Saturday, February 13, 2016

Finding a PLN



(my attempt at trying something new with tagul!)

Developing a network of online communities in a focused way for education had never occurred to me before.  I am excited to find other experts and to share the knowledge I have gained through my own experiences and reflections.  While most of the resources are appealing in their own ways, I don't see myself using Facebook to actively participate in an educational community.  I am already part of too many groups for educators and generally ignore their messages and posts.



I use pinterest for recipes, wedding planning, and fitness.  I do have a board "2 Cool 4 School" but it has everything from anchor charts to word walls to worksheets.  I'd like to become more organized by setting up a new, separate account.  


I rarely use my personal google+ account because I don't know as much about it and at first it seemed like just another facebook feed.  I'm interested in using google+ through my school account to join educational communities and interact with other teachers.  I think this will provide more ideas on scaffolding CC standards for ELLs and provide a broader forum to discuss projects that work well for Newcomers.


I have used YouTube to enhance my beginner ASL classes during ELT, but I have not used it in my ESOL instruction.  I am interested in the videos I could incorporate to help teach vocabulary to Newcomers. I've also heard of tools that I can use to ask questions in the middle of a video.  

The best time for me to commit to my PLN development is two evenings a week and Sunday afternoon.  I have to fit it in after planning lessons for both #9 and SUNY Geneseo, amongst several other commitments.  I hope to work a lot smarter once I have developed a PLN to enhance my lessons.  I actually get a lot done while watching football or basketball games. For instance, I'm cheering on Steph Curry in the 3 point contest while working on this assignment!