Week 6

In this final week of class, one of the last subjects we explored was personal learning networks (PLN). I feel like I had heard this term at some point in my career, but it must’ve never gotten explained or talked about. I really enjoy the idea of a PLN. Professional development doesn’t have to just be going to conferences or receiving training. It’s something you can do a little bit every day just by keeping up with certain groups or peers online. Exploring Twitter was also something I had never done before. I’ve never really known what to do with Twitter as social media, but I can definitely see a use for it professionally. That is something I will definitely be spending time on as this class ends. I want to feel connected to my profession, and this is a good way to do it.

Working on the final project took me back to the good old days of my masters degree. I had forgotten how interesting reading studies could be, especially about a subject I am interested in. I was excited to use Google Scholar, as I hadn’t heard of it before. Reading between the lines of the studies also took me back. Remembering how important it is to evaluate a study, to really look at how the research had been set up (sample size, was there a control group, over how much time, etc), gave my brain a good workout. I always feel like a better human when I remember to think critically about my sources. And it was very interesting reading about mobile learning. The subject turned out to be not exactly what I thought. As silly as it might be, I had assumed mobile learning was only using your smartphone but in more of an eLearning sense. The small, segmented approach to mobile learning and thinking of it as a broad tool really struck me. So much creativity is needed when it comes to mobile learning! There are so many tools out there and the only limit is if you can find the appropriate app or experience to go along with the lesson you want to teach.

I’ve been keeping a list of the different apps and websites that have been mentioned throughout the weeks that I want to take more time to explore. There really is just so much out there, and we were exposed to so many things over six weeks. As I said too, I will definitely be exploring PLNs through Twitter, and I’m also intrigued by Diigo. I will be keeping an open, critical mind when it comes to educational technology. After the week we spend on global communication, I will also be viewing the internet as a much more open, collaborative place…as long as you know where to look! I love the idea of Skype for Education and would have loved to use it in my classroom, if I had only known it existed. I feel very strongly that educational technology is something I am interested in, and feel affirmed that it is a part of the career that I want.