Many of us think that Twitter is a social media website that is meant for posting thoughts or for other personal postings. However, as a future educator I have found that Twitter can be a very helpful resource when it comes to building a professional learning network. According to both Betty Ray and Tom Whitby, two education bloggers, Twitter is very important when it comes to building a Professional Learning Network. The purpose of a Professional Learning Network (PLN) is for colleagues and professionals of a certain field, such as education, are able to share ideas with one another. Ray answered the question “why tweet?” by saying “for the inquisitive educator, there are some jewels herein that can lead to stimulating discussions, new resources, and an ongoing supportive network (How to use Twitter to grow your pln, 2013, 2).” This is saying that Twitter is the perfect resource and place for a PLN to develop. So how does one utilize Twitter in a PLN? Whitby states “Building a PLN consisting of quality educators, who responsibly share quality information and sources, takes time and requires a plan (Building a professional learning network on twitter, 2013,3).” In order to build a reputable PLN you have to find quality educators to follow. Twitter is the perfect way to accomplish this. By checking a person’s profile, you can check their tweets to see if they are a reputable source. Another way to make sure the twitter account is worth adding to your PLN is by checking to see who follows the account and who that accounts follow (Whitby 2013). This ensures that who you are following is giving out good information and is also another great way to find other profiles that are beneficial to you.
As a future educator I have already seen the advantages of having a Twitter account as more than just a personal outlet but as a way to share and gain ideas from other professionals in the education community. I will be able to use twitter to be aware of new trending topics in the education community, and more specifically in the Art Education community. Project ideas, new websites, or just sharing ideas with other art educators. As a teacher I will encourage the use of Twitter among my high school students. It is never to early to encourage my students to start building their own PLN in their interested fields, as well as use Twitter to interact with their fellow classmates and me as well. An example of using Twitter in the classroom can be as simple as sending out homework reminders to the class or have it as a way for students to post links that they found helpful or resourceful for their projects. Twitter will definitely be a beneficial resource in my classroom.
Evernote and Skitch are two applications that can be put on your computer, or iPad, as well as accessed through the web. Evernote in its simplest form is an online/digital way to take notes. You can organize these notes in different sections, known as notebooks. The main benefit to this is always having access to the notes you may need, and not having to physically write them down in a notebook. Evernote also saves time because as most know typing can be a lot more time efficient than writing based on your familiarity with keyboards and such. There is a place for recording in Evernote so as your taking notes you don’t have to worry about missing anything, you are able to go back and listen to whomever is speaking, or what you were trying to take notes on. It is a beneficial tool for active learning in the classroom. Skitch is also an application that works with Evernote. Skitch is used for pictures instead of written notes. You can use Skitch to annotate pictures with text, shapes, and symbols.
I can see Evernote and Skitch being very useful in my art classroom. One way I hope to utilize these two applications is through art critiques. It is necessary to have critiques in an art classroom. This is where students get to have a chance to explain their work, what they like about it or don’t, and then get feedback from their peers. I would use Evernote to record and take notes on the critique. It is a perfect way to document what was said and also be a gauge for how critiques progress over the course of the school year. Skitch I can see being helpful in this process in a couple of different ways. By taking a picture of a student’s artwork it will provide an easy way for students to keep up with a portfolio of their work they complete over the year. It also is a helpful way for me to make notes or draw attention to specific details I recognize about their compositions so that I can clearly show them what I’m referring to when I give back comments on their work. I see that Skitch and Evernote will be two applications that I will use a lot as a future art educator.
I am looking forward to using Twitter, Evernote, and Skitch in my future classroom.
I am looking forward to using Twitter, Evernote, and Skitch in my future classroom.
Resources:
Ray, Betty. Edutopia. 2013. How to use twitter to grow your pln. Retrieved October 9, 2013, from:
Whitby, Tom, Smartblog on Education. 2013. Building a professional learning network on twitter. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from: http://smartblogs.com/education/2013/01/11/twitter-strategy-101/
