PREPARING our future LEADERS to NAVIGATE the world = PLN

So, I’ve gotten behind some in my blogging this past week, due to my week-long sojourn into South Carolina. But, here I am, once again. After a week long stint of turkey, mashed potatoes, leftovers and shopping, looks like its back to reality! I’d like to recommence by discussing my Personal Learning Network (PLN), or, as my title states, Preparing our future Leaders to Navigate the world (PLN). I like to look at Personal Learning Networks as a window into who we are as people, professionals and students. Our PLNs provide a look into who we are, what we enjoy, what are passions are, and what we care about. For me, my PLN would tell you that I care about my career as a teacher; that I care enough about my future students to work hard and diligently to provide them with the technological tools and resources necessary to succeed in an ever changing world.

Currently, my PLN is expanding at an astonishing rate. As I progress through my fall semester, I have had, and will continue to have, many opportunities to learn about different technologies (in my TE 401 class, CEP 416, conferences, etc.) and I have also had numerous opportunities to observe, experiment, and analyze the different resources I’ve come across; my PLN is beginning to reflect the wide array of experiences I have had. My delicious account is brimming with URLs to educational websites, teacher blogs, and an abundant amount of start-up tutorials, web application introductions, and many other resources to help teachers integrate technology into their daily lessons.

Obviously, my blog is up and running; allowing me the opportunity to openly discuss topics of interest to me and providing me with the opportunity to easily communicate with others in regards to the teaching profession. I have my online digital portfolio that is quickly (and amazingly) coming together. I’ve also gotten over my earlier Twitter aversion and can see the definite value in utilizing this tool in schools. I have to say, my Google Reader is, by far, the handiest application I’ve come across for organizing the massive amount of information I find on the web. This application makes it possible for me to sort through my delicious bookmarks, educational blogs, and technology resources, as well as other websites, that I want to keep track of.

All in all, my PLN is getting a pretty good work out. I believe it is helping me PREPARE the future LEADERS to NAVIGATE the world! :) As I said before…your PLN tells me a lot about you. What do you want yours to say?

Flickr Image Accessed from: caridgewell

Twitter in Education

First of all…I’d just like to say that I am having a change of heart, in regards to Twitter, that is. My change of heart officially began this past Saturday at the Technology Conference I attended at Erickson Hall. When the conference began, Twitter was quickly highlighted as a way for individuals to “backchannel” during the day. (In case you’re confused, the term “backchannel” refers to the practice of using networked computers to maintain a real-time online conversation alongside live spoken remarks.)

Anyway, I was immediately reminded that I do, in fact, have a Twitter account! This is something that I had completely forgotten about. Earlier in the year, when I first began using Twitter, I was not impressed and commenced to setting it aside for a long period of time. Well, to make a long story short…I realized, after spending time reconnecting with my Twitter account during the conference, that Twitter can be VERY beneficial when used in a way that promotes learning and education. So, I would like to discuss a few ways in which an educator can utilize Twitter in a valuable way.

Google Image accessed from: watblog.com

As a pre-service and future teacher, I want to engage my students. Twitter is a relatively new and highly proficient form of communication that can do just that. The use of Twitter in a classroom can increase the amount of chatter that occurs. This is a GOOD thing because, before long, the students will begin using Twitter to have conversations both inside and OUTSIDE of the class. I believe this can help develop a sense of "classroom community" as students begin to build an understanding of who their peers are in school and outside the classroom space. Twitter can also be used as a way for students to backchannel during class; that is, if your school has the resources to provided their students with laptops/computers. Talk about open communication! Obviously, there are things to consider when allowing students to Tweet during class. Twitter may enhance students’ abilities to talk to inappropriate people or to discuss inappropriate topics; but, sites such as Youth Twitter or Today’s Meet allow teachers to monitor who and what students are discussing. Opening your classroom to back-channeling can promote metacognitive thinking. (Metacognitive thinking refers to the practice of thinking about and reflecting on your learning.) What I mean is that Twitter, if used as a classroom tool, can enhance students’ abilities to think about HOW they are thinking and learning.

I think Twitter could also be used as a way to remind students about homework, trips and other classroom things, especially since they can enter their mobile phone number to be alerted when a peer or teacher “tweets” such information.

There are so many technological innovations popping up everywhere that, as educators, we have many opportunities to use sites, such as Twitter, and other social media tools in a way that can cater to 21st century students.

