Thanks to information and communication technology, there is a heaping amount of resources at my finger tips. I can access any of these without leaving my chair. I want continue to develop my skills, pedagogy and professional development for my practice and classroom through my own personal learning network which include:
Microsoft Teams, Blogs, Tweeter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Teachers-Pay-Teachers.
I will use the resources from our very talented District Teacher Librarian. Currently there are several files with information that is shared among all Teacher Librarians (TLs) in the district. I am fortunate to work for a district that has many experienced teacher librarians working together. This virtual resource is dedicated to communicating ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. In the application we have folders which contain relevant instructions, procedures and information regarding the Library Learning Commons. We can also ask questions and connect with other TLs in the district.
I will strategically monitor my social media accounts (e.g. Instagram, Twitter, and Blogs) to keep current and be alerted to the ideas from other educators. I will network with other district TLs and follow them on social media. There is also a district wide conference that I will be attending in September as well as a training session. Both events will give me a chance to add contacts to my social media. I have also added the district TL to my Instagram feed along with other district TLs so that I can see their developments and progress as it happens in their classroom.
Being a teacher I realize that teaching and learning go hand in hand. Not only do I have to teach the curriculum to my students but I also have to learn ways to create and optimize their learning. Going into this LIBE course I knew several acronyms like: TL, ELL, and LLC. Now I know about ICT and PLN. I have been so resistant to learning about information and communication technologies. However, it has surprised me how easily I have taken to it and learned to navigate various applications. I have been using other teacher’s resources for learning for some time but what I didn’t think was possible was to have people find what I have to say interesting or relevant. I read a quote by Chris Lehman which I will keep in mind when making my posts: “It’s no longer enough to do powerful work when no one sees it”. Domeier de Suarez, Lisa. (19 October 2012).
I enjoy using Pinterest because there is an abundance of options. The visual aspect is very appealing to me. I am a visual learner who does better by looking at how to do something rather then reading about it. I like to browse through resources that I can see and are visually easy to figure out.
I am an avid user of Teachers-Pay-Teachers. I love the idea of teachers supporting each other and taking part in each other’s professional development. There is an enormous amount of beautiful and useful resources.
I realize that these digital platforms are not only important for my own personal learning networks but students’ as well. Therefore, it is important for us to know how to use these sources so that we can help our students safely navigate the applications. (Richardson, Will. December 7th, 2007).
What is most interesting about these technologies is that you learn aspects you didn't even know you needed to know. In an interview with Tom Whitby (by Jerry Pettigrew) he mentions: “not only can you direct what you need to know, you also find out that, which you don’t know”. We are fortunate to be able to choose the platform that best suits our needs for a particular task.
References
Pettigrew, Jerry. (unknown) How Teachers Create Personal Learning Networks on Social Media. Retrieved from: www.crisisprevention.com/en-CA/Blog/June-2016/How-Teachers-Create-Personal-Learning-Networks-on
Video: Richardson, Will. Personal Learning Networks. (7 December 2007). [Video file] Retrived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mghGV37TeK8.
Wagner, Juergen. Moodle and Web 2.0. Retrived from. https://www.scoop.it/topic/moodle-and-web-2-0/p/4041206445/2015/04/12/22-simple-examples-of-social-media-in-the-classroom
Domeier de Suarez, Lisa. (19 October 2012). Twitter: Best Professional Development in 140 Characters. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/lmdsuarez/twitter-best-professional-development-in-140-characters
