I was introduced to Plurk in April but couldn’t understand what the interest was.  I began by looking at the friends of cfox2 and then lorim and dawne.  I would look at what they posted and if I found them interesting I became a fan.  Slowly as I’d start to respond to something they said and they would ask to be my friend.  I also searched some keywords that I was interested in.  One was “geocaching“. It would show all the plurks that had that word it in. I then either became a friend or fan of those people. It started slowly but I love the PLN I have now and am continuing to find new people that I want to add to it.  I find myself spending more time on Plurk than Facebook!  I still check out Twitter because I have some contacts on there that are not on Plurk.  I have learned so many new things through my PLN’s comments and links.  I’ve gotten some good ideas to use in the classroom too.  So I would encourage those that are unsure or wondering about Plurk to read what others have written and don’t be afraid to befriend a “stranger”.

I am very excited to be starting a blog with my students.  It is all ready up and running.  They will be blogging about the book Rules.  The students have started the book and are really excited to blog.  I’m a little nervous but also excited.  I feel it is important to use technology in the classroom and that the students will benefit from commenting on the blog.  They look forward to answering the questions I post and being able to communicate online.  If you would like to visit our blog and comment I’m sure the students would love that.  Also if you have any suggestions of ways to make the blog “work” for students I would be happy to have them.  My blog is
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Last year when I began to use Twitter and Plurk, I had some of the same thoughts and feelings as many of you are currently experiencing.  After giving both a try, I decided to focus my time on Plurk (lorim), but will still check in with Twitter (lmmiller).  At the beginning it was slow, but I started looking at the friends of the few people I was following and then started requesting their “friendship”.  It also helped when someone I knew introduced me to their followers on Plurk – I’d be glad to do so.  If you haven’t done so, be sure to create a profile.  I also did not set my timeline to “private” until I had established a network of friends.  A year later, I have many “friends” on Plurk and some I really feel like I know even though I’ve never met them face to face. 

Why did I eventually choose Plurk over Twitter?  I only had so much time to devote to social networking and I liked the format better so Plurk eventually won out.  The resources I’ve gained from “plurking” have been well worth the time I’ve spent.

It sounds like many of you are having a hard time building a PLN on Plurk and/or Twitter. Please remember, it takes time!

I suggest you check out the following video and links to help you get started.

How 2(.0) – Your Guide to web 2.0 and How it Can Work for You

Building a PLN One Tweet at a Time

Twittering, Not Frittering: Professional Development in 140 Characters

Building a PLN: Not Just Another Acronym

Good luck building your PLN!

– Jamie

As I sit here on November 2nd and have been staring at the plurk site for about 20 minutes now…I just don’t get the draw of this.. It seems really confusing and the tools to find friends and locate groups takes way to much time. Maybe I havn’t given it long enough…but plurking and twittering are not for me..I’ll stick to facebook!

Well, after our meeting last night I got back on Twitter and Plurk. I like them both, but for different reasons. I have more personal connections on plurk, others who converse with me which I like. It has taken me awhile to get Twitter, but now that I am following some interesting people, they are leading me to other twitters who have  useful information or connections. When I was poking around on Twitter today I found a list of top tools used by educators. Check it out, you might find something new to try or you might be able to add some information to it. http://ow.ly/uLJK

I have been on Twitter for about 2 months now, and do not see any real value to using it.  Maybe I just haven’t found anyone to connect with who can improve or impact the way I teach. However, personally I do enjoy Plurk.com.  It still does not do anything for me professionally, but I do like the way it is set up. Just my opinion.

We as professionals can find the benefits of social bookmarking to share and interact with our peers.  How do you think social bookmarking can benefit the teacher/student relationship and be used in classrooms of all ages?  What reservations might you have about using this technology with students?

I do not see my group (Group 3)’s blog post up for discussion…wcjhillegeer is my group’s moderator. Maybe I’m just blind and absent-minded.

I’ve looked and looked, but I have not seen my group’s moderator post a question about the article we read:  “Teaching the ‘Net Generation”.