Category: Social Media and Personalized Learning (Page 1 of 2)

Maker Spaces Outside of School and Building Social Emotional Learning

April 5, 2020 / Trevor Hood / 2 Comments

“Which Way Now” photo by Mike Beales downloaded from Flickr CC BYND CC BY-ND 2.0

The Question

In kindergarten, the essential elements of learning are social and emotional development. Students are able to interact with their peers in a classroom, learn to play with each other, share, help each other, and build together mentally and physically. Social and emotional learning continues far beyond kindergarten and into adulthood. With our group project in the creation of Rube Goldberg machines, we have to face the challenge of students working from home. We must ask ourselves how students can continue their social and emotional development outside of the classroom in completing their science project? How can students create meaningful connections with others from their learning?

Interactions

Students can receive support and input from their siblings and parents when building their Rube Goldberg machine. A Rube Goldberg machine has no limitations as to what it can be built out of, and the objective for the function as to the purpose of what the Rube Goldberg does is limitless as well. Students can interact with siblings and parents in the household for finding recyclables, developing their ideas, and researching various Rube Goldberg machines by watching created projects from others posted on YouTube.

Students can use social media to post their video on what they created with their peers and get feedback. Videos can be used synchronously or asynchronously in sharing some of their learning challenges, design ideas, and current progress. A video journal can be created of their learning experience, and

Technology

Flipgrid

Learners can record videos and post them on the Flipgrid group site for other members in the classroom to see. It is an asynchronous forum in which learners are able to provide stickers, emojis, and comments towards the created content of other members in the classroom. The videos have privacy protection so that general members of the public don’t have access to student content.

Zoom

Zoom is a synchronous video streaming service that provides audio and visual of all participants on a screen. Students can share their learning in a larger setting with all participants of a classroom, or the administrator of the meeting can create breakout groups and have students meet in a smaller forum. The groups are randomly made with the size of each group being decided by the instructor.

Microsoft Classroom and Sway

Our school district is moving towards setting all student accounts to Microsoft and the use of Microsoft software such as OneNote for classroom organization, and the use of Sway for students to build digital stories. Sway is described by Microsoft as an easy tool to incorporate video, pictures, text and other media into interactive digital stories. Students can use the tool in creating a video journal, and use Sway to share with their peers what they have learned.

There are many options available for learners with interfaces providing similar experiences to the programs mentioned above. Students may choose to use social media platforms they may already use in their lives to have social interactions with their peers.

Challenges

Not all students will have the resources at home to create video journals, record their learning experiences, have internet access to share with others, and the hardware needed to create content. Flexibility is needed as such that students can make phone calls with their peers to share the learning and get feedback. Additionally, students don’t need to create video journals of their experiences, but instead can create journals from pencil and paper with text, drawings, learning from others, and personal reflection.

On another note, any technology tool needs to abide by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Final thoughts

Adaptations can be used in delivering the curriculum and assessing the learner’s final project while still incorporating the core competencies such as social and emotional learning, digital literacy standards, and science five curriculum. However, the reality is screens cannot replace face to face interactions with learners. At such a unique time in our lives, finding alternatives that can at least create some personal connections between learners is the second best option.

Final Blog: Digital Citizenship and the 4 R’s

July 26, 2019 / Trevor Hood / 0 Comments

“Digital Trauman 02” by ryantrauman is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Digital Citizenship

Being a student at UVic has given me access to the resources of academia on journals, articles, books, and research projects of students past. It provides an avenue towards self study in navigating, reading, and inquiring on useful pieces of literature. Attending professional development workshops, meeting vendors, speaking to colleagues, participating in book studies, and implementing new ideas into the classroom has been my strategy for professional development. What has been missing is the deeper understanding of theoretical research in application to methodology. Starting the Master’s program has been my catalyst card for being a more informed member of digital citizenship, through creating a Professional Learning Network. As such, my blog is a personal reflection of my learning, through the wider lens of digital networks and open access, the strength of developing a professional learning network online, and bringing resources into the classroom. In addition, I will reflect on how information is used in our digital networks as a reader, researcher, the research available, and what is researched.

