The Connected Educator: Week 1 and 2

Have you ever worked on improving a lesson to increase its effectiveness?  My default attempt would often start with a Google search.  While sometimes getting lucky and finding a usable resource, it is rare and extremely time consuming.  If only there were a network of teachers where we could get some fresh ideas as well as communicate concerns and receive feedback.  Well we are in luck. Networks such as these really do exist.

In an effort to become a connected educator, I began to explore and form my own PLN (personal learning network).  There were several PLNs that I found extremely useful:  Classroom 2.0 and The Educator's PLN.  These are both Ning networks that provide easy navigation within the different features that they provide.  With these networks, teachers have the ability to participate in forums, join groups of educators in their subject area or grade level, search for posts related to a specific concept and subscribe to an RSS feed for easy access to recent posts.  If you are looking for an easy to use RSS feed reader, I would recommend Feedly.  It offers tutorials to get you started and makes checking in on blogs as easy as reading your emails.

Another important piece in my network is Twitter.  I have created a professional account that is specific to my teaching needs.  With this social network, I can follow education based users that will keep me up to date on educational resources, provide me with information on current events and share links to more resources.  I can also use education specific hashtags to connect with other educators.

The most exciting part about starting my own PLN is the chance to access information in a timely manner.  As with most educators, time is of the essence and every second we have is valuable.  These networks are offering me a window into resources I never knew were available to me.  They give me the opportunity to become a more effective teacher through connections with educators all over the globe.  These resources are now at my fingertips and my PLN has organized this wealth of knowledge into one place.