1. Building a
Personal Learning
Network

2. My Personal Favorites
Twitter - cmc413
• Following 187 people, most of whom are writing/posting about
Education Technology
• Was just an inactive follower until recently, when I began to Tweet
more and even to reply to other's Tweets
• Felt a sense of pride and accomplishment the first time one of my
"tweets" was retweeted!
• One of the most useful tools for connecting with people and staying
current on topics that impact my job

3. My Personal Favorites
Delicious - conmyc
o Have been using Delicious for several years now
o Use it in combination with Twitter. If I see an article that someone
posted on Twitter but I don't have time to sit and read it, I'll save
it to Delicious for when I do have time.
o I've been frustrated at some of the changes as the tool
transitioned through owners, but I am pleased with the direction
they are going
o Like the idea of "Stacks" as a way to organize and share

4. My Personal Favorites
Blogger - http://sjptech.blogspot.com/
o Have used Blogger in the past as part of the class that I teach,
but haven't written that much myself.
o Recently, it has become the primary tool for sharing with my
colleagues as part of our Technology Learning & Sharing Group
o I find it very challenging to put my thoughts together in a blog
post. I feel pressure to make it perfect and that prevents me from
allowing my thoughts to flow freely.

5. My Personal Favorites
Wikispaces-
http://sjpeducationtechnology.wikispaces.com/
o Created by me as a resource for teachers at St. Joe's Prep
o It can be challenging to keep it updated as there are so many
new tools, but I'm proud of what I have created thus far and will
continue to use it and add to it

6. Modeling for Teachers
"Technology Learning & Sharing"
• A professional development group formed by me and my colleague,
Sonia Nelson, the Librarian here at St. Joe's Prep.
• Twitter - sjptechsharing
o Introduced teachers in the group to Twitter as a tool for building
their own PLN as well as for communicating with their students.
o Use both my Twitter account (cmc413) and the group one to
share interesting articles with them
• Blogger - http://sjptech.blogspot.com/
o Used as a forum for the group to discuss topics relevant to
technology in our school
o All members of the group are contributing authors to the blog and
are encouraged to post, but are still somewhat shy. Sonia and I
try to model.
o Entire Prep faculty and staff have been invited to join our blog
conversation

7. Modeling for Students
"Digital Learning & Information Literacy"
• Semester class taught by me and school Librarian to a small group
of 9th grade students
• Goals for the class are for the students to:
o Create a positive online presence through the use of Twitter,
Blogger and Delicious
o Learn to search online using directories, search engines and
databases
o Identify and use new Web2.0 tools
o Demonstrate ethical use of information they find online
o Learn to evaluate information critically and efficiently
• Moodle is used as our primary communication tool
o Students each use Twitter and are graded on their participation,
much like we are in this class
o Students each chose a research topic and are blogging about it
o Students are also blogging about articles relating to different
ways technology/web2.0 has impacted our society

8. Other Tools I've Tried
NING -
• Used NING for my Digital Learning class...but then they started
charging :o(
• Do belong to NINGs as part of my PLN
o Classroom2.0 - http://www.classroom20.com/
o ADVIS - Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools
 http://advisvlc.ning.com/
Pinterest -
• Began using it as a personal tool and find it useful, but I'm not
seeing its usefulness yet as an educational tool.
Tumblr -
• We had our students use Tumblr as their blogging forum last
semester, but switched back to Blogger

9. Using Moodle for Online Learning
• Moodle is used here at St. Joe's Prep by many teachers as
a vehicle for posting class information
• It is very useful for adult online learning experiences, such
as this class
• My Digital Learning class is structured in such a way that
students are given the goals and expectations via Moodle
and they work at their own pace. We do meet regularly
though.
o My co-teacher and I are finding that they are very
unaccustomed to this and need constant guidance on
managing their time
• Online learning is effective for adult learners, but I don't
believe it would be very challenging for most young learners.
Any student in an online class must be self-motivated and
highly organized.