Personal+Growth

 Developing my own PLE   My PLE has focused around several topics from this class. In looking at the class list, Podcasting, Blogs, and Wikis I find the be the most valuable and most applicable to my profession.

Podcasts I developed (with help!) several podcsats for Peabody. The first combined audio to create what will be the monthly PLC podcast updates for Peabody. These are placed on the front page of my school's webpage. It is my desire to share information with the community of the important work we accomplish as a staff to help children. By the year's end there will be 6 podcasts on the front page. This is a great accomplishment! I also assisted one of my staff to record and publish 2 podcasts, placing them on her webpage. What I remember most of this experience was the looks on the girls' faces when they heard their voices "live" on the internet, sharing their hard work. This was priceless. Go to Peabody's website to see the podcasts. The first (I created) is on the front page, lower left column. The other two, which I assisted, are in the Literacy Coach webpage.
 * Future implications for podcasting: I have offered my experience and time to the staff to create podcasts. Third grade wishes me to help them and I will this coming week (november 11th). I have also had 5th grade, first grade, and fourth grade ask for my assistance. Soon my entire building may be using podcasting to share the wonderful projects students are creating.

Blogs Blogs provide a fun and safe way for students and educators to debrief any educational topic and share new learnings. Establishing secure blogs allows students to freely express their learnings and listen to those of others. I have established my own personal blog for this class. It was fun and easy to maintain which is what I desire as an educator. I would like to increase my use of this tool by showing one staff at my building the benefits ot this tool. Starting "success" by targeting those whom I believe will agree to the benefits it can have for themselves and their students is my goal. I can foresee blogs being used as an opening, on-going, and closing site to share learnings and questions to any specific unit of study. For instance, I am working with 4th grade. They will be studying Native American tribes of Colorado. I blog could focus on guiding questions to research and discuss around the Ute tribe. The particular teacher I am referring to has 5 computers in her room and students could spend part of their Language Arts time on the blog, responding to the weekly question. This would be such fun for the students!

Wikis I think wikis have become the most exciting of the three tools I mention. I am part of 5 wikis now and can envision the number growing greatly as the year continues. Setting up a wiki for my school, for collaboration and PLC work was a great accomplishment I am proud of. I "invited" one staff from each grade level to the wiki. I shared the site last week (November 4th) at each grade level's collaboration. Everyone seemed excited to have their work in one spot within easy access. No more paper work!!!! I will word process each week, the grade level's work and post to the wiki until the holidays are over. Then I will turn over the typing and posting to each grade level. Success is in the making for the school's new wiki! Future Thoughts

The final question is how I might continue to develop and use my PLE. This is a big question which I want to reflect on. PLE, wikis, blogs, social bookmarking, RSS, web albums, online tools are topics I didn't know of and hadn't used until this class. Now I am familiar with all and feel rather proud that I have managed to achieve a level of basic understanding. With some of the topics I have acquired a greater depth and will use more. I still have questions. Embeding unseen html addresses from an application to another for linking I get frustrated with. Just thinking of this question is amazing in itself. I consider it an intermediate level question! So I have grown in my knowledge.

I took the "Intel Teach to the Future" class years ago and it is amazing the advances technology has made. I am looking forward to the new topics 6 years ahead, when another similar class such as this, might be offered to LPS employees. I will surely sign up and learn along the way!

//Kelly// .