26th Annual Technology Conference at Michigan State University

This past weekend, on Saturday (Nov. 14th), I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the 26^th annual, 2009 Technology Conference. It was held at Erickson Hall on Michigan State University’s campus, and it was an all day affair for those individuals interested in attending the sessions and workshops. I found the conference to be very well planned out. It consisted of morning sessions and workshops and afternoon sessions and workshops (The sessions were free while the workshops cost extra money). If you’d like, you can take a look at the conference agenda. This may provide you an understanding of the day’s events.

Oh! Another very cool thing about this conference…it was easily followed on Twitter, via #coetc09! I had almost completely forgotten about my Twitter account until that morning. I was able to follow conversations and ask questions and receive answers on a variety of topics relating to information being conveyed during the conference.

I had the chance to arrive early enough for the continental breakfast which led right into the key note speaker’s presentation. Andy Losik, the 2009 MACUL educator of the year, did a fantastic job of garnering everyone’s attention and admiration for the amount of hard work and energy he puts forth in the area of teaching and technology. Once his presentation was complete, I attended the morning session, “I Have a SMART Board…Now What?” This session was extremely informational. I have not had the opportunity to work with SMART Boards, sadly. The schools I have been placed in have not had such high-tech resources at their disposal. After attending this session, I realized how AWESOME they are! I REALLY hope that my future classroom has a SMART Board. However, I also left the session feeling extremely overwhelmed with just how lacking I am in the area of understanding how to USE SMART Boards. Hopefully, in the weeks/months to come, I will have the opportunity to practice using a SMART Board and, with any luck, feel comfortable utilizing one with students in a classroom.

I had debated with myself, at an earlier time, with whether or not I should sign up for a workshop. I decided to go ahead and I’m glad I did. For the afternoon I attended the workshop “Unlocking the Collaborative Power of Your Classroom: Creating Classroom Wikis Using Wikispaces.com” presented by Erik Byker. First of all, Erik Byker is my TE 401 Social Studies course instructor and I think he is an awesome teacher. Not only am I interested in creating classroom wikis (I want to create one for my fourth grade class as my final extension project) but I also wanted to show support to a great instructor. I’m glad I did. I had a wonderful time investigating the “behind the scenes” of creating classroom wikis, and I’m excited to begin making my own. If you are interested; I was given a handout during this workshop with quick tips, and useful suggestions to contemplate while creating your wiki and I would be happy to forward it along.

Finally, I want to throw a thank you out there to everyone responsible for putting the conference together and ensuring that all those in attendance would have a meaningful experience. Not only did I enjoy myself, but I also learned a great deal. Thank you!

The Wonder of it All

This week, I’ve decided to focus on one specific educational technology resource that, I feel, could be found extremely beneficial to many. During the early weeks of this semester, my TE 401 class took a fieldtrip to the Michigan State Children’s Garden. While we were there, Dr. Norm, took time out of his day to walk us future teachers through the process of creating a meaningful field trip. It was an extraordinarily informational day and I greatly enjoyed the tie spent outdoors walking through the 4-H garden. However, what I found most enlightening, was the time we spent as a class inside, explicitly discussing the ways in which to prepare for and initiate an awesome learning experience for my future students.

During the class discussion we had with Dr. Norm, we were introduced to an interactive online tool that facilitated student participation, assisted students in the process of learning, and established a high level of motivation. This tool is called…Wonder Walls.

To put it simply, a Wonder Wall is a virtual bulletin board with a built in chat that kids can add questions (including images) to or chat with one another and/or an educator. A “Wonder Wall” is a way in which students, group members, faculty, peers, etc. can connect, with the help of a moderator (the teacher, perhaps?) and work together in a colorful, playful, exciting, visual, and stimulating way space. Wonder Walls promote synchronous and asynchronous communication…meaning; individuals can interact with one another simultaneously, or at separate times, at whatever times work best for them. When users (students) are logged on at the same time, they are aware of each other, see new posts as soon as they are posted, AND can live chat with each other. All posts are permanent unless the poster or moderator (teacher) deletes them, so users and moderators can log in later to read and add to the posts.

Dr. Norm is the original creator of the MSU Wonder Wall. The original was simply an 8 foot by 3 foot large piece of blank white paper and magic markers. Children, students, teachers…any visitor to the Children's Garden were encouraged to write anything they wondered about throughout the day.