The Value of Open Access Digital Networks

While completing my undergraduate degree I needed to research a variety of articles. This required me to go to a couple of libraries on campus. I remember the database at one UBC library was different than another, so it required the physical presence of inputting the search on a computer at each location. Next, I would retrieve hard copies of journals and photocopy them. As a reader and future researcher, my ability to complete a degree off campus is achievable because of online access.

The access to information has been unlocked, but access to information is not fair to all educators. John Willinsky is an advocate for open access for all. His conversation highlighted to us that knowledge is a basic human right, and asks us, “Doesn’t it make sense to share public knowledge from a public university?” Private companies, as John explains, can make $3500 on 4 to 6 journals annually in which no editorial staff is paid for peer review. It sets up questions on how my experience in education, and my professional learning network over the last two decades might have been different if we had open access to research. Working in South Korea, my professional learning network was limited to the colleagues I was working with. John Willinsky has painted an optimistic picture of knowledge being freer to access. Over the last 21 years since starting the Public Knowledge Project (PKP) at least 25-30% of material is now legally free, but challenges loom with unlocking publicly researched content with publishers. In his article on The Academic Ethics of Open Access to Research and Scholarship, John Willinsky and Juan Pablo Alperin ask the reader about the,”moral good”(pg 221) on open access to knowledge. Notably, the open access movement has spurned illegal downloading which circumvents copyright laws, such as Sci-Hub. It brings up the question, as a reader and researcher, if I would access content illegally, after completing my masters degree, why should the University of Victoria online library be locked to me? No more student pass therefore no more access.

We had the opportunity to video conference with Dr. Martin Weller, in the classroom. He addressed his article, The Digital Scholar Revisited, which is on the subject of a book he published titled The Digital Scholar, where he used Boyer’s framework, and over-layed it with digital scholarship. Dr. Weller highlights the need to have the digital network be open access for open textbooks, massive online open courses (MOOCS), open access publications, open data systems, open pedagogy, and open science. It allows the reader of content to make modifications, adaptations, and changes of material, thereby changing their role from being passive to active. It paves way to making content that is more personalized to the learner, such as layering cultural content found in a First Nation’s community. Open access also means financial barriers on textbook purchases can be taken away, allowing a school to divert resources into student learning elsewhere. This means I can change my role from a reader, to being dynamic and making altered content, thereby doing research of the community I am in, reflecting how to best meet the needs of my learners, and being the researcher of the results. In addition, the individual can add to the public sphere of knowledge, in which others can undergo their own transformations of the open curriculum. With the knowledge of open access and moving into the sphere of the researcher for completing a master’s degree, it is important for me to create open access to content that is created as a resource that can be mixed, shared, and transformed to enrich the public body of knowledge.

https://i1.wp.com/connectivism.madeleinebrookes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/BoyerModelScholarship.png

The Professional Learning Network (PLN)

The introductory graduate courses themselves are a framework for PLN, but the time needed will go beyond the scope of 3 weeks being in a class. It takes time, change of habits, and learning new digital tools to engage with a learning community. At the present time, I am more of a reader, in Twitter terms a lurker, in which I digest information but don’t engage. Moving into August and finishing course work, it will give me the time to be more engaged and build a PLN. David Truss highlights in his Twitter EDU online book that you need to put time into your social network. Twitter is the current tool for many academics. It is also a useful networking tool, and a place to communicate new ideas or have forms of discussion.

