Twitter is absolutely amazing! Twitter has allowed me to connect with students, teachers, and other people involved in education who share websites and links that are really beneficial for me as a future teacher! I now have a new thought in my mind every time I find a great website; I think, "Oh, man I have to tweet this!" I love sharing my resources! I follow a couple hashtags that I really enjoy going through and reading when I log in. I followed the New Teacher Chat (#ntchat) on Wednesday, November 2nd at 5pm. The topic or question, in this case, was “How should a principal support a new teacher?” I was really excited about this question, because as a future teacher I will need to be involved with the school principal and hopefully they can help me learn the system and how the school operates on a daily basis. I even got involved and posted that I want the principal to support me by “actively checking up on my progress and giving me tips and constructive criticism to help me become a better teacher.” One person actually liked my comment! I really enjoyed following this chat and I got more information about principals and what types there are. For example, I learned that instructional leaders are the kinds of principals to actively observe and evaluate the teachers and classrooms. They are the ones that love learning and facilitate the school. I wish I could go on and on about the chat because I really enjoyed being a part of it! Some Twitter users I am following are Joan Young (@flourishingkids), Lisa Dabbs (@teachingwthsoul), Dean Mantz (@dmantz7), Karla Medina (@KarlaJayMedina), Krista Sargent (@kristasargent). Joan, Lisa, and Dean are all educators and have shared lots of interesting websites as well as their opinions on important school matters. Lisa is the creator of the New Teacher Chat and I was able to explore the website she created (http://newteacherchat.wikispaces.com). I ended up bookmarking it, because she not only posted the day and time the chat takes place, but also earlier posts dating all the way back to early 2010. Karla Medina (@KarlaJayMedina) and Krista Sargent (@kristasargent) are both students in our Education 422 class who have definitely shared lots of helpful websites that I bookmarked for future use! The people I am following encourage me to get more involved with Twitter and to not only use their resources but to share what I find interesting and helpful!
I really enjoy using Diigo. It makes it super easy to bookmark websites that I don’t want to forget about, lets me highlight important information within a website page, and look at other bookmarks other users are creating! I am learning through every program and several online resources that it is not only important to get something from them, but to also contribute to the community. I am following Angela Mairs, Rich Kiker, Ms Davis, Sarah Victory, and Sherilyn Crawford. They all have some kind of relation to education and help me expand my usage of technology. Ms Davis, for example, is a math teacher and I really enjoy looking at the different websites that she bookmarked pertaining to mathematics. Rich Kiker also provides lots of online notes and resources that I can use as a teacher! From a person I follow on Twitter I found a website, www.kidblog.org and it is for teachers that want their students to create their own blog. It specifically mentioned that it is for elementary and middle school teachers and since that is where I’d like to work, I had to bookmark it and tag PLN! I can’t wait to start using it! Another website that I bookmarked and tagged was www.edmodo.com. This website is very similar to Facebook and looks a lot like it too, but it is created specifically for teachers and their classes. I thought it was very neat, because it is not only safe but can help create a community in the classroom. This program can replace Moodles such as Learningpoint and create a more interactive atmosphere! Of course, the New Teacher Chat website created by Lisa Dabbs is also bookmarked, because it is a great way for me to read past chats that I might have missed or what to look back to for websites and resources. There was also a website I found through Rich that provides templates for Cornell Notes that can be printed for teachers. Talk about an easy way to help students learn good note taking! Diigo is an amazing resource and I can’t wait to expand my PLN even more and find other websites that I will use in the future!
I joined The Educator’s PLN, The personal learning network for educators. It’s a great website to connect with educators and allow them to share videos, websites, blog posts, and even chat. I found a blog called, “‘What’s Love Got to do With it?’ Ask your Students” and it was written and posted by Lisa Mims. The post was very insightful about how school can sometimes be the only positive thing in kids’ lives. Also, students that act out and have poor behavioral skills may be enduring some really hard times at home. After talking about his 2nd grade boy that was struggling and connected with a teacher that showed him love instead of strictly disciplining him, Lisa went on to say that students need to be told that they matter. Sometimes teachers are the ones who provide a safe haven from the rest of the students’ lives and we need to understand that sometimes what kids really need is love! I commented to her post and thanked her for sharing this amazing story. It’s a great thing to keep in mind and I definitely will; my future students matter to me and to the world!
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