Digital Story

Building a Professional Learning Network (Reflection)

Building my Professional Learning Network (PLN) has proven to be an interesting journey. I began this journey with little to no experience with social media. I wasn’t on Facebook, I had no idea what a hashtag was, and I prided myself on being a private person. Up until this point I had no interest in using social media since I viewed it as “gossip central station,” a place where people would talk about things that seemed trivial and not worthy of my time or attention. So as you can imagine, building a PLN seemed a little intimidating at first.

I faced many challenges. I had to learn how to communicate using text talk (abbreviated phrases), make screenshots, navigate multiple sites, and face my biggest fear of all which is publicly communicating with strangers. I believe this is due to the fact that publicly commenting/posting makes me feel vulnerable and puts me in a place to be judged by others. Two things which were hard to confront and move past. Being forced to create these networks made me face these fears… hesitantly, I must admit.

Joining Twitter was a “big” first step for me. I followed 48 people, tweeted 19 times, and had 11 followers. To get my feet wet, I tweeted about a NYSRA conference I was scheduled to attend. Of course, NYSRA “liked” my comment and retweeted it. Good publicity, Right? I also sent a tweet (a question) to a NYSRA presenter and she replied.  In addition, I retweeted two tweets which did not receive any response. The only other response I received was from google docs which “liked” my comment about “slide presentations made simple.”

Follow at least six people/groups on Twitter

Retweets: October 24, 2015

Tweet with an @reply

Tweet with an @mention

Tweet with a hashtag (#multimedialearning, #professionaldevelopment, #evernote, #tackk, #googledoc, #template)

I participated in an edchat referred to as #kinderchat. At first the people who signed on were making random comments which led me to post a comment asking what the topic for tonight’s discussion was. The facilitator replied stating the discussion was on assessment and documentation. I made a comment and instantly it was retweeted and I received notification that I had a new follower. I have to admit this made me feel uncomfortable. I was wondering what was so interesting about what I had tweeted that would make someone want to “retweet” it and then start “following” me. I thought… Should I start following them so I can see what type of person is following me? I guess this will take some time to get used to. During this chat someone mentioned that they used “Seesaw.” I wasn’t sure what this was so I posted a question about it. I was then invited to participate in another chat that would be taking place in a few days. Although I did not feel like the conversation was particularly focused on the given topic I would be willing to try edchat again. The discussion did however lead to a greater understanding of “Seesaw” because it peeked my interest to investigate it further.  

Twitter edchat  (#kinderchat on November 9, 2015 at 9 p.m.)

Next, I began to explore Google+. I truly appreciated the way the google communities were organized. It was helpful to be able to go to one spot to ask questions and share information on a particular interest such as the “Google Classroom” community. I can see were this would be a great resource for teachers who have just started using Google Classroom with their students. You could go to this one place and find answers to most of your questions because this community is filled with google classroom users who are willing to share what they have learned. I will definitely continue to participate in the Google+ communities I have joined.

Google+ Communities I’ve joined

Google+ users from the communities I’ve joined that are in my education circle

This is a screenshot of my comment to a post in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning (a Google+ public community).

My experience with Feedly/blogger was very positive. I enjoyed viewing multiple blogs on topics such as reading rotations, integrating technology, and digital citizenship. The blogs I read provided practical advice about various areas within education. There were two blogs that I followed that I felt were worthy of separate blog responses. The first blog discusses using real world experiences to motivate learners http://reflectionmoulton.blogspot.com/2015/11/real-world-experiences-motivate-learners.html and my second blog response highlights the shift in the teacher’s role in the classroom from lecturer to supporter. http://reflectionmoulton.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-role-of-technology-in-education.html

I especially liked the RSS feature in Feedly.com which allowed for a more productive approach to gaining access to the sites I was most interested in viewing. My least favorite part was commenting on the blogs. This does not come naturally to me. Hopefully I will get better at this over time.  

Subscribe to 5 active blogs in Feedly

Comment on blog in Feedly by Lisa Nielsen – “The Innovative Educator”

Comment on blog in Feedly by Stephanie - “Teaching in Room 6”

Comment on blog in Feedly by Natalie Kay – “What the Teacher Wants”

I have come to understand that social media can offer valuable collaboration opportunities to learn and grow. It provides us with options to attend to our own learning needs as well as reach out to others. Initially I felt very reluctant about creating a PLN, however, throughout this process I began to feel more empowered because I learned how to navigate multiple networks and realized that the extent of my participation was at my discretion. As an educator, I can appreciate the necessity to provide authentic experiences for my students to collaborate and problem-solve while sharing their learning with a wider audience. For this reason alone I am willing to face my fear of social media for the betterment of my students.

Overall, I did find value in creating a PLN. It has opened my eyes (and mind) to the idea of networking with people who have similar interests. I now see a professional networking side to these sites that I did not know previously existed. I will continue to immerse myself in this PLN community that I have created, in hopes that one day I will be able to publicly post/comment without trepidation. 

