Group items tagged

"When you have a specific interest, it can be difficult to learn more about it from people in your immediate circle of influence. Teaching is broad and we all have that one area we love just a little more than the others. This is why I sought out to understand more about Professional Learning Networks (PLN) and their value to teachers. I am often trying to persuade my peers to get online so they can reap the benefits that I am."

Back in 2011 I was working in the Middle East when a colleague introduced me to Twitter as a tool for professional development and connecting with fellow educators. Prior to this I was aware of Facebook and Twitter, however I considered both as being about nothing more than apps for sharing cute cat videos and status updates. I had a Twitter account for years, however hadn't thought about how it might be a powerful tool to help me become a better educator and provide me with a wealth of new ideas and resources which I previously had not had access to. I had barely used the account beyond the initial setup...

Free online education magazine to read or download (PDF) This issue has a 'Teacher Network' theme.

a list of the sites that educators have found to be useful and safe.

I actually think this is way over-hyped. A textbook is a great source of information, the web is a great source of information. Unless you can comprehend what is being said the method of delivery of the information is not very important. As was mentioned above - being able to do something with the information has always been the important point. There are times when I am sure that we could do better with a piece of chalk at the blackboard - I learn a lot from making demos in Mathematica and using PHET active java apps for chemistry and physics - the students enjoy them, but how much do they learn? There is plenty of evidence that until you sit down and work out the problems in a course you haven't learned much. I suspect much of this is driven by the prospect of sales of electronics - there is nothing you can do on a tablet that you shouldn't be able to do on a laptop. Especially with Win 8 coming and laptops with touch screens....

The Teacher Wall is a virtual town hall that gives teachers an opportunity to talk about the things that are most important to them--from challenges to "A-ha! moments," from lessons learned to job satisfaction, from curriculum to parent engagement. The topics tackled on the Teacher Wall showcase a wide range of voices and provide teachers with a chance to interact and share with one another, all while adding to the conversation on America's schools. Backed by the Gates Foundation. Go to the site and click on teacher wall to view some of the features before signing up.

from tech crunch: ....with a geo-location platform for recording, sharing and discovering connected experiences. Gopogo users create "Strings," what the team describes as sharable social objects that consist of any group of places that have relevance and context for the user

A social network where posts are translated into 36 languages and reads them out at the click of a button. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

A good site for creating private Twitter-like networks where colleagues can send messages and attach files. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

A beautifully made Twitter-like social network for schools that supports photos, videos, files and embed html. The site also has a blog feature, calendar and many other fab features. You can set your class to private or public. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

Make your own Twitter-like discussion forum for your colleagues or students. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

Questions have been raised about the social impact of widespread use of social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter. Do these technologies isolate people and truncate their relationships? Or are there benefits associated with being connected to others in this way? The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project decided to examine social networking sites in a survey that explored people's overall social networks and how use of these technologies is related to trust, tolerance, social support, and community and political engagement. The findings presented here paint a rich and complex picture of the role that digital technology plays in people's social worlds. Wherever possible, we seek to disentangle whether people's varying social behaviors and attitudes are related to the different ways they use social networking sites, or to other relevant demographic characteristics, such as age, gender and social class.

A brief look at social networking theory with interesting views of SNs and where academia are "at" with regards to the emerging field. The post is a little old (Aug 2010) but much is still relevant and the link through to the Freakonomics blog is worthwhile following.

I'm not sure how the connection between social networking and Chritianity will fit in a school environment.