As a fairly experienced educator, I was VERY shocked at the opening statement of Wayman & Stringfield’s (2006) article that student data is an “untapped resource in helping educators diagnose student learning needs.” I find it hard to believe that teachers do not use data to plan out teaching and learning, as “data use is central to the school improvement process” (Chrispeels 1992; Earl and Katz 2002 in Wayman & Stringfield, (2006)). Thinking more closely however , I thought of a few fundamental reasons why data may not be used or may not be used effectively; namely lack of access, lack of time, and lack of training. One of the major components to why data is not used or is used but perhaps inefficiently, is due to the way it is stored and accessed. Historically, data has been collected , but storage systems effectively rendered that data “inaccessible to most practitioners” (Wayman & Stringfield, 2006) which can only “frustrate flexible analyses” (Stringfield et al. 20...
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As part of my the Information and Media Literacy unit I just completed for my M.Ed in Integrating Technology, I had to explore personal learning networks. My post PLN: A brief review outlines the new one I tried - The Educator's PLN ( edupln.ning.com ) - in comparison with my trusted favourite , Twitter ( Twitter.com ). Twitter, of course, came out tops. I have been using Twitter for over a year now and I find it invaluable as a resource for ideas, support and news. I recently spoke at the Google Summit KL, and in the scripting session I attended by Evan Scherr*, he finished by asking how many of us in the room were on Twitter? I was shocked at the poor response, but glad he then evanglised about how educators must be on Twitter. I agree with him whole-heartedly , it is an essential tool in being conected with a global network of like-minded educators - and if you are not connected, you are missing out. This morning I read a great p...
As part of my current MEd Unit, I had to join and review a Personal Learning Network (PLN). I chose to join and review The Educator’s PLN (Thomas Whitby, 2013), as I am already a member and dedicated user of both Edmodo and Twitter. I wanted to try new possibilities, which were The Educator’s PLN and Classroom 2.0, and, after reading the article, ‘Professional learning networks designed for teacher learning’ (Trust, 2012) I decided to try The Educator’s PLN. I wanted to learn if it would be a good place to connect and learn from educators – are they willing to answer queries and provide links for me when I am researching? Are there constant and consistent learning conversations and sharing? If we are to use PLNS to their best, which can be to provide us with transformative and powerful experiences that are teacher-driven, we need to be able to connect and contribute ( Being Connected , 2013). I believe that the point of a PLN is to grow as an educator, learn from others, and co...
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...
Effective technology integration is achieved when its use supports curricular goals. It must support four key components of learning: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts. Edutopia, 2012 What strikes me most about the video above from Edutopia, is that it posits that technology is just a tool - one of the many we have our disposal and that our responsibility as educators is to use "whatever resources [we] have to the best of [our] abilities". I am lucky enough in that I have at my disposal: experience of working in a 1:1 environment for two years an ever-increasing knowledge about educational technology and how it might best integrate into the classroom stemming both from my experience but also from the learning I do to feed the burning desire to understand how best to use this growing tool a supportive school that encourages us to take risks and try new ways of...