Professional Development usually occurred for me in the confines of a classroom that hosted an activity. We received a choice of specific guest speakers that were chosen or volunteered to present workshops in the school district. However, teachers are beginning to use professional development online. Ekaterena Tour has a focus study on the use of online PLN’s of teachers titled Teachers’ Personal Learning Networks (PLNs): Exploring the Nature of Self-Initiated Professional Learning Online. She notes teachers who have self initiated online PLN networks have experiences that are social, personalized to the educator, are active members in their network with giving and receiving feedback, have ongoing communication, and blend personal and online contact. An online PLN gives the individual,”mobility, freedom and access to like-minded people supported by technologies provides opportunities for ongoing professional learning” ( p. 16). Starting the Masters program has jump started my online network of finding like-minded individuals. Over the last 3 days we have heard presentations from other students in the class. Notably, the students in class are not just readers, but researchers, who are researching specific pedagogy that reflects these professional educators interests in their field of specialization. It gave me the opportunity to hear other frameworks, interests, and time to reflect on my own personal practice in a multitude of ways. My peers have created blogs, online sources, Twitter accounts, a WhatsApp online social network, and in my case video conferencing in large and smaller forums. In the last few days I have gained invaluable information on my areas of interest, such as inquiry-based learning in Fort St. James, cross curricular activities that can be developed with 3-D printing, and opportunities collaborating with educators outside the province of British Columbia.

Digital Citizenship in the Classroom

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has an excellent framework for administrators, teachers and students in fostering the use of technology and digital citizenship. Within this framework I am researching how to use inquiry-base learning, and First Nations ways of knowing into the classroom, and how technology can be used to bridge communities which will foster collaboration between learners. I appreciated listening to Dr. Pete Shauneen who presented a First Nations perspective of decolonizing our educational system, and made a valuable point from her article, Idle No More: Radical Indigeneity in Teacher Education, that,”learners come to the classroom with rich identities which could drive curriculum choice” (Pg 62). I feel we can accomplish this through an inquiry-based model that uses technology to bring learners together, and gives choice to our learners. In essence, making our students researchers instead of readers.

Conclusion

Having open access networks, allows for all members of the educational community, to benefit from the collective knowledge. Professional Learning Networks are enriched from open access because of the ability to share, collaborate, and transform ideas to educators in the classroom. Educators can then expand the horizons of digital citizenship for the learners. The process of being a reader of open access information, a researcher using an open digital network to learn from the research of other educators, reflecting and transforming researched material into personal learning for the student. This contributes to an intertwined digital network of the 4 R’s together which creates a powerful vehicle towards allowing my goal as a researcher to be obtained, in completing the Master’s of Educational Technology program at the University of Victoria.

"Connections" by moonty is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Reflections on Technology, Inquiry-based Learning, and First Nations

July 23, 2019 / Trevor Hood / 0 Comments

Introduction

Living overseas in South Korea and in Bali, it brings me back to the excitement and exhilaration of learning about new cultures, ways of doing things, and the people I met. Being in an intercultural relationship and being part of stories half way across the world fills my spirit and reminds me to be thoughtful of others. It is also a way in which I connect to my students in the classroom. Curriculum shouldn’t always be about numeracy in math class, or biology in science class, because the world is just bigger than the box we are sitting in. At times I will get off topic, and my students will get off topic as well. However, in those moments we learn more about each other and start to build a community in the classroom when we share experiences.

Family Vacation Photo of Soraksan, South Korea, 2005

Over the last couple of weeks listening to Trevor Mackenzie on inquiry based learning in the classroom, Dr. Shauneen Pete with indigenous education, and Jeff Hopkins, the founder of the Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation, has shifted my thought process on the role of myself as an educator and the role of students. Presently I am teaching multiple courses in digital media, numeracy, and science. As always I am trying new ideas and strategies to reach learners. I have been making changes with formative assessment, interactive science journals, and giving students greater ownership of their learning, but I feel students could be more engaged and excited about learning. Over the last couple of weeks three big ideas keep resonating in my mind:

Inquiry-based learning
The use of technology to connect students
Aboriginal perspectives and ways of doing

