The Educator’s Personal Learning Network

                                         The Educator’s Personal Learning Network

The Educator's Personal Learning Network is a well developed and highly inclusive website that covers a new teacher on a variety of basis.   There are videos for modern day instruction at all levels and ages; forums where people can display and request information, take surveys, and share dissertation work; a section on upcoming events and workshops for educators ( both online and not online); a groups section- where people with common interests are brought together; a blogging section, leaderboards, and an educational chatroom ( for members only).  All in all, The Educator’s personal learning network is  a highly useful site, and without having to register, is a resource that any teacher needs to check out!

Learners Are Like Mountain Climbers

 

The learner today is very much like an extreme mountain climber.  From reading the article Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, it  is especially apparent when Siemens claims that “Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories. Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual.”  First a mountain climber never really knows what they might run into, which can prove quite chaotic, weather and natural obstacles are often great challenges which cause them to adapt and make decisions.  Second, a climber must network and cooperate with other climbers to reach their goals.  Self-organization of a mountain climber is critical, without it, they go nowhere, or will find themselves in some difficult situations

According to the video The Impact of Social Media on Learning,  it is said that with the Connectivism Theory “It really comes down to our ability to have a dialogue with other individuals.  When we have that dialogue, we ourselves grow in that knowledge, we grow in our own understanding of our ideas sometimes.”  Dialogue in mountain climbing is critical, and often necessary to help others along when they get stuck or cannot see around an obstacle.  Having that connection, a resource, allows individuals to do much more than they could do individually and better prepares them for similar situations they may encounter in the future.  

Mod #4 Edu Blogger

The name of the blog that I commented on was called “Free "Free Technology For Teachers" and  the specific post was titled “Qwips –record audio captions for your pictures”.  As a student teacher in world filled with technology, I have been experimenting with and looking for new ways to engage my students.  I started off this semester just using technology in front of the room, as a means of instruction.  I used smart board activities, videos, and interactive games to get the students interested.  Now that I am getting to know the students well, and figuring out what we can do with limited resources, I am working technology into class work.  Just last week we did blogging for the first time – students blogged about their experiences coming to the United States as English Language Learners and commented on each others' posts, a great success! Now that I saw how well blogging worked, I am interested to see what else I can do with technology to benefit my students and make learning fun and engaging, digital story seems like it might be next on my agenda!  Now, with Quips I have an easy way for students to record their voices and narrate pictures.

Education on a Jet-Set Planet!

      


Throughout history, education has been very much transformative in nature. As the world around us has shifted from primitive, to jet-set, many changes have been seen. The video Educational Change Challenge highlights the challenges that current-day educators face, along with emphasizing how crucial technology is in  the modern-day classroom . 
         I thought that the video was very much appropriate for an up-and- coming educator.   First of all, it mentioned that not all students can benefit from the same style of learning.  Therefore, having a group of students all doing the same thing, with the same learning goals, is looked at as something of the past.  Focusing on the importance of technology and creating an educational space that mirrors the students' real- life surroundings is critical.
       According to the video, one of the challenges that we face is that there is no clear vision of exactly what education is, or what it should look like. Looking at this, it is also important to realize  that if an educator, doesn't "use it" they will "lose it", with regard to technology and the connection they have with their students.  Modern day education has come a long way from the homogenous one- room school house.  Our classrooms are now built on diversity, and rely very much technology to connect, teach, and inspire students to learn and become life-long learners.