How I feel about blogging:
When I first heard that we were going to have to start a blog for this class, I was somewhat frustrated and against the idea of it. I thought that we would have more structure to what we had to blog and would not be able to share our personal opinions. I thought that we would have to write what we thought that the professors wanted.
Now I personally think that starting a blog was a great way to share thoughts and opinions with the class. I have always been the student who even if I had an answer to a question that I thought was correct; I would not raise my hand to answer. I feel that this way it was easier to share my thoughts, feelings, and opinions about readings that we had to do and to debrief the lectures. I think that I lack confidence in my answers and that is why I do not raise my hand in class. Even though my name is on my blog answers, I feel that I do not feel the need to worry about judgement as much as I feel others will judge in the classroom.
I believe that blogs are a great way for teachers to communicate. They are a great way for teachers to ask each other professional questions, increase their knowledge base and to share ideas of how to teach in ways that you would not have thought of.
How I feel about using Twitter:
I think that using twitter is a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom. It is a great way for students to share links to websites with information or pictures that can help with assignments. I find that it is also a way to provide feedback to students on their assignments and to answer any questions that they may have. I think that making a class and/or subject hashtag would benefit students so you could easily see what grade and subject the question or comment is for and respond to them accordingly.
I found that creating a professional twitter page was helpful in organizing the influential and educational people and pages I follow. One that I follow is Teaching Tolerance (@Tolerance_org) where educators have access to free educational materials. As well @TeachingMaths is created by a teacher who believes there needs to be more focus on the mathematics in schools.
Conversations I have had with people:
I have talked to many people in regards to the teaching profession. One of the main discussion points that I have talked to people in the teaching profession and advising is whether I should take the Inclusive Education Certificate beginning the fall after convocation or if I should get out into the workforce and take night classes. MY adviser suggested the latter option. Whereas two close, family friends in the teaching profession both strongly suggested the former. They both thought that it would be best to further my education sooner rather than later due to the shortage of teachers in Saskatchewan with the skills to teach exceptional learners.
I have also asked fellow classmates what they think would be better and they thought that though it would most likely be beneficial to begin a teaching career right away, they thought that it is more beneficial to advance my education and focus on school all at once. They also mentioned that it would be difficult to do all the work of a teacher while taking classes. Also that I would get my certificate quicker if I took the year of classes right away rather than one a semester until completed.
What have I done to build on my Personal Learning Network:
I have not really given a whole lot of thought to my personal learning network before this class. I have talked about what I want my classroom to look and feel like with classmates and friends, but I do not think that I have ever thought about how to incorporate different types of technology into the classroom. Now that I am writing this, I realize that this is what my Chemistry 20 teacher in high school was doing when we were learning about the Periodic Table of Elements. She had us each pick an element at random and create a Facebook account. We were given a list of questions that had to be answered on the page and then we had to create the profile based on the answers. For example, one person had Neon and for a job if I remember correctly, the person put Neon’s job working with neon signs. I think that this is a great way for students and teachers to incorporate technology into learning, especially since technology plays a huge role in the lives of people in today's society.
Even though I have not done a whole lot to increase my personal learning network, I know that I have the resources and people around me that I can use now and in the future if I come across any questions or problems on my path to becoming a teacher and when I am a teacher.
When I first heard that we were going to have to start a blog for this class, I was somewhat frustrated and against the idea of it. I thought that we would have more structure to what we had to blog and would not be able to share our personal opinions. I thought that we would have to write what we thought that the professors wanted.
Now I personally think that starting a blog was a great way to share thoughts and opinions with the class. I have always been the student who even if I had an answer to a question that I thought was correct; I would not raise my hand to answer. I feel that this way it was easier to share my thoughts, feelings, and opinions about readings that we had to do and to debrief the lectures. I think that I lack confidence in my answers and that is why I do not raise my hand in class. Even though my name is on my blog answers, I feel that I do not feel the need to worry about judgement as much as I feel others will judge in the classroom.
I believe that blogs are a great way for teachers to communicate. They are a great way for teachers to ask each other professional questions, increase their knowledge base and to share ideas of how to teach in ways that you would not have thought of.
How I feel about using Twitter:
I think that using twitter is a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom. It is a great way for students to share links to websites with information or pictures that can help with assignments. I find that it is also a way to provide feedback to students on their assignments and to answer any questions that they may have. I think that making a class and/or subject hashtag would benefit students so you could easily see what grade and subject the question or comment is for and respond to them accordingly.
I found that creating a professional twitter page was helpful in organizing the influential and educational people and pages I follow. One that I follow is Teaching Tolerance (@Tolerance_org) where educators have access to free educational materials. As well @TeachingMaths is created by a teacher who believes there needs to be more focus on the mathematics in schools.
Conversations I have had with people:
I have talked to many people in regards to the teaching profession. One of the main discussion points that I have talked to people in the teaching profession and advising is whether I should take the Inclusive Education Certificate beginning the fall after convocation or if I should get out into the workforce and take night classes. MY adviser suggested the latter option. Whereas two close, family friends in the teaching profession both strongly suggested the former. They both thought that it would be best to further my education sooner rather than later due to the shortage of teachers in Saskatchewan with the skills to teach exceptional learners.
I have also asked fellow classmates what they think would be better and they thought that though it would most likely be beneficial to begin a teaching career right away, they thought that it is more beneficial to advance my education and focus on school all at once. They also mentioned that it would be difficult to do all the work of a teacher while taking classes. Also that I would get my certificate quicker if I took the year of classes right away rather than one a semester until completed.
What have I done to build on my Personal Learning Network:
I have not really given a whole lot of thought to my personal learning network before this class. I have talked about what I want my classroom to look and feel like with classmates and friends, but I do not think that I have ever thought about how to incorporate different types of technology into the classroom. Now that I am writing this, I realize that this is what my Chemistry 20 teacher in high school was doing when we were learning about the Periodic Table of Elements. She had us each pick an element at random and create a Facebook account. We were given a list of questions that had to be answered on the page and then we had to create the profile based on the answers. For example, one person had Neon and for a job if I remember correctly, the person put Neon’s job working with neon signs. I think that this is a great way for students and teachers to incorporate technology into learning, especially since technology plays a huge role in the lives of people in today's society.
Even though I have not done a whole lot to increase my personal learning network, I know that I have the resources and people around me that I can use now and in the future if I come across any questions or problems on my path to becoming a teacher and when I am a teacher.