GEN 2243 Blog: Lauren Ryan

            Chapter four titled, Building a Collaborative Culture in the book, The Connected Educator, starts off by discussing the importance of collaboration. Think to yourself, what was a moment in time where I collaborated with a peer or peers, and did the collaboration help you meet your end goal of what you were all working towards? Collaboration can be so useful, especially in the field of education. To collaborate with others, you must be willing to center "the focus on culture and the importance of shared ideals." ( Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p. 58). This means making compromises to something you would do personally to ensure that there is teamwork and acceptance among all members.      The chapter then discusses putting relationships first. In this subtitle, we learn that relationships matter. This part of the chapter emphasizes the fact that relationships need to be nurtured and maintained to be successful. Relationships in your...

  The Web 2.0 Tool that I decided to present for Smackdown #2 is Edpuzzle. I have used Edpuzzle in the past and it is an amazing resource to use as an educator. This tool can be used for all age ranges and is very user-friendly. I have already done a few lessons using Edpuzzle and it is definitely a resource I plan on using in the future. It is an easy way to share and collaborate with coworkers and easy to assign to students. I love this tool because it holds students accountable by teachers being able to insert questions throughout the video lesson to ensure students are paying attention. This requires them to focus. Edpuzzle can be assigned as homework at home or even done as a group activity in class. Edpuzzle allows students to be very engaged while allowing teachers to gain data simultaneously. I just love how educational resources are so easily accessible and shared on the web like youtube and within your small school community. If you are thinking about becoming a teacher, ...

            Now that I know how to create and integrate myself within a connected learning community or network, I can learn about the appropriate tools to help me with my connected learning. In chapter 5 of The Connected Educator, I was able to learn about many valuable tools that can help me in the future regarding these networks and communities within my career.       The chapter first goes over some tools that can help you keep track of what resources you have found online. These tools aim to ensure that you are "keeping track of what you've found on the web." ( Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p. 74). These tools are social bookmarking, a website called Delicious (to bookmark and tag websites), and a website called Diigo (another online tool that tags websites with more enhanced features like "My Library, My Network, and My Groups").        Then the chapter goes on to discuss the tools for connecting and collab...

Summary      Chapter 6 in the book, The Connected Educator by Nussbaum-Beach and Ritter-Hall, is about "Building Your Connected Learning Community."       The chapter starts off by discussing how to start your personal learning network. Growing a personal learning network "takes time, and perseverance." ( Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p. 93). You will always learn as you go. This is just a way to fit in goals and experiences to continue to grow your learning. through this, you should be able to filter through connections. To start your network, it is suggested in the book that you borrow from bloggers. This means to start "considering well-respected bloggers with whom you are familiar." ( Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p.93). This will help new people be included in your network with different perspectives and diverse backgrounds. Many other tips are included when starting your personal network, like using Twitter lists to match interests, doing web background ch...

     The app or website that I chose for this Smackdown Project is Class Dojo. The reason for why I chose this platform is because I would like to become a teacher in the future and it really would be a helpful tool to use in and out of the classroom. In this video, you will see that I go over what skills that a teacher needs to be effective and successful.  Class Dojo is able to easily allow teachers to access those skills to be successful. I will also go over the what Class Dojo is, its features, and how the platform works.      Class Dojo is an amazing tool to use in a classroom setting for many reasons. Students are able to work on behavior and academics through a point system. Teachers are able to also create incentive with the point system for students. Class Dojo also allows for communication between teachers and paents and collaboration between colleagues. Class Dojo is a fun and engaging way for students to try their best at school. Class...