This may be a website many of you know about, but I can't get over how helpful it is when working on building a PLC like we currently are for our final project, or studying PLC's and how to make them effective.
http://www.allthingsplc.info/
The great part about this site is that it is so simple to use. It is broken down into three parts, so that right when you get to the site you have can figure out where you need to go.
1. There is a section called Blog and Discussions which allows you to connect with other people in PLC's and use them as resources.
2. There is a section called Evidence of Effectiveness which provides proof of how effective different PLC's across the nation are working for people.
3. And last is a section of tools. Many of us are a bit lost and don't always know where or how to start, and this section can help to provide direction when we find ourselves in that spot.
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS SITE IS that I found a link on it to inspirational stories about high schools using PLC's, and one of the stories was about my high school in Yuma, Colorado.
http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?page_id=95
It is crazy to think that my little hometown of a few thousand people and my tiny high school popped into my grad class research, but it shows you how technology is shrinking the world!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Mod 5 Resource
This week I found a website that is very helpful when looking at many things related to Learning communities. The website is:
http://www.ascd.org/
The first thing that stood out on this video was a video of a Learning community at work. This video was somewhat basic, but really stood out because it showed how a learning community can really help one teacher improve at something or find ways to do something that she couldn't do on her own. The link to this video is:
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/feb09/vol66/num05.aspx
And while this video doesn't really deal with the online side of learning communities, this website as a whole doesn't skip over this aspect. It has many articles that can be found on technology specific parts of learning communities. One article that I looked at dealt strictly with using blogs and wikis within your learning community.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/feb09/vol66/num05/Learning_with_Blogs_and_Wikis.aspx
http://www.ascd.org/
The first thing that stood out on this video was a video of a Learning community at work. This video was somewhat basic, but really stood out because it showed how a learning community can really help one teacher improve at something or find ways to do something that she couldn't do on her own. The link to this video is:
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/feb09/vol66/num05.aspx
And while this video doesn't really deal with the online side of learning communities, this website as a whole doesn't skip over this aspect. It has many articles that can be found on technology specific parts of learning communities. One article that I looked at dealt strictly with using blogs and wikis within your learning community.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/feb09/vol66/num05/Learning_with_Blogs_and_Wikis.aspx
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Mod #4 post
www.hiceducation.org/Edu_Proceedings/Roy%20Tamashiro.pdf
This week I actually found an article that I feel relates to the reading. As this week we deal with the online community, I started to think aboutd the conversations I hear at work and among my friends regarding online learning. I know that many people feel there are some serious downsides to online learning, while many people such as myself feel the positives outweigh the negatives. This article is detailed research regarding those pros and cons. It goes into detail about not only the student perspective, but also what teachers are feeling about online courses.
This week I actually found an article that I feel relates to the reading. As this week we deal with the online community, I started to think aboutd the conversations I hear at work and among my friends regarding online learning. I know that many people feel there are some serious downsides to online learning, while many people such as myself feel the positives outweigh the negatives. This article is detailed research regarding those pros and cons. It goes into detail about not only the student perspective, but also what teachers are feeling about online courses.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Resource Sharing Module 3
For this week's blog I actually found 2 online resources that I will share. The first one I just found to be interesting, and it actually lead to finding the article that inspired it.
http://itsnotallflowersandsausages.blogspot.com/2010/01/plcs-professional-learning-community_20.html
This link takes you to an individuals blog that, as the sub title suggests, is dedicated to teachers. I came across this post because it has the term PLC's in the title of the post. This blogger was disecting an article she had read that can be found at http://www.edutopia.org/professional-learning-communities-collaboration.
While the article was a very basic description of what PLC's are and how they can be beneficial, the bloggers post was far more entertaining! This blogger didn't say she is against PLC's, and in fact said she would be for them if certain things were in place. She did however show the other side of the argument that I think many of us see in our schools, the opposition to change, or "I know best attitude." I think one quote really stood out to me, "Lord knows we don't' need another non-educator sticking their noses into our classrooms and curriculum and telling us how to do our jobs" I think this is something to think about, because as long as our fellow teachers view PLC's like this, it will always be difficult to get buy in for new ideas.