Article Summary

With my 3 big ideas interweaving with each other and reading the article Cross-Cultural Collaborative Inquiry: A Collective Case Study with Students from China and the US, it opens and reinforces strategies and ideas in which student collaboration could take place (Spires, Medlock Paul, Himes, & Yuan, 2018). In the article a framework and some guidance on how,” cross-cultural collaborative disciplinary inquiry fosters students’ demonstration and development of educational cosmopolitan capacities” (pg 31) is provided. The article also outlines that the, “theoretical framework for this study builds upon educational cosmopolitanism, project-based learning, and disciplinary literacy” (pg 29). Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all people are citizens of the world, that we are a community that can be connected without borders. Students in China and in the United states collaborated together on a project that looked at water samples in both countries and to “come up with sustainable solutions for mitigating and/or resolving different forms of water ecology threats” (p. 31). The project the students tackled has its challenges with communication, language barriers, and the 13 hour apart time zone. However, students were able to use technology such as WeChat and Quip, to bridge the gaps in communicating with each other.

The study also made note that prior learning in the U.S. high school on water ecology took place, which brings into question the idea of looking at water ecology as being student driven and what could have changed if students were given a greater range of topics. I also find the project takes a long period of time, requires prior knowledge and has multiple layers of activities that are required to facilitate the project. The researchers also mentioned the U.S. students started to be more directly involved with decision making, and in addition there was support from the authors who acted ast the PBI (Project Based Inquiry) Global team coaches. However, the authors of the case study give the reader a knowledgeable framework create learning between two remote communities.

Applying Concepts from the Article into a Personal Framework

In Canada we have a multicultural community of people in a large area. I believe through student inquiry we could reflect student, interest, voice, and self identity for all people. Reading the article brought up the following 3 questions in relation to my 3 big ideas with inquiry based learning, aboriginal perspective and ways of doing, and the use of technology:

Could we apply an inquiry based model in which we use technology for collaboration between two different classrooms that are geographically remote from each other?
What forms of technology could we use and what are some privacy issues surrounding the use of technology?
How could we apply learning from others and First Nations perspectives when it comes to sharing/collaborating with each other while making it unique and personalized?

Inquiry-based Model

Jeff Hopkins presentation gave me a sense of how inquiry based learning can look when it is student centered and not teacher centered. As well, the model at the Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation is a unique learning environment where the school program and environment is driven on inquiry-based learning. Considering my school environment, Trevor Mackenzie’s ideas from conversation in class on inquiry-based learning and the scaffolding process seem more tangible for students for the goal of being independent on the inquiry process. Once students have practiced and completed an inquiry based project, those skills can then be applied into collaboration with other students in a remote community of Canada. The possibilities for a project between two remote classrooms could be cross-curricular where each individual works on different elements and brings them together, or it could be a topic both individuals have an interest in, or it could be something else that is student driven.

Technology

The technology pieces may change as we are always exploring, developing and using new software to make connections towards each other. Trello or Quip appear to be a solid framework in which students could collaborate on a project with each other, and video conferencing could take place with choices such as WhatsApp or WeChat. A framework of expectations for students to communicate respectfully and in a safe environment can be explored with guidelines from the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and Cloud Computing Guidelines for Public Bodies. Collaboration between remote communities also sits nicely into the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for students, with components of digital citizenship and global collaboration (“ISTE Standards for Students,” n.d.).

First Nations

In my school we have First Nations learners who are a minority of the overall school population. It could be enriching to have a collaborative activity with another Canadian school that identifies itself as First Nations. Dr. Pete Shauneen points out that, “learners come to the classroom with rich identities which could drive curriculum choice” (Pete, 2017, p. 62). As well, a larger distance between two communities could provide more insight into the diversity of culture and perspectives between students. A map of traditional territories in Canada

Summary

Writing the blog and critically analyzing how I want to move forward as a teacher is therapeutic, exciting and empowering. I grew up in the same community where I teach, but left my hometown to explore and experience the world around me. My professional learning networks (PLN) needs more development, and understand the resources that I have collected so far are just scratching the surface to the depth of experiences and knowledge others have in technology, inquiry-based learning, and First Nations ways of knowing. I am looking forward to the journey ahead.

