Student Centered PLN's

I was thinking the other day just how much I have been able to learn from my Personal Learning Network (PLN) and how I have been able to take the information that I get from it and share it with my colleagues. The information that I have received from some of the most respected names in educational technology, as well as teachers in the "trenches," has been priceless. I primarily use Blogs, Twitter, Facebook and a variety of Ning's to aggregate and share information. As professionals we need to develop the skill of choosing these tools, as well as who to follow, what hashtags to use on Twitter, and how to "mine" for the information that we are looking for to achieve our desired result.

But, what about our students? In our 21st century learning environments it would be an injustice if we didn't teach them how to develop a PLN. If they can realize the value of the information that they can receive and share with others, as well as the collaboration that can take place, they will have a tool that will help them throughout their lives.

So, how do we do this and still accomplish our curricular goals and satisfy the requirements for standardized tests? Well, I have to say that I definitely don't have all the answers but, if we use the power of this PLN and collaborate then maybe we can all benefit. So here are some of my ideas:

1. Be A Model - Show your students your PLN and have a conversation with them about how you went about developing it. Let them know the work you had to put in at first and, if your like me, how it just got easier as you made those connections and learned about more resources. Remember, once they get the concept, and see the value, they are going to start to get more and more ideas.


2. Start with an inside out approach - Start in your classroom. Develop a PLN amongst you and your students. It's an easy thing to do with Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs and wikis. Start a class blog for discussion and collaboration or maybe a wiki for students to share resources or brainstorming ideas. There are a whole host of other tools out there, just think about how you can use them to start a class/course PLN. From there encourage your students to invite other teachers, administrators, or even parents to your PLN. You may be surprised at the response you get.


3. Social Networking - Of course, there is Twitter and Facebook and Ning's, and now Google+. But, depending on the grade level that you teach, they may not be feasible. Facebook has a policy that you have to be thirteen years old to be a member, so that disqualifies most of the younger students. Some Ning's may not be appropriate for students and Google+ isn't widely available yet.
   Twitter is valuable if you use it appropriately. One idea is to teach your students about hashtags or create lists for them to follow on Twitter. It's important for them to see social networking as a tool for learning.

OK, so there are three of my ideas. You may think that they are pretty obvious but if you are innovative enough, and listen to your students ideas, then you will reap the benefits of your hard work. If you can get your students to buy in to the value of PLN's, and allow them to explore a bit, they will do much of the innovation for you. Heck, you may even learn something!

One of the goals of this post, as all blog posts should do, is to get your opinion and collaborate. So, please comment and post your ideas or resources for developing student PLN's here for others to see. Also, why not post to Twitter. Use the hashtag #studentpln and let's get the ideas "flowing." Remember, we are the examples!!

Collaboration, Community and ISTE 2011

This article is cross posted at the Technology & Learning Advisor blog.

Last week I had the pleasure to attend the annual International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Philadelphia. This was really exciting for me since the last time it was even near me, I am in Southern New Jersey, was when it came to Washington, DC. Even then, it was far enough away that the budget, both mine and the school district's, was only able to handle one day. That day was spent just trying to make it through the vendor area, and poster board sessions.  Talk about a head spinning, overload of information!! This year was going to be different.

If you couldn't make it this year I suggest that you check out the following resources to give you a "flavor" of what you missed.  As well as the opportunity to get some quality PD.

Here you go:

1. The ISTE YouTube Channel - It has some great videos of the key notes (see Chris Lehman's and be inspired), interviews and overviews of the conference.


2. The ISTE Unplugged Wiki - It was created for those that always wanted to present but were not selected.  This wiki, run by Steve Hargadon, allowed attendees to sign up for spots to present to their peers. Don't be fooled, the recorded sessions (45 of them) have some good quality PD. Check it out!


3. Use your Twitter hash tags to search out some good information that you may have missed.  Just do a search for #ISTE2011, #ISTE11 or, if you are an ISTE member and belong to a Special Interest Group SIG just plug-in the initials of your group.

As huge as this conference was it was still all about collaboration and sharing.  If you went and just wandered around this year with stopping in a "Playground," or a poster session you missed out.  For example, I was walking through the videoconferencing playground and got a chance to stop and talk, live, with the distance learning person at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  I got a fantastic resource from a guy who was just sitting there on a computer screen waiting for someone to talk to him.  Overall, it was a chance to see the best of the best showing off their talents and being more than willing to tell you about how they do it.  That's what it's all about.

