RSS Feeds
I subscribe to four RSS feeds on my Blogger site; the US
Department of Education feed, Edutopia, Education Next and the NPR news
feed. The US Department of Education
feed puts out information regarding federal education policy. This feed keeps me in the loop about federal
funding, state initiatives, and legislation.
Edutopia, whose podcasts I also subscribe to, is a product of the George
Lucas Educational Foundation which is dedicated to improving educational
strategies through the dissemination and discussion about collaborative
projects which will prepare students to thrive in both their school and adult
lives. This feed gives me information
about innovation and methodology that practiced educators have been able to
successfully implement. Education Next
provides news about school reform and innovation. I like this feed for its contributor opinions. The Nation Public Radio news feed keeps me up
to date with world and national news; I like the international slant of the
reporting, as well as the way the stories are told.
Twitter
Thus far, I only use Twitter as
a news source; I have yet to tweet actively because I don’t have many things to
say yet which are worth tweeting, in my opinion. I mostly follow my course colleagues and
educational accounts. I really enjoy a
woman named Patty Bode’s tweets; she is a visiting associate professor at The Ohio
State University Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy. I discovered her in Sonia Nieto’s book, Why We Teach, and I think that she has
some very interesting insights into education and the arts. I also follow TED Talks Updates, which
provides links to recent discussions regarding technology, education and
design.
Whenever one of the accounts
that I follow posts something that I find interesting, I follow the path of the
hash tags. I think that the ensuing
conversations are often insightful and interesting. Though there are a lot of opinions,
advertisements and self-promoting accounts to look out for, I see the value in
Twitter as a social media platform that is portable in easy to navigate.
Diigo
Similarly to Twitter, I have
only used Diigo as a tool for this class, so I only follow fellow classmates
and our instructor, but the information that I have used from that small
network has expanded my internet source library. I definitely see it as a helpful tool for
networking, organizing information and bookmarking articles to look at
later. The internet has so many
resources available and it can be difficult to navigate to relevant sources of
information. Building a Diigo library
helps to sort through digital information as well as to keep that information
organized.
Ning
I joined The Educator’s Personal Learning Network. The site is an online community for educators
with blogs, videos, and articles related to education. The first video that I watched was called “Bloom’s
Taxonomy According to Seinfeld;” it used clips from the popular sitcom to show
different aspects of the philosophy. I
thought it was an interesting and relevant way to demonstrate the different
points using pop culture. I also read
several blogs specifically related to technology in education. One, called “The Big Lie in Education,” was
about whether teachers who do not use technology in the classroom are really
preparing their students for the “real world;” the author, Thomas Whitby, also
created the Ning group and posted the aforementioned video.
Visit The Educator's PLN
Conclusion
Ning groups, Diigo, Twitter and RSS feeds are equally useful
in networking and exploring new ideas and methodologies. I think that being connected to other
teachers, especially veteran teachers and other novice teachers, is important
in building a career; I will definitely be returning to most of these
sites. I think that my personality is
generally averse to social media as a recreational pastime, but I think that
using Web 2.0 resources is a necessity for career building and professional
networking. I appreciate being exposed
to these different resources and being able to connect with my fellow students
in a way that will last throughout our careers.