Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Edutopia
Edutopia is a great ning for educators because they want to make a difference. If you are an educator that does not have this goal, you should find a new career. You can look through the site organized by alphabetic letters or grade level, which are both great ways to organize the site. Edutopia encourages you to get involved and interact with others on the site to create better schools. There are blogs to keep up with, articles to read, examples of successful schools, classroom guides, and videos. There are hundreds of resources all on one page, and you can share this on your PLN Twitter network, which will then encourage your followers to join, which will then allow them to post to the site, which will then benefit you by reading their posts and advice. There are also quizzes that you can take, and you can subscribe to a newsletter so that you don't miss out on any important information. I am going to start using Edutopia and import things into Evernote from it to keep everything organized.
Twitter has been a fun but challenging experience so far. It is really difficult to find the time to be able to get on Twitter between working and going to school, but when I do get the chance, I find it rewarding. Being able to connect with other educators who are passionate about teaching allows me to improve myself as a (future) teacher. I am excited to get into the classroom because of all of the tools I have access to. Before my PLN network, it made me nervous that I would be expected to use technology so much in my classroom. Twitter gives you access to websites, articles, videos and thousands of other resources to improve yourself as a teacher. I am relieved to know that I have people to reach out to with any questions and concerns regarding my future career. I want to be able to give my students everything I can, and my PLN has given me back-up.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Mystery Skype
Using Skype in the classroom to connect with other teachers and students across the world can be beneficial in many ways. We can learn about other cultures and how those students learn and interact with other teachers to learn more about our field and get advice and tools through them. Mystery Skype is when one classroom Skypes another classroom, and students from each take turns asking questions to try to discover where the other classroom is located. In my other class, we did a Mystery Skype with a third grade class in Florida...and they figured it out before we did! It was a lot of fun and it was neat to see elementary school kids in their own environment. Mystery Skype is a great way for teachers to integrate Skype and connected learning into their classroom, and it is a fantastic way to introduce this type of learning because it is fun, challenging and engaging. This will intrigue students and make them want to learn more about using Skype to connect with people all over the world for educational purposes.
So far, my Twitter experience has been great. I have connected with many educators, and learned a lot from these people. I have participated in two chats and have gained so much knowledge. When I have followed people from these chats, many have directly messaged me to let me know that I can turn to them with any questions that I have or any advice that I need. It is so comforting knowing that there are other educators who are willing to help from all over the country (and world) that I can reach out to. I have found so many useful articles and countless advice from the people I follow, and I am going to use Evernote to organize it all. was surprised when I was engaged in the chats because people actually reach out to you as a student individually. My thought was that professionals would see a college student as not being serious, and would disregard any input. Instead, I was tweeted at, retweeted, and welcomed to the group. I really enjoy being on Twitter for this reason because it makes me feel like I have people to rely on and that I am in a safe environment.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
This page is made by someone that I follow on Twitter that I have integrated into my PLN network. It gives you countless people and things to follow and information to find. It is extremely helpful! Whenever I have a question, I can either go to this page or contact him on Twitter directly. You can find almost anything on this page, from bloggers to Twitter followers. You can contact him through the website, find other people to get in contact with, find YouTube videos, learn about #CEM (Connected Educator Month), answer many questions in the FAQ section, how to learn about becoming a connected educator, and so much more! There are blogs, articles, chats, and almost anything else you can think of to further your educational career.
I have enjoyed this class thus far because of the guidance that I am receiving through social media networking. I have already found multiple articles on Twitter that I have incorporated into my other classes, and some that I have found very helpful with the teaching notebook that I am creating. I am going to use this notebook to write down any extra tips that I have learned from class to make me a better teacher when I become one. One article that I found told me about 5 great apps that I can use as a teacher to keep in close contact with parents at all times only problem that I have run into with Twitter is finding the time to use it, as I work two jobs and am taking five classes.
The most important part that I took from the following video from YouTube is that you must remember that a PLN is a two way process. You need to remember to bring your own questions and ideas to the table in order to create a PLN that will be successful.
Find me on Twitter so we can explore the process together! :)
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
10 Reasons it's a Great Time to be in Education
As many people are trying to get me to change my major from education, I found this article to be extremely helpful and encouraging. Rarely do you hear positive views and feelings about teachers and the profession, so this was a breath of fresh air to read.
10 Reasons it's a great time to be in education
The first reason tells us that schools and students will rise to the occasion of the job market competition. This will give schools a better chance of hiring the most qualified and dedicated teachers because there is such a huge pool of applicants to choose from. Education will always be a top priority in society. It will be the face of many conversations, shows, etc. because we need it and it will always be around. It will also always be debatable because of the many issues we face with education. Technology is allowing schools and teachers to come further than they have ever been able to before. This will help aspiring teachers to be marketable and ready to conquer their lessons in the classroom. The shift to cooperation and collaboration has helped classrooms develop more as a whole. No longer are many classrooms a teacher lecturing for the entire session, but now students are working with teachers to develop their understanding of the material and create a better classroom environment.
College education programs are doing better at preparing teachers to educate students. There are more rigorous classes and laws passed to create more well-rounded professional teachers. Local businesses are also collaborating with schools and opening their doors for employment. This will allow students to develop responsibility skills in a work setting ahead of graduating. Money is no longer the determination for success. Before, poverty stricken districts did not think that they would be able to keep up with surrounding communities, but money does not matter anymore. It is the quality of what we are teaching our students that matters, and the ability to utilize resources that are given to teachers.
Schools are slowly becoming more important to the community. For a while, the community and schools have been separated. Now, there is a connection between the two. This is important for our students' development and for support throughout the communities. With this support and new technological advances, students and teachers are able to go further. Every day we learn something new, and teachers are able to show students hundreds of new things every day. We are there to teach our students, but dedicated and true teachers are there to impact the lives of their students.
10 Reasons it's a great time to be in education
The first reason tells us that schools and students will rise to the occasion of the job market competition. This will give schools a better chance of hiring the most qualified and dedicated teachers because there is such a huge pool of applicants to choose from. Education will always be a top priority in society. It will be the face of many conversations, shows, etc. because we need it and it will always be around. It will also always be debatable because of the many issues we face with education. Technology is allowing schools and teachers to come further than they have ever been able to before. This will help aspiring teachers to be marketable and ready to conquer their lessons in the classroom. The shift to cooperation and collaboration has helped classrooms develop more as a whole. No longer are many classrooms a teacher lecturing for the entire session, but now students are working with teachers to develop their understanding of the material and create a better classroom environment.
College education programs are doing better at preparing teachers to educate students. There are more rigorous classes and laws passed to create more well-rounded professional teachers. Local businesses are also collaborating with schools and opening their doors for employment. This will allow students to develop responsibility skills in a work setting ahead of graduating. Money is no longer the determination for success. Before, poverty stricken districts did not think that they would be able to keep up with surrounding communities, but money does not matter anymore. It is the quality of what we are teaching our students that matters, and the ability to utilize resources that are given to teachers.
Schools are slowly becoming more important to the community. For a while, the community and schools have been separated. Now, there is a connection between the two. This is important for our students' development and for support throughout the communities. With this support and new technological advances, students and teachers are able to go further. Every day we learn something new, and teachers are able to show students hundreds of new things every day. We are there to teach our students, but dedicated and true teachers are there to impact the lives of their students.
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