find Google in Education to very useful. By clicking “For Teachers” you are linked to Google’s site for teacher resources. Personally, I found myself more interested professional development. The Training and Development Link (bookmarked and shared) brought me to a page that highlighted tools, by Google, to support teachers furthering their own knowledge in various categories. Here, there are links to videos, tutorials, Webinars, and trainings available through Google, which I felt impressive that so much had been made available in one location.

To continue with the assignment, while I use the UCF library’s search tools, I find myself frequently frustrated by all the options and choices available. It’s similar to why I despise going grocery shopping…there are too many options to choose from! Google Scholar is a lifesaver and a great supplemental tool to the UCF library. Continuing the activity, we were asked to search for a research article written by one of our professors. Using Google Scholar made it simple! I found an article written by Dr. Gunter and Dr. Kenny about instructional gaming, which is an area of educational technology that interests me as well. On a more practical note, I take my Comprehensive Exam this March and will be compiling materials in preparation soon. I foresee being familiar and comfortable with Google Scholar and Diigo (required in this course) as a great way to gather and manage the documents and resources I will use to be successful on my exam. Further, I imagine the citation feature will be equally useful and valuable.

BrainPop, eSchool News, Google in Education and Atomic Learning resources addressed NETS-T standard 5, as they each offer online professional development opportunities for technology and technology integration into the classroom. I found Atomic Learning through a search of our district’s website, and feel it quite comprehensive. Once in, you can search through a variety of lessons, which instruct on how to use specific types of technology. Additionally, the user has the ability to search for lessons after identifying search criteria such as class subject or software preference. BrainPop’s Webinar site serves two purposes. First, users can register and attend live webinars on topics BrainPop provides. The second, the user can view and learn from past webinars they have archived. I felt BrainPop and eSchool News, specifically, are helpful for this and future classes as we often attend Webinars on Ed Tech topics and reflect on what we learned and experienced. I believe my suggested resources NETS-T Standards 2.  Each supports a teacher’s ability to design, develop, and evaluate digital learning experiences, for their students (standard 2). Each is, in some facet, a resource that can be used to further and enhance digital lessons.

To wrap up this activity, after experimenting with different search engines, I was able to utilize and locate quite a few interesting sites, which I shared with the course. Using Google Scholar was my biggest Ah-ah moment, as research has been a challenge of mine in the past. Upon searching through our State and County Websites, I would describe the State’s website to be confusing to navigate and less useful (to me) as a teacher. My county’s website (surprisingly) was more useful to me as I was able to find links, sites, and support that I could use NOW. On Diigo, I chose to share resources that my peers would find useful in their teaching as well as throughout this program. This link will direct you to my list of resources I shared with the class:

http://groups.diigo.com/group/eme5050/content/user/m_ophaug

Teaching with Technology: Effective or Convenient?

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Dr. Scott McLeod’s question, “Are we doing what is best for our students, or are we doing what is most convenient for us?” is a great question to ask of all things related to education with a usual focus on lesson planning and instruction. As we (well…some of us) continue to integrate technology or implement different instructional systems into our traditional classrooms, McLeod’s question must be recalled to insure we, as educators, are in fact making the impact we intend to make to support our students’ growth and achievement. I feel that in most instances, we teachers believe that whatever it is we do in our classrooms, however innovative, creative, or traditional the lesson may be, the bottom-line is for the betterment of our kids. The use of technology is frequently thought to be both a convenient and effective way to promote student growth. While, from personal experience, I know this is not the case, Alice Mercer’s response (May 5^th 2007, 1:07pm) to Dr. McLeod’s question really hit the nail on the head so to speak, because she details the four basic possibilities when it comes to ANY lesson relating Effectiveness and Convenience. She describes four possible scenarios where a lesson might be categorized based on results. From her response, I created an image to help better visualize what she mentions in her posting (see below).

So how does this relate to the use of technology for instruction? The answer: It is directly related. Technology is simply another tool we can use to support and deliver our instruction. With that in mind, it is possible to use technology effectively and ineffectively, which might be either convenient or inconvenient for the teacher. In all cases, the responsibility lies with us to decide which technology tool would best support the lesson and the learner to maximize the outcomes (integration literacy). I’ve found it best, to focus on the final product or outcome, design the lesson, then determine what technology would be best for that particular lesson.

Most recently, I had been working with my students on properties of quadrilaterals. In this particular lesson, their team of three was assigned a quadrilateral and they were to create original test questions, varying in complexity (low, medium, and high) to then be shared with their peers as a way to study for our chapter test. After identifying the intent (objective and goals) of the lesson and desired outcome(s) I assigned the lesson. In the past, I had done this lesson traditionally (poster paper and markers), less traditionally (dry-erase markers on the cabinets), on the computers (PowerPoint) but this time with a Web 2.0 tool (GoogleDrive) and an educational social networking page (Edmodo) to share what they created. Below, I’ve listed the URLs for the top projects for each period. Based on project results (using a rubric of course), test results, and student written feedback, I was pleased with the outcomes.

1.     http://tinyurl.com/aerhrb9

2.     http://tinyurl.com/bx4lqto

3.     http://tinyurl.com/co72wy5

Was this lesson effective? I would say so. Convenient? Pretty much. As I mentioned before, though, this lesson was not originally created with technology use in mind. It was created so my students could demonstrate they understood properties of quadrilaterals and how to use such properties to solve for variables in geometric scenarios. The technology, therefore, was added after the fact to better support the lesson and be more on par with the learning styles of my students. I’m almost prone to say focus on the desired outcomes first, create the lesson second, and then incorporate the technology (where applicable) third. In that light, I feel convenience and effectiveness can be high while maximizing student results; which is what we all are interested in accomplishing.

References: 


McLeod, S. (2007). dangerously ! irrelevant Technology, Leadership, and the Future of Schools. Retrieved

January 15, 2013 from http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2007/05/well_whats_your.html

Shelly, G. B., Gunter, G. A., & Gunter, R. E. (2012). Teachers Discovering Computers: Integrating

Technology in a Connected World (7th Ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology.