PLN Update

I would say more than any other project for this class, I spend most of my time working on my PLN. This is mostly because the 15 minutes I am supposed to spend on Twitter a day leads to 2-3 hours a day reading links to blogs, articles and videos. I have read about 1/3 of the links for this project. I have checked out sites such as Symbaloo, Delicious, Diigo, and Google reader for combining and storing my favorite websites and posts.

Image via Wikipedia

I am following over 100 educators on twitter. However, I know I will eventually unfollow a few even though they are good educators. I am adding more science and secondary educators since I want to teach high school science. There are exceptions to this funneling process though. Educators who talk about more than their specific discipline most of the time will remain on my PLN. Some of these who I already know I want to keep in my network are those like William Chamberlin, Bill Genereux, and Josh Stumpenhorst, to name just a few. I even hope to keep some of my classmates, who I have begun following.    

Image via CrunchBase

 I have found so many wonderful things clicking on the links posted on Twitter. There are so many applications and websites set up for teachers that I had no idea about. Of course I have subscribed to blogs that I find myself visiting 3 or more times because of the wonderful content found there. Every educator's blog I have encountered so far seems to be committed to honest but positive responses to their daily teaching experiences and those issues pertinent to all educators. My favorite feature by far on Twitter so far is hash tags! #scichat has changed my world! I know that is a little intense, but in my personal world, I am the only science person, and definitely the only science teacher. It is difficult to find ways to incorporate the cool, but not science friendly things my mainly English and Social Studies teacher friends have found. 

Image via CrunchBaseSymbaloo is one of the recommended sites under the PLN project list, and it is fun, colorful and organized. All great things, but I just have not found an easy or quick way to add my favorite sites. I am not overly excited about Delicious, but perhaps I just have not given it enough time yet. Diigo seems to be used quite a bit by educators on Twitter so far. I have only looked at it once or twice and plan on trying it out more. At this point, I mostly use Google reader and good old bookmarking.    

I am not sure honestly how I am doing on my PLN compared to where I am expected to be. I feel like I am doing okay on making connections and finding great resources. I feel like I am learning a lot from great educators, and I hope I can keep my network growing and going long after EDM310 is over.