Reflections on Social Networking
This course has been one of the most applicable courses I have been a part of during my Masters Degree journey. I have felt like the assignments that I have participated in, individually and in a group, have been immediately useable in a classroom setting.
I started on my Professional Learning Network (PLN) path 5 years ago, but didn't really feel like I had time to add 'one more thing' to my already overflowing plate, and it quickly became a hassle for me to try and participate. Not only did I not have time to follow hashtags, I felt like I had even less time to add insight or content to a blog that was just as unsuccessful as my participation in my PLN. I have realized, through the assignments in this course, that it really doesn't take much extra time. In fact, Diigo [pronounced dee-go ;-)] is going to be one of my go-to tools as I continue to evolve the courses I will be teaching online. It will, more than likely, save me time in the long run instead of waste time searching for information 'I know I saw somewhere...' Additionally, thanks to the required twitter chats, I have been able to grow my PLN and continue to make connections with people who want to help others. I feel like my PLN, generally found within the twitter community, is getting better and better with each additional follow.
I do still have some trepidation about how well I will be able to incorporate what I've been able to learn into my online classrooms. I am planning on using Flipgrid as one of my students' first assignments so I can put a face and a voice with a name. I teach all middle school classes online, so I am going to have to decide in which course to start incorporating my social networked assignments. I am the kind of person that tries to start too big, gets frustrated that things aren't working, and throws my hands in the air. I need to keep reminding myself to start at an achievable level.
As far as my blogging in this course, my blogs have been more of an afterthought than in the forefront of my mind. I still don't feel like I have anything new to add to the online world or that others can say what I want to more eloquently. That being said, I feel like I am in such a unique situation with my job that I probably do have insights for others that are coming after me. Now, I just need to start from the beginning, get my experiences in my job, my lack of support from others, and get the information onto the world wide web for those that are coming after me. I feel like I did a pretty good job, but probably not 100%; I think I deserve a 70/75 on my blogging for this course.
I started on my Professional Learning Network (PLN) path 5 years ago, but didn't really feel like I had time to add 'one more thing' to my already overflowing plate, and it quickly became a hassle for me to try and participate. Not only did I not have time to follow hashtags, I felt like I had even less time to add insight or content to a blog that was just as unsuccessful as my participation in my PLN. I have realized, through the assignments in this course, that it really doesn't take much extra time. In fact, Diigo [pronounced dee-go ;-)] is going to be one of my go-to tools as I continue to evolve the courses I will be teaching online. It will, more than likely, save me time in the long run instead of waste time searching for information 'I know I saw somewhere...' Additionally, thanks to the required twitter chats, I have been able to grow my PLN and continue to make connections with people who want to help others. I feel like my PLN, generally found within the twitter community, is getting better and better with each additional follow.
I do still have some trepidation about how well I will be able to incorporate what I've been able to learn into my online classrooms. I am planning on using Flipgrid as one of my students' first assignments so I can put a face and a voice with a name. I teach all middle school classes online, so I am going to have to decide in which course to start incorporating my social networked assignments. I am the kind of person that tries to start too big, gets frustrated that things aren't working, and throws my hands in the air. I need to keep reminding myself to start at an achievable level.
As far as my blogging in this course, my blogs have been more of an afterthought than in the forefront of my mind. I still don't feel like I have anything new to add to the online world or that others can say what I want to more eloquently. That being said, I feel like I am in such a unique situation with my job that I probably do have insights for others that are coming after me. Now, I just need to start from the beginning, get my experiences in my job, my lack of support from others, and get the information onto the world wide web for those that are coming after me. I feel like I did a pretty good job, but probably not 100%; I think I deserve a 70/75 on my blogging for this course.