The Original Wonder Wall accessed from wonderwall.msu.edu

The new and improved electronic Wonder Wall began with the same principle in mind. Digital, online Wonder Walls are specialized and stimulating environments that facilitate within students a sense of curiosity, fun, excitement, and importance…they also support inquiry, reflection, and cooperation; three very important elements of a child’s education.

The New and Improved Online Wonder Wall accessed from wonderwall.msu.edu

There are so many different things Wonder Walls can do and be used for…here are a few:

1. Connect museums, gardens, other educational locations with school children beyond the field trip.

2. Connect children and students with each other between class-times and meetings.

3. Connect entire classrooms with distant scientists, educators, and enthusiasts.

4. Engage learners with each other and encourage a sense of wonder.

5. Wonder Walls provide both synchronous and asynchronous connectivity.

During the time I spent with Dr. Norm, I was able to see how enthusiastic students are about the Wonder Wall, especially upper elementary students. It appeared that, the more comfortable students become using the online Wonder Wall, the more complex and thoughtful their questions and posts grew to be.

I would love to create one for my future classroom. It would be such a great tool that my students could use outside of the classroom. I would use it as a way to promote extended learning. I could have my class ask questions and I could facilitate discussions relating to topics being discussed that week. It would be very beneficial in a science unit, or ANY unit.

To learn more about using Wonder Walls and how to create your own Wonder Wall, follow this link!

Inspirational Video

I attended a workshop last week put on by Michigan State's SMEA. This workshop covered the how to's and why's of digitial storytelling and I really enjoyed it. There was a really inspirational video that was shown at the beginning of the workshop and I felt I HAD to share it with all of you...please watch. I hope you all feel as inspired as I did :)

Taking the Initiative

It is my belief that in order to improve education and bring it to the level it NEEDS to be at; technology is an essential element that should no longer be ignored. Schools are quickly taking the initiative to integrate technology into their daily habits. It is an initiative that I believe will make it possible for more students to excel in school and in the real world. It will prepare students with skills and knowledge that are essential foundations for life-long learning. It is important to remember that integrating technology into classroom instruction means MUCH more than teaching basic computer skills and software programs in a separate computer class. Effective technology integration must occur across the curriculum in numerous ways; ways that enhance rather than impede the learning process. Technology integration needs to support active engagement, participation, interaction, feedback, and real-world connections. This can be achieved when technology use is routine and coincides with our curricular goals.

It is important, that we, as teachers, support one another in this process; a process that can be intimidating to so many. In order to build a base…a foundation…that allows for the integration and application of high-quality, challenging, high-motivating, and effective technology resources, we need to become aware of what these tools and resources are…we need to learn how to use them (by attending workshops, professional development conferences, research, online tutorials, etc.) AND we need to take that scary step that propels us into a world where students are no longer passive receptors of information…a world where students can do so much more.

When students are using technology as a tool or a support system for learning and communicating with others, they are in an ACTIVE role rather than the passive role of recipient of information that has been traditionally transmitted by a teacher and/or textbook. Once we provide students with the opportunity to use technology they are able to actively make choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or display information. Technology use allows students to be actively and critically thinking about information and about making choices, more so than in a typical teacher-led lesson.

But like I said previously, this can be a scary step. Why? Because it means that our roles as teachers must change. Rather than simply dispensing information, we fulfill the role of facilitator. We set project goals, provide guidelines and resources, and offer support and suggestions. But students are taking the driver’s seat.

The realm of teaching is changing and evolving at an extraordinary rate. Pretty crazy.

The following picture was taken in a classroom in Ethiopia. They have began an initiative called One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). Very cool.

Image from wiki.laptop.org

Digital Stories

Take a look! This is a digital story I created to coincide with a sixth grade language arts lesson plan entitled: This Is Me!

I've also published a previous post that discusses the use of digital storytelling in classrooms, entitled: "An Alternative to Traditional Storytelling". You may be interested in taking a look.

Also...If you take a look at my online portfolio, you can preview the lesson outline that coincides with this digital story. Enjoy!

Personal Learning Network (PLN)

So, my Personal Learning Network (PLN) is constantly being modified, added to, and adjusted to fit my needs as a future educator and current learner…well, really life-long learner is more accurate. For those of you who are unaware, a PLN is an acronym for Personal Learning Network. The acronym is moderately new; however, the idea is not. Teachers have always had learning networks—people we learn from and share with. We’re education and information junkies and we’re very social creatures. Put these together you have Personal Learning Networks!