References

ISTE Standards for Students. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students

Pete, S. (2017). Idle No More: Radical Indigeneity in Teacher Education. Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, 53-72. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46328-5_3

Spires, H. A., Medlock Paul, C., Himes, M., & Yuan, C. (2018). Cross-Cultural Collaborative Inquiry: A Collective Case Study with Students from China and the US. International Journal of Educational Research, 91, 28-40. doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2018.07.002

Resources and Blogs:

-The Academy of Inquiry Based Learning http://www.inquirybasedlearning.org/blog

-Data Map of Traditional Territories, Languages, and Treaties of First Nation’s People https://native-land.ca/

-Freedom of Information and Potection of Privacy Act http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/96165_00

-Indigenous Studies Portal Research Tool http://iportal.usask.ca/index.php?sid=301227513&t=index

-Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation https://learningstorm.org/

-Quip https://quip.com/

-School District 57 Resources to Support Truth and Reconciliation: http://prin.ent.sirsidynix.net/client/en_US/dlc/?rm=ORANGE+SHIRT+D0%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7Ctrue&dt=list

-Trevor Mackenzie: Inquiry Mindset https://www.trevormackenzie.com/

-WhatsApp https://www.whatsapp.com/

-WeChat https://pc.weixin.qq.com/

Hashtags and Twitter Lists :

#cdnedchat

#IndigenousEd

#InquiryMindset

@bcedchat

@ChristineYH

@courosa

@CUEBC

@datruss

@Desmos

@DLCsd57

@erlcpl

@holden

@hopkinsjeff

@InqSchls

@inquirymaths

@M_Berra57

@mikekaechele

@noelle_pepin

@RHVickers

@shareski

@sivers

@Sylvia_l

@trev_mackenzie

An Inquiry Based Model for Education in B.C.

July 20, 2019 / Trevor Hood / 6 Comments

Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation

Jeff Hopkins opened up the Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation in Victoria in 2013. I feel the school is an outstanding transformative model as to how education can be delivered. Jeff Hopkins has shaken my foundation of what education can look like for the 21^st century in British Columbia, and has set in motion seeds for change in my own approaches towards the education system. Jeff Hopkins has a TEDx talk in which he describes his school, but I feel the 12 minutes he provides to the viewers doesn’t provide enough depth and scope as to what is occurring at the Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation. We were fortunate to have Jeff Hopkins speak to us, and from his conversations and discussions able to gain insight into what an inquiry based school looks like. Jeff shifted my mindset on 21^st century education and what it can look like.

Jeff also provided information on a framework for assessment and the teacher’s role at the school. Due to the limitations of writing a blog I focused on student learning.

Why the need for change?

Jeff has multifaceted experiences as an educator in British Columbia, from being in the classroom as a teacher, as a counselor, principal, and a superintendent. Jeff explained to us that he started the Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation because he saw a disconnect between resources, people, worksheets, and in general the way that we do things in school. Looking for a magic spot where he could facilitate changes he envisioned in the public education system did not come to fruit, so Jeff resigned from his job and created his own school based on the foundation of inquiry based learning. He recruited people who weren’t concerned about paving new paths and could facilitate learning outside of the school.

What are the students doing?

The students do what they are interested in doing, not what is prescribed to them by the teacher. The ownership of learning is supported by the teachers, but how the student shows their learning in unique to each person. When a student walks into the school they have choices as to what they want to do for that day. A computer screen in the main lobby provides a schedule where students can go into a classroom and learn from a teacher, be part of a group session in a collaborated learning space, independent learning, use a differentiated learning space such as the use of computers or art supplies, a quiet space, sensory room, a one on one planning, learning or assessment session with a teacher, or it could be an off campus session for the student’s learning for that day. The umbrella which ties everything together is the Inquiry Tool process students apply. A video of the process can be seen below.

