Confessions of a Technoconstructivist

Technoconstructivist--using technology to completely change approaches to teaching and learning in the classroom

I believe that I am in the "technoconstructivist" group or at least mostly in the group. I try to be "up" on technology resources and use them in my classroom. But I have a confession to make....

I have been a Twitter user in name only. Today I learned that I could be called a "lurker". Honestly, I have not been sold on Twitter. It was intimidating to me. There are certain ways to post with hashes and @ and RT, etc.

Following my presentation yesterday in which I posted my twitter handle, I added about 15 or so followers. Adding those followers made me feel responsible to be more productive with it....like at least use it :)

I had become brave enough to connect my TLC (Teacher Learning Center) activity to my Twitter account, so that I was posting something. However, I felt the need to learn what it meant to be a Tweeter (even now I am not sure if that is the right term or not).

So today, I made use of my SimpleK12 unconference webinars and found Twitter 101 and Harness the Power of Twitter without Being Overwhelmed. From those webinars, I found a cool site HootSuite. This is a web version that would be similar to TweetDeck. I really like this view of Twitter happenings. I even had some conversations with others and made a couple tweets! Ha! I think that I could catch on to this thing after all.

I still have my hangups that I am sure will fade with time and use. I still am unsure of what I would call the etiquette of Twitter. However, maybe I worry to much. I don't think that I will be kicked off for trying! I do see it as a great way to connect with other educators around the world! It is a great way to increase my personal learning network! And it is fun to see who you can follow and who will decide to follow you (which is a good thing).

So, if you are on twitter look for educatememrsn I just might be twittering about.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ups and Downs

Image
Well on the "down" side of things, I did not get selected for the Google Teacher's Academy. Fifty teachers were chosen from all over....it would have been quite something to have been one of them. I guess there is always next time! On the "up" side, I submitted to be a presenter for SimpleK12.com and was chosen! I will be presenting my very first webinar on Wednesday July 20th at 10:00 a.m. entitled "Wixify Your WebQuest". I am equally excited and terrified to do this presentation. Fortunately it is only a 30 minutes presentation, for this first adventure. If it goes well, this might open the door for more opportunities. I have attached a screen shot of the advertisement for it below: I really like this website and the Teacher Learning Community that you can (for a price) become a member of. Even without membership there are opportunities for free webinars (such as the ones on the 20th) and other free resources. So there it is the ups and downs of
Read more

EvaluatingTechnology

Image
I have had on my mind that I would like to find out what there is for evaluating technology. Websites I know that there are good evaluations tools for websites. One of my favorites to use with my college students is the C.R.A.P. test. The acronym is fun and gets there attention. It is also fun to see how they turn it in to me! I have had some say "here is your crap" :)....that is the one and only time that I allow this type of talk :) But it also covers the basics of evaluating websites: Currency, Reliability, Authority, Purpose/Point of View. One example is linked here . Kathy Schrock has her "Guide to Everything"  and included in some of her resources you can find lots of different evaluation tools. See here . iPad Apps I have also begun to see some efforts for evaluating iPad Apps. Here is a great time that enlists the help of other educators in reviewing apps. Also again our friend Kathy has a great resource that even organizes them with Blooms Taxonomy.
Read more

idi0t?

Image
This is a story about a girl and a shirt.... Once upon a time (July 2012), a young princess (technology princess?) went outside the comforts of her castle (home) and set out for an adventure in a far way land (California). During this adventure (ISTE Conference), in the far way land, she met many merchants (vendors) giving samples of their wares (free stuff). Not accustomed to such giving, she accepted excitedly. She gathered blouses (t-shirts), musical instruments (noisy squeaker things), quills (pencils/pens) and even a rare animal (frog toy). Oh, how she relished her new found treasures (piled them on her suitcase). Then at the end of a very long day of lessons (conference sessions), a few of her new acquaintances ask  for the gift of her presence at (everyone decided to go to) the beach. Oh, how the princess had longed for seeing this beach! For you see, there are not any beaches near the castle (Kansas). A quick carriage ride (8 block walk or more) back to the guest ac
Read more