Student PLN

I think that the student PLN and my PLN are fairly similar with a few exceptions.  The main difference between the two is probably the amout that each of these resources get used.  For myself things like Skype and Twitter are fairly new whereas for a student there is a good chance that they have been using these tools for awhile and are more familiar with how they work.

~Carissa

PLN

My Personal Learning Network has recently expanded becuase of the internet for educators class.  Prior to this class my network did not include things like twitter or a blog.  It was definitely interesting to see how connected I am.  Initially I didn't think that I would have anything to put down but after I got started my network did expand.

~Carissa

Alec Couros

Alec Couros sure raised a lot of interesting points talking about networked possibilities for teaching and learning.  Starting off the lecture by talking about how most 8-9 year olds are using social media sites stressed for me how accessible things have become for most people and how I need to get myself up to speed in the technology world.  Alec talked about a classroom in Regina where the students were allowed to bring their own devices to class.  I feel that this shift is a necessary one.  We all know that students are bringing devices into the classroom regardless policies attempting to regulate this, so why not work with it instead of against it. 

Many teachers take on the philosophy of teaching as preparing children for 'the real world'.  In this 'real world' technology is readily available at your fingertips at almost all times, so why not teach children to make use of the same technology that will be out there at their disposal.  This makes more sense to me than trying to fight the never ending battle against students bringing devices to class. 

The possibilities of connected, networked learning are open ended which opens up a world of knowledge that we have access to with a few clicks of a mouse.  I really liked the quote Alec shared about how the world doesn't care what you know, it cares what you do with it.  This is so true when we think about where the information that we gather comes from.  If we didn't have those people that shared their knowledge and information, we would not have those resources at our fingertips.  When I really thought about how much I depend on other people's knowledge, it became apparent that I really care what people do with their information.

As a personal goal, I would like to begin to share and give back to the online community from which I heavily rely on. 

~Carissa

 

Dean Shareski

This was my very first lecture  through Skype, or any other type of media for that matter, so that in itself was neat to take part in.  I really enjoyed his insight into how we need to think differently about literacy not just consisting of reading and writing.  He really emphasized the value of being able to read and write with media as well.  For myself, starting off in this class has been a struggle becuase I am not literate with media.  I wish that I had more opportunities to use media especially in my university years considering that technology was very accessible.  A big eye opener for me was when Dean talked about teachers being everywhere.  That statement is very true and something that I think we take forgranted sometimes. I am one of those people who he talked about that use the internet just as a place to look up stuff.  I think this will change how I view internet use for my students in my classroom.

After taking part in my first technology based lecture I am really looking forward to finding out more about how technology can work for educators.

~ Carissa

Officially A Blogger!!

I cannot believe that I have finally started a blog and joined the world of Twitter!!  I am very apprehensive about putting my thoughts online but I am sure it will get easier. 

I have always wanted to use technology to it's full potential and I am fascinated with the various ways that people use social media, especially for educational purposes.  Starting this blog for class is the push I needed to open myself up to the idea of using social media. 


~ Carissa