Review of Chapter 3

In Chapter 3, Personal Learning Network by Richardson and Mancabelli, they highlight Clarence Fisher's networked classroom.  His students use the web to connect and collaborate with students all over the world.  "Learning is only as powerful as the network it occurs in" (Richardson and Mancabelli p 59).  Remote Access is the name of fisher's blog which displays all the opportunities his students have in their network classroom.

"The change starts with us" (Richardson and Mancabelli p 60).  That statement is so true for teachers and administrators.  The authors talk about the changes a teacher must make in order to create a networked classroom.  They also talk about the benefits of a networked classroom.  Network classrooms are transparent, collaborative, learning centered, accessible, communication based, supportive or problem - or inquiry based learning, and driven by authentic assessment.

Richardson and Mancabelli talk about safety and ethical use when you have a networked classroom.  "The safety of every student is paramount as we begin to help kids fashion and connect to their own learning networks online" (Richardson and Mancabelli p 75).  Everyday, whether online or offline, there are dangers in our interactions; however, the learning and collaboration the students experience from networked classrooms outweigh the risks.

Regular classroom environments must transform in order for our students to be successful 21st century learners.

Richardson, W., & Mancabelli, R. (2011). Personal learning networks: using the power of connections to transform education. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Twitter

About a year ago, I signed up for my Twitter account.  This was the “new” thing with all my students and I thought I should know about it and how to use it.  I created my account and a page for the school and started following people.  “The easiest way to start contributing on Twitter is to “retweet” (Richardson & Mancabelli p 43).  That’s exactly what I did for a while! I was tweeting more on the school page than I was on my personal page. 

 

I own my own skincare business so my tweets revolved mainly around Rodan + Fields.  However, this week I set up TweetDeck and have started to tweet more.  I have connected with educators, authors, motivational speakers, etc.  I am posting tweets about skincare, education, educational technology, and positive thoughts. 

 

I have learned so much about Twitter this week and I am super excited to start building my PLN to share and learn from other educators.

Follow me on Twitter ~ @TamiBobbitt

 

 
Richardson, W., & Mancabelli, R. (2011). Personal learning networks: using the power of connections to transform education. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

EDET 543: Review of Chapters 1 & 2

The introduction and chapters one and two in the book, Personal Learning Network by Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli, discusses the changes taking place in education and how school districts, staff and students can transform those changes successfully.

 

The introduction highlights the need to transform the education system to create a new approach altogether.  Students are being “dummy downed” when they work into most schools because of the no cell phone policy that still exists.

 

Richardson and Mancabelli give an overview of the WHY of Personal Learning Networks and how the system has not changed much from the Industrial Revolution model, and if we do not change as a profession, then the customers will go around us.  The authors also encourage educators to take a more active role in their professional development by creating our own personal learning networks.  Richardson and Mancabelli (2011) describe learning networks as “The rich set of connections each of us can make to people in both our online and offline worlds who can help us with our learning pursuits.”  By the end of the first chapter, the authors made a compelling argument that the education industry must make the shift to PLN’s.

 

Chapter two provides strategies and the responsibilities for becoming a personal learning network educator.  Richardson and Mancabelli tell you how to create, navigate, and grow your own personal learning network using Twitter, Diigo, Google Reader, Blogger, and Facebook.  “Nothing that you post online can ever by assumed to be 100 percent private” and “once you hit the “publish” button with any tool you can’t take it back” are two excellent reminders that educators and students need to always remember. (Richardson & Mancabelli, 2011, p38).

Richardson, W., & Mancabelli, R. (2011). Personal learning networks: using the power of connections to transform education. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.