PLN

The experience of investigating, creating, and enhancing a Person Learning Network was a good amount of work.  There seems to be a learning curve of at least a couple hours from most of the on-line PLN tools we covered in class.   As with anything, the more time you spend with any of these tools of Technology the more time it will save you in the end.  It seems to me though that the time spent learning a new use in technology is often the definitive obstacle to teachers trying something.  I really think this in turn leads us to an effective way to get teachers trying new tools of Technology.  We all have the occasional faculty meeting, at least one per quarter.  This is a chance for all the teachers to be together,  why not introduce and train teachers on an online tool when they can all be together with their friends.  Faculty meetings generally are met with resistance and walked away from with resent for it not being effective or efficient.  Spending time walking the staff through a tool, sharing all the shortcuts and steps to take to use it more fully, and offering opportunities to actually use the tool to create something for your class on, would be well worth the time for the faculty and administrator.  I think so, but I am usually all about trying something new.

Another aspect of learning all these tools  is that they all required constant looking back into and updating ,so it really gave you a window glance into the reality of what it takes to keep you online tools up to date and current and therefore relevant.  By setting alerts and alarms in my phone and on my google calendar I was able to maintain a constant check and stay fairly current on articles, podcasts, wiki responses, shared resources as well as staying updated on videos and projects of what others are doing.  Once our school adopts the "One to One" program and all our students have a device, I will be ready and aware of what it takes to run and maintain online PLNs as well as able to share what I have learned with my faculty.