Thing 17 - Professional Learning Networks

While exploring this thing I looked at different ways to be a part of professional learning networks. The first place that I explored was Michigan Learnport. This site has many professional development resources. I have been using this site for a while and have taken a class with them. It was pretty easy to use and when I did run into some problems with my account the tech support was awesome. They fixed the problem right away so I did not get behind in my class.

Another way for teachers to network is through Twitter or Facebook. I have been a Facebook user for a few years now. There are some big pro and cons to this site. It took me a long time before I finally broke down and opened a page. The big reason for my hesitation was because I felt it might hurt the professional side of my life. I was afraid of what employers might see on the site. It was not what I would be posting, but what some of my family and friends might post that were not worried about the fact that they teach kids. I think this is the biggest con to Facebook. After creating my page I did make sure that I upped my security so that I knew who would have access to my page. One of the pro to this site is that you can stay very connected to people. This is mainly why I finally opened a page. I wanted to keep up with family and friends that lived farther away. Now I also like just seeing what people have been up to. I have also just created a Facebook page for the middle school band. I think that this will be a great way to increase communication with my students. This next year will be the test run...we will see how it goes!

We also looked at some professional organizations that deal with technology and teaching. The first one I looked at was MACUL (Michigan Association for Computers Users in Learning) After joining this free organization you can have access to their website. They have online learning opportunities and resources for technology. They also have yearly conferences. Another site that I looked at was geared toward music and technology. The site is Technology for Music Education (www.ti-me.org). The purpose of this site is to help music educators use technology in the classroom and to learn the standards of proficiency required to teach using today's technology, and to make the process of implementing it into lessons easy and fun. Some of the benefits you can get with a membership is professional development opportunities, lesson plans, private social network, RSS feeds, Magazine subscription, and joining special interest groups. The cost to join this organization is $40 per year. I think that it is pretty reasonable for the benefits you receive. I have attended some professional development provided by ti-me and it was excellent.

After looking into learning networks I feel like it is just a great way to get more ideas and help. I like finding ways to teach my students and I think these will help.