Lutheran Educators' Guild » Personal Learning Networks

PLN Course still accepting applications

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:33:43 +0000

Just a quick reminder that the PLN course at learn.lutheraneducators.com is still accepting applications for the first session of the course which will begin on April 5, 2010 and run through May 3, 2010.

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.

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Guild PLN Course still accepting participants

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:04:20 +0000

There is still plenty of room available in the personal learning network course for more participants. If you are interested, please email me at webmaster@lutheraneducators.com.

We need your help!

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:47:21 +0000

A major reason for the existence of the Lutheran Educators’ Guild is “to create a community of fellowship and encouragement for Lutheran educators.” One way to do that is by spreading the word about the Guild to others. If you haven’t already, please take the time to become a fan of the Guild on Facebook (follow the link or use the Facebook Fan box on the right) and follow us on Twitter (@luthedguild). Please let your friends, followers, and PLNs know about us as well. Let’s see if we can reach 100 Facebook fans and 100 Twitter followers by the end of the month!

And while you’re here, please create a user account on the main Guild site so you can participate in our new forums.

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PLN: What does yours look like?

jbiddle — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:44:28 +0000

The term “Personal Learning Network” (PLN) has been a buzzword in educational circles for nearly a decade now, though they have only become popular in the last five years or so. One of the first sets of articles on the Lutheran Educators’ Guild addressed the basics of PLNs and provided a list of resources to use in your creating or expanding your own. We here at Guild HQ are curious about how you are managing your PLNs, where you look to find new sources of information, and how you make use of your PLNs.

Let us know either in the comments below or via our new forum.

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2010: The Year of the Lutheran Teacher

Coachburk — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:21:58 +0000

I love Lutheran Schools! I do believe they can offer the best education for children. Spiritually or Academically Lutheran schools are top notch. But, I do know we are failing. We need to change. We need to transform. Do you see this need also? Or do you think you are just good enough?

Jim Collins talks about becoming “Good to Great.” One of his beliefs is getting the right people on the right bus in the right seat. Now he doesn’t always come from an education view, where in a business place it would be easier to move people around or fire them. In Lutheran schools that is tougher, besides “The Call” issue, just harder to move teachers to places that will make them more effective.

But, what if you are not the right person or in the right seat?

There are two options here, quit or put yourself on the call list. You should be honest with yourself and know that if something isn’t working, you need to make a hard decision for the betterment of the students. The other option is the “Rudy” option. Rudy did not belong on Notre Dame football team. He did not belong in the position he wanted. But, Rudy won the hearts of everyone on the Irish football team by giving his best every day and working to change.

If your not right for your seat on the bus, make yourself the right person!

HOW?

This is where the Year of the Lutheran Teacher comes in. Dedicate yourself (even if you are in the right seat on the right bus) to improve yourself. You will see that improving yourself will spill over on your students, in your school, and will empower others.

What do you need to do?

I would say the first step is to pray! We can always pray more. We need to remember who is in charge here.

Next, create a PLN (Personal Learning Network). You can and should have someone locally that you can go to, but don’t sell the internet short. I personally use Twitter as my main PLN. I started out following other Lutheran Educators. Which I still use as my main source for learning. After I figured twitter out I started to see who they were following and started to follow those people. So now, I have a list of Educators that I can share information with, who can answer my questions, who will share resources with. It is a must for me.

Another huge start in my learning of what others have to offer were blogs. Again I started with Lutheran Educators. I then started to go to the other people I follow on twitter with blogs. Lastly I started to write. I am by no means thinking I am a great writer or that 1000 of people will be inspired by my writing. It is almost for selfish means. Although people do read my posts (as you are reading this now), but it is for me to grow and help me to grow professionally.

http://techls.ning.com/ is a great place for Technology resources, but there is also a list of Twitter Names of Lutheran educators.

So Now What?

GET TO WORK! Start learning. Read and Write Blogs. We all need to use each other to learn. Not because we are not good teachers, but because we need to be doing this for the Students and give the glory to God. It is hard for a teacher to look at themselves and say, I struggle in this area. We don’t want anyone questioning our teaching ability, the students question that enough. Parents might question your ability from time to time. We dread seeing our principal walking into our room. We jump into some type of engaging activity that we didn’t plan for.

We need to show our students that you are never too old to learn. That even as a teacher, we might not know everything. That we as a teacher can learn new things.

Make this YOUR YEAR! Make your resolution now if not before, that you will learn new things. You will try new things. You will connect with new people. You will allow others into your classroom so you can improve.

If you need someone to be a mentor for you, let me know, I personally can be an accountability partner or there is a list of Lutheran Educators who are willing to help. They have helped me learn so much in the last few years.

2010 is the YEAR OF THE LUTHERAN TEACHER!

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PLN Tools Tutorials

jbiddle — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:30:28 +0000

Here are some helpful video tutorials for three popular PLN tools.

Twitter:

How To Use Twitter on Howcast

Google Reader Feed Reader:

Apple iTunes:

Podcasts Tutorial
Introduction to iTunesU

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PLN Starters

jbiddle — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:53:28 +0000

Here is a wiki-ed list of resources for educators who are creating or adding to their Personal Learning Networks. Resources that begin with an “@” are links to Twitter pages.

Because this post is a wiki, approved users have the ability to add or update resources. Please use the “login” link under “Site Functions” to the right to create a user account. Then use the contact form under “Contact Us” to request access to the site’s wiki functions.