Web 2.0 Tools - Thing 2

I am for sure a digital novice, however I am a novice who wants to learn as much as possible in order to give my students the inquiry and know-how of digital technology and turn it from a learning process to knowledge gained.  A little more than a month ago, I joined twitter and the knowledge I have learned in one month has been amazing. Not in any classroom or listening to a long lecture with a professional in the front would I have learned as much as I have. Social networking is hot! and it will continue to get hotter as more people join, collaborate and share ideas to help each other learn. With limited quality professional learning, teachers need to seek out connections and take control of their own learning. Connecting to other teacher blogs, one can find new technology ideas to try in the classroom, ways to handle classroom discipline, difficult parents. The teachers are the ones in the trenches, not administrators - we know best what works and doesn't work successfully in the classroom. Take it slow, and try out a few new ideas in your classroom to see how it might work. Sometimes, I want to try so many new ideas, that it becomes overload and difficult for me to focus on one really good idea.

Building a personal learning network (PLN) is so important. No where will you find real-time learning than through social connections. So, jump on the band wagon, start out slow. Connect with a few, read what they have to say, and before you know it, you will be commenting, retweeting, etc. Here is a great link to a beginner's guide to Twitter from Edudemic.

If we want our students to have a growth mindset, as teachers we must learn all we can about digital technology and how to best infuse it into our daily lessons. Just handing a child an IPAD is not enough - and if teacher's don't know how to incorporate the technology in the classroom, it will all be for nought. I encourage myself and you to learn all you can, seek out questions, answers, ideas from colleagues, and you will be amazed at what is out there -  all for you. It's exciting.....