Exploring Learning

For my MEd this week, we are looking at Personal Learning Networks - of which I am a huge advocate. I chose to review http://edupln.ning.com/ as I am already a member and dedicated user of both Edmodo and Twitter – both of which are excellent for creating PLN. Edmodo is great to use in the classroom as an organisational tool and learning portal; I use it for all my classes. I have posted about Twitter previsously and strongly advocate all educators create an account. As suggested in the video Being Connected , (U.S. Department of Education, Sept. 2013); your PLN will grow organically as you become familiar with the way that things work. What I liked about edupln.ning.com, is that when you sign up, you can add in your Blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ details etc., which shows me this place is one that recognises the power of connection. Having accounts linked together is really helpful when managing a PLN – because, as suggested in Trust’s article , managing a PLN (particularly a...

I recently had to write an assignment reflecting on the learning that happened during my capstone project for the PBLU teaching certification course, ' The Octopus's Garden '. I firmly believe that without reflection, there can be no real learning - and I am talking here about educators as well as the children before us. The Flat Classroom Teaching Certification course I am also currently working on, also advocates 'personal reflection and celebration [as] a vital habit of the successful 21st century person' (217). I tried to build in many opportunities for discussion and verbal reflection throughout the project though learners completed two main written reflections during the project. The first one was after the first checkpoint, which was a practise presentation completed in teams. This was to determine the progress of the next phase and how to complete, the final presentations. Learners were able to make informed decisions about the next part of the proj...

One of the challenges of any big project is managing the different streams and places information and creation is happening. Challenge 16 of the Flat Classroom certification also requires us to explore and create a Classroom Management Portal. For my PL, I use NetVibes to manage my PL as I am usually doing about 3 or 4 online courses at once; without NetVibes, I would get totally lost! Here is a screenshot, open on my Flat Classroom Certified Teacher tab. NetVibes allows you to set up different tabs for different projects and add the content you need. I love it because I can include all the different websites and feeds etc that I need for any particular project, all on one tab, all in one place - and best of all, I can include a 'To Do List' widget so I can list my tasks - and more importantly, tick them off as I go :) I have not used NetVibes as a CMP though, as I use Edmodo . However, for this challenge, I created one for my project The Octopus's Garden ; my capst...

Team Contract For the Project Based Learning Teacher Certification course I am undertaking with PBLU, I recently had to submit an assignment outlining and reflecting upon the management of the project. This report focuses on on the formation and organisation of teams; use of strategies for conflict resolution and decision-making and the different tools that can be used to support the teams. TEAM GROUPINGS Teams were formed through close consultation with both the Learning Support (LS) and English Language Support (ELS) departments. After much discussion and deliberation about possible groupings, it was decided that the best option was to divide those with specific learning needs equally out amongst teams and to provide stronger learners in each team. LS and ELS teachers have also been in supporting learners in this challenging process and we meet regularly to discuss the progress. ELS support the language learners with extra lessons after school synchronously with the skills bei...

Edmodo is a tool I use with my learners, as discussed in my blog about COMMUNICATION. None of my learners had used it before, and neither had I, although my PBLU course is run through it so I know what it is like to be a learner; I know it from the 'other side'. Immediately upon signing up, my learners became highly active and were engaging with each other during and outside class times. It is a great way to communicate immediately with a group, it allows all members the opportunity to respond to each others' questions; it allows them to be able to help each other even if I have not had a chance to respond. Without it, the amount of emails flying back and forth would have become impractical for most learners who were not yet used to being online for educational purposes. Using the 'small groups' setting, I also set up team groups within the main group, so learners within teams could send each other messages too. Edmodo allows us to add important information and ...

"England and America are two countries separated by the same language."  George Bernard Shaw (87) This is true also of teaching; global classrooms and non-global classrooms are two educational settings separated by the same communication systems. The world today requires us to have "a whole new set of communication literacies" (92); we need to educate learners in these technologies because "communications-savvy people are our best inoculation against the disease of inadvertent misunderstandings caused by technology glitches and nuances." (66) See also my blog post, ' Getting our wires crossed .' "Creating an effective PLN is an essential 21st-century pull technology for students"  (89) My inaugural Project-Based Learning unit is written as the capstone for my PBLU  Teaching Certification course. The Octopus's Garden Project , was written with this Flat Classroom Teacher Certification course in mind too, so I involved tw...