If you went, keep sharing and innovating. If you didn't, try to go when you can and look for the resources that are still out there for the taking.  There are plenty of blogs for information as well as other resources from this conference.  Do some searching, it will take you a whole lot less time then getting through the vendor area.  I can promise you that!!

Innovate, Collaborate and Achieve!

As educators we can boast that we integrate technology, but can we do it meaningfully, and thoughtfully, to achieve our curricular goals?  I have seen, far too many times, technology used just because it is there or it looks good during an observation. I too am enticed by the newest instructional technologies on the market and sometimes just look for a way to include it somewhere in someone's curriculum. But, we have to remember to keep things in perspective and see where we, and our students, stand with our technology integration skills.

Are our students really as skilled and prepared as we, and they, think that they are? Overall they are used to using technology for entertainment. They need to learn how to use it as a tool to innovate and leverage for maximum benefit to achieve their goals. Students need to see that the technology that entertains is also the same technology that teaches and helps them innovate, collaborate and create.

Let computers do the computing! You are the ones that will encourage and engage your students through your passion for learning. Kids are more savvy than we give them credit for, the can sense it when we are "forcing" it. If we can learn how to do this, and use our creativity and innovation skills to get the technologies to do what we want them to do, amazing things can happen. But, this isn't always easy since many of us see technology as an analytical tool and not a creative one.

We need to be fearless in our teaching and we need to take control of our own learning. We need to be researchers and collaborators who move forward with the help of our colleagues. Furthermore, school leaders need to build a culture that fosters meaningful integration of technology that has measurable results. We all need a "road map" for success. Sometime we just need the path drawn out for us until we can create one for ourselves.

Students need to know that the same social media that they use to connect with their friends is the same one that can teach and connect them with very well-known, and well-educated people. They can "friend' and "follow" these experts, educators and innovators to enhance their learning. Technology has great potential to allow people to express their viewpoints that they may not otherwise share. It can unleash a great debate with minds and scholars once thought unreachable. We can't let this opportunity pass us by!

If you have done this for any period of time then you know that technology integration is a "messy" thing and nobody has really come up with a "clean" way of  handling it. If you think you do, or even don't, then speak up and share your thoughts. That's why we have the "Comments" feature on this blog. So, let's collaborate, debate and share right here and now. Our futures depend on it!

Inspiration When We Need It Most

This article is cross posted at the Technology & Learning Advisor blog.

Recently, I have seen too many news stories about school budgets being voted down, federal educational technology programs no longer being funded, and the continued attacks on educators from politicians and other organizations. I know that this has been going on for a while but it has really made me reflect on where we are in terms of the state of our educational programs in this country and the attitude we must take. We are a country that is supposed to be a leader in this world and we are spending more time, and money, pointing fingers then trying to fix our problems.

As educators we are supposed to be preparing our students for their futures as wise content consumers and producers. Savvy technology users that can innovate, collaborate, and be creative with a global perspective. Yet, for the most part, we continue to feel demoralized for not being given the proper support and tools to achieve these goals.

Now that I have vented, I want to put this into perspective. I want you all to meet Moliehi Sekese, a Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Teacher Award recipient. Moliehi, from the very small and poor South African country of Lesotho, has been globally recognized as an innovative integrator of technology. Her class size is about 100 students, that is not a typo, and the school does not have electricity. But she uses her personal laptop, as long as the battery lasts, and some innovative teaching techniques to teach and integrate technology. Please take time to listen to her words in the video below and read her story on Ewan McIntosh's bog. You can also, read more and see a longer interview on the Cool Cat Teacher Blog. She is an amazing woman who can teach us all how to be innovators in a time when we need it the most. As you will hear her say,

"Stop blaming the challenges. Use a stumbling block as a stepping stone to success."

So, if you are feeling sorry for yourself when you are faced with the one computer classroom or you can't get that new set of mobile devices for your school, take a minute and remember Moliehi, and what she doing to be innovative, successful and inspiring to her students and colleagues. She is certainly an example for all of us to remember when we think we can't overcome a challenge.

I will leave you with this quote, by Dr. Martin Luther King:

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.

It serves as a reminder to me when I get upset or depressed about that challenges that I face everyday as I try to help the teachers and students in my school district achieve their goals to become twenty-first century workers and learners. I hope it inspires you to move forward as well. I know that Moliehi is a living example.