Anyway, my PLN. For me, so far, my PLN provides access to information of interest to me as a pre-service teacher and future educator. I join the Nings they suggest (such as The Educators’ PLN), click on the links they recommend, read their blogs and wikis, checkout bookmarks suggested on Delicious, and I follow all of the above through the use of my RSS feed, Google Reader. I’ve recently added tools such as Google Docs, Slideshare.net, and Microsoft Photo Story to my repertoire.

Just last week, my experiences in relation to my PLN were particularly varied and rich. I collaborated on a group project with fellow peers using Google Docs, I created a slideshow on Slideshare.net to use in my field placement, I found some great ideas for my lesson plan by following bookmarks recommended on Delicious, AND I communicated with fellow educators through the use of Twitter on the pros and cons of PowerPoint presentations! Whew, talk about a busy week huh? Throughout all of these experiences, I sensed a feeling of camaraderie. How cool is that? Here we are, people separated by time and space and yet we are still able to make connections with individuals who share the same interests as we do. THAT is what I find so undeniably awesome about PLNs.

I believe that PLNs have unlimited potential. The amount of information, resources and technology available is rising exponentially and as educators we benefit from this, I think, more than anyone. Like I said above…my PLN allows me to make connections with fellow educators that I would not be able to make any other way.

BUT!

At least for me, I believe less is more. What I mean is, if I am keeping track of thousands of education resources to look through in Google Reader, do you think I’m really paying attention to any ONE in particular? That’s nearly impossible! I’ve realized this…I have to keep it short and sweet, just follow what I find necessary and if there is something in my RSS feed that I may not be paying as much attention to, I DELETE it!

Wikis and Blogs and Online Journals (Oh My!)

As I’m sure a lot of you know…in TE 401 we have an extension assignment due as our final class project. The idea is simple: take an idea we have been discussing in science and EXTEND it. That’s it. We have been given the freedom to be creative, and I am really excited! The main guideline is this: you must incorporate technology as an innovative way to teach, assess and/or inspire students in the area of science teaching. There are so many different ways to run with this. As of right now, I have a few ideas. I’m thinking about possibly creating a class blog or a class wiki for my fourth grade students in my field placement. This class has done an excellent job preparing me for this assignment. I have had the opportunity to study exactly how blogging and online journaling can benefit students. For example:

1.Using technology is a motivator for many kids, especially those who otherwise might not become participants in classrooms.
2.Excellent opportunities for students to read and write.
3.Effective forums for collaboration and discussion.
4.Powerful tools to enable scaffold-ed learning or mentoring to occur.

These are just a few reasons why I would love to implement a blog or wiki in my fourth grade classroom.

Flickr Photo CC by Kristina B

To enable the use of an online science journal and resource for the class to utilize as they journey through their different science units would be so much fun for them! The fourth graders I work with are an incredibly enthusiastic group of children and I think they would be thrilled at the idea of having a class wiki or blog. I think it would create a strong sense of ownership for them. They can share their thoughts and ideas and opinions in regards to the science concepts they are learning and they will feel motivated thanks to the innovative concept of an online journal.

I would want this to be used as an online science journal and resource for the class as they make their way through their different science units. I thought this could be a resource they can use to find information on the topics they are learning. I would make sure to keep it up to date with the most recent information; ranging from videos, slides, photos, educational links, games, etc. They could edit the pages themselves and add anything they find relevant and informational. They can also add photographs of themselves and information about who they are and why they are interested in science. That could even be the first journal post they make. I’m not sure what would be more beneficial, a blog or a wiki? I’m familiar with blogging, especially after having the last couple of months to gain some experience in the area of blogs. However, wikis, I’m not so familiar with. I have wikis for a couple of classes, but I’m not sure they are being utilized to their full potential I would like to see some examples of wikis that are. Any suggestions? When I go to the Technology Conference on November 14th, I will be taking a workshop on creating classroom wikis, so I’m hoping that workshop will open my eyes and give me some great ideas on where to go from there. It sounds like a lot of my fellow peers in TE 401 have thought of creating a class blog, so I was hoping to do something a little different. We’ll see… Let me know if you have any suggestions!