Google + PLN Challenge

I added myself to many groups including Connected Classrooms, Educators on Google, English Teachers, TED talks, GEG Tri-State, and Literature (among others).   I read and searched and participated throughout October and to be honest, I was frustrated.   

My first frustration was that I was inundated with emails from some of these sites that had no value or connection to me.  Most were from elementary classrooms.  I feel as though I need to delete myself or block emails so that I do not have to constantly delete emails from my inbox. 

The next issue was when I was looking for things, other than searching, there was no way to sift through the massive amounts of information.  The groups are so large and so diverse that I just could not find a way to timely communicate or receive the information I was looking for.

As an introvert, this whole process seemed too overwhelming and many people appeared too demanding and forceful for me to want to communicate or make connections.  I just wanted the information to be useful, but most of it did not appear to be so and the time commitment I put in to find two useful materials did not seem to be the best use of my time. 

I wanted this to work and be a great tool, but it did not really work out well.  I might be doing it wrong since I am not very tech savvy. 

Google+ PLN Challenge

For my PLN challenge I chose to explore Google+.  I already had an account previously but had not really used it up to this point.  To become more active with my Google+ account I joined the following communities: Art & Design, Art Education, Connected Classrooms Workshop, GEG Tip-State MN, WI, and IA, and WI DPI Art Educators.

I began by looking at each community to see what resources they had.  The Art & Design community mainly consisted of artwork posted by other members.  Although there was some amazing artwork and some cool Halloween makeup ideas, this community wasn't as beneficial to education.  I found that the best resource was the WI DPI Art Educators community.  Teachers were sharing ideas, local exhibits, art events and competitions around the state, and responded with answers and resources much quicker.  I also found some great videos that I will be able to use with my elementary students.

I think the biggest benefit during this challenge was a question I posted about starting stop motion animation with my elementary students.  I had numerous comments within a day or two with some great feedback including a WAEA presentation with links to sources.  Many of them were also interested in hearing how this project goes with the upper elementary grade levels.

Overall, this has been a positive experience and I can really see the benefits of collaborating with Google+.  I think Google+ is a great way to connect to my Wisconsin art education colleagues to share resources and learn from one another.  I will definitely continue to take advantage of this resource.

My Google+ PLN Challenge :)

I chose Google + for my PLN. I preferred Google+ over Twitter because I already had an account that was created at a TTT I attended. After creating the account, I found that I didn't use it as much as I thought I would. I really wanted to see what I could learn by joining, participating and contributing to the online communities in my content and others areas of education. So after a bit of searching, I found some communities that I thought would be interesting and helpful. I joined Connected Classrooms Workshop, G Suite for Education, WI DPI K12 Physical Education, GED Tri-State MN, WI and IA, and Physical Education (PE).

I began by posting a question about using Google Form in physical education to G Suite for Education. This site is a non-physical education community. I related my question to my content area and to my surprise didn't get a response. My next question was related to using technology in physical education. I decided to try WI DPI K12 Physical Education in hopes that another physical educator in Wisconsin would reply. I was able to connect with an educator in West DePere that had excellent ideas related to technology and apps that I could try with my students. I also collaborated with educators in others communities including Physical Education (PE) on topics related to curriculum and instructional strategies. It was nice to learn some new strategies and possibly help other educators find solutions to their questions and concerns.

This challenge has opened my eyes and mind to the world of online collaboration. I was fascinated with the vast amount of knowledge and assistance related to my content area. My experiences during this challenge have taught me that there are many communities available to assist me in becoming a better educator. I may not always get the answers I seek. However, I may be able to assist others in becoming better educators. I will definitely continue to use Google+ as a collaboration tool.

Twitter PLN challenge

I chose Twitter for the PLN challenge. I have a facebook account and a Pinterest account so I thought I would give Twitter a try. When I first made an account, I started following things that I use frequently in class such as IXL, gonoodle, xtramath, flexible seating, daily 5, kahoot. I also found a couple authors to follow. I made it a point not to follow any celebrities because I didn't want to become addicted and I wanted it to be strictly for my classroom. My son thought I should follow President Trump just to see what he is always tweeting about but I chose not to because I didn't want to get annoyed right away. 

I was on it for 2 weeks checking it nightly but only tweeted 8 times. I completed 6 of the 7 steps on the #7dayPASDchallenge. I shared my favorite website, book to share, a picture of my day, a tool that we used in class, retweeted another's post and an eduwin for the day. I never gave a shout out to follow another person because frankly I was not really finding anyone that I really wanted to follow. 

I found it hard to locate valuable information. I use facebook to keep in touch with my family because everyone lives far away and that is how they can see what my kids are up to. I use Pinterest to locate neat ideas for my classroom and recipes to try and things to do and make with my kids. My next go to site for classroom ideas is TeachersPayTeachers. I was glad to give it a try to see what all the hashtags are all about but I think I will stick with my other sites for now.