I love my PLN (Personal Learning Network)!

Recently I received a challenge from the Teacher Challenge blog (http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org) and because I benefitted so much from last month's challenges from the same blog, here goes.....! We have been asked to write a post about our PLNs. They mention the phrase 'What the heck is a PLN?'  The phrase I love is 'PD in your PJs' because that is when I spend time with my PLN!   A quote I came ac cross recently said, 'Technology is not the wave of the future, it is the tsunami of the present.' (by Janice Rolle) I am sure you may have seen a picture which has been circulating on emails showing the last minutes before the tsunami crashed - wish I knew its origin! Tho' it is a frightening image, for me it shows the rapid advance of technology.  I have two questions foremost in my mind currently - 'Where is this taking us?', and "How do we keep up?" That is where my PLN comes in. They are my network of professionals with whom I share knowledge and they are the people who help me to keep in touch with my learners' futures!...I LOVE MY PLN! To be honest,  I have learned more from my PLN than I have learned in a lifetime of teaching. So now, to summarise the make-up of my PLN I will briefly list how I connect to  them and will share three examples of each.

1. TWITTER
My Twitter PLN has led me to so many amazing sites. I think that if I saw any of them at a Conference I would embrace them as long last friends even though I had only met them virtually. I love what Josh Stumpenhorst’s says in his blogpost about Twitter.... He even made a video about his Twitter PLN which I will embed here. It just sums it up, doesn't it! Twitter to me is invaluable. You follow the people who add value to your passion...and you GROW! Three Twitter friends who have helped my learning enormously are....
Here is a good post on how to use twitter as a teacher - http://teacherstraining.com.au/how-teachers-can-use-twitter-to-maximise-their-professional-learning/

2. BLOGS
I remember a time in teaching when you tried to keep all your good ideas a secret so that someone wouldn't steal them. Now, in the Social Media Age teachers invite you to take a peek into their classrooms in your PJs! I have all the blogs I visit collected in my Google Reader, and I love paying them a visit in the dead of night! I could spend hours telling you of all the ideas I have gleaned because they have shared so freely. The thing about blogs is you can visit and see what they have shared TODAY. Everything is so current. Three educational resource blogs I love visiting are....
a) LARRY FERLAZZO - He is so many interesting blogspots, uear after year. Here is one on PLNs - http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2010/12/21/the-best-guides-for-helping-teachers-develop-personal-learning-networks/
b) RICHARD BYRNE'S FREE TECH4TEACHERS

3. WIKIS.
Whew, there are so many good wikis to explore. Wikis are such convenient places to do projects, summarize what you are doing, and they are so easy to use - no HTML needed. Three wikis that I just love are....

4. PERSONAL LEARNING NETWORKS
These are springing up all over and they are of enormous benefit. They connect people together and one can always pop in and look ariound - and find such amazing stuff! My three favourites are....

5. WEBINARS. This is a fantastic way to grow. One can listen to the Web2 giamts from around the world on all sorts of topics. My favourites right now are:
a)  Simple K12,
b) Classroom 2 close behind.

6. TUTORIALS ON YOU TUBEGenerally if I want to learn how to do something I go to You Tube. There are a number of good channels that you know will always have great stuff. My farourites are:

7. TEACHING WEBSITESGeneally websites seem to have faded into the diustance for me as far as a PLN goes, but there are still some amazing ones. My favourite of all time is...Richards...

8. SOCIAL BOOKMARKINGhttp://www.delicious.com/tag/pln

9. RSS FEEDS

10. PODCASTSTo be honest I haven't explored this avenue of a PLN but I want to start.

11. CONFERENCESOf course I love attending Tech conferences as you learn so much amazing stuff there. It is also a time to reunite with tech. friends from around the country.

12. FACEBOOK SITES

So, what should you do about your PLN? Get involved. Give in as much as you get out. Join, introduce yourself and make your presence known. Comment on good posts. Share your own perspectives. Spread what you have learned with others.  Join Google Reader to keep all the blogs and wikis you follow in one spot. One thing I suppose I should warn against - with so much AMAZING stuff so easily available to us, it is easy to get consumed and spend hours exploring. This could lead you astray from other parts of your life that need a lot of attention. So, set yourself a limit of time, and don't follow everyone. Just follow those who speak to your needs at this time. Be selective and don't succumb to information overload.  If there are days when you cannot get to Twitter or Google Reader, so be it.  Balance must become a priority as you endeavour to keep up with the tidal wave.

Well, I am going to be giving a conference presentation on 'PD in your PJ' s at a national Tech conference in South Africa next month - so this post has helped me summarise the value of my PLN. As I said....I LOVE MY PLN.

Use Animoto for creating short 30 second videos

Animoto is a FREE web tool that allows users to create 30 second videos that incorporate:

• images
• short video clips
• text
• music

Animoto can be found at http://animoto.com/. Users may provide all content or utilize images, videos, and music provided on the website. Completed videos may be viewed online or downloaded and viewed offline. 

