Comments on: Baiting the Digital Hook to Build A Professional Learning Community! http://suewaters.com/2009/06/21/baiting-the-digital-hook-to-build-a-professional-learning-community/ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:08:20 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: Sue Waters http://suewaters.com/2009/06/21/baiting-the-digital-hook-to-build-a-professional-learning-community/comment-page-1/#comment-3047 Sue Waters Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:15:39 +0000 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/?p=1126#comment-3047 Hi Theresa, no problem re-sharing however this presentation was for an Australian event. The only events I did for NECC where in the NECC unplugged area and I was bad in terms of not attending any sessions at NECC. I was there to meet people so spent most the time talking to others and hanging out in the bloggers cafe however now plan to go through and read what I missed. Would you like me to share the links? Facebook is an interesting one in your situation. There are differing opinions regarding use with school students. I believe it is discouraged in some school districts? Hi Theresa, no problem re-sharing however this presentation was for an Australian event. The only events I did for NECC where in the NECC unplugged area and I was bad in terms of not attending any sessions at NECC. I was there to meet people so spent most the time talking to others and hanging out in the bloggers cafe however now plan to go through and read what I missed. Would you like me to share the links?

Facebook is an interesting one in your situation. There are differing opinions regarding use with school students. I believe it is discouraged in some school districts?

]]> By: treagan http://suewaters.com/2009/06/21/baiting-the-digital-hook-to-build-a-professional-learning-community/comment-page-1/#comment-3042 treagan Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:17:00 +0000 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/?p=1126#comment-3042 Sue, Many thanks for sharing your presentation for those of us who cannot be at NECC 09! You are the person who is responsible for nudging me into growing my PLN. I opened an edublog account in November '08, and since then I have 30 staff members with linked blogs, three wiki's, a twitter account, and have participated in 3 eluminate sessions. I have been energized by the connections I have made--and the support I receive via twitter in particular. It was interesting for me to read your evaluation of facebook use. I have a facebook account and several of my elementary students have "friended" me. They will say hello, ask about pictures that I have posted, etc. In addition, many of their parents are also on facebook. Because my facebook is a simply a more casual version of my professional self (nice and boring), the students and families see essentially the same side of me that they see at school. What is interesting is how many more of them will communicate with me via facebook rather than email, etc. Finally, your thought about letting go of everyone joining---this is so true. I have found it ironic that the people who have teased me most about my tech obsessions also ask me the most questions about how and why I do this! When they ask I tell, otherwise I happily connect with my PLN while they tease away! Thanks for all you do to energize my brain and grow me so I can grow others. Theresa Sue,
Many thanks for sharing your presentation for those of us who cannot be at NECC 09!

You are the person who is responsible for nudging me into growing my PLN. I opened an edublog account in November ‘08, and since then I have 30 staff members with linked blogs, three wiki’s, a twitter account, and have participated in 3 eluminate sessions.

I have been energized by the connections I have made–and the support I receive via twitter in particular.

It was interesting for me to read your evaluation of facebook use. I have a facebook account and several of my elementary students have “friended” me. They will say hello, ask about pictures that I have posted, etc. In addition, many of their parents are also on facebook. Because my facebook is a simply a more casual version of my professional self (nice and boring), the students and families see essentially the same side of me that they see at school. What is interesting is how many more of them will communicate with me via facebook rather than email, etc.

Finally, your thought about letting go of everyone joining—this is so true. I have found it ironic that the people who have teased me most about my tech obsessions also ask me the most questions about how and why I do this! When they ask I tell, otherwise I happily connect with my PLN while they tease away!

Thanks for all you do to energize my brain and grow me so I can grow others.

Theresa

]]> By: Sue Waters http://suewaters.com/2009/06/21/baiting-the-digital-hook-to-build-a-professional-learning-community/comment-page-1/#comment-3041 Sue Waters Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:04:06 +0000 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/?p=1126#comment-3041 Hi Nancy definitely so many of the tools when it comes to building your PLN are about time and patience. It won't happen instantly but eventually you will develop connections with others that then work together with you. Twitter is very important in Australia for developing connections with each other so it is good to hear also the case in Canada. Hi Nancy definitely so many of the tools when it comes to building your PLN are about time and patience. It won’t happen instantly but eventually you will develop connections with others that then work together with you.

Twitter is very important in Australia for developing connections with each other so it is good to hear also the case in Canada.

