Sunday, October 6, 2013

Project #2: PLN Progress Report #1

PLN (Personal Learning Network)

Twitter

Over the course of my first semester here at The University of South Alabama, I have learned how important a personal learning network is as an elementary education major. Before taking EDM310, I used Twitter just like the majority of college-age students, and I never once thought that Twitter could be a useful tool for my personal learning network. Little did I know, Twitter is a great way to connect with educators to call upon for help, and to consult and collaborate with, in order to assist in my growth as a professional educator.

The first step I took in creating my PLN was following all of my instructors at USA that are active on their Twitter account. I followed Dr. Strange, Mr. Tashbin, and Dr. Vitulli. After following these instructors, I looked through the list of people they follow on Twitter, and followed the people I felt could assist me in becoming a professional educator. Scrolling through lists and lists of tools and people, I have created the beginning of my ever expanding personal learning network.


People/Tools I Follow on Twitter

Krissy Venosdale: @venspired
Krissy Venosdale's Venspired blog is educational and inspiring for aspiring teachers.

Brian Crosby: @bcrosby
Brian Crosby was assigned to me as a C4T, and his blog Learning Is Messy is quite fascinating! I highly recommend his blog.

Miguel Guhlin: @mguhlin
Miguel Guhlin was assigned to me as a C4T, and his blog Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org is also very fascinating. He posts quite a bit about technology. I highly recommend his blog.

William Chamberlain: @wmchamberlain
William Chamberlain is a Comments4Kids advocate.

Michael Fawcett: @teachernz
Michael Fawcett is a primary school teacher in NZ, and has awesome thoughts on PLN in his video PLN.

EDM310 Lab Assistants:
Melissa Canterbury: @MelCanterbury13
Jacey Chandler: @JCblaire7
Lindsey Estes: @lindsey_estes
Rebecca Lathem: @BecLat
These ladies are great to answer questions not only regarding EDM310, but any questions regarding elementary education.

Teaching Palette: @TchingPalette
Teaching Palette is dedicated to teachers who constantly work on perfecting the art of education.

Education View: @EducationView
Education View is a great source for education news.

Education Innovation: @EducationInnov
Education Innovation tweets on the hashtags #Education, #Leadership, #Innovation, #Teaching, #HigherEducation, #School, #College, #University, and #Learning.

U.S. Department of Education: @usedgov
This Twitter account is a great source for news and information from the U.S. Department of Education.

U.S. News Education: @USNewsEducation
This Twitter account is a great source for U.S. education news and rankings.

Teach For America: @TeachForAmerica
This Twitter account is a great source for teachers to provide students with opportunities to attain an excellent education.

Education Sector: @EducationSector
Education Sector is committed to developing innovative solutions to our nation's most pressing education problems.

The Education Trust: @EDTrust
Ed Trust works to close the gaps in opportunity and achievement for students pre-K through college.

HuffPostEducation: @HuffPostEdu
HuffPostEducation is an education news source and online hub for passionate voices.

Education Nation: @educationnation
Education Nation is a place for educators to discuss what they think it takes for student success.

CommonCoreQuestions: @CommonCoreQs
This account provides educators, administrators, and parents with the most rigorous ELA assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards.

Common Core: @common_core
This Twitter account promotes challenging, rigorous instruction in the full range of liberal arts and sciences.

Excellence in Ed: @ExcelinEd
Excellence in Ed Twitter account is dedicated to fostering excellence in education across America.

Technology in Motion: @atimpd
Technology in Motion is devoted to providing professional development that enables educators to become and remain proficient in the use of technology so they can better facilitate learning.

ACOEducators: @ACOEducators
ACOEducators is a member driven association for teachers in the state of Alabama.

Scholastic Teachers: @ScholasticTeach
Scholastic Teachers encourages educators to talk books, education, trends, and life as an educator on their Twitter.

Teachers.Net: @TeachersNet
Teachers.Net is a great teacher community that provides information on news, articles, lesson plans, and teaching jobs.

AL Department of Education: @AlabamaDeptofEd
The Alabama Department of Education is the state agency for K-12 education. This Twitter account provides information regarding education in the state of Alabama.

AEA: @myAEA
AEA is a Twitter account for professional organization for education employees in Alabama.

Dropbox: @Dropbox
Dropbox on Twitter gives updates on new features to the storing device Dropbox.

Office of Ed Tech: @OfficeofEdTech
The Office of Educational Technology provides leadership for maximizing technology's contribution to improving education at all levels.

SMART Technologies: @SMART_Tech
SMART Technologies is a place for educators to ask questions regarding SMART technologies.

ASCD: @ASCD
The ASCD is an international education association dedicated to providing programs, products, and services that empower educators to support the success of each learner.

Teaching STEM: @TeachingSTEM
Teaching STEM is a networking and information service for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers and educators in schools and colleges.

edutopia: @edutopia
This Twitter account encourages tweets on inspiration and information on what works in education.

Teaching Matters: @teachingmatters
Teaching Matters is dedicated to increasing teacher effectiveness, which is one of the most critical factors in student success.

All4ed: @All4Ed
All4ed works to improve education policy so that all students can graduate from high school ready for college and careers.

iSchool Initiative: @iSchoolAdvocate
This is a student led organization on Twitter dedicated to reforming education through technology.

Creative Education: @CreativeEdu
Creative Education provides great classroom ideas, education chat, and the latest teaching trends.

eChalk: @eChalk
eChalk tweets about educational technology, community engagement, collaboration, learning platforms, and social learning.


Concluding Thoughts on My PLN

Every single day I am following someone new in order to surround myself virtually with people and tools that will assist in my growth as a professional educator. I look forward to continuing the expansion of my personal learning network!

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