Article One:
Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock. Learning & Leading with Technology, 37(8), 12-15. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/February-2012.aspx
In the article "Join the Flock," the author discusses the steps it takes to establish yourself on twitter to create a Personal Learning Network or PLN. This begins with creating an account which involves creating a biography to let people know your interests and what you are looking for as well as a picture since the default one dehumanizes you. After this is done it is important to search out people with similar interests as yourself so that you can share knowledge with each other. It is important to then look at who they are following which can lead to even greater potential for your PLN. Once you find information that you find appealing you can send it on to the people that follow you to spread the information. Twitter can be used for both personal and professional purposes. It is best to create two separate accounts so information stays separated as well as establishing yourself for a certain goal.
Question 1: How can it be beneficial to create a PLN for teaching
The PLN can be very beneficial to a teacher. By creating an account and following people with similar subjects, teaching styles, and goals your potential as a teacher can only grow. Educators commonly post ideas they have or links to sites that provide information on a subject or newly designed lesson plan. This makes researching easier since a teacher is no longer alone to work through everything. Instead ideas are constantly being streamed and by asking members of your PLN for help the time spent can be drastically shortened. Also if your students create a twitter they can follow you. This allows you to post information that can supplement their learning experience when there are time restrictions in class.
Article Two
McClintock Miller, S. (2010). Enhance your twitter experience. Learning & Leading with Technology, 37(8), 14-17. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/February-2012.aspx
In the article "Enhance your Twitter Experince," the author discusses options a person can take to improve their use of twitter. The first and probably most important of these tools is a twitter organizer. She recommends tweetdeck because it is the simplest to use. This allows you to break up the flow of information coming to you into multiple categories. This cuts out the need to siphon through all the tweets and instead lets you go directly to the forums you are looking for. There is also booklets which are a type of forwarding tool that uses twitter. It generates a tweet for the listed people and links it straight to the information you want shared.
Question 2: How can the tools mentioned in the article benefit an educator?
By using an organizer it becomes much easier to separate incoming information. You can create a column for students, information gathering with other educators, and other miscellaneous uses. You can also create multiple column to further enhance your information gathering by breaking it down by subject. The booklet tools allow an easier and faster information sharing practice. If you find something you want your students to see you just simply use the tool to generate a tweet to all your students instead of emailing it or making physical copies.
