DIGITAL MAPPING
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PLN MAP
Making a visual of my PLN was a fun activity for me. First reason-->Making a visual representation of how and what my online activity made me see how time I spend online and how much I should cut down. Second reason-->The only time I ever used Drawing is when I was adding an image I need to alter within a Doc. This app was easier to use than I thought it would be, so now I have another tool to use with my students.
Personal Visitor
At first glance, one might ask--Does someone still actually use AOL? Yes! I'm slowly moving away from AOL, but with all the contacts and sites I have marked, I just haven't completely dumped AOL. The gaming site on AOL is something I use as a stress reliever from grading papers. As far as the rest of my personal resident quadrant, I mainly shop online only for gifts and my Cubs tickets.
Professional Visitor
Looking at this quadrant, I see that I conduct mostly searches. The searching I do is for ideas, strategies, and support for what I want to use in my classroom. Pinterest is an abyss, so I have to more aware of how much time I spend there---ugh. Google+ is becoming more and more my go to site for tech help. I started to use Classroom on a full-time basis and moved away from Edmodo, I need some assistance with some of the Classroom features. Thus, I posted questions on G+ and received almost immediate results. Maybe one day I will contribute more, instead of just taking info.
Personal Resident
This quadrant surprised me, I thought I would have tons of images here. I am on my computer more than I should be, but I enjoy connecting with family and friends. My family is spread out, so connecting with them through email and social media has become a daily event. Creating a profile on Linkedin was something I did a few years ago, when a job situation came up for my family and I needed to find a second job. My plan is to update my profile as I progress through technology specialist program. Then, this will move into the Professional Resident quadrant.
Professional Resident
This is my 30th year of teaching and I still absolutely love my job! This quadrant excites me the most, because as an educator, the wealth of resources there are now is nothing compared to when I first started teaching. I would have to either create my own material on my DOS computer or word processor or buy it from a catalog. Most of my time online revolves around, what can I do next with my kids? I refuse to be the teacher one looks at and says--->She should retire. If someone passing by my classroom doesn't see/hear me singing, dancing, on floor, and laughing, I get asked if I'm sick.
I put some of those sites/apps in this quadrant, because I do contribute to them, either by making my own learning videos, files, and resources I share with others. With Edmodo, I no longer use with my students, but I do seek out teacher connections, share ideas, and post resources. The video lessons I make with Explain Everything are shared with other students and teachers through their site and on YouTube. Edpuzzle is a site I use with my students with not only pre-made videos and questions, but I also edit videos to make my own for educators to use. Dropbox might not seem like it falls into this quadrant, but I take most of the photos at school and share them in DropBox for my principal, marketing manager, Big Shoulders, and other teachers to use for marketing my school. Facebook is the only social media site that I use almost daily, personally and professionally. I run the school's Facebook page and I spend time on my own page. The last site that I have been a fan of for a few years, and now so are my colleagues is SimpleK12. You can either join as a free member or with a paid subscription. The main difference between the two are, with the paid subscription, you can earn CEU's from your HOME. You can also contribute, become an online presenter, and make connections with educators from around the world.
Conclusion
I hope to add more resources to the Professional Resident during this school year. EdCamp looks like a fun way to actually spend time with other educators, not just online. I was thinking of possibly doing a digital mapping activity with my 6th graders, to see where they fall. Modifications would would need to be made to fit the level of my kids, but I think it would be eyeopening to them to see how they use tech in their own lives.
Resource-- Visitor & Resident Map App |
