This past week, many of us in the edutech world have been experimenting with Plurk, a microblogging/social networking site. Popularized by a combination of NECC 2008 participation (both f2f and virtual) and the continued presence of the Twitter whale or other Twitter errors, Plurk is gaining some attention! It is similar to Twitter, but it is different enough that most of us need to banish any expectations and keep our minds open to what this new platform can provide.

Experiencing the learning curve and facilitating others through the process of learning is a great reminder for our role as teachers. Thinking about the Plurk process, I immediately called upon the KWL strategy as a reflection point:

• K – What did I know (or think I did) about Plurk? (Most would likely respond that ‘it is similar to Twitter’)
  
• W – What did I want to know about Plurk? (Is it collaborative? social? How does it work? Will I be able to develop/keep others in my networks? Why would I want ot learn/use Plurk?)
• L – So what did I learn about Plurk? (Learning Plurk is a process and it involved an ‘unlearning’ of Twitter to some degree…Unlike Twitter, Plurk is designed to encourage threaded conversations,
  which allows for a depth of discussion revolving around the original posting/comment/question. With Twitter, the focal point seems to revolve around the ‘twit’ (person posting). Digging deep is an important goal and Plurk may offer a viable infrastructure for developing that interactive manipulation. Though connections certainly occur, the interactions on Plurk are much less focused on individuals.)

Reading new Plurkers’ (and experienced edutechers) initial posts, one remembers

• the importance of understanding the ‘learning curve‘ (patience, persistence, and hands-on exploration),
  
• the frustration and confusion that often accompanies the learning of a new skill or content,
  
• the pay-off of guidance, support and encouragement in the learning process, and
  
• the amazing synergy that can occur when learning is social!

So, as I reflect on the improvement of my own teaching, I’m constantly reminded of what it’s like to be a learner – how about you?

Photo credits to bella lago for self-p and Cayusa for Rainbow Ts

I’m so excited to be a small part of the world-reknown Horizons Project 2008! This global group of students and educators, led by CoolCatTeacher, Vicki Davis, and her “partner-in-learning,” Julie Lindsay takes advantage of global human resources and collaborative skills, web 2.0 tools, and higher level thinking/learning skills via analysis of the New Media Consortium and Educause Learning Initiative’s Horizon Report 2008 to bring meaning to everyday education! This huge undertaking is a model for what can/will/should be the norm for secondary education now and in the near future. It reflects a strong commitment to curriculum, instruction, and assessment – the foundational triad. I’m also excited to see friendly twits (Tanya Gray and Ryan Bretag) involved with participating schools. More to share as this project evolves…

A much appreciated SHOUT OUT to Carol VanHook as she participated in my presentation to district Media Specialists (Google preso) and then invited me to chat with some folks from state leadership positions about web 2.0 and the collaborative impact on learning. My own experiences in meeting and working with Carol (she is in IA and I’m in FL – we met via a Discovery Educator Webinar about Second Life!) reflect the amazing connectivity and powerful collaboration that our world not only offers, but demands!!

Since the onset of 2008, I’ve (at least so far) committed to my pledge to take and write about “a daily image” – I didn’t officially join the 366 Day group, but I’ve been both frustrated and rewarded each day as I find a ’shot,’ post it on Flickr and write a description and/or reflection about that visual. Most of the time I relish the moments seeking out a good picture and making various attempts to capture it – and rarely, I struggle to find an appropriate inspiration and/ore reflective words to describe the photo. Overall, I’m not only thrilled that I’ve continued into the second quarter (!), but also that I’ve found different levels of meaning in the ‘exercise.’ In case you’re interested, here’s the link and here’s one to view…

Enough for now! I’m predicting a more consistent and regular posting – though, no promises!

Though I could enumerate the many reflections that come to mind this time of year, I’ll only note that 2007 was another intense year of learning, living, and networking – with emphasis on the connections among them! I look forward to new insights and engaging communities in 2008. One project that will be challenging, but is important for me to attempt, is the daily photograph. I expect to gain more skill and technique with this experience, naturally. Even more vital is the hope of seeing things differently through both design and play, visually and emotionally.

This first day of the new year started off muggy and relatively warm. I meant to take my camera with me on the early morning beach walk and immediately kicked myself for not doing so as the cloudy skies at dawn were colored with oranges and purples and the water was an incredible aqua hue. First lesson in Project 365 – take your camera with you everywhere!!! For some reason, this lesson may be hard to learn! As the morning progressed, the temperature began to fall rapidly and the clouds meshed together to form an ominous overcast – not the best picture taking weather for the amateur photographer. Today’s photo shows conflict as the palm fronds don’t have their usual blue sky contrast, but did get it off before the rain showers arrived.

