Teresa Alesch – Multimedia – Final Blog “Learning and PLN”
We know that this is never going to end, so the question is… where do I begin?
FIRST: Virtual learning has to be one of the first pieces of my professional/personal-learning-network. I had heard of Atomic Learning, but I never grasped its potential. So many questions I had throughout the year last year (for example regarding the Ning and GoogleDocs which I used for my English 9 students) could have been answered through a two-five minute tutorial!?! Also, I felt useless as the teacher librarian last year (which I realize this job takes time to build resources), but this year, I have so much to offer teachers, such as “how to use Atomic Learning” and explaining to them that they really did put it there for good reason. I can actually navigate the AEA Online website with confidence now – before I hesitated looking at it myself let alone referring my colleagues to it.
SECOND: My peers, my instructors, my mentor, and my colleagues… This summer, I have been forced to really lean on those around me. Collaboration. What a nice feeling when you learn how to do it effectively. I remember smiling when a few successes were had in English 9 with GoogleDocs this past year, but NOW – to not only experience it first hand, but also to pass this sort of learning on to my colleagues as well as my students – I am in seventh heaven. And to continue learning from those around me is certainly a top priority.
THIRD: My blog. I haven’t quite had time to explore this application like I would like to. I plan to follow my classmate Beth as thus far, she has one of the best blogs I have seen! I not only looked at her Multimedia blog, but I pranced around to her other blogs within her identity. She has an eye for design and the content within is intriguing. I haven’t had a chance to thank her for inspiring me, but in due time, I will.
FOURTH: I have been following and will continue to follow Will Richardson and David Warlick as the authors of our two books this semester through GoogleReader. Rather than overwhelm myself, I would like to stay with what is slightly familiar. I currently subscribe to their feeds and I plan to stay on top of their new literature whether that means blog postings, articles, conference materials, or books. One other person/site I will follow is Kathy Kaldenburg (and her collaborative multimedia show case site). She provides a multitude of examples to get me brainstorming about the possibilities. I have already been following Doug Johnson and Joyce Valenza, so this will continue.
FIFTH: I am creating a wealth of resources through my Diigo. I am very thankful to have been introduced to this application. I have been wanting a SANE way to organize all of the sites I visit or want to recall. Now they are at my fingertips and categorized with TAGS!
SIXTH: I am a forever and ever learner. I see myself attending technology and literacy conferences/trainings until they put me in a nursing home. I am certain that I will never be comfortable with the here and now, because in virtual land – there is no such thing. Technology and literacy as defined in education is ever changing.
SO WHAT NEXT: With this collection of resources and tools, I plan to create a website, a networking site for my students, colleagues, administration, community, and for myself. It is here all of my scattered thoughts will come together. As I type this message, it still seems a little abstract. I am not sure yet if it will be in the form of a blog, wiki, or an actual website, but through it, I will share the wealth.
This is where I will follow news, links, resources, and other information posted by my favorite people/organizations.
Wikispaces - teresaalesch - My
This is another website that I will continue using. I have used it before, but through SLIS-Multimedia, I have gained a new appreciation for what it can do. I have a teacher who wants to start a wiki (my first project)
VoiceThread - Group conversations around images, documents, and videos
This site allows me to present just about anything. It is also a resource to view other people's presentations. I am looking forward to sharing this at the beginning of the year with students and teachers.
Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds
This is something I haven't played with much, but the end product of a combination of words is very effective. I will start by introducing this to our social studies teacher.
I didn't realize Google had a site like this. This would have been so helpful when I was teaching my students to use GoogleDocs.. I plan to incorporate this with library students first thing.
What I found interesting about this article initially was that I thought the student's first response (example) was good! When I read the second response I was astounded at the growth in analysis. This should reveal how much I need to learn, and how much teaching I need to do to improve my own students' reasoning and responding. This is definitely a skill that we need to work on at Graettinger-Terril Schools. I am excited to look further into the REED-LO model. I actually questioned my own analysis/reflection skills and as I looked through the stages, I know that going through this process would deeply improve my own responses as well as my students'.
As for the application WAIT, I am very enthusiastic about this tool. One very nice feature is that it requires students to publish their interpretations before taking a look at the expert's essay. This is helpful to promote independent thinking. If we don't push students out of their comfort zone, they will maintain at a level with little growth, will not learn to think for themselves, and will not gain confidence in their abilities to recognize evidence and produce quality responses.
Furthermore, this model and application together force students to research the content within a piece of art, looking deeper into the history of the photo and events and people involved. When responding students are combining different literacies to produce their responses.
