For the most part, I really enjoyed reading my classmates blogs. I think it's interesting that we are all teachers but the topics of the blog posts varied so much from person to person. The aspect of the blog posts that i enjoyed most were not when people shared videos or pictures of things they found on the internet but instead when people shared their own experiences, opinions, and thoughts.
I think that it is much easier to interact with each other when the blog posts take a personal shape. That is how I tried to shape my blog posts. Rather than posting only a picture or video that I found, I tried to leave some thoughts or questions that I had alongside it so that it could be a discussion piece rather than just something to look at.
I think that I contributed to the class by sharing my experiences and beliefs in my blog posts. I also feel like my educator profile is a significant contribution to the class because there is so much information on how to use technology in the classroom and how to start incorporating tech if you are starting from nothing. My educator profile of Angie Harrison (@TechieAng) also directs my classmates to her professional blog as well as her Twitter space, where there are so many teachers to connect with and interact with.
One aspect that I found especially difficult about blogging was keeping up with all of my classmates blogs. It was very overwhelming for me to go on to our ECMP355 class page and have 25 new entries that I hadn't read.
I wasn't very good at reading posts or commenting on posts daily but instead I would sit down and spend a day reading posts and commenting on posts because that's what worked best for me. I liked reading my classmates blogs because it challenged me in my beliefs and made me consider different options for techniques and strategies in the classroom. I loved it when my classmates shared resources on their blogs and in their posts (I have a new bookmarks folder of all the tools that I accumulated...it's almost overwhelming!).
I really liked the interaction that happened when I started commenting on posts with more than just, 'that was an interesting read'. I learned that I could ask my classmates (and other bloggers) questions and that when conversations got going it was more meaningful than just reading the post and walking away from it.
One thing that I found difficult was when I commented on other peoples blogs and there was no response, even if I asked a question. I worked extra hard in this way on keeping comments on my blog responded to and I worked on responding directly to the person that asked the question or commented.
One thing that I had hoped to see more of was challenges and questions about my posts, but I think that the lack of these things has partly to do with choosing the educator profile over the blogging assignment.
Because I chose to do the educator profile I found that the social learning aspect made it harder to interact because I was not blogging daily. This was very frustrating for me because I felt like I should be able to interact more but I wasn't (and still am not) sure of how to do so, except through commenting on other blogs.
I feel like a significant amount of learning also happened through classmates troubleshooting together, whether it was on Twitter or through blog posts, I really loved the collaborative learning that went on in this class!
One of the times I felt that I learned the most was when I listened to or attended the session. I felt like the learning that happened there was so deep because we were interacting with the speakers through tech tasks (and seeing how classmates completed these) as well as compiling mass amounts of resources. Not only did we gain resources and knowledge but I think that I was also given the opportunity to learn how to use these tool effectively in a very short period of time because we had speakers who were proficient in using these tools teach us how to use them.
Overall I feel like the social learning aspect of this course is a huge part of this course, without it, blogging would simply be a personal journal with reflection but no discussion and refining. I am so impressed with the posts that my classmte had and all that they had to teach me and I want to take the idea, of peers teaching each other into my own classroom in the future!
Posts that I commented on:
May 13-17:
What I Know About Twitter by Renee Clemens
Welcome by Mariette Anderson
Meditation in the Classroom by Calli Illerbrun
Tech Task # 2 Part 1 Google Form by Swati Dixit (completed the Google form)
Tech Task #2 Part 1 by Carlee Quiring (completed the Google form)
Tech Task 2: Google Form! by Jenna Kulyk (completed Google form)
Share the Road... by Shane Markham
May 20-24:
A Vision by Swati Dixit
Sue's Session by Nicole Helland
The World Was A-Twitter: Analyzing the Power of Social Networking by Matt Giesbrecht
May: 27-31:
Tech Task #4 - Be a Better Blogger by Jocelyn Thomas
June 3-7:
No Social Media = :( by Bretten Young
Tech Task #6 -- Storytelling (Part 2) by Carlee Quiring
June 10-14:
My Inspiration! by Maria Sinclair
Dear Stress…Lets break up! by Swati Dixit
How Critical is Feedback in Education? by Shandra Nelson
Helpful Hints for Saving Money! by Lacey Euteneier
Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Lacey Euteneier
A Change in Opinion (Tech Task #7) by Nicole Roeher
Taking the Plunge by Mariette Anderson
Overwhelmed :( by Alia Dlugan
Technology In My Class by Marley Riddell
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life…Some Inspiration? by Adrienne Dechief
Engage Me! by Swati Dixit
What makes you Itch: Inspirational video by Kayla Fontaine
A Must-See on Textbooks by Lacey Euteneier
Education Awareness making a splash! by Noelle Broda
Explain This? by Lacey Euteneier
I think that it is much easier to interact with each other when the blog posts take a personal shape. That is how I tried to shape my blog posts. Rather than posting only a picture or video that I found, I tried to leave some thoughts or questions that I had alongside it so that it could be a discussion piece rather than just something to look at.