Naples, FL 01/01/08

Technorati Tags: photographs, new year

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My current PLE includes

• reading posts from approximately 175 blogs (education-related, technology-related, and just plain thought-provoking), writing to my own two blogs, and commenting on occasion,
• interacting daily with about 100 “edublogger-twits” on twitter
• dabbling with a number of different social networking tools, including ning and facebook,
• creating collaborative wikis and Google documents,
• backchannelling chats in scheduled and spontaneous webinars, webcasts, fireside chats, and ustream productions,
• sharing favorites via del.icio.us, flickr, slideshare and diigo
• listening to inspirational podcasts, and
• experimenting with a variety of web 2.0 tools for my own productivity and for student learning.

The key to my PLE is that it revolves around me and my needs – wow, that sounds so self-centered…and it is! I control my blog readings (and yes, I’ve learned to become comfortable with unread feeds in my aggregator) and I manage (usually!) my time for the amount, type and place of these interactions. These facets work for me – they are my unique monogram, but they are not designed to work for everyone. PLEs are meant to be personalized, individualized – not standardized. What works for me probably won’t work for you. I may differ from you in time priority, content interest, learning preference, and stage of development – among other things. It’s okay – in fact, that’s the way PLEs are suppose to be! So, if you don’t get twitter, that’s ok – it’s also ok if you don’t want to follow me or the others I follow. You may use blogs for personal reflection or to communicate to parents or for ruminations that invite conversations – it really is your call!

Stephen Downes’ Web 2.0 and Your own Learning and Development is well worth your 20 minutes. His triad of interaction, usability, and relevance along with guiding principles are excellent foundations for thinking about the ‘personal’ your PLE. The presentation is also a good reminder for some of us trying to make these tools work for others – most of them are quite flexible in their design and their value may be best derived from personal meaning.

So much for the ‘personal’ in Personal Learning Environment – next up is the ‘learning’! I’m off to twitter now! And a future post will focus on the “L” in my PLE….

Credit to Bella Lago for Self-p and Leo Reynolds for monogram on Flickr

Technorati Tags: PLE, web 2.0, twitter, Stephen Downes

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• one of the high school students made me laugh when he said to me, “…you make me think!” in a light conversation after school – seems I habitually challenge him to engage those brain cells even though he is no longer in the classroom! What a concept – learning anytime, anywhere! And it led to further discussion about learning how to learn! smiles…

• our Principal, Jeanette Johnson, scheduled an early release day inservice with the theme of Personal Learning Networks and required ‘homework’ via a Google Doc (thereby necessitating Google accounts/gmail – a challenge for our limited wireless IP address with 40 some simultaneous account requests). She also demonstrated twitter and the power of her own PLN after a view and discussion of A Vision of Students Today. What an innovative Principal – we’ll keep her!

• considerable work was accomplished on launching our online programs this week – between the work with FATDEC (Florida Adult and Technical Distance Education Consortium) and piloting Angel, there’s a lot of learning going on…and much more to come!

• two web 2.0 sites are now educator-friendly with ‘no ads’! The social networking site, Ning, is now offering ad-free Ning sites when using for student-based projects. My request to remove advertising from the Mustang Book Club Ning (private at this point) was handled professionally, immediately, and with kindness! As Vicki Davis said on her CoolCatTeacher blog, “Companies who understand education know that the students will be creating their own spaces now or later and that they will benefit.” The wiki, Wet Paint, is also going ad-free for educators, according to Jason Welker on U Tech Tips ! I set up a Wet Paint wiki a couple of years ago (since abandoned), but ended up using other software – not necessarily because of the ads, but habit, I guess! Looks like Wet Paint might be worth another look! More importantly, it demonstrates the commitment of businesses (at least a few) to help educators impact 21st century learners – so educational institutions: are you up for the challenge, as well?

• today I was able to tune into a couple of Ustream presentations at the Tech Forum in Austin, Texas! The ability to not only chat, but tweet during Wes Fryer’s keynote was almost like being there! An extra special thanks to Carolyn Foote for keeping the pipeline open (especially during my early obstacles related to bandwidth and filtering system) via @technolibrary! Though I didn’t capture all, I was especially moved by Wes’ emphasis on becoming a catalyst – precipitating, accelerating change. Need to go back and review/rehash my thoughts on change theory, as that is a key!

Yes, just another ordinary week full of extraordinary experiences in my world of living and learning!

Photo credits to MisterBisson and bhermans on Flickr

Technorati Tags: TechForum07, wikis, social networking, twitter, innovation, PLN

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