Hi again, and welcome to, the final blog post for EDTC 300. For this post, we were asked to compile some examples of how I contributed to my classmates’ and others’ learning. I consider myself a lifelong learner and through this, I can share new information to enhance others’ learning. Learning is not a one-sided experience for me; it is important that I learn from others the same amount as others learn from me. So, not only am I learning but I also like to focus on supporting those who are doing the same. This is what we were able to experience during EDTC 300. We experienced this by creating a personal learning network with other teachers, classmates, and other professionals. These connections will be long-lasting and beneficial to continue learning from one another.
I have compiled my contributions into the variety of social media we used throughout the semester: Twitter, Slack, Blog, and Anchor.
TWEET TWEET
Twitter acted as one of the strongest personal learning networks that we experienced this semester during EDTC 300. Due to an extensive amount of time spent on Twitter, I have made connections that will benefit me for years to come. For example, following the SaskEdChats to connect with more teachers and to challenge my biases and to learn and grow from these connections.
Not only did I participate in a few SaskEdChats, but I was also able to fill my personal Twitter feed with quality, relatable content that allowed others to grow their knowledge from class content. I also was aware of my bias towards high school teaching and attempted to share resources for other grade levels. Some examples of these contributions are below.
Slacking off
Slack was a less audience-directed app that we were to use, for example, if classmates had questions, whether directly to a classmate or the whole class. We used this as a method to bounce questions off of each other and this has created a sense of community because of this communication. It was great to have classmates reply with their opinion or suggestions to find an answer to the questions. I loved that this modeled what being on a teaching staff is like – it will prepare students for this transition as they enter their professions. I am a technologically literate person so I did my best to give suggestions when my classmates were having issues with their technology or any of the social media or blog platforms we used. Here are some of my contributions to the Slack community.
I B-log here
This was my favourite part of EDTC 300 – blogging and commenting on my classmates’ blogs. This is where I felt the most connected to my classmates. This is because we were all experiencing the same, new information and reflecting on it much differently. This is where a majority of my learning took place because of the wide variety of thoughts and responses to the prompt posts and their learning projects. It was great to read a different point of view or a different method of approaching the new content. It was also great to experience difficulty and success in our learning projects, side by side. It felt like a very supportive community of people with the same experience(s). Here are a few examples of how I responded to others’ blogs and provided learning in my own blog posts.
ANCHOR Overboard
Anchor was one of the apps I tried in one of my blog posts, called Lower The Anchor. I really enjoyed the user-friendly platform because students would have an easy time adjusting to this kind of app. I also loved that it was available on all devices. This means that if for some reason, there is not enough tech available, students can use their phones to participate. Due to a bit of experience in an actual classroom, I teamed up with a classmate, Tina, to provide an opportunity to share some of our experiences with our other classmates. Tina set up a Google form that our classmates had access to and, with that information, we used Anchor as our method of answering the questions from the form. We did a two-part podcast and were able to use the share function on Anchor so that we could speak into our own devices, from our own homes. We did get some really good feedback on how helpful it was to have those questions answered prior to their teaching careers. Below is our podcast and a few responses to the podcast.
Coming to an End
Overall, I am very pleased with the exponential learning and connection I have made outside of the classroom and look forward to continuing the connections I have made on our social media accounts. I loved that this provided many different perspectives and challenged my current thinking. These types of personal learning networks are a great asset to my professional development and I look forward to expanding them. I would love to know if I have made an impact on you throughout the last 4 months. Leave a comment below and reach out when you like, I am always here to help and learn alongside you.
