I have learned through the Lamar courses the value and importance of PLNs. Before taking these courses I was not involved in any PLNs outside of my colleagues at school. I have joined a few groups recently and have created more of a presence on Twitter (I still need to work on this area), however the greatest PLN that I have been apart of has been the Facebook pages that have been created for each course. These Facebook pages have become valuable resources of information and feedback from my cohort members. I have enjoyed the fact that many of us have been together since day one and as we have progressed we have come to rely on each other. I truly value their feedback and I have enjoyed getting to learn from them and their jobs as educators. During the leadership courses the groups were very large and I was not as active as a participant but once we moved to our Ed tech courses the group became smaller and I began to be more active. I have learned that I need to feel a connection to my network before I feel comfortable contributing. As I go forward I hope to keep the connections I have made through these courses and to see how we continue to grow and to learn more from them too. I hope as I become more involved in the PLNs that I have joined that I will contribute more. I think this experience in learning about the publishing process is a great way to become more involved in PLNs. Some of the PLNs that I am apart of besides the course Facebook groups are: Twitter, ISTE and TEPSA.
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As I have learned about the types of mindset people can have I have discovered that it takes time and perseverance to change one’s own mindset. As I was developing my Growth Mindset Plan I learned how much of a Fixed Mindset I actually had about my own learning. It came as a shock to me because as an educator I try to instill in my students that learning new things is a process that keeps growing and developing. This has made me reflect more on my own mindset and how to best cultivate more of a Growth Mindset. One thing I have learned is that I need to take more chances in my projects and not be so critical of myself. A couple of weeks ago I created a Pear Deck for a faculty meeting in which I presented about inclusion in the general education classroom, the process was quite difficult as I did not want to offend a group and wanted to give pertinent information too. The choice of the platform was difficult as well, but I finally jumped in and created an interactive presentation. I felt a sense of accomplishment that I was able to reach outside of the box to create the presentation, which went well and has led to more discussions about inclusion and what it should look like. In my pursuit to develop my Growth Mindset I have sought out new reading materials. I am not one that reads a lot of theoretical, professional books because I get lost in the technical jargon. However, I have developed a strong interest in seeking out new ways to grow as a future leader in the technology realm of education. I am excited to dive into two new books, which one is about students owning their learning and the other is about a new mindset. I feel that these books will help me break out new ideas in how I present information to my students as well as my colleagues. I have begun to give my students more freedom to choose how they present their learning, which has had its bumps but I can see the benefits it has had for my students. We recently worked on research projects in which I let the students choose their own topic. This created a buzz of excitement in the air and they could not wait to learn more. I saw the benefits right away, as the students could not wait to create their questions and then find the answers. I also let the students choose how they would present their learning. They were able to choose from creating a brochure, flip-book or diorama. I was surprised by the diversity of their choices. The projects came out great and the students had a great learning experience. I did as well. It is a difficult process for second graders to create the right type of questions to find answers to, as well as looking up the information. This process is one that the students will continue to develop. One main lesson that I tried to instill in them is that they cannot believe everything they find on the Internet. They need to look for sites that are factual sites and not sites created based on someone’s opinions. This was eye opening for them and I hope it carries on through their development as learners. As a future leader in educational technology I plan on using the Growth Mindset to help other educators develop a Growth Mindset towards technology. Technology can be intimidating for people, even young adults and students who have grown up with it. One difference from young adults and students and older generations when it comes to technology is that the younger generations have a mindset about technology that enables them to grow and adapt with the changes, where older generations struggle with developing a growth mindset about technology. I want to lead professional developments that will instill and encourage my colleagues to challenge themselves in their technology use. I want them to understand that it is ok to make mistakes with technology and that it is not as scary as it seems. I want them also to know that technology is about taking chances and learning from them. As educators we are preparing our students for a future that we cannot even fathom, so we need to develop the skills of a growth mindset to model a new way of approaching learning and how we grow as an individual. I hold the life of my ePortfolio in my hands. I make the choices on whether or not it becomes a lost page in the vast jungle of the Internet. I choose to help my ePortfolio grow as I grow as a future leader in education and educational technology. I have enjoyed watching it develop into its current state and I cannot wait to see how it will continue to grow. My ePortfolio is a way to show my growth, so if it stops growing than I may have to question have I stopped growing. If I stop growing than there are deeper questions to answer because an educator should never stop growing and learning. I also feel that through my ePortfolio I will be able to help colleagues continue to grow in their learning. I want to be able to use my ePortfolio as a platform from change in thoughts, perceptions and understandings about technology in the classroom. I want my co-workers and others to find resources through the sharing of my learning. An ePortfolio in the right hands has the potential to change many mindsets.
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AuthorI am an educator, nature lover, sea turtle conservationist and dog mom. Archives
July 2017
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