Social Networking: An Educator's key to Cultivating Learning

     Social networking has made a huge impact in my classrooms. As a traveling teacher, I am between two middle schools and what works in one classroom might not always be successful in another. On the up side, I can “practice” a new activity and make improvements before implementing it again with another group of students. As a third year teacher, I feel there is great value in seeking knowledge from fellow colleagues. However, there are only three ESL secondary teachers in our district. In order to branch out and network with other ESL middle school teachers, I have found that social networking has allowed me to gain access to tons of information such as lesson plans, websites, interactive whiteboard presentations, games, and most importantly other teachers. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have allowed me to find credible teachers who not only share valuable information to aid me on my quest to be a stellar ESL teacher, but they can answer questions that I have in seconds. Technology is beautiful!

     In order to continue developing my personal learning network (PLN), I plan on maintaining my blog on Blogger. I think it is very important to document my journey in education as well reach out and or give back to the community. My hope is that others can learn by my mistakes and achievements in the classroom. Also, I have intentions on devising a personal blog which will include my newfound passion of running thanks to be husband, Jason Phipps.

     Before I took a class in social networking, I had never heard the term “PLN,” before or knew about Ted Talks, or how to tweet for that matter. I foresee educators globally building their online educational community just for the simple fact that it is inexpensive and at their fingertips. When we leave our classroom, we do not leave our PLNs behind because we carry them with us via our cell phones. Smart phone technology has enabled so many of us to check email wherever we go, answer tweets, and tap into our social networks in seconds. Future educators will expect answers in minutes and if they do not know, then having a strong PLN will be the key to unlocking those challenges ahead. 

A Response to Shirky's Take on Social Media

Tonight in my graduate class on Social Networking, we watched Clay Shirky's video on How Social Media Can Make History. After watching the video it really made me step back and think about how social media has changed over the past twenty years. Moreover, it made me think of how much social media will change in the next twenty years. As a middle school teacher, students are not allowed to have their cell phones turned on during school hours. I foresee the future of approaching this issue differently. With so many students having "smart phones" I think that teachers and administrators should embrace this technology and let students use it in the classroom. Students could be able to use their phones as clickers and use applications like Groupme in the classroom and even out of the classroom as students work on assignments, etc. It's a mobile chat room and the teacher can have the ability to introduce critical thinking questions that will expand learning. Overall, social media should be embraced in education and we need to incorporate the resources that are available to us now rather than trying to depress the inevitable. 

Follow up to Talking Tom

A few weeks ago I introduced Talking Tom, an iPad application to a few of my ELLs (English Language Learners). The idea behind the talking cat, Tom, was to get my students to record themselves and practice speaking. Overall, Talking Tom was a big hit and the students enjoyed making him meow and hold his stomach repeating the words, "Ow," over and over again. In general, the iPad has had some great success for me in the classroom as a positive behavior motivator. Students want to "play" on the iPad and really enjoy listening to music or watching videos on YouTube. It is a great motivator and I just wish I had enough for every student. In general, since I have started taking a couple of technology classes through Doane, I have been more aware of how much I use technology in the classroom. I really never knew what was out there to use with my students. By increasing my PLN (Personal Learning Network) with blogging, Twitter, and by subscribing to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, I feel like I have more potential to make a huge difference with my students and I am a better resource to other teachers as well.