Journal #7: Professional Learning Network

It has been interesting to learn about the different uses of a professional learning network throughout the course. I really like the fact that we have used a lot of these different networks in the past weeks because I have learned what might work in the classroom when I am a full time teacher. The most powerful networks have been Blogger and the affinity group (Edutopia). Blogger has been a unique way of sharing ideas and viewing the ideas of others. This might be a biased answer because we have been required to write in our blog the entire quarter, but I know that I often look at other people's ideas on their blog, both for interest and guidance. I know I would be able to you a program like Blogger with upper grade elementary kids. This would be a great resource in the classroom, especially during computer lab time. For example, students could work on writing that relates to any content area and be able to add links, pictures, and most importantly collaborate with their own classmates. If the writing activities are structured and modeled correctly by the teachers, then the class could really benefit form the use of this type of learning network. In addition, this type of network could work with parents and teachers to communicate and share ideas.

The affinity group that I chose to follow was Edutopia. I was exposed to this non profit organization during my coursework for my teaching credential and I found their ideas in education to be innovative. Although I signed up to be a member directly through the organization's website, I have used the information they share through their posts in Pinterest. I am an avid "Pinner", and it is an app that I frequent a lot. What I love the most is that I am able to save ideas, resources, practices, etc into specific folders that I have created. For example, I put Edutopia's pins into folders titled classstroom ideas & classroom strategies. My ultimate goal is to have specific categories like math, language arts, social studies, science, behavior management, differentiating instruction, common core, parent communication, etc. I realize this will probably take a lot of time, but I know it will end up being a great resource with ideas that came from a trusted source.  Its unfortunate that I didn't have a lot of time to interact and share ideas with other educators, but I will make that one of my long term goals. I am certain that I would be able to use Edutopia's resources as a full time teacher through apps like Pinterest.

Digg, the RSS feed, provided me with a variety of information that I used when I needed a little break. I was able to read interesting stories, that for the most part are not publicized in the mainstream media. From learning about the rise and fall of Groupon to finding out why drinks cost so much to a new water park in North Korea, I felt like I was found out about something new that was happening. I did add Edutopia to my RSS feed, but for some reason I preferred to view it through Pinterest. As for using an RSS feed in the classroom,I can't picture myself using it consistently throughout a school year, but I think it would be a good idea to read some of the articles as a class and build a grade appropriate lesson. I found the National Geographic feed to be very interesting and their pictures to be captivating. I know students would love a lesson built off of an article about Cheetahs of the Serengeti!

Finally, Twitter was another tool used as part of our professional learning network. I must admit I didn't really use it. For the most part, I added celebrities and checked it once in a while. This could be because I didn't have anybody that I knew personally that sent tweets constantly and that I could interact with, but it really didn't serve much of a purpose for me. Twitter could work as a resource for students to use amongst each other in the classroom. For example, the very popular mission projects could be made more interesting by having students ask two classmates questions on their twitter profile that can be answered. In addition, students could retweet information that they found to be interesting. There are many opportunities for the integration of Twitter for the purpose of collaboration among students.


All of the different tools that I was exposed to can have a purpose in my professional development and in the classroom that I will one day teach. I realized that I have to be open to different kinds of tools for the classroom, because there are a lot of good resources that are not part of the day-to-day lessons that students are exposed to, that would really make learning a fun and collaborative process. I also think it would be a good idea to test different tools and see what works best for the subject and group of students that are taught. As for my professional development, I want to make sure that I am constantly learning. Things are constantly changing in the education field, and being informed about lesson implementation, classroom management strategies, and addressing the needs of students with disabilites will be essential. Being a life long learner will be just as much of a job as being an educator.