Tool #2

I think it is beneficial for educators to participate in personal learning networks. It is a great way for teachers to be able to connect with other teachers in their school, district, and around the globe. By doing this we can grow professionally and gain new perspectives and have access to other professionals' experiences and ideas.

I think it would be a good idea to have a PLN which includes, and is geared towards communicating with the parents of children in our classes. A lot of parents would feel more comfortable asking questions, commenting on things going on in their child's class, and communicating with other parents using a PLN. The majority of parents use the Internet on a daily basis, but very few have the time to personally talk to their child's teacher about what is going on in the classroom. A PLN would be an easy and fast way for parents to communicate with their childs' teacher in a convenient way with out having to schedule a parent/teacher conference every time they have questions or need advice.

A lot of good points were brought up in the commenting advice. One point that stood out to me was that comments can turn a statement into a conversation which creates a culture of interactivity.

Our children are already doing a great deal of "commenting" through sites such as My Space and Facebook. I think we need to use the advice from Tool #2 for ourselves and also teach children about responsible commenting as well, by helping them understand the potential their comments have on their peers.

I commented on the following blogs:
Esther Gaytan
Jennifer Carney
The Baby Goat
Aggie Mom's Blog