]]> By: Sue Waters http://suewaters.com/2009/06/21/baiting-the-digital-hook-to-build-a-professional-learning-community/comment-page-1/#comment-3040 Sue Waters Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:01:28 +0000 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/?p=1126#comment-3040 Hi Betty, that is amazing reading the difference between the three conferences. Is that because Northern Voices has a larger number of techy type people attend. Most the conferences I attend there are a small number of people using twitter so it can be a good way to get to know others. My friend at the latest conference monitored the hashtag for the conference and added any one to their account that was using that search term. Hi Betty, that is amazing reading the difference between the three conferences. Is that because Northern Voices has a larger number of techy type people attend.

Most the conferences I attend there are a small number of people using twitter so it can be a good way to get to know others. My friend at the latest conference monitored the hashtag for the conference and added any one to their account that was using that search term.

]]> By: Sue Waters http://suewaters.com/2009/06/21/baiting-the-digital-hook-to-build-a-professional-learning-community/comment-page-1/#comment-3039 Sue Waters Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:57:56 +0000 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/?p=1126#comment-3039 Hi Marnie, I'm interested to hear that you are using twitter. Can I ask who you are connecting with on twitter and how you find it? I also dropped past your blog. Your post on YouTube is really good. Before I leave a comment I was wanting to know how is your school able to restrict your viewing of YouTube from home? Hi Marnie, I’m interested to hear that you are using twitter. Can I ask who you are connecting with on twitter and how you find it?

I also dropped past your blog. Your post on YouTube is really good. Before I leave a comment I was wanting to know how is your school able to restrict your viewing of YouTube from home?

]]> By: Nancy Stuewe http://suewaters.com/2009/06/21/baiting-the-digital-hook-to-build-a-professional-learning-community/comment-page-1/#comment-3038 Nancy Stuewe Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:45:36 +0000 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/?p=1126#comment-3038 Thank you for this. This is exactly what I am trying to do. I have joined face book and it is fun to keep in touch with my kids and friends from high school but is not really helping me professionally. Haven't used Ning I'm from Canada. To my surprise however twiter is building a community a like minded people in ed tech (after I blog the weirdos). And yes I have to be patient there is not yet a group of diverse thinkers commenting on my blog. As you say I will give it time. Nancy Stuewe Thank you for this. This is exactly what I am trying to do. I have joined face book and it is fun to keep in touch with my kids and friends from high school but is not really helping me professionally. Haven’t used Ning I’m from Canada. To my surprise however twiter is building a community a like minded people in ed tech (after I blog the weirdos). And yes I have to be patient there is not yet a group of diverse thinkers commenting on my blog. As you say I will give it time.
Nancy Stuewe

]]> By: bgilgoff http://suewaters.com/2009/06/21/baiting-the-digital-hook-to-build-a-professional-learning-community/comment-page-1/#comment-3035 bgilgoff Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:39:19 +0000 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/?p=1126#comment-3035 A great post Sue. I like what you say about how PLN's with social networking can offer a chance to overcome the limits of face to face interaction. I think that is so true. I know that I have found that time constraints often keep me from thinking deeply and responding thoroughly in the ways that I want to in face to face interactions. Using social networking tools gives me a little more control over that. I can take time to read something more carefully, respond more thoroughly by writing, editing and rewriting, or research more deeply so that what I share things that are a bit more meaningful, and often with more people than the small number that I interact with face to face at any given time. It is true too though that each person needs to decide what will work for him/her and that it will be different for each of us. Recently I've participated in three different conferences where there has been a twitter back channel. At one, <a href="http://2009.northernvoice.ca/" rel="nofollow">Northern Voice </a> a conference on blogging, the twitter chat was almost a whole separate conference stream. I'd estimate more than half of the conference participants joined in. It became an amazing network. At the next conference, the <a href="http://www.learnnowbc.ca/educators/Conference/conference2009.aspx" rel="nofollow"> BC VSS </a> with probably over 400 attendees, only a handful of us were on Twitter. That was such a different experience but for me, interesting in that I really got to know that small handful of people extremely well over the three days. At the most recent conference, <a href="http://celc.sites.olt.ubc.ca/" rel="nofollow">CeLC2009 </a>there was again a larger group, so the experience was not as intimate as VSS but not as informative as Northern Voice. It definitely has huge potential though depending how it is used. At the most recent conference Sylvia Currie, Julia Hengstler and I prepared a presentation on <a href="http://shiftinglandscapes.pbworks.com/FrontPage" rel="nofollow">Shifting Landscapes of Professional Learning </a>. In the end just Sylvia and I presented a bit on our experiences to a mid-sized group but the discussion re pros and cons of using online tools was quite lively. A great post Sue. I like what you say about how PLN’s with social networking can offer a chance to overcome the limits of face to face interaction. I think that is so true. I know that I have found that time constraints often keep me from thinking deeply and responding thoroughly in the ways that I want to in face to face interactions. Using social networking tools gives me a little more control over that. I can take time to read something more carefully, respond more thoroughly by writing, editing and rewriting, or research more deeply so that what I share things that are a bit more meaningful, and often with more people than the small number that I interact with face to face at any given time.

