I think that a teachers Lounge, Blog for/or by teachers, and personal networks are a great way to share new tools . Personal learning networks are an innovative way to share, reflect and converse with people about things that you are passionate about. Reaching out and finding people that you have a lot in common with, is actually a lot of fun. Sometimes it can be lonely in an unchartered world of web 2.0. You are excited and want to share, but sometimes it feels like noone is listening :) Until you go out into that world and realize that you are not alone and there are hundreds of people just like you. Another term to explore is OPEN learning networks. It is exciting to be connected to people that are ready to learn, eager to share and happy to collaborate. It is refreshing to see this new world of networking. Some exciting findings when researching PLN, is GOOGLE for educators which provide an exciting opportunity to spread the love of teaching and learning. Not to mention staying on the cutting edge of what is happening in the field of tech. Learningtimes.org is another professional learning community where teachers can meet in virtual meeting rooms, chat and a wide variety of podcasts, blogs and wikis where teachers. If you register, you can share stories, resources and tools that can help in the classroom. Other websites worthy of exploration is the RETC website . Technology leadership is also a great resource because it is realistic and discusses the frustrations and roadblocks of professional development.
Topic of choice is Google Docs
The information and tools is are there and if you look hard enough, they are also free. You have to be willing to be that master learner. to participate in the numerous networks, or start your won. For instance, I took a big leap and registered for twitter! I also did some research on google docs. I love the idea that students are using google docs to work on things together. Here is how to use google docs. You can even embed google docs in your websites. Google docs can be used to utilize forms to gather information for staff development.
Dear Mr. President is one project I found. As the week goes on, I will be searching for more :)
Lena, your blog looks so awesome and your links are great. I know what you mean about getting lost in all those links. It is amazing how much there is to learn out there. Great YouTube videos, too!
ReplyDeleteLena - Feel free to check out all of the amazing educators I follow on twitter. I am kimtufts on twitter. They put in the most amazing links to educational information. It is almost better than the RSS feeds! It was supposed to be part of this class, but I just couldn't do that to all of you! It was one more crazy thing to keep track of. I love, love, love, google docs! I love everything about it. I love google calendar too! You are finding some really great resources. I am excited to see all of the new ones that I do not already have. I will be diigoing them soon.
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