Teacher's Role in a Technology Driven Classroom

Recently, I read an article titled “When Tech Teaches, What Do Teachers Do?” by Lisa Nielsen.   http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2015/11/when-tech-teaches-what-do-teachers-do.html#more  This article discusses the shift that is taking place in the classroom as the teachers role changes from a lecturer to a supporter who provides guidance. This can be a challenge, especially to digital immigrants. Technology has given us the opportunity to learn in ways that were not available even just 5 short years ago. This has opened our eyes to the fact that teachers are everywhere. It is part of our job as educators to assist students by helping them connect with other people to extend/expand their learning capabilities. We must aid students to effectively navigate the abundance of information available on the internet to ensure they are able to create desirable networks that will foster creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking. Teachers need to focus their efforts on finding ways that provide students the best opportunities to learn. This entails investing the time to become familiar with various programs and websites that will foster this growth.

In the past differentiating instruction has proven to be very time consuming and difficult to implement on a consistent basis. Through the integration of technology students reap the benefit of personalized learning through differentiated instruction, collaboration, and instant feedback. When technology is effectively implemented students are able to simultaneously read books at their own reading level, solve problems that are within their zone of proximal development, and receive one-on-one or small group intervention for those in need. In addition, technology can provide computer generated reports that inform instruction, intervention, and student self-assessment. I think it’s clear that educators must integrate technology into instruction. The question lies in how best to accomplish this task.

Real World Experiences Motivate Learners

Is it cheaper to buy items in bulk? I was recently reading a blog post by Alice Keeler called “Burger King is Bad at Math” which provides a great example of being a mindful consumer.
http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2015/11/06/burger-king-is-bad-at-math/ This article talks about the price of items on the Burger King menu and how it is cheaper to purchase items individually as oppose to buying a meal “deal.” All too often students and adults alike do not stop to do the math. We often assume that if items are packaged together or sold in bulk that they must be less expensive.

Real life situations such as this one ignite passion and motivate students to learn because they feel personally connected to what they're being taught when they see the significance of applying the material in real life. They take ownership of their learning while becoming motivated to further explore and make meaning of new found knowledge. When students are engaged they persist even when they experience difficulties and feel a sense of satisfaction when they successfully complete a task.

It is essential that students are given the opportunity to connect to the real world through their interests, experiences, or through significant issues that are compelling to them. These opportunities stimulate critical thinking and problem solving abilities as students dig deeper to explore the possibilities of each scenario. These skills are necessary to prepare our students to live in an interconnected and diverse world beyond the four walls of the classroom.

ISTE NETS, 21st Century Skills, and SAMR Reflection

Upon examining the ISTE NETS, 21^st Century Skills, and SAMR model I have come to the conclusion that teachers should aim for higher levels of Bloom’s revised taxonomy and the transformation area of the SAMR model when planning technology tasks.  These three frameworks are intertwined by their dependence on technology, higher-order thinking skills, and their overlying goal of preparing students to be productive members of society while thriving in our global economy. All three of these frameworks focus on infusing digital learning experiences that will result in higher levels of achievement for students. As stated by Kay (n.d.) “only people who have the knowledge and skills to negotiate constant change and reinvent themselves for new situations will succeed” in the 21^st century (xvii). Thus, students who can quickly adapt to change and collaborate to accomplish a task will be greatly valued in today’s society. According to Ruben Puentedura (2105), “we will see patterns among all subject areas including math, P.E., and Social Studies whereby all areas will be using visualization tools to make tricky concepts more concrete for students.” Puentedura further states that “we will observe greater gains in comprehension, greater possibilities for using knowledge, and increased peer mentorship” when actively engaged in the transformation level of SAMR.

Using social networks to collaborate is becoming the norm. As mentioned in ISTE standard 2 (2007), working collaboratively through digital media has a profound impact on the classroom because it extends the learning environment by allowing students to communicate and interact outside the classroom. By allowing students to communicate in school the same way they choose to communicate outside of school they are afforded an essential connection between what they’re learning in school and how it relates to the real world.

Due to the fact that today’s learners are digital natives it is imperative that teachers provide students the opportunity to use technology to enhance their learning experiences. A key factor for implementing technology is to ensure that students are cognitively engaged and not just merely actively engaged, performing rote tasks mindlessly. Teachers can facilitate this growth by offering students the opportunity to use technology to elicit creativity, collaboration, problem-solving and critical thinking skills all of which are vital to the above mentioned frameworks.

As an educator it is my goal to use technology in a planned and purposeful manner that supports learning objectives and engages students with content while evoking higher-order thinking skills. I have come to understand that integrating technology into learning experiences can have a significant impact on student outcomes. 

Resources:

ISTE. (2007). Standards for Students. Retrieved September 7, 2015 from: http://www.iste.org/
        standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-students.

                                                              

Common Sense Media Inc. (2015) Ruben Puentedura on the Impact of the SAMR Model. Retrieved  
         October 28, 2015 from: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/ruben-puentedura-on-the-
         impact-of-the-samr-model


Kay, K. (n.d.). 21st century skills: Why they matter, what they are, and how we get there (pp. xii-xxix).