Shift 3 aka Hashtags

I watched Olympus Has Fallen this weekend. I know what you are thinking…who has time to watch an entire movie? However the movie actually led to this installment of PLNs. During the movie Gerard Butler’s character had to enter a code into a security computer. (I don’t want to give the movie away so I am trying to be as vague as possible.) Here is how the conversation went:

Ray Monroe: Hashtag.
Mike Banning: What?
Ray Monroe: Hashtag.
Lynn Jacobs: Shift 3!

How interesting. Mike Banning, of the President’s Secret Service Detail, did not know what a hashtag was. What’s more interesting is that Ray Monroe is of a generation that called a hashtag (#) the pound symbol. Hmmmm…………………..oh well, let’s not dwell on the fact that that could be an entire post all its own.

While knowing what a hashtag is was important to national security in this movie (which is well worth your time on a Saturday evening), it is also important when navigating Twitter. A hash tag is a way for people to search for tweets (posts) that have a common topic or to begin/join a conversation. For example, if you search  #LOST (or #Lost or #lost, because it's not case-sensitive), you'll get a list of tweets related to the TV show. What you won't get are tweets that say "I lost my debit card yesterday" because "lost" isn't preceded by the hash tag.

You can find people to follow by searching for conversations by hashtags and then clicking on their name.  Or you can view the graphic below.

This picture is taken from the Twitter help link. Since they are the experts, I thought I would let them explain it.

To actually follow someone, click on the follow button. It really is that simple.

Some Feeds that I follow are:

21stCenturyTch

TeachThought

LeadAndLearn

robertmarzano

Learningfy

Scholastic

teainfo

feedtheteacher

brainpop

TxPrincipalOrg

I feel like I am leaving you hanging…….tomorrow starts 31 Days of Google. We will come back to Twitter. There is SO much more I have to share with you. But, this Blog Challenge is important too. Take a Twitter Tour over the next 31 days while I dive into Google. Then in November we will come back to PLNs and Twitter. I hope that is ok with all of you. See you tomorrow with a Google Load of information.

--- IT Girl

31 Day Challenge

Starts tomorrow!!!!!
I am joining The Nesting Place for 31 Days Writing Challenge. It is a win - win for all of us. I win because I will create a habit of writing everyday and hopefully you will learn something new everyday. What better way to encourage life long learning.

Day 1 Google 101
Day 2 And Pooh had his Little Black Rain Cloud
Day 3: Am I Repeating Myself?
Day 4: Docs, Sheets and Slides OH MY!!!
Day 5: Presenting...Google Presentation
Day 6: Sunday Funny
Day 7: To the Left
Day 8: Two Birds. One Stone
Day 9: Lessons Learned (so far)
Day 10: Share and Share Alike
Day 11: Forms...OH the Possibilities
Day 12: So Many Questions
Day 13: Sunday Funny
Day 14: Movie Time
Day 15: Is it Monday Again?
Day 16: Go Green with Google
Day 17: Comments the New Feedback
Day 18: This one is for the trees....
Day 19: Paperless Part 3
Day 20: Sunday Funny
Day 21: Ten Minus One
Day 22: Google a Day...Enough Said
Day 23: How Search Works - Google
Day 24: Google Like a Boss
Day 25: Happy Internet Safety Month!!!
Day 26: More Google
Day 27: Sunday Funny
Day 28: Google Forms Rubric
Day 29: Google Search 2.0
Day 30: The Penultimate Post
Day 31: Reflections

PLN Continued....

And now, we return to our regularly scheduled series, already in progress…. We had to take a little side trip to discuss the 1:1 initiative but we are back to discussing PLNs. For those of you just tuning in, we (I) have been talking about blogs as sources of Professional Development. Remember PLNs or Professional Learning Communities are no longer limited to geographic boundaries. We covered blogs and how to subscribe to blogs. Today we are going to talk about how to find blogs and introduce our new friend Twitter. J

Blogs. Where do we find them? Well, for those of you that are Pinterest addicts, no doubt you have stumbled across gems that are pinned from blogs. As you follow the pin to see its origin, you are rerouted to the blog itself. No doubt you have poked around other postings by that particular blogger. (I mean, if the one item was worth pinning there must be other hidden treasures for you to find and pin, thus sharing with the world.)

