Wrap-Up

This Web 2.0 course has been one of the most interesting and informative courses I've ever taken. I must admit, going in I felt I already knew and had tried all of Web 2.0 tools for the classroom, but was pleasantly surprised that even the applications and sites with which I was most familiar can have a place in the classroom.

There is some discussion in the ID community that too many programs focus on theory, alone, and do not allow for enough practice. I'm glad to say that is not the case for FSU's ISLT program, as their program has given me a great foundation in both theory and practice!

The Benefits of Personal Learning Networks for K-12 Teachers

All careers can benefit from a PLN, but I would argue that a PLN for K-12 educators is especially advantageous. While teachers are expected to plan together and meet throughout the week, I found personally, when working as a high school teacher, that it was rare when I had a moment of true discussion and collaboration with my colleagues.

Once the school year is underway, other responsibilities and problems get in the way of these interactions. You may plan to meet with 6 other teachers after school, only to find that two teachers have team sports responsibilities, one teacher is out sick, another teacher had to leave after school that day to pick up her sick child, one teacher was called into a parent-teacher conference, and another teacher was called into a last minute administrative meeting. Your 7 person meeting has now dwindled down to 2 people!

For all the reasons described above, a PLN would be most beneficial to this group of teachers. It provides a great space to share ideas and commiserate over common problems, all while allowing each member to do so at their own pace.

My Personal Learning Network

As we wrap up our class I'm pleased to share my blog, I Am Donor Conceived. I created this blog as part of a personal learning network (PLN) and it also serves as a home for educational artifacts surrounding a hobby of mine.

Throughout my work on the assignment, the thing that stood out most to me was the need for dedication to a PLN, especially if it is hobby-based. It took me some time to realize that as much as important as I find it to research being donor conceived, I don't particularly feel compelled to lead others to the same information I've found. For now, I will keep the blog until I've made a more permanent decision as to what I should do with it.

Does Facebook have a place in the classroom?

In our class this week, Dr. Dennen shared a paper concering Facebook and context collapse as it concerns using Facebook for education. If you are unfamiliar with the term, context collapse is what happens while using social media when your social media friends are mixed in with your real-life friends and colleagues.

The issue of context collapse is the reason why you may feel uncomfortable adding work colleagues or classmates as your friend on Facebook. For many, Facebook is a personal space where they get to share pictures of family, friends, their home, pets, etc. Many people do not feel comfortable being so personal with work colleagues, which is why many choose to not add them as friends.

As a classroom teacher, it never even occurred to me to implement Facebook as a tool. There stood to be many benefits for me to do so, especially as it concerned sharing files, videos, and creating a classroom community, but I'm sure students were just as mortified at the though of being Facebook friends with their teacher as I was thinking about them seeing pictures of my home.

From a sensible point of view, it may make more sense to reduce the number of total accounts we have and utilize single logins by only ever using Facebook. However, this is not how human beings work in a social manner. There is an inherent desire to certain people and information in our lives separate from one another, and this is why we have learning management systems and educational social media.

Produsage Lesson

When designing the produsage lesson, I really wanted to combine experience from my past as a teacher to my possible future as an ID for higher education. The one thing that was very different for me was the use of an online forum in a lesson.

Looking back, I wish I had an opportunity in my past teaching high school to utilize online forums, because I think I could have used it to develop my students' writing skills.

InstructureCon Topics: Educator Buy-In

The above topic was not a formal topic of a session, but it came up in several of my sessions. How can ID's and technologists garner educator buy-in to addition technology to the classroom? As we were sitting in on a session covering good instructional design for the higher education classroom, one woman tepidly raised her hand to ask this very question.

Of all the answers suggested, the consensus was that the best solution is to offer professional development that allows educators to use and sample educational software prior to pressuring them into using it. This blog offers a good list of reasons for teachers not using technology.

InstructureCon Topics: LTI's

LTI stands for learning tools interoperability, and without LTIs, learning management systems like Canvas aren't much fun. Among many of the available LTIs, the most frequently used ones I've seen in my work as an instructional technologist are for testing purposes (like Respondus Lockdown Browser), plagiarism checking (like Turnitin), and textbook software.

The tricky thing about LTIs is finding the one that works best for your organization. I named a few above, but for each type of LTI there are many different products from which to choose. Eduapps provides and extensive list of LTIs and descriptions that can help guide potential describers to the best tools for their organization.

What are some LTIs you have used as a teacher or student? Do you have a favorite LTI?