Social Networked Learning Reflection

I'm not really sure what I expected out of EDTECH 543.  I knew it would address social networking, I just wasn't sure in what context.  I definitely didn't expect to gain as much from it as I have. 

One thing I realized very quickly is that social networking doesn't appear to be perceived as appealing to the elementary level.  The reason I say this is that until now, the EdTech classes that I have taken seem to have had a balance between primary, secondary, and post-secondary level teachers.  This course however, was primarily those with an interest in secondary or post-secondary education.  Because of this, the personal learning network I participated in was small.  We were the only two members of the class representing elementary classrooms.  This surprised me somewhat, mostly because I consider myself to be open-minded to the idea of utilizing social media in the classroom, even at the elementary level.

It is going to be difficult for me to take some of the things I have learned back into the classroom for a couple of reasons.  The first reason is social media policies.  Many social networking platforms have rules that state children must be of a certain age to establish an account.  This can be avoided by having students participate in a classroom account in which their identities are not tied directly to the account.  Twitter does not have an age restriction to join, however I don't think I would recommend anyone at the elementary level to allow each student in their class to create individual Twitter accounts.  Students this young are still learning the basics of digital citizenship and netiquette and it may be better for them to develop these skills in a group setting.  The other reason it will be difficult to incorporate in my school is because many social networking platforms require students to have an email address to register.  In my school district, students do not have access to personal email accounts until they are in the sixth grade.  This limits some of the sites that students may participate in.

The greatest take away I have from EDTECH 543 is everything I have learned about Twitter and its professional development opportunities.  Participating in Twitter chats has been one of the most chaotic, yet rewarding things I've learned in the EdTech program so far.  I am hoping to introduce my coworkers to Twitter and encouraging them to actively build their own personal learning networks.

I feel like I have taken major steps this summer to building my own personal learning network.  I have connected with other educators from around the country, as well as many from Montana as well.  This is beneficial because the state of Montana has adopted the Common Core State Standards and augmented them to include aspects required by the state constitution.  I look forward to continuing to utilize social networking for professional development purposes.

The blogging process has been beneficial to my progression in this course as well.  It has allowed me to create, share, and reflect upon my learning throughout the course.  I have incorporated creativity into my posts in the form of metaphors and artwork.  Because I have embraced all of the activities we have been asked to incorporate into our blogs this semester, I propose a grade of 75/75 for my personal content.