Connected Learning
As with many things I was exposed to over the course of the three weeks, the various ways in which learning, classrooms and society can be connected, shared and built upon was a revelation to me. I am not one for social media - I do not have a Facebook account and only have Twitter at the insistence of my brother - as I simply don't have time to keep up with such things. I am spread too thin as it is and, much as I predicted to my brother about the Twitter account - I know that these things will lay fallow after being set up. It's not that I have anything against these constructs as, with most anything else, it's as good or bad as those that use them.
However, I can tell that when connections are made via Twitter, Facebook, Weeblys, and many, many other avenues that I am sure I don't know about, can be more fruitful than I imagined. If nothing else, the number of ideas and pieces of encouragement that can be garnered from these sources would be highly beneficial.
Also, in simply talking to people in the institute, I have been encouraged in so many ways and my curiosity has been peeked again and again. Obviously, this would be of benefit to my students as well and I need to come up with a venue of interconnectivity that would benefit them.
Last year, our administration instituted a Bring Your Own Device policy to our building that was met with some skepticism and very little buy-in, primarily because it was not explained properly (EX: Hey, some schools are letting their kids bring their phones to school to use in class. Wanna give it a try?). I am currently taking an on-line class now that exclusively focuses on these sorts of policies and though we are only in the second week, many great suggestions have been made that show me that this can be a valid connectivity option. I'm eager to adopt some of them and hopefully instill a sense of connected learning that extends outside the class, is fun and maybe even encourages students to be more engaged. Making no small plans where this is concerned.
However, I can tell that when connections are made via Twitter, Facebook, Weeblys, and many, many other avenues that I am sure I don't know about, can be more fruitful than I imagined. If nothing else, the number of ideas and pieces of encouragement that can be garnered from these sources would be highly beneficial.
Also, in simply talking to people in the institute, I have been encouraged in so many ways and my curiosity has been peeked again and again. Obviously, this would be of benefit to my students as well and I need to come up with a venue of interconnectivity that would benefit them.
Last year, our administration instituted a Bring Your Own Device policy to our building that was met with some skepticism and very little buy-in, primarily because it was not explained properly (EX: Hey, some schools are letting their kids bring their phones to school to use in class. Wanna give it a try?). I am currently taking an on-line class now that exclusively focuses on these sorts of policies and though we are only in the second week, many great suggestions have been made that show me that this can be a valid connectivity option. I'm eager to adopt some of them and hopefully instill a sense of connected learning that extends outside the class, is fun and maybe even encourages students to be more engaged. Making no small plans where this is concerned.