Twitter

I did it. This month I jumped on the twitter bandwagon. And I am thrilled with the experience thus far!

In the past, I had only used twitter at educational technology conferences as a supplement to a keynote speaker. As I took notes on the speech, I would leave my twitter page open so I could see what all of the attendees were tweeting about the speech to the rest of the room and those who were unable to attend. I copied important quotations and links from the twitter page into my notes. I found it incredibly useful for furthering my understanding. For those who are not familiar, twitter is “an online social networking service and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as "tweets".” (Wikipedia)

On the path to pursue my Masters of Technology in Education, I am currently taking an online course titled “Web 2.0 for Education,” and for this course, I couldn’t just take the back seat and read other people’s tweets. I had to create my own twitter account and tweet myself. The results have been surprisingly great. I am now following many leaders in the educational technology world, so every day I come across great articles and resources to share with colleagues. I even participated in a twitter chat called #ATchat, where I contributed to a live conversation with other educators on the topic of UDL implementation in the classroom. I can’t possibly follow the hundreds and thousands of great websites and blogs out there on the Internet, but following other technology specialists on twitter, I get constant updates on important articles, blog postings, software, websites, etc.

As I type this blog post I can go to twitter and search for the hash tag #FETC to see what is happening at the annual Florida Educational Technology Conference since I am unable to attend. Even though I am not there right now, I know that Michael Wesch is talking about empathy, and one of the attendees just shared the following link: 50 Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom.

I think the best way for educators to use twitter is to network with other educators for their own professional development. It’s a great way for teachers to connect with other, as our collective intelligence is that much stronger, and to stay current in their field. If you are interested in educational technology, follow me! Join twitter today! @meganhaddadi

What is a PLN?

Have you ever heard of a PLN? It seems to be quite a buzzword these days. A PLN, or Personal Learning Network, is a network of people from whom one gathers information as well as interacts with, though that does not have to be face-to-face. While the acronym is relatively new, the idea behind a PLN is not. Teachers have always shared with and learned from each other. Some ways you can use a PLN:

1. I belong to a group of Massachusetts educators (MEMSET- Massachusetts Elementary and Middle School Educational Technologists) that just started meeting together and collaborating this past year. We have been gathering every month or so, using an email list for questions and for posting news, and using Google Aps to share our curriculum.

2. You can find a ning related to your interests:

• After a technology conference with Tom Daccord of EdTechTeacher, I joined his ning for the National Council for Social Studies.

• I am also a member of the Classroom 2.0 ning which often sends out announcements about live and interactive webinars.

• Lastly, I am a member of the Independent School Educators Network ning and a couple of its subgroups, including “Schools of the Future.”

3. You can use social networking, such as Diigo:

• I am a member of the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch Users group to get updates about using handheld devices in the classroom.

• BB&N’s technology department members have created a group in Diigo so we can share articles with each other, and all of the pages we bookmark get posted on our technology department blog for the whole school.

4. You can follow members in your field through their blogs and tweets. Though I’m quite busy these days, I try to follow leaders in Educational Technology. I went to a presentation at BLC a few summers ago where Liz Davis and Lisa Thumann presented “25 Ed Tech Leaders to follow.”

How are you using your PLN? Please share your ideas below. Not sure where to start? Take a look at http://edupln.ning.com/, the personal learning network for educators.

Eighth Grade Current Event History Blog

Facebook is failing to prevent child predators from posting suggestive and potentially illegal photographs of children on its website, a weeks-long investigation by FoxNews.com reveals, despite its claim that it's doing all it can to keep pedophile materials from being displayed.

This topic, which is the first paragraph from a Fox News story, was chosen by Bill Rogers eighth graders for their first blog discussion this year. Blogging was piloted early last year by Miles Billings and quickly accepted for use in our eighth grade history curriculum. To view this blog post and read the student comments (100-200 words), and the leading questions, click on Facebook Abuse: Peter's Post. Posts and comments will be assigned about twice a month, selected from student submissions. Bill Rogers/MS History

Kara Oehler - Mapping Main Street USA Project

KNBC club at the Middle School, had a pleasure to welcome Kara Oehler, an independent audio producer at Mapping Main Street USA Project. Mapping Main Street is a collaborative documentary media project that creates a new map of the country through stories, photos and videos recorded on actual Main Streets. Kara told the kids how in May, 2009 the Mapping Main Street team packed into a 1996 Suburu station wagon and started a 12,000 mile journey across the country to visit USA Main Streets. In the process, they took photos, shot videos, and interviewed people. They have talked with farm laborers and business owners, people out on their porches and people on park benches.

Since then 700 Main Streets have documented. Anyone can contribute to this project. The goal is to document all of the more than 10,000 streets named Main in the United States.

We are looking forward to documenting our own Main Street here in Cambridge and organizing a KNBC field trip in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for our updates!

Eighth Grade Current Event History Blog

Welcome to Billings History 82 classroom blog! We will be using this blog during the course of the year to discuss current events in the world of U.S. politics and government, and to post news, homework and notes for everyone to use. Also, there are many other creative uses we can think of including posting video and pictures for all to comment on.