After attending (virtually) a university course presented by Alec Couros (Regina, Saskatchewan) with guest speaker Lisa Thumann (New Jersey) last week, I commented that I felt like I had learned more through personal learning network (PLN) professional development opportunities than in umpteen years of formal education. Tonight I listened to an Educon (an education conference in Philadelphia, PA) recap on Ed Tech Talk. Many of the people in the chat room attended Educon sessions virtually. Some of those same people also “attended” sessions from other conferences the same weekend. I know I have attended far more conference/meeting/class sessions virtually than in person over the last couple of years.
Like so many others, neither my workplace nor my personal budget allows me to go to all the learning opportunities I would like to. With the PLN I’ve developed in Nings, Twitter, Plurk, Diigo, etc., I have been able to join in on amazing conversations, class sessions, collaborative projects, and lectures from around the globe. Interactive learning isn’t constrained by my budget. It only prevents my ability to always be there in person.
Now I’m thinking about how to help students (almost all very low income) to take advantage of opportunities like these now and in the future.
A Couple of Tools to Start
- Skype/VoIP – Hopefully we’ll be able to do this at school soon to communicate with others from our classroom.
- Wiki – Collaboration and sharing, even at an elementary level, is very possible through wikis
A Few Skills to Learn and Keep
- Digital Safety and Responsibility – Lessons here are needed to help students learn how to take advantage of learning opportunities without violating someone else’s rights or having their own rights violated.
- Critical Thinking Skills – It’s all well and good to learn and collaborate more, but it’s not very valuable unless you take the time to really think about and evaluate the information.
- Manners – Be open to listening. Think carefully before you criticize. Be ready to disagree if that’s how you feel, but do so with respect.
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9 responses so far ↓
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Michelle Baldwin
// Jan 27, 2009 at 10:15 pm
I completely agree! My PLN teaches me so much everyday, and I keep wondering how we can make this happen for kids. I know how I’d LIKE to implement this type of learning, but so much is blocked in most schools. Systemic change/reform is going to be difficult at best.
Maybe if we keep having the conversations and continue to invite the decision-makers and stakeholders…. ?
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Elizabeth Koh
// Jan 27, 2009 at 11:12 pm
I have been pondering these similar thoughts lately. Read somewhere that these are social learning and informal learning compared to formal learning in classrooms/courses. Some other issues I’ve thought about was information overload – through these channels so much information is shared and it can get overwhelming. And productivity – all these learning is good, but does it effectively translate to KPIs (key performance indicators) in your work life?
Totally agree with you about the three skills that we need – it’s very well said.
Think there are students who are learning similarly when they are able to afford the same kind of access to nings, diigo, plurk, twitter, facebook even. But sometimes it’s a matter of access which is one key obstacle facing teachers I know teaching younger students.
Thanks for your sharing!
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adinasullivan Reply:
January 28th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Elizabeth
You bring up a good point. You have to know when you have reached overload. Jeff Utecht wrote a great post on the Stages of PLN Adoption http://www.thethinkingstick.com/?p=652 . In that post he talks about the fact that you have to learn that you can’t keep track of everything, and you can turn to your PLN for help. You can focus on what you need to take care of business now. For students I think this is part of why they to learn critical thinking. Some time management would hurt either
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lthumann
// Jan 28, 2009 at 11:56 am
Adina – it was nice to see you virtually so many times this past ten days or so. I also learn so much from my PLN and I try to give back when I can.
Might I add social bookmarking to your list of Tools to Start? I think that SB is such a great productivity tool but an even more powerful open PD tool.
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adinasullivan Reply:
January 28th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Hey Lisa
Great to “see” you around too lately. I personally can’t imagine being without social bookmarking and agree that kids should learn about it as well. I was thinking pretty specifically about my class and it’s specific issues here. In other classes, I would absolutely add social bookmarking, blogs, and Google tools to the mix. Thanks for bringing it up.
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Donelle
// Mar 2, 2009 at 12:37 pm
I’ve been having similar thoughts lately as well. Trying to find a balance between learning all I can and not being overwhelmed to the point of being unproductive. I’ve also been trying to ask myself, which of these pieces would benefit my students where they’re at right now.
I’m heading down to CUE, but am always looking for online conferences to attend virtually as well. Are there any coming up in the next few months that you would recommend?
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adinasullivan Reply:
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I’m glad you’ll be at CUE. Please say “Hi” if you see me. A lot of the education and ed tech conferences stream some of their sessions now. I usually find out via Twitter or Plurk from people who are attending. Three of the professional learning opportunities/conferences I would definitely recommend are:
http://edtechtalk.com/ – There are a number of different weekly/biweekly sessions.
http://live.classroom20.com/ – These are the live online meetings of http://classroom20.com which is a great Ning I’d recommend if you aren’t already a member. If you will be there in Wednesday, there is a Classroom2.0/Edublogger West session starting at 12:00. Check out the Classroom20.com site to RSVP.
http://k12onlineconference.org/ – This online conference technically takes place in November, but you can still access sessions from 2007 and 2008. You can even register for professional development credits next time.
Hope to see you at CUE.
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Donelle Reply:
March 2nd, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Hi,
I have been also looking for a masters program to help in the learning process. I’ve been looking at a few. Is there one you would recommend? Thank you!!
I had hoped to make it to EduBloggerCon, but won’t fly in until evening. The k12 conference was wonderful. It was my first time “attending” that one. I also have made it to all but one of the Saturday 2.0 workshops and have learned alot there. Most of this is new to me since my web 2.0 journey began this past August. I have learned a great deal already and have jumped in with both feet (which explains why Jeff’s post on the stages hit home for me.)
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adinasullivan Reply:
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:03 pm
As for a master’s program…I did one a couple of years ago, but don’t feel it was the best. What I would suggest is that when you do a search for a program, take a very careful look at what the classes are/what skills are included. Make sure it matches the areas you are really interested in. For example, some are more geared toward those who are planning to teach online courses, some include a heavy dose of coding (html, css, flash, etc.), and others may say they are teaching tech skills, but aren’t up-to-date. You can always ask for feedback on Twitter, Plurk, Classroom 2.0, etc. once you have narrowed your choices down to see if anyone has had experience with those particular programs.
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