Here is a great link with 5 tips for creating your PLN (personal learning network).  The suggestions were written for Twitter, but would also help with Plurk.

I love the idea of using technology in my classes…..but when things do not work properly it is SO FRUSTRATING! I have only limited access to certain tools (Smartboard) and not enough time to play around and learn the ins and outs of all the different programs and features available on-line and here in our own building.

This year my students will be taking a virtual field trip to Plimoth Plantation to learn about the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Native Americans.Our students will be dressing up and reenacting the First Thanksgiving. They will be sharing what they have learned and we will have a celebration with food and games. My plan is to record highlights of the day with my new FLIP camcorder and put the videos on my website.

Two second grade classes participated in the Fairy Tale Ball last week. Mine was one of them. I took many pictures and used the voice recorders to record reader’s theater and oral report presentations to add to my website. I was also given many pictures from parents, but for the first time ever a parent put some of the pictures to music on YouTube. I showed the kids and they loved it! Should I be concerned about confidentiality issues or school policies that the creator did not look into (since he/she is not a school employee)? If not, are teachers free to integrate the use of this tool into the classroom?

I have been having a hard time deciding how to integrate technology into my classroom since I work with many small groups throughout the day. I came across this article called Technology Intergration Made Easy.  I think it is important to integrate technology in the curriculum as a regular part of the day.  This article gave me some ideas for making that possible.  I hope you’ll check it out and see if there is an idea you could use too.

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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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.

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”.

This was another link I found on Plurk.  An interesting read about networking guidelines for teachers. 

I found this link on Plurk.  Thought I’d share it here since Bloom’s was part of our homework.

I subscribed to Twitter several years ago and find that it adds no value to my life at all.  I have tried to build twitter into my schedule but just don’t care for the chatter.  I find the small talk almost irritating and am amazed by the minutiae people think I should know about their days and lives.  From where I sit, it is not worth the time it takes to filter out the gravel so that I can find a gem.  I know that there are people out there who are considered, or consider themselves, experts but I find that I am surrounded by considerable brilliance within my district and through the connections I have made in the greater community.  Thus, twitter goes unused in my world.

This said, although this may be outside the circle of our conversation, I am interested in what people think Twitter is doing to the quality of our news.  In the end, do you think it is beneficial?  Are their drawbacks?

In the article “From Web 2.0 to School 2.0,” Lankshear and Knobel state:

“Schools and classrooms that successfully incorporate Web 2.0 principles, resources, and technologies will adopt a new form of learning that involves co-design, co-creation, and shared problem solving.  This new learning will work best when guided by teachers who not only understand the stubstantive learning areas, but also know how to translate existing learner interests into worthy problems and challenges whose solutions involve productive activityguided by expertise, including those experts whose work inhabits Web 2.0 space.”  (Text was not bolded in original article; it has been bolded for this task.)

Share how we might translate traditional lessons into collaborative design, creation, and/or problem-solving activities using Web 2.0.  How can we assure that these lessons are meaningful, challenging, and productive?

It seems that many of you have posted questions about the use of twitter in education. I have found a few resources that might help you better understand the potential behind twitter and to find a use for it in your professional/personal learning network.

Laura Walker’s Nine Great Reasons Why Teachers Should Use Twitter

Alan Lew’s Twitter Tweets for Education

Let me know what you think!