Another resource I found this week was http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues61.html You have to continue to click next page to read this whole article, but it was well worth it. This article really went into depth on some of the basics of PLC's. This article would be great for sharing what PLC's are about, where they started, why they are helpful, etc. with someone who isn't familiar with the term, and doesn't have the time to read full books on the subject. It is too the point, and really shows the positives that can come from being part of a PLC.
http://itsnotallflowersandsausages.blogspot.com/2010/01/plcs-professional-learning-community_20.html
This link takes you to an individuals blog that, as the sub title suggests, is dedicated to teachers. I came across this post because it has the term PLC's in the title of the post. This blogger was disecting an article she had read that can be found at http://www.edutopia.org/professional-learning-communities-collaboration.
While the article was a very basic description of what PLC's are and how they can be beneficial, the bloggers post was far more entertaining! This blogger didn't say she is against PLC's, and in fact said she would be for them if certain things were in place. She did however show the other side of the argument that I think many of us see in our schools, the opposition to change, or "I know best attitude." I think one quote really stood out to me, "Lord knows we don't' need another non-educator sticking their noses into our classrooms and curriculum and telling us how to do our jobs" I think this is something to think about, because as long as our fellow teachers view PLC's like this, it will always be difficult to get buy in for new ideas.
Another resource I found this week was http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues61.html You have to continue to click next page to read this whole article, but it was well worth it. This article really went into depth on some of the basics of PLC's. This article would be great for sharing what PLC's are about, where they started, why they are helpful, etc. with someone who isn't familiar with the term, and doesn't have the time to read full books on the subject. It is too the point, and really shows the positives that can come from being part of a PLC.
Resource Sharing #1
The blog that I found this week was helpful to me specifically because this is a subject I teach. The blog is http://www.geographictravels.com/
This blog covers all sorts of geography related topics that range from how parts of the middle east differ from each other to a whole section on teaching aides for the classroom. If you click on this link it takes you right to his teaching aides section. http://www.geographictravels.com/search/label/Geography%20Education%20and%20Teaching%20Aides
The very first post you see there is about finding birth rate and growth rate, both are things I do in my geography class, and both are things students have trouble with. This could be a helpful site to share with them. In the teaching aides section there is are also helpful features such as a chart that will allow you to see when a map went out of date by comparing what countries are on the map and how they are labeled.
I also like that this blog uses lots of videos and pictures. I know that I personally am a very visual person, and many of my students are as well. I am not going to use or read a blog that cannot hold my attention, and a blog of only words usually won't do that.
Overall, I found this blog to be very helpful for anyone teaching Geography or even just interested in geography.
This blog covers all sorts of geography related topics that range from how parts of the middle east differ from each other to a whole section on teaching aides for the classroom. If you click on this link it takes you right to his teaching aides section. http://www.geographictravels.com/search/label/Geography%20Education%20and%20Teaching%20Aides
The very first post you see there is about finding birth rate and growth rate, both are things I do in my geography class, and both are things students have trouble with. This could be a helpful site to share with them. In the teaching aides section there is are also helpful features such as a chart that will allow you to see when a map went out of date by comparing what countries are on the map and how they are labeled.
I also like that this blog uses lots of videos and pictures. I know that I personally am a very visual person, and many of my students are as well. I am not going to use or read a blog that cannot hold my attention, and a blog of only words usually won't do that.
Overall, I found this blog to be very helpful for anyone teaching Geography or even just interested in geography.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Post with a Link!!!
hey, if you wanna click on this it will take you right back to my blog!!
http://www.scottsblogforclass.blogspot.com/
http://www.scottsblogforclass.blogspot.com/
I've started this new blog for Grad School!
Welcome to my grad school blog!
If you are ever mentioned on this blog, you are obviously something special!!
A prime example of somebody special would be John Elway, the greatest quarterback of all time!
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