But, did you know that your favorite blogs can point you in the direction of other blogs that you may want to check out? Many bloggers post a Blog Roll on their blog. A Blog Roll is a list of blogs that that particular blogger reads or follows. You can click on those links to grow your PLN. Don’t forget all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy – well, we don’t want you to be dull so don’t forget to subscribe or read blogs that are about other things besides work.

Blog Roll

 

Now, let’s switch lanes on the PLN Super Highway – Twitter. What’s the fuss all about? Twitter is a social media sight similar to Facebook. The differences between Facebook and Twitter:

·        You don’t have friends on Twitter you have followers.

·        Posts (Tweets) are limited to 140 characters including spaces.

·        Topics are sortable using # (hashtags)

·        @ isn’t just for emails on Twitter

Twitter is short and to the point. 140 Characters don’t allow for a lot of fluff. Twitter is not a blog. Twitter is not email. Twitter is not Facebook. Twitter is about connecting with other educators and getting information that can actually help you grow as a teacher. Creating a Twitter account is easy and most importantly it’s free.  Here is a short (7 min.) video about getting started with Twitter as an Educator. J

http://youtu.be/QQv1PR2BKk8

---- IT GIRL

 

 

 

I am 99% sure that I am going to join the 31 Day Challenge for bloggers. This is an "unofficial" entry into the challenge. I am torn between two topics so I need your help in deciding. Please participate in my poll to help me focus my thoughts for the October Challenge. Thanks a million.

--- IT Girl

Kickoff!!

I am not a football fan so, the title of this week's post should get me an extra point. Maybe it could be considered a field goal?! Last week was the kickoff of the 1:1 Laptop Initiative at DRFS. It was a great week. I even got to teach Digital Citizenship to some of my former students. So, here is a recap of the week’s lesson.

Digital Citizenship is how we relate to others online. It is what we do with digital media. Digital media is electronic devices and media platforms such as computers, cell phones, video, the Internet, and video games that allow users to create, communicate, and interact with one another or with the device or application itself.

We discovered that we can be both digital consumers AND producers. We also learned that digital responsibilities belong to everyone.

The lesson ended with students writing a simile. One student went beyond the simile and wrote a brief response to the lesson.

               My digital life is like a river. It flows constantly because I move from one subject to the next. It could be games, videos, text messages or phone calls. But I believe that my digital life is controlled. It does not interfere with my real life. It has never interfered with school nor has it taken time away from my family. I control my digital life, I don’t let it control me.

---- Michael Nicholl

 

For more information and lessons about Digital Citizenship check out Common Sense Media.

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/scope-and-sequence

 

--- IT Girl

Sunday Funny

A Day in the Life

Day One!!! Today approximately 150 students at DRFS logged in to laptop computers and participated in an introductory lesson to Digital Media and Digital Citizenship. It was a great day!!!

Laughter Break

Laughter should be an important part of learning. Laughter reduces stress. Don't you learn better when you aren't stressed? In the spirit of learning here is a giggle for you. 

Subscribing 101

When we last left off we were discussing the vast amount of information that is available online anytime of the day or night. Let’s, for the sake of your time and the nerves of my editor, focus on only Professional Development information. Deal?

Let’s also start with some presuppositions:

1.       You are already interested in Professional Development, I mean why else would you be reading this particular blog.

2.       You already know how to evaluate information because you probably already spend a great deal of your “free” time looking for information to make you a better teacher or administrator.

3.       You probably already have a mailbox full of Professional Journals that you hope to get time to read because you genuinely want to learn all you can about new trends, techniques and legislation.

Sure, you spend time reading the occasional random blog because you came across it quite by accident or maybe you found it during a pinning frenzy on Pinterest and you like what you’ve read. In fact the next morning you are telling your grade level or department team what you read with great enthusiasm. They hang on your every word and ask with pen in hand what the name of the blog is because they must see what other treasures they can find. And then it hits you. You have no idea the name of the blog and you realize you will never find it again. EVER!!

