As I had mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, one of my assignments in the course Connected Educator, Connected Classroom class through Winona State University (under the instruction of Jen Hegna) is that I participate in a BINGO challenge. And challenge it was. When I saw the card I thought to myself, "This will be easy peasy." Well, it wasn't stressful but it wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be.
There were many activities on the card that had me "putting myself out there" publicly. Things such as posting pictures of teaching and learning in my classroom, participating in various Twitter chats, organizing lists of followers, posting inspiring thoughts. Some of these things I found exciting, some made me nervous because I worried about being judged.
One of my favorites was participating in #satchat this morning. There was a high volume of tweets going on which was exciting and frustrating at the same time. Seemed like every time I went to retweet or reply to something, the tweet would jump farther down the page because of the activity. I had to move fast. But I did find alot of new resources that I want to investigate further. That is why I saved the whole session to Storify. Here if the link if you are interested as well:
https://storify.com/TracyLermon/satchat
Now that I have finished my BINGO card, I am spending some deciding if I want to go back to "lurking" or being an active participant on Twitter chats. I have learned alot from the "lurking" part but to me it does seem important to share what I have learned.
Let the learning continue!
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Where Are We in Getting Our School Connected?
Through this course we have read and discussed many things from where the importance of how to get our staff connected in their own Personal Learning Network (PLN). Our final chapter and last Twitter discussion has shown me that as a district, we have a strong beginning to making that happen.
The first step necessary is providing the equipment necessary to be connected. As teachers, we all are provided with both computers and iPads along with access to the internet. Additionally, the majority of us have Smartphones so we have continual access to our PLN. The rest is fairly easy, just seek out sources that help us to collaborate and learn from each other. We are also given free access to Google drive which serves as our Cloud. By utilizing our Cloud, we have all of our gathered resources at our fingertips no matter which device we may be utilizing. We are rapidly making the transition to a paperless education system. Parents are able to access tools to the progress of their child, see what is coming ahead in their learning and to communicate with their teachers.
I feel that as a district, we are probably "ahead of the game" in not only being connected as staff but also supporting our students and parents connectivity. The advantages to this are abundant. I strongly feel that by being having a strong PLN, we as teachers are opening ourselves up to a variety of teaching lessons and tools. Every student has their own individual style of learning and a PLN allows us to be diverse in teaching to those individual learners.
Byron prides themselves in meeting the needs of the 21st Century Learner. I am proud to be an active part of that mission.
The first step necessary is providing the equipment necessary to be connected. As teachers, we all are provided with both computers and iPads along with access to the internet. Additionally, the majority of us have Smartphones so we have continual access to our PLN. The rest is fairly easy, just seek out sources that help us to collaborate and learn from each other. We are also given free access to Google drive which serves as our Cloud. By utilizing our Cloud, we have all of our gathered resources at our fingertips no matter which device we may be utilizing. We are rapidly making the transition to a paperless education system. Parents are able to access tools to the progress of their child, see what is coming ahead in their learning and to communicate with their teachers.
I feel that as a district, we are probably "ahead of the game" in not only being connected as staff but also supporting our students and parents connectivity. The advantages to this are abundant. I strongly feel that by being having a strong PLN, we as teachers are opening ourselves up to a variety of teaching lessons and tools. Every student has their own individual style of learning and a PLN allows us to be diverse in teaching to those individual learners.
Byron prides themselves in meeting the needs of the 21st Century Learner. I am proud to be an active part of that mission.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Becoming a Networked School
This week's reading tells us not only how, but why, we must become a networked school. It may seem like a "trendy" way to bring innovation to the classroom but our times are changing and it is becoming almost an essential element to teaching and learning. This statement addresses one of the three cornerstones in the path of making change. The cornerstone of providing a compelling case.
This week we have learned that a networked school should include ALL educators. You will always find a "nay sayer" or one that may resist the change. That is where it is also essential to have a collaboration of staff to collaborate to create a networked school and to persuade those "nay sayers" to embrace the change. This group will serve as your change team, the pioneers. To sway the thinking of skeptics, the change team can then put their work into action which is the pilot stage of the three cornerstones.
Chapter four points out that motivation can be as much of an issue for us as it is for our students. I like how Richardson and Mancabelli acknowledge that each participant is at different levels of learning. Those differences should be recognized and expectations set at varied levels to keep the motivation alive.
21st century teaching and learning is here. As educators, I feel we must welcome this and be willing to incorporate this in our classrooms. Move over Xeroxed worksheets, make way for Makerspace!
This week we have learned that a networked school should include ALL educators. You will always find a "nay sayer" or one that may resist the change. That is where it is also essential to have a collaboration of staff to collaborate to create a networked school and to persuade those "nay sayers" to embrace the change. This group will serve as your change team, the pioneers. To sway the thinking of skeptics, the change team can then put their work into action which is the pilot stage of the three cornerstones.
Chapter four points out that motivation can be as much of an issue for us as it is for our students. I like how Richardson and Mancabelli acknowledge that each participant is at different levels of learning. Those differences should be recognized and expectations set at varied levels to keep the motivation alive.
