The site that I utilized most to find useful subscriptions
that I could follow in regards to education was feedly.com. On this website, I
was able to subscribe to the following blogs; Edutopia RSS, Free Technology for
Teachers, iLearn Technology, and TED Education. I learned a lot from following
these site and blogs because I was able to gain ideas about how to implement
technology in the classroom. I liked that the Edutopia feed connects many
current and social themes and events to lessons learned in the classroom. I
also learned that there can be so many creative ways to teach one topic, and
there is not just one singular, “correct,” way. The iLearn Technology blog even
mentioned the PLN and how social media has created a great community and
network of educators that are able to share their ideas publically. While some
of the blogs can pack in a lot of information, I like that the Free Technology
for Teachers blog aimed to help teachers utilize technology, whether they are
overwhelmed by it or looking for new ideas, as well as help teachers use
technology in their classroom. I have found that the feedly site provides a
convenient way to stay up to date and learn about new ideas about education and
technology.
Upon creating my first Twitter account, I have followed @EdTech_K12, @Edudemic,
@TeachHub,
@WeAreTeachers,
@DiscoveryEd,
@edutopia,
and @ericjrobertson. Although I first found
the use of Twitter to be quite confusing, I ultimately found that it was a very
unique and interesting place to gain information that can be useful for my own
future teaching. Social media is used to promote the display and posting of
thoughts, ideas, and even arguments. For example, on the Edudemic page, they
posed the question; What comes first: the curriculum or the technology? I was
then able to view the multiple responses and opinions of teachers and
non-teachers alike. The EdTech K-12 Magazine raised the idea about Common Core,
which is ultimately to become our national standards of teaching, by providing
a study and a space for others to talk about it freely. I even follow one of my
previous Communications professors, Eric Robertson, because while he is a
college professor, he offers a lot of insight into the use of technology in the
classroom. I took three of his classes at Mira Costa College, and he had us use
technology in the classroom for presentations as well as provided videos of
himself and Ted Talks to watch at home as part of our homework and continued
education.
I found Diigo to be another useful took because it provides the access to groundbreaking collaborative research and allows us to bookmark, highlight, and sticky note parts of pages and articles that we like. I once again have found edutopia on this site, but was able to dig a little deeper and keep track of specific things that I liked. I found the set-up of the page to be nice because it features a twitter feed on the side, as well as direct links to articles, blogs, videos, and any additional information that you may need. I also discovered that you can find lesson plan ideas such as the, “A Journal for Corduroy: Responding to Literature.” I marked this one as soon as I saw it because I loved the idea of carrying a stuffed bear around for all of your adventures and then coming to class prepared to tell the story of the bear in front of everyone, and it also reminded me of something I had one done early in elementary school.
