Frankly, this is not a very user friendly site. I attempted to see what courses were available to me, but like with almost everything else on this site, you have to complete a search for what you're looking for. Almost everything I search for comes back empty. I was able to find a few video offerings when I was looking for "phonics". A search through the lesson plan section under addition--nothing. Under phonics--nothing. Under the Civil War--nothing. Very frustrating indeed. I see that the site offers a search for people with specified credentials, it offers community rooms where people can meet to collaborate, and courses of some kind, though try as I might, I was unable to find what they are. I try to find a tutorial, and again, a search request comes back with nothing. Perhaps I am doing something wrong, but how can I search for what I don't know exists?
The second part of the assignment required a sign up with Facebook of Twitter. I am already on Facebook, so I decided to sign up for Twitter. After the live meeting the other day when the Ron showed us his Twitter account and showed us how to find people worth following, I was pretty excited about the prospect. I can see many opportunities for me to use Twitter as a collaboration tool to stay current on issues that effect me professionally and enhance my own professional development. Inside my classroom, I could see it being a fun way to communicate with some of my more reluctant writers and readers. Anything that is real world and pertinent to their lives, will motivate kids to read and write. I can also use it as a community building tool-allowing me the opportunity to get to know my students and their parents far better than I would be able to do otherwise. I could also use it as a form of parent involvement--parents could know what we worked on in our reading lessons that day and reinforce those same skills at home. Parents could stay active with tips and hints to help their children be successful. There were several articles about ideas for using Twitter in the classroom. I've included a link to one here: http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/
I am looking forward to having the time to really start researching Tweeters to follow. I was very intrigued by some of the ones you shared during out live lesson.
The last part of the assignment involved researching and signing up for a MACUL Space account--now this site was GREAT!! User friendly, and chock full of things I could instantly relate to--I found a couple of great videos that will fit nicely into my teaching arsenal of narrated books, and there was even a lesson on teaching students the "_at" family of words. There are sections for forums, upcoming events, blogs, photos, videos, chat--lots of easy to navigate things to do and ways to be involved. I liked the chat and teacher's lounge feature where you could throw out a question for assistance or discussion. There was even an entry about asking people there who might be worthy of following on Twitter--talk about something that was pertinent to me!!! Could it have been any timelier? My membership is still pending but here is a screenshot:
I am already a member of the Literacy Coach Network and recognize the value of a collaborative group of people with whom I can learn, be inspired by and with, look to for help when I need it, or support when I need that too. I look forward to enriching my professional life further with these tools as well.
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