It is true too though that each person needs to decide what will work for him/her and that it will be different for each of us. Recently I’ve participated in three different conferences where there has been a twitter back channel. At one, Northern Voice a conference on blogging, the twitter chat was almost a whole separate conference stream. I’d estimate more than half of the conference participants joined in. It became an amazing network. At the next conference, the BC VSS with probably over 400 attendees, only a handful of us were on Twitter. That was such a different experience but for me, interesting in that I really got to know that small handful of people extremely well over the three days. At the most recent conference, CeLC2009 there was again a larger group, so the experience was not as intimate as VSS but not as informative as Northern Voice. It definitely has huge potential though depending how it is used.

At the most recent conference Sylvia Currie, Julia Hengstler and I prepared a presentation on Shifting Landscapes of Professional Learning . In the end just Sylvia and I presented a bit on our experiences to a mid-sized group but the discussion re pros and cons of using online tools was quite lively.

]]> By: marnies604 http://suewaters.com/2009/06/21/baiting-the-digital-hook-to-build-a-professional-learning-community/comment-page-1/#comment-3033 marnies604 Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:47:32 +0000 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/?p=1126#comment-3033 My teacher used blogs with us, we have laptops in my class and the whole 6th and 7th grade will have laptops next year used in all classes. I have a personal Twitter but no Facebook or Ning. Marnie My teacher used blogs with us, we have laptops in my class and the whole 6th and 7th grade will have laptops next year used in all classes. I have a personal Twitter but no Facebook or Ning.

Marnie

]]> By: Sue Waters http://suewaters.com/2009/06/21/baiting-the-digital-hook-to-build-a-professional-learning-community/comment-page-1/#comment-3032 Sue Waters Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:14:01 +0000 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/?p=1126#comment-3032 The whole process of connecting online can be very confronting to many so it doesn't surprise me. But it was important to model it like you all did at the practicum. While it may not make sense to them now in a year or two it might. I was talking to one of my work colleagues the other day about Elluminate and he explained how the whole idea of using text in the chat window or being asked to speak really stressed him. For us this is now the norm but for the majority it isn't. In terms of purpose it often depends on where they are in their journey. You will have some people that will jump in and try anything without any need for a purpose. However most will need a very clear reason for using, and even then it can be a struggle. Just remember that we are asking them to change, and change takes time (not in weeks = years). Off topic - I went past your blog and noticed I had trouble getting it to load in FireFox. I'm on my MacBook so harder to check. Can I get you to try testing it in FireFox? I think that it may be a theme issue but hard to know -- perhaps Phil will confirm if he is also having a loading issue. Let me know if it is playing up and I'm happy to check it out for you. The whole process of connecting online can be very confronting to many so it doesn’t surprise me. But it was important to model it like you all did at the practicum. While it may not make sense to them now in a year or two it might.

I was talking to one of my work colleagues the other day about Elluminate and he explained how the whole idea of using text in the chat window or being asked to speak really stressed him. For us this is now the norm but for the majority it isn’t.

In terms of purpose it often depends on where they are in their journey. You will have some people that will jump in and try anything without any need for a purpose. However most will need a very clear reason for using, and even then it can be a struggle. Just remember that we are asking them to change, and change takes time (not in weeks = years).

Off topic – I went past your blog and noticed I had trouble getting it to load in FireFox. I’m on my MacBook so harder to check. Can I get you to try testing it in FireFox? I think that it may be a theme issue but hard to know — perhaps Phil will confirm if he is also having a loading issue. Let me know if it is playing up and I’m happy to check it out for you.

]]> By: Sue Waters http://suewaters.com/2009/06/21/baiting-the-digital-hook-to-build-a-professional-learning-community/comment-page-1/#comment-3031 Sue Waters Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:57:54 +0000 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/?p=1126#comment-3031 Thanks Phil, and in my rush to finish it I forgot to thank Jo for all her great work helping me out during the session. If I get time that will have to be a follow up post - but in the meantime can you tell her thanks from me? I'm pretty much the same as you with Facebook. I have it but only use it when other people contact me through it. Been really great with my students and for connecting with some people. Tweetdeck just isn't working for me. Tried it several times but still not right. Thanks Phil, and in my rush to finish it I forgot to thank Jo for all her great work helping me out during the session. If I get time that will have to be a follow up post – but in the meantime can you tell her thanks from me?

I’m pretty much the same as you with Facebook. I have it but only use it when other people contact me through it. Been really great with my students and for connecting with some people.

Tweetdeck just isn’t working for me. Tried it several times but still not right.

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