Animoto for Education
Teachers may apply for a Free PLUS account that allows users to create videos up to 20 minutes in length. With an education account, teachers can monitor student work and limit access to the videos produced. After registering, teachers receive a code to share with up to 50 students. It took me about 30 minutes.The access code will expire after 6 months and you will need to request a new code within 30 days of expiration. The PLUS account is usually $60 per year for each non-education user. 

How to make an Animoto video

Love this - The Five Minute Lesson Plan from @TeacherToolkit

cc: http://chriswallace.net/category/blog/icons/

(This is a cross-post from  a post I wrote on the Schoolnet blog)
Twitter is definitely a teacher’s best friend! The ideas…and CREATIVE ideas at that… that come from one’s Twitter PLN are phenomenal. For example in a recent tweet I saw that Mark Anderson (@ICTevangelist) recommended #FF (which means ‘follow’) @ict_magic and @teachertoolkit. Now I know  the wonderful @ict_magic (Martin Burett) virtually and follow him,  but didn’t know @Teachertoolkit so I looked at his profile. It turned out to be Ross Morrison McGill, an assistant Head Teacher from the UK, who has developed the popular 5 minute lesson plan to help teachers with the Ofsted teaching assessments in the UK.

I really liked the sound of a five-minute lesson plan because... this sounds like the answer to a busy teacher's life - a great lesson plan in only five minutes!

What is the five minute lesson plan?
This 5 minute lesson plan has turned out to be hugely successful. Tes Resources advertise it like this “Now that Ofsted requires evidence of a ‘planned lesson’, you can reduce your lesson planning time and stay focussed on key learning phases within a lesson with this simple 5 Minute Lesson Plan resource.”

Here is a video explaining the five minute lesson plan from @TeacherToolkit (he presented it at a TeachMeet in the UK)


Hello everyone...

A closer look at the 5 minute lesson plan 

Take a look at @TeacherToolkit's website on the five minute lesson plan:
http://teachertoolkit.me/the-5-minute-lesson-plan/

This is how he explains the various parts of the five minute lesson plan:
The big picture : How does the lesson  fit into your scheme of work / topic? What knowledge are pupils coming to the lesson with already? What links have you made / can you make? Describe the lesson in 30 seconds!
Objectives : Your objectives for the current lesson. The arrow is just a visual reminder that your lesson is building on what’s gone before. I’d always try to incorporate at least 2 different leveled objectives – perhaps allowing students to choose their own.
Engagement : What’s the hook? How will you gain student attention at the start and throughout the lesson that is exciting and meaningful (without you working to hard!) that you’ll be using to lure pupils into learning? it’s not needed every lesson….but a good story often is enough!
Stickability’ : What will stick in pupils’ minds as they leave your lesson? What key point(s) do you want them to remember and bring back to the next lesson?
AfL (Assessment for Learning Strategies): How will you assess where your learners are at during the lesson, so as to know how to take them where you want to go? What AfL strategies are you going to use? What key questions will help you to lure pupils into learning? Plan for various (AfL) Assessment for Learning strategies to allow students to see progress. Use a Targeted-Question grid to help frame higher-order questions. Where possible, use the Pose Pause Pounce Bounce AfL strategy to stimulate discussion.
Key words : Literacy has never had such a high-profile as it has at the moment. Encourage students to read lesson objectives out. Pick out keywords and extrapolate their meanings. Use techniques to break down the phonics of each word and encourage visual recognition to reinforce. Plan what key-word you want students to learn. This promotes high levels of literacy which is an Ofsted focus. YOU COULD ALSO ADD NUMERACY TO THIS SECTION. Every lesson should involve some mathematical reference of link.
Differentiation / Groupings : Plan – at a glance – what activities you will provide for gifted and talented students; students with SEN/D and EAL. What sort of groupings are needed, what are they doing and when? Do you have this mapped to a seating plan with current levels of progress?
Learning episodes : What is going to happen in the lesson from start to finish? Identify as many opportunities for pupil-led learning as possible. The four boxes do NOT denote a four-part lesson. Just fill them up with what needs to happen.

Adaptations of this five minute lesson plan
Sparky Teaching has recreated this for elementary teachers and Ross gives the link on his website.

http://www.sparkyteaching.com/creative/the-5-minute-primary-lesson-plan/

How popular is the 5 minute lesson plan?
!37+ countries are using this lesson plan already.How do we know? Ross has created a Google map with pins. He asks folk to pin the whereabouts of their school if they are using this lesson plan and he gives a hyperlink to the Google map on his website.. So if you decide to use it let Ross know! 

The link to this map can be found here

Resources to take note of
1) Tes Resources has a link to this lesson plan 
Lesson plans for school teachers: 
2) The lesson plan as it stands on Tes (you'll need to join - free - first)
3) How to move your lessons from good to outstanding

My conclusion
I just love this idea. It all happened in a day’s tweeting. A teacher cannot afford to be without Twitter these days.