Applying Technology tools for 21^st Century Learning

Students create their online portfolios and organize their inquiry based projects through Trello. The program is transparent for the teacher to monitor progress, provide support when needed, or once in a while a nudge for maybe a student to consider an alternative perspective. Projects could be individual or group projects, where multiple students are planning, organizing, and implementing ideas into artifacts that demonstrate their learning. When a student’s interest lay beyond the walls of the school, this is where the technology piece can support students. Specialists in their field can video conference, or students go out into the field to learn about specialized technology tools found in their area of interest. In addition, you can find the Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation Learning Resources list of online sources and links which students use to support their learning.

Inclusion

Teachers in Northern British Columbia have a diverse group of learners, and it is important for me to know how an inquiry based school can support all learners. I had lots of questions about inclusion, and Jeff was able to provide answers to them through direct or indirect means in his presentation. Below are the questions I asked myself and was able to answer through the conversations that took place.

Some private schools are selective and won’t take students who have special needs. Since this is an independent school, do they filter their students as to who can and can’t attend?

The school takes in all students, but due to the funding model in British Columbia some of the funding is collected through tuition. The school is working on developing on more support from the community by seeking private donations to help offset tuition for families in need.

How about students with special learning needs or interests?

The environment of the school is supported for learners across the special education categories such as mental health, autism, anxiety, but noticed the school works especially well with people on the autism spectrum. The framework of the school is conducive in supporting students as it is student focused, not teacher focused. In addition, there is a GSA (gender and sexuality alliance) at the school that is open to everyone. As well, Jeff Hopkins is a trained counselor and will provide outside mental health and support services when needed.

Is there a food program?

There are students at the school who are interested in cooking, which is a conduit into their food program. Students learn about the culinary arts but also support students who may not have had a breakfast at home. The school also has additional food available.

What about First Nations learning?

Members of the community are brought in to teach aspects of First Nation’s perspectives. As well, the model of the school fosters a sense of community and building trust between individuals. The school for the upcoming year has also hired a teacher with First Nation’s knowledge.

Can we do this in Northern B.C.?

Yes we can, but I feel that you have to be all in. You can take elements of Inquiry Based Learning into your classroom, but to make real change is to create a school that includes collaboration across grades and focus on student areas of interest. The factory school of having students in spaces that is subject specific is outdated. We, ourselves, learn quite fine without being in a classroom, so why do we have traditional classrooms set up for our students?

Will our students work in little classrooms in the workplace?
Will they need an inquiry based mindset to accomplish completing a project?
Will they need to have a flexible mindset in learning new skills to accomplish their goals?
Do we need to adapt as educators to provide a student centered approach?

For me, the answer is quite obvious when we ask ourselves these questions, but it is a challenge to make change when we are so ingrained in one system that has been in place for generations. I hope to spark the interest of others in my local learning community to be aware of a model that has been created locally through. People from around the world have visited the Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation, and taking these ideas to their own countries. Here is a model that is in our backyard and works for 21^st century learning.

"Twitter"by clasesdeperiodismo is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Learning Goal: Use Twitter Effectively

July 12, 2019 / Trevor Hood / 2 Comments

As the title implies, I am new at Twitter, and am currently working on developing a Personalized Learning Network (PLN) to find like-minded individuals. As part of my learning path I want to become more proficient with Twitter, how I can use it to interact with specialists and educators in their field, and also disseminate my findings to share with others in using this tool.

To be clear, I hope that no one has been offended for late responses or for not commenting back right away. Being new, it has taken time for me to understand how to navigate through Twitter, the PC option for Twitter, and how to sort out hashtags and finding people (in addition to digital new digital platforms I have been learning to use.)