I think that I contributed to the class by sharing my experiences and beliefs in my blog posts. I also feel like my educator profile is a significant contribution to the class because there is so much information on how to use technology in the classroom and how to start incorporating tech if you are starting from nothing. My educator profile of Angie Harrison (@TechieAng) also directs my classmates to her professional blog as well as her Twitter space, where there are so many teachers to connect with and interact with.
One aspect that I found especially difficult about blogging was keeping up with all of my classmates blogs. It was very overwhelming for me to go on to our ECMP355 class page and have 25 new entries that I hadn't read.
I wasn't very good at reading posts or commenting on posts daily but instead I would sit down and spend a day reading posts and commenting on posts because that's what worked best for me. I liked reading my classmates blogs because it challenged me in my beliefs and made me consider different options for techniques and strategies in the classroom. I loved it when my classmates shared resources on their blogs and in their posts (I have a new bookmarks folder of all the tools that I accumulated...it's almost overwhelming!).
I really liked the interaction that happened when I started commenting on posts with more than just, 'that was an interesting read'. I learned that I could ask my classmates (and other bloggers) questions and that when conversations got going it was more meaningful than just reading the post and walking away from it.
One thing that I found difficult was when I commented on other peoples blogs and there was no response, even if I asked a question. I worked extra hard in this way on keeping comments on my blog responded to and I worked on responding directly to the person that asked the question or commented.
One thing that I had hoped to see more of was challenges and questions about my posts, but I think that the lack of these things has partly to do with choosing the educator profile over the blogging assignment.
Because I chose to do the educator profile I found that the social learning aspect made it harder to interact because I was not blogging daily. This was very frustrating for me because I felt like I should be able to interact more but I wasn't (and still am not) sure of how to do so, except through commenting on other blogs.
I feel like a significant amount of learning also happened through classmates troubleshooting together, whether it was on Twitter or through blog posts, I really loved the collaborative learning that went on in this class!
One of the times I felt that I learned the most was when I listened to or attended the session. I felt like the learning that happened there was so deep because we were interacting with the speakers through tech tasks (and seeing how classmates completed these) as well as compiling mass amounts of resources. Not only did we gain resources and knowledge but I think that I was also given the opportunity to learn how to use these tool effectively in a very short period of time because we had speakers who were proficient in using these tools teach us how to use them.
Overall I feel like the social learning aspect of this course is a huge part of this course, without it, blogging would simply be a personal journal with reflection but no discussion and refining. I am so impressed with the posts that my classmte had and all that they had to teach me and I want to take the idea, of peers teaching each other into my own classroom in the future!
Posts that I commented on:
May 13-17:
What I Know About Twitter by Renee Clemens
Welcome by Mariette Anderson
Meditation in the Classroom by Calli Illerbrun
Tech Task # 2 Part 1 Google Form by Swati Dixit (completed the Google form)
Tech Task #2 Part 1 by Carlee Quiring (completed the Google form)
Tech Task 2: Google Form! by Jenna Kulyk (completed Google form)
Share the Road... by Shane Markham
May 20-24:
A Vision by Swati Dixit
Sue's Session by Nicole Helland
The World Was A-Twitter: Analyzing the Power of Social Networking by Matt Giesbrecht
May: 27-31:
Tech Task #4 - Be a Better Blogger by Jocelyn Thomas
June 3-7:
No Social Media = :( by Bretten Young
Tech Task #6 -- Storytelling (Part 2) by Carlee Quiring
June 10-14:
My Inspiration! by Maria Sinclair
Dear Stress…Lets break up! by Swati Dixit
How Critical is Feedback in Education? by Shandra Nelson
Helpful Hints for Saving Money! by Lacey Euteneier
Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Lacey Euteneier
A Change in Opinion (Tech Task #7) by Nicole Roeher
Taking the Plunge by Mariette Anderson
Overwhelmed :( by Alia Dlugan
Technology In My Class by Marley Riddell
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life…Some Inspiration? by Adrienne Dechief
Engage Me! by Swati Dixit
What makes you Itch: Inspirational video by Kayla Fontaine
A Must-See on Textbooks by Lacey Euteneier
Education Awareness making a splash! by Noelle Broda
Explain This? by Lacey Euteneier