Demetri Orlando's Blog (67)

This post grew out of an NAIS presentation on the topic of Making the Most of Personal Learning Networks. I explain the WHAT, WHY, and HOW of "PLNs", and then share a few thoughts on making the most of your PLN.



What is a PLN?

A PLN is an informal network of people [and web sites] you choose to connect to for the purpose of sharing ideas, and…

We had a very interesting speaker last week on the topic of executive function of students. (Sarah Ward of Cognitive Connections.) She made great points about the importance of this frontal lobe skill for success in school. She described executive function as that little voice in your head that constantly analyzes…

Recently I've wanted to clearly and simply articulate why I think all teachers should have a web presence. I agree with Steve Tafee, that in a few years this debate will seem vacuous, but at this moment, I want an articulate justification. In particular, I've wanted to address the concerns of "late adopters" who…

At the NBOA Strategic Leadership Forum we discussed successes and failures when innovating with new technologies. What can we add to this list?

Successes

• When scaling up an innovation, start with goals in mind & with proof of concept
  • What's broken, in need of improvement, or untapped?
  • e.g. What will iPad do for your students?
  • Establish measurable goals
  • demonstrating proof of concept with pilot…

Sitting here this Sunday morning conducting a research & assessment project I'm struck by the non-linear nature of my process, enabled by the world wide web. As I read documents and consider what questions are useful to ask in a self-study process, I'm jumping from one online resource to another, tracking my thoughts in a spreadsheet [google of course], and updating my various "thought-sites" as I go (twitter,…

Given the cost and energy in going to a conference, I believe it's important to have some kind of formal process of reflecting upon the learning that was experienced and so here are my "take-aways" from the 2011 NAIS conference in National Harbor, Maryland:

1) We've all got to do more for our public educational system. Geoffrey Canada's closing keynote was an emotional call to action to do more for the most disadvantaged parts of our public school systems. Mr. Canada works…

A December 2010 NYT article by Sam Grobart inspires this post. The first five items are directly from his list (edited with my comments); the second five are my additions. I like this blunt advice for those not breathing from the technosphere on a daily basis. What would you add?

1. Get a "smart-phone." Having the power of a personal computer in your pocket means that you…

This post was inspired by Kevin McAllister's blog entry, "Nine Jobs." It got me thinking about the various roles which the tech department fills, and how I've seen these roles staffed at various schools.  I've added a few items to his list and re-arranged them. What else would you add or say about this?

What's on your Top 10 list of free web-powered software for communicating, playing, and learning online? Here are a few of my favorites. The last four are new to me in 2010.

1. Google Apps for Education (in a class by itself): gmail, docs, calendar, blog, video chat, maps, earth, picassa, sketchup, groups, & more, all free for educators and accessed from one…

1. Teams need a "home page" -- someplace they can rely upon to house all relevant links to tools and resources the team will be using. A ning group creates a nice home page, since it includes head-shots of participants, messaging, and discussion boards.

 

2. For larger teams, an email list-serve is essential. Smaller teams don't need the formality of a list-serv, but do need to ensure…

Social network software is a potentially powerful tool for professional development, adoption of so-called 21st century skills, and the development of personal learning networks. I use the term eduSocial Media (eSM) to distinguish it from entertainment-oriented "social media." Key tools of eSM include list-servs, twitter, nings, blogs, wikis, google docs, diigo, skype, etc. The ideas below were generated as I re-read the last…