Today I thought I would use David Truss’ Twitter guide. Before starting, the book outlines it is a 2 hour read, and is instructed as a, “Tweet as you Learn”

Starting the Twitter EDU Guide:

In the introduction, it says to find some Twitter friends. Over the last week I recruited my daughter, my wife, and also had some face time with the Fort St. James crew on twittering.

As suggested, have a PC in front of you and your smartphone sitting on the desk. Already, I have regrets that I didn’t read this book earlier. The pace doesn’t feel overwhelming, and am encouraged to see visual icons for Twitter and what they stand for (which someone else had to explain to me days after setting up my Twitter account!)

Did I supertweet?

No, but I did sort out how to retweet a supertweet when reading the supertweet in a tweet stream from #tiegrad

Did I quote the Twitter EDU quote? Yes!

Continuing through David give advice on how it is a challenge to get started, but over time if you continue with it your network will grow. Having a Twitter mentor is helpful too.

Personally, I find that there is a tsunami of information where links suggested by David go on to more links. For example, David follows Dean Shareski, who has a very interesting Twitter website that has links to gems of information educator tools, skill sets, and questions to ponder over. I put in a request to follow Dean’s Twitter handle @shareski as well.

Moving forward, the book gives direction to how forward videos through a tweet stream. I did enjoy watching Obvious to you. Amazing to others- by Derek Sivers. As outlined in David’s guide, I posted it on Twitter because it provided a personal connection that others may share in their journey as well. My first Tweet failed due to missing hashtags and the the Youtube address (deleted too much info) but Tweet number 2 was successful.

David also speaks on the use of apps that help organize social media, with Feedly catching my eye as it is an app that was discussed in class by our professor as a tool to organize social media feeds.

Going through the book, David continues to give direction on Twitter lists from people that have the same interests as you, where to find them on profiles of interest, and how you can select to follow individuals of interest from that list. I chose a few people who were involved with PBL, Inquiry-Based Learning, and the use of technology in their classroom from reading their profile description from David Truss’ list. In addition, David outlines the use of retweeting and quote tweeting and how quote tweeting is more effective in acknowledging an individual and how the process better shares information either through questions, statements, and continued dialogue. Personally, found this quite valuable as I didn’t know how to quote tweet, and only noticed the re-tweet icon.

Additional Support and Guidance from Presenters

Christine YoungHusband provided some insightful information on how to organize yourself with a digital profile. Christine uses her Twitter profile @ChristineYH exclusively for networking with others in the educational field. I am following through with her suggestion, as it will help filter information that may not be related to my interests. Christine also provided some valuable links for online chat forums, such as the #bcedchat that facilitates conversations centered around learning. Overall, Christine’s presentation to me described intimate learning communities that you can connect to in which geography is longer a restriction in building your learning network.

Ian Landy is an avid blogger, and had some suggestions when creating a blog, such as this one. Ian says that blogging has to be personal and reflective. It has to be relevant, and provide deeper pieces to add more conversation.

Summary of my Personal Growth Using Twitter

David initially outlined his book would take a couple of hours to read, but found it a lengthier +3 hours as I was blogging about my experiences and also trying different platforms with my PC and phone.The last chapter titled, “Other Things to Know,” is a section that will be minced over once I have a better foothold with Twitter.

Already I have noticed my PLN grow. I have received David Truss , Ian Landy, Christine Younghusband as followers, and ones who I am following as well. David was also the first person to make a comment on my blog that was at the time quite rudimentary (it’s looking better now). He provided podcast links which allowed me to here perspectives from a First Nations elder. Twitter is a great platform that you can use to build meaningful connections and am looking forward to using more of it.

Final Reflections

By experiencing Twitter and creating a digital footprint, I created inroads into having deeper conversations and making personal connections to others. Documenting some of the trials and using pieces of wisdom from others provided a guide to how one could use Twitter effectively in creating a Personal Learning Network. Finally, the blog itself and some of the frustrations I described hopefully will provide the reader a better understanding of who I am, with the hope creating more personal connections, support, and guidance in the digital world.

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