Well, never fear there is a solution. Most blogs now provide a subscribe feature. Enter your email, select subscribe, confirm your email address and boom, new blog postings show up right in your email. You can either read the contents as you would any message or click on the link and read it online with all of the internet mystique and bells and whistles. (CAUTION: make sure you read several posts before you commit to a subscription. And yes, you can unsubscribe at any time.)

I just added a subscription option to my blog. (That’s right no more waiting on pins and needles and constant checking to see if I have posted.) When you subscribe you get new content in your email. No new content…no email.

 Simply enter your email address and click submit.

You will receive an email to confirm your subscription. Click on the link provided in the email.

Congratulations you have successfully subscribed to your first blog!!! (Unless you’re already a pro, then congratulations to me – I have a subscriber.)

 

---------  IT Girl

Stalking 101 aka LIfe Long Learning Part 2

Real authors don’t state their purpose for writing but I feel it is important to let my faithful followers know that I am not chasing my tail and I do have a purpose and a point to this particular series. (Real authors sometimes never know how long the series is going to be or how long it will take to tell the story.) So I guess I’m telling you, my reader, that the purpose of this series is to increase your Professional Learning Network. Followed with the thought that I have no idea how long the series will be. Does that make me not quite a real author?! But at least you now know the purpose should someone ask you to find and read it. J

Ok, let’s get down to business. The idea of a Professional or even Personal Learning Network or Community is not a new idea. It has been around for as long as you have if not longer. For example, your first learning network was your family. You learned the social graces and acceptable behaviors from a variety of interactions with your parents. You often learned what not to do from your siblings, cousins or friends. As you grew older and your “network or community” changed, you may have sought out the smartest kid in Chemistry to sit next to in case you needed some peer tutoring – yes, let’s call it peer tutoring.

 Think back to your first teaching assignment. Didn’t you pick out and latch on to someone who seemed to know the ropes. I know that I did. Her name was Mrs. Marines. The assignment was 4^th grade. I had heard about Mrs. Marines from teachers, parents and students. People could not wait to have students in her class. But why? What was it she did that others didn’t? How could I learn what she already knew? That was in the days before new teachers were assigned mentors. I went to the Principal’s office and asked about Mrs. Marines’ duty schedule. (I think I was beginning my career as a stalker at this point.) I then asked to be assigned to the same duty station. This allowed me thirty minutes a week to visit with her about what she did and how she did it. I asked questions and listened. Yes, sometimes I took a notepad and wrote down things she said.

My self-selected mentor assignments didn’t stop with Mrs. Marines. I talked to everyone. If you had great looking bulletin boards or your kids walked in a perfect line down the hallway or if you shared a revolutionary idea in a faculty meeting, you could bet I would darken your doorway looking for tips that would make me a better teacher: a teacher like you. (So thank you to everyone who answered my tedious questions about how you do what you do.)

Well, now that we have the Internet and unlimited access to just about any information source imaginable, you can learn from other great people anytime of the day or night. That’s right; your PLN is no longer limited to your school, neighborhood or zip code. Social Media sites and blogs can be a great source of information.  A bit of foreshadowing (yes, I know real authors don’t announce that either), next time we will learn about subscribing to blogs. J

To be continued………

- - - IT Girl

Sunday Funny

Life Long Learning - Part 1

I am sure you are all familiar with the term “lifelong learner”. But really, who has the time to learn new things? I mean to learn new things is to read a whole non-fiction book and write some kind of summary, or listening to a series of lectures on topics that will cure insomnia, right? Or is it something different. Maybe learning is finding out how to complete a task when you aren’t even sure what the task is. Maybe learning is watching a Myth Busters episode and finding out if a clean or dirty car gets better gas mileage. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKxEkT2H8pI ) Maybe learning is taking a painting class on Saturday with your girlfriends or taking lessons from a golf pro. HHHHHMMMMMM. Are we more apt to call ourselves lifelong learners if the learning objective is something we are genuinely interested in, like cooking, swimming, boxing, or motorcycle repair? Or are we only lifelong learners if we read textbooks and only learn about things that will improve mankind as a whole? Am I only a lifelong learner if I attend face to face professional development seminars or will blogs like Chalk Talk (http://larremoreteachertips.blogspot.com/ ) or Hello Literacy (http://helloliteracy.blogspot.com/ ) serve the purpose?

To be continued.........

 

-- IT Girl