I established a feedly.com account that allowed me to organize and access a variety of education resources. I followed the NPR Education feed, Ted ED, Edudemic, and Free Technology for Teachers. The most useful feeds were Edudemic and Free Technology for Teachers. These feeds give countless applicable tips and ideas for the classroom from handling anxiety in the classroom to incorporating new apps into your teaching. Some of the Free Technology for Teachers feed does include stories from advertisers, though, so it's important to consider the source of the posts. NPR Education is less useful for a new teacher but it has allowed me to stay current and apprised of the issues of the day. I learned that following Ted ED isn't necessary as the feed only serves to announce new videos to its library which can be searched directly on its website.
On Twitter I have been following #edutopia, #FourtwotwoChen, and #DanielsErika. I find that feedly.com provides a better resource for articles and news from organizations but Twitter provides easy one-way communication from individuals. However, Edutopia, like Edudemic and Free Technology, offers a ton of great lists of resources. I also followed #classroom and heard from a variety of teachers offering ideas regarding classroom furniture and technology, but the hashtag was too general, as it also included job postings from out of state and announcements specific to conferences.
I have also subscribed to the English Companion Ning site. NIng sites are tremendously helpful networks of people and information. I love that this massive bank of ideas exists and is accessible. As a new teacher, I expect this Ning to be extremely helpful and provide me with a network of teachers to learn from. The chat feature allows for real time discussions and the community forums are current and busy. The curriculum section of the Ning has tons of resources to incorporate while teaching reading and writing as well as tips for planning assessments.
My Personal Learning Network experience has been one of a voyeur so far. I don't yet feel like I have anything new to contribute. However, I absolutely plan on maintaining and adding to the network that I have established. I have found feeds that give useful tips that seem easy to implement and excellent resources for specific lesson ideas. It's comforting to know that the teaching world is so collaborative. I imagine that technology has allowed for more collaboration than ever and that the quality and quantity of resources online are at an all-time high. With the shift in standards, too, even experienced teachers are in need of new ideas and establishing a PLN is a great option for finding them.
On Twitter I have been following #edutopia, #FourtwotwoChen, and #DanielsErika. I find that feedly.com provides a better resource for articles and news from organizations but Twitter provides easy one-way communication from individuals. However, Edutopia, like Edudemic and Free Technology, offers a ton of great lists of resources. I also followed #classroom and heard from a variety of teachers offering ideas regarding classroom furniture and technology, but the hashtag was too general, as it also included job postings from out of state and announcements specific to conferences.
I have also subscribed to the English Companion Ning site. NIng sites are tremendously helpful networks of people and information. I love that this massive bank of ideas exists and is accessible. As a new teacher, I expect this Ning to be extremely helpful and provide me with a network of teachers to learn from. The chat feature allows for real time discussions and the community forums are current and busy. The curriculum section of the Ning has tons of resources to incorporate while teaching reading and writing as well as tips for planning assessments.
My Personal Learning Network experience has been one of a voyeur so far. I don't yet feel like I have anything new to contribute. However, I absolutely plan on maintaining and adding to the network that I have established. I have found feeds that give useful tips that seem easy to implement and excellent resources for specific lesson ideas. It's comforting to know that the teaching world is so collaborative. I imagine that technology has allowed for more collaboration than ever and that the quality and quantity of resources online are at an all-time high. With the shift in standards, too, even experienced teachers are in need of new ideas and establishing a PLN is a great option for finding them.
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