21st century teaching and learning is here. As educators, I feel we must welcome this and be willing to incorporate this in our classrooms. Move over Xeroxed worksheets, make way for Makerspace!
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Is it important to be a connected educator? Why or why not?
This is a prompt in our course that has me thinking deeply. Is it important to be a connected educator? Absolutely!
Currently, for this course, we are reading the book Personal Learning Networks by Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli. Chapter 2 points how we are not only educators, but we are learners too. I feel that Professional Learning Communities (PLC) are starting to experience a shift where they are not becoming Professional Learning Networks (PLNs). We are no longer relying on the colleagues that exist just within our building, but those within the entire world. We are becoming connected through technology and social media. Resources such as Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest are no longer considered time killers but are now becoming a resource to connect with other colleagues to collaborate long distantly.
Richardson and Mancabelli also tell us that it is not the number of connections we have but the quality of those connections. From experience, I am finding that to be true. When I first started using Twitter or Facebook, I would find myself "following" anyone that had knowledge in Special Education or Reading since I am licensed and teach in both. Before I knew it, my "feed" was was becoming unmanageable and I was missing very good information.
The importance of being a connected educator is that it provides us the opportunity to grow right at our fingertips. Not only is social media a resource to us but there are also online journals or webinars. The more connected we are the more the opportunity to improve.
During the coming 12 weeks, I plan to create a quality PLN. I will be assessing my current activity and determining what is beneficial to me and what it not. I plan to use my PLN tool as a resource to learn and to collaborate.
Currently, for this course, we are reading the book Personal Learning Networks by Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli. Chapter 2 points how we are not only educators, but we are learners too. I feel that Professional Learning Communities (PLC) are starting to experience a shift where they are not becoming Professional Learning Networks (PLNs). We are no longer relying on the colleagues that exist just within our building, but those within the entire world. We are becoming connected through technology and social media. Resources such as Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest are no longer considered time killers but are now becoming a resource to connect with other colleagues to collaborate long distantly.
Richardson and Mancabelli also tell us that it is not the number of connections we have but the quality of those connections. From experience, I am finding that to be true. When I first started using Twitter or Facebook, I would find myself "following" anyone that had knowledge in Special Education or Reading since I am licensed and teach in both. Before I knew it, my "feed" was was becoming unmanageable and I was missing very good information.
The importance of being a connected educator is that it provides us the opportunity to grow right at our fingertips. Not only is social media a resource to us but there are also online journals or webinars. The more connected we are the more the opportunity to improve.
During the coming 12 weeks, I plan to create a quality PLN. I will be assessing my current activity and determining what is beneficial to me and what it not. I plan to use my PLN tool as a resource to learn and to collaborate.
Monday, February 1, 2016
My Name is Tracy...and I'm an Addict
As I write this, I have completed my first, and hopefully, only 24 hour period without technology. I went to bed Saturday night at 8:30 because I dreaded the thought and Sunday night at the same time so it would be over sooner. I have always known I rely too much on technology and I have now proven that to be true.
Some things I learned:
Some things I learned:
- I am on my phone constantly. I will look at it without realizing I am looking at it.
- 99% of my resources are on my phone.
- Phone book (Some kids may ask what that is.)
- Calendar
- Calorie Calculator
- Social Media
- Notes
- I post on Facebook alot of things that people really don't care about. Nobody really cares to hear about my frustration when I have forgotten my grocery list (on paper for this 24 hour period) at home because I couldn't use the note feature on my phone. Or that I went to Fantastic Sam's for an "emergency" haircut and the lady who cut my hair would not stop making small talk.
- My alarm clock. Fortunately it was Sunday so I didn't need it but had it been a week day I would have had to purchase an alarm clock.
- We don't own a single radio in the house. It was pretty quiet here. No Pandora, iTunes or Netflix.
- On a positive note, I am more productive. I was able to get alot of paperwork completed so I can now say my work is caught up at school. I did have to use my computer to type up some reports.
- Another positive, I was more connected with my family. I now know why they say, "You are on the that phone all the time." Because I am! The weird thing is, I don't have this challenge at work.
- I have often wondered if I have ADD or ADHD. I can't stand in line anywhere without surfing. I went shopping yesterday and had times I had to wait in line. I actually had to look at people or find other ways to entertain myself.
- All of my coupons are on my phone! I had to plan ahead so I remembered to take my paper coupons with me.
- My phone has replaced my camera.
- I do not enjoy talking on the phone. I text often. I avoided conversations yesterday so I didn't have to talk on the phone.
- I may be less informed without my phone, but I will not die.
What do I plan to change?
I do plan to be more conscious of when I am using my technology. When I am watching a movie with my husband, it is ok to put the phone down. I think I will start the habit of turning my phone off when we are having quality time. We are empty nesters, this is when life is really good. I can't replace my kids with my phone. Other than that, I can't see things changing a whole lot My phone has replaced many of my daily tools such as calendar, camera, etc. It is so convenient to have this all in one spot.
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