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There has been a lot of discussion on the web about how one can create their own Personal Learning Network (PLN). This term represents a purposeful approach to using technology to network with other professionals who share similar professional interests and goals. This article explores a number of technologies that are used for creating a PLN. For staying abreast on recent developments in technology and the use in teaching, I believe that developing a PLN is a must.

Claire Siskin's site gives a rather comprehensive list of mobile apps for language learning. The apps categorized according social networking apps, instructional apps, repurposed apps, make your own exercises and general references. For anyone interested in Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), this is a great place to begin experimenting with different applications.

The New York Times has a blog named 'The Learning Network'. They post several activities everyday. These include cloze texts, multiple choice reading comprehension questions, puzzles and videos with discussion questions. They also have a word-of-the-day page where they post a new word everyday with its meaning and a sample sentence. I check their page from time to time to see if any of the activities would be appropriate for my students. You can also assign them as homework or students can work on them on their own.

Voxopop is a social network based on talk groups. Talk groups can be set up by a teacher, and the teacher can invite students to join. Within a talk group, the teacher can set up strands based on an assignment. For instance, a prompt (an initial recording post) might ask the students to record five sentences using the present progressive tense. Students would then record themselves providing these sentences. Some of the major advantages of Voxopop include the ability for students to listen to the audio posts by other students in the class. Also, whereas using phones with Google Voice require students to respond to a listening prompt immediately (in real time), Voxopop allows students to listen to a prompt, prepare their answers, and then record. In this way, the site may be beneficial for students in lower levels. One of the major disadvantages of Voxopop is that it can be a taxing process to get every student in a class signed up. Additionally, students must have access to computers with microphones to complete tasks outside of class. Moreover, rumor has is that Voxopop has a history of being "down" and therefore is unreliable.

ProLiteracy has lots of student and teacher resources, but I'm posting a link to the page on using technology. I clicked on a few links and found some ideas for projects that incorporate technology. If you're looking for project ideas in an ABE or ESL program, you may find these links useful. There are also some basic "how-to's" with step-by-step instructions and screen shots that both teachers and students could use to build their technology skills. I have found creating "how-to's" for my students pretty time-consuming, so it's nice to have these available. Finally, there are audio downloads on topics such as using authentic materials and using everyday technology. For a teacher who feels a little uncomfortable using technology, I think these resources would offer some helpful suggestions.

Checklists for evaluating language learning software by the National Foreign Language Resource Center in Hawaii. The focus is on courseware, but the information is still valuable.

There are some great ideas here on how the popular platform Edmodo can be integrated into the classroom. I think the advantage of using this platform is that it resembles popular social networking sites.