Journal #2

EDUC 422 Arlynn Cook September 28, 2010

Journal #2 “Join the Flock!” and “Enhance Your Twitter Experience” NETS-3 and 5

Miller McClintock, Shannon. (2010). Enhance you twitter experience. Learning and leading with technology, 37(June/July), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=June_July_No_8_2&Template=/Members

Ferguson, Hadley. (2010). Join the flock!. Learning and leading with    technology,37(June/July),Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues?Volumes37200920

Both articles, “Join the Flock!” and “Enhance Your Twitter Experience”, advocate the use of a PLN (Professional Learning Network) to enhance the resources available to educators.  To build a PLN both authors suggest using Twitter as the main technology platform to build ones PLN.  Each author gives step by step instructions or suggestions on how to get started, follow and manage Twitter accounts.  Miller prefers to use a TweetDeck to help her organize her contacts and information, while Ferguson has different Twitter accounts for different information.  Again both articles mention using hash tags, which is a system designed to target specific topics, and works by attaching the # symbol to Tweets.  

Q1: How would a PLN be beneficial to an educator?

A1: The purpose of a PLN is to be able to tap into all sorts of ideas regarding education from all different people around the country and world.  In doing so it provides an opportunity to gain ideas through only  one source, your Tweets, it’s like having the information come to you instead of having to seek and research different sources.  It also gives the educator the freedom to customize their PLN based on what they are specifically interested in.  For, example a 6^th grade Social Studies teacher that is interested in The American Civil War can network with other 6^th grade Social Studies teachers to get ideas and view resources that have been helpful to them.  An educator’s PLN can expand the teaching experience which in turn expands the learning experience for students.

Q2: What are some draw backs to using Twitter for a PLN?

A1:   Some drawbacks to starting a PLN using Twitter would be, one it takes an incredible amount of time to get started, especially if you are not Tech or Twitter Savvy.   It takes time to create an account and to filter through the vast amount of information available.  Twitter is also a place for casual communication which can be distracting.  After you have navigated the information and have established some resources it then takes time and effort to stay current with your network of colleagues.  Teachers are very busy and every minute is precious, so unless one is extremely organized and efficient a PLN can become a drain on time.  When an educator is researching different methods of lifelong learning, they should be very certain and confident about the route they choose.  As with any new endeavor there is a learning curve and if it is easily overcome then a PLN can be priceless.