How Do I Get a PLN? | Edutopia

How Do I Get a PLN? | Edutopia



This post by Edutopia provides a succinct and easily understood method for establishing a PLN. I think it is the best  I have come across. I would like to share it with my staff.

ETL523 

Module 4.2 

Social, cultural and global perspectives

Activity #7: Social media and educational networking - finding the evidence to support this.

"Social media used for educational networking helps to connect learners in exciting ways and  therefore should be considered as a vital part of the DLE" (Lindsay, 2014, Module 4.2).

What are your thoughts about this? What is your position on the use of social media for learning locally as well as globally?

 I can see many advantages for learning using social media.. These can be looked at in terms of what teachers learn and what students learn. 

For teachers, there are so many advantages in learning locally and globally. Locally, it allows teachers within a school or a school system to swap ideas, resources and solutions to problems. It also, helps to broaden the technological teaching tools that educators are using. Also, for teachers, it helps them map student progression. This can be done by using blogging by the children as a teaching tool. The blog can act as a digital portfolio of their work. It allows the teacher and the student to see how their work is progressing over time. 

In my classroom, this week the children wrote a plan for their comment on my blog post  in their books. The following week they wrote a short comment using their plan. I did not edit it, instead I allowed it to be published as they wrote it. I am hoping to re-examine these posts next term to talk to them about being careful  about how they post and what they write from a digital citizenship filter. It is my hope that it will act as a base point from which they can see how their writing can be improved and how it has improved. Or am I wrong in approaching it this way? Should we just be focusing on the content of what they wrote and the fact that they are just learning to type and to express themselves online?

For students, there are a number of issues regarding social media. Primarily, is that if they use social media locally for learning there many ways in which this benefits their progress. It allows for feedback from teachers on their work, it means that they can access resources they need to work at home and school, it improves their problem solving skills as they begin to help each other and it improves their typing skills. The latter is a definite issues for  primary students.

My position regarding the global use of social media by students is that they are always in the global world whenever they interact digitally. Having said that, I think we can do more for our students than that. Using the protective nature of a wiki, for example, we can invite and allow other students and teachers from around the globe to comment on their work.

Baby Steps

I teach at an inner west school in Sydney. We are currently undergoing a transformation. That is we are trying to become a 21st century school. Ironicaly, the building I teach in is heritage listed but I digress.
By studying digital citizenship this semester, I am becoming more familiar with what it means to be a digital citizen. My teaching practice is being changed in that I am seeing the activities that the children and I participate online through a different filter. That is, I see them through the filter of digital citizenship and its different aspects such as safety, netiquette, maintaining a digital reputation, global participation and respecting other people's property.
I now understand that to be an effective teacher one must establish a Personal Learning Network of educators and for me, teacher librarians, in other places.  I am still coming to terms with the practicalities of this and probably due to the changing nature of Web 2.0 tools this will be an ongoing process. For me personally, this is appealing because I like to experiment but I know for some teachers it is a frightening and threatening idea. I think if you think it is okay to make mistakes then it is okay to give something new a try.
We are rewriting our policies to do with this area at school. I am involved in rewriting the ICT policy in which we are including references to digital citizenship throughout the policy. I now realise that digital citizenship, starts from when the children start to consciously use a device. So for example, in Kindergarten that means teaching them to remember to log off and how to go about doing that. I have been stressing to my fellow policy authors that the policies and the scope and sequence we are writing will always be a draft because the nature of technology and education is that changes. I understand that this is a daunting prospect for many teachers but if we look at that it is okay to take baby steps then we will be able to transform the way we teach and learn.

Personal Branding ETL523 Module 4.1

1. Why is it important to foster a global approach to digital citizenship?
As Julie Lindsay pointed out, whenever we are on the net we are working in the global world (Lindsay, 2014, Module 4.1). Consequently, we are inviting the global world into our lives every time we use the internet. Additionally, and more importantly, it allows us to learn from what is happening in other countries and cultures. By doing this, if we keep an open mind, we are then able to see issues and ideas through a different cultural filter than our own.

2. What are the most important considerations when developing a professional personal brand?
I think the most important consideration is to keep one's personal life and one's professional life separate. This can be achieved by not using a real name in the personal world or a part of your name. Another consideration is not to post anything in either field that you would not want your boss or your grandparents to see.
The following infographic from Lisa Nielsen, (is an excellent summary of how to create a positive digital citizenship.


Here is an excerpt from it:




 Or supporting students to develop their personal brand?
I am working in a primary school and I think educating the children regarding their digital footprint is vital.  After surveying our children I have learnt that 70% are unaware of what a digital footprint is. This is their opportunity to ensure that they have a useful online presence that will help them get employment in the future.
Bearing this in mind, I think the most important considerations for the children is that they understand that whatever they put on the net is permanent and that it can be changed and stored on any computer. Furthermore, they should always make sure they log out when using a public computer or even at home. To help their parents guide them, they need to share their usernames and passwords with their parents. Having a phone or use of a computer at home is not a right, that is , if they don't include their parents with what they are doing online then they should not be  allowed to use ICT at home.

3.What is your school doing in this area?
We are teaching digital citizenship next term to the Stage 3 children. Furthermore, they are having a visiting speaker talk to them about this issue next term as well. I will be designing a unit of work for the library next term in which they will be asked to design resources for the Stage 2 children about various issues surrounding digital citizenship. It is going to be like the work we are doing but at a much simpler level.

References:
Lindsay,J. (2014).   Globalisation of information and learning. [ETL523 Module 4.1]. Retrieved April 2, 2014 from Charles Sturt University website: http://digital.csu.edu.au/etl523/module-4-supporting-the-digital-learner/4-1-globalisation-of-information-learning/.

Nielsen, L. (2012, October 29). 4 things you need to know to help your students manage their online reputation by [Blog post].
Retrieved from http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/4-things-you-need-to-know-to-help-your.html.