The challenges of networking your classroom that the PLN book listed were: safety and ethical use, transparency, assessment, ownership and rights, and parents. Although these are legit disadvantages the advantages far outweigh them. The “thin walls [of the networked classroom] expand the classroom, and in the process deepen our understanding and practice of… critical thinking and problem solving.” (PLN p.60)
If you didn’t follow the video link from the book
for Brian
Crosby it is worth the 15 minutes. What an inspiring
teacher! I hope that someday I will have the resources and tools to be able to
teach in a networked classroom like his. Brian’s student Celeste is a great
example of how a networked classroom can be used to address the diverse needs
of learners. Celeste was able to participate in 4th grade without
ever stepping foot into the room and jeopardizing her weakened immune system.
Brian Crosby and his students are certainly an inspiration. I am anxious to try some of these things out, but right now I am in a new job as an instructor at a college writing lab, and I don't have a true classroom as much as individual students enrolled in courses that follow a set, self-directed curriculum. I need to look for resources that will mesh with my students in their situation.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to incorporate some of what we are learning also. There are so many options available now, it is easy to get overwhelmed. I think what we need to do as teachers is to find those that work best for our classrooms and add a few at a time, try something new and continue adding as we find what works. If we take a lesson we already use and adjust it to add some of the new resources, it may be easier than trying to completely rework everything at once.
ReplyDeleteThis year I have been slowly incorporating some of the things I have learned in the MET program into my classroom. When we learn something new I always want to start it right away, but I don't want to get too many things started and not be able to finish them. So far, it has been successful. I think it will probably take a couple of years to rework everything and to be able to use all of the tools we have learned in my classroom.
DeleteI'm right there with you, it's hard to find a good starting point with everything we've learned. I just got my smart board and am trying to get my kiddos the hang of that. With teaching first grade this year and kindergarten hopefully next year, it is hard to think of something that will be easy enough of for my students to manage and take it meaningfully. I'd love to set up a blog and have them post about their independent reading. I'm surprised your schools are wireless yet, but I guess I just take that for granted and never really thought about it. You will love it!
ReplyDelete"I have so many ideas, but I don’t know where to start" I'm right behind you on this one. There's been a lot of PLN building ideas I've had for my students, but until I really work through this course and start testing out more and more ideas, I won't feel like I've hit my stride. Twitter alone this week has kind of been a little bit of an overload to the new ideas I want to test!
ReplyDeleteThink Big, Start Small -- I used this in a workshop I did last week with some teachers when we were exploring ways to use personal mobile devices for teaching and learning. Just remember that and try not to get overwhelmed. Don't try to make many changes all at once.
ReplyDeleteOne little tip I wanted to pass along about blogging.....when you use an image like the one in your post this week then make sure you cite that image. I used that same image for one of my weekly lectures in Black Board, but you will notice that I cited where that came from. You need to do the same thing, especially when you post to the WWW (World Wide Web).