This course focuses on helping Lutheran educators familiarize themselves with Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) and provide guidance as they work to create their own.  It is divided into two sessions, each lasting two weeks, with an estimated time commitment of 2-3 hours per session.  Thanks to the flexibility of Moodle, you will be able to choose the times that best fit your schedule to complete the course tasks, while still interacting with other participants through the course software.

To take part in this course, you will need an Internet-connected computer (PC or Mac) with a current Web browser (Firefox 3.x, Internet Explorer 8, Safari 4), PDF reading software, Flash and Shockwave players, and word processing software.  This course is being offered free of charge to the Lutheran Educators’ Guild community.

The course will officially begin June 7, 2010 and run through July 5, 2010.  Registrations will remain open until June 4, 2010.  If you are interested in participating, please create a learn.lutheraneducators.com user account then send an email to webmaster@lutheraneducators.com to request the course enrollment key.

Take a look and let us know what you think.

Update: Thanks to @andrew_cph we have a screenshot of the new interface from an Apple iPhone.

We wish to extend to him our warmest welcome and God’s blessings on his efforts to enter Lutheran education.

Therefore, the Guild formally extends an invitation to any pre-service Lutheran educators (planning to teach in Lutheran or public schools) to join our community of fellowship and encouragement.

Further, the Guild is looking for several pre-service educators who would be interested in regularly blogging about their experiences on the journey to becoming a Lutheran educator.  If you are interested, please email me at webmaster@lutheraneducators.com.

By participating in this course, you will

• Identify the benefits of having a PLN
• Describe ways to construct and manage a PLN
• Select and use tools to construct a PLN framework
• Select PLN sources from a categorized list to initially populate their PLN
• Design a plan to locate new PLN resources
• Recommend additions to the PLN starter list
• Explain the importance of PLNs to their peers

To successfully complete this course, you will need basic Web browsing and search skills. You will also need basic knowledge of RSS feeds and presentation software.

You will need a broadband internet connection and the following software installed on your computer:

• Modern Web browser (Latest version of Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari)
• Adobe Flash player
• Apple QuickTime player
• Word processor
• Presentation software

The course is largely self-directed but it is important that you complete each “assignment” to the best of your abilities and interact with the other participants.

The course is divided into two units which are open for two weeks. Completing the various tasks each unit will likely take 2-3 hours.

I recognize that many of you will likely be on Spring break during the first week.  If that is the case, please consider enrolling for the second session which will be announced soon.

THURSDAY 02/25/10 – 4:00-5:00pm
What Are You Doing?
Kathy Maske
Altamont Lutheran Interparish School

Link to recorded session: https://corsica.cuw.edu/p41048649/

“In our schools today, education is changing.  We have more technology than we know what to do with.  Our Lutheran schools have the opportunity now more than ever to utilize the same technologies as other schools do via the Internet.  There has been an explosion in online, collaborative networking in the last 5 years or so with the introduction of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk and other social networking sites.  What happens when we utilize these tools in our professional development?  Continuous online learning!  We now have tools that we, as Lutheran Educators, can use to collaborate with other educators continuously.  Whether you are seasoned at networking or are just beginning, sharing is valuable for all.”

THURSDAY 02/25/10 – 5:00-6:00pm
Podcast My Class Fast
Daniel Burk
Grace Lutheran Lancaster, CA

Link to recorded session: https://corsica.cuw.edu/p59231468/

“Teachers are afraid to try something new.  Podcast is something that any class and any teacher can utilize in their classroom.  We will go step-by-step how easy it is to record and publish a Podcast for your class.”

FRIDAY 02/26/10 – 11:00-12:00 noon
Personal Learning Networks and You
Jeremy Biddle
CUW Ed Tech Cohort/Lutheran Educators’ Guild

Link to recording: https://corsica.cuw.edu/p73822927/

“Personal Learning Networks [PLNs] are a solution for one of 21st Century education’s most difficult problems: keeping informed of emerging technologies and learning how to utilize them in our classrooms.  PLNs tap into the vast array of freely available information via traditional sources (books, newspapers, etc.) and emerging ones (blogs, Twitter, etc.).  A PLN, states Dr. Daniel R. Tobin, is a group of people who can guide your learning, point you to learning opportunities, answer your questions, and give you the benefit of their own knowledge and experience. This presentation will provide a starting point for educators to implement their own PLNs.  The audience will be provided with a brief presentation on PLNs and their usefulness, suggestions of software to use (along with tutorials/demonstrations of their use), and a categorized list of sources for individual educators to use in beginning their own PLN.  The list of sources will be posted online, with the ability for an educator to make their own additions to share.”

Also, we here at the Lutheran Educators’ Guild have begun talking about creating a Lutheran Education-focused podcast.  We’d like to know how many of you listen to podcasts on a regular basis as well as how many of you might be interested in listening to one focused on Lutheran education.  What would you like such a podcast to “look” like and what topics would you want to have discussed?  Please, let us know in comments, on the forum, or via email.