Hi, My Name is Christy and I’ve Participated in a PLN for 8 Months

Information Junkie

Many bloggers post about the joy of reading other blogs, and jumping from link to link…practically swimming in new ideas and information.  (Will Richardson describes it as a dance, and Steve Dembo reminds us to Link it Up!)  To be honest, I often feel what I like to call RSS two-way guilt  (I may or may not be the first person to use that term, but I’m surely not the first person to feel it.)  When my Reader has 100+ posts, I feel guilty that I’ve neglected my ever generous, always stimulating PLN.  After 2+ hours catching up, I feel guilty when my non-educator husband calls from the living room, “Are you still blogging?”  (He doesn’t differentiate between PLN activities..everything is “blogging” to him, mostly to yank my chain. I can’t imagine what you folks with kids do.)  Would some basic time management help?  Of course, but there are only so many hours in the day.  I have Twitter, Nings, wikis, and emails to stay on top of!  Did I mention I’m also a full-time technology AND gifted/talented teacher?   But, alas, I cannot stop…

Believe Me, I’m Not Complaining!

Discovering this “new world” of information 8 months ago is the BEST professional thing that could have happened to me.  (I have Lisa Thumann to thank for a great Web 2.0 workshop at Rutgers University.)  I was lucky enough to attend the Google Teacher Academy in NYC this past November. (Here is my application video) I met amazing people who have the same (and different)goals and ideas as I do.   I’ve encouraged my district administrators to continually add “Web 2.0″, for lack of a better term, to each technology meeting agenda.   Today, I pitched the idea of using Google Apps. for Educators with our teachers and students.  I made this simple presentation, and it sparked a forward-moving conversation.

Go Team!

My Free Master’s Program

I completed my Master’s degree in Educational Technology in 2005.  I’m very proud of that degree, but feel…well…sad, when I think about the hours I spent in musty campus computer labs creating projects that proved my knowledge of Flash (a car driving across the screen) or my superb PowerPoint abilities (creating a Jeopardy game).  In three years, I have never felt the need to recreate either of those activities.  Participating in my PLN, even if my activity is limited at times, is a free, incredibly engaging opportunity to stretch and grow.  I feel the ups and downs that all life-long learners feel:  discomfort and hesitation with the new material leading to confidence and pride with the things I’ve mastered.  I feel like the student from the YouTube video Networked Student by Wendy Dexler.   The last bit of the video describes the role of a teacher as someone who guides, supports and encourages rather than acts as the “sage on the stage”.  Somewhat ironically, I think it reinforces the need for f2f learning environments as well.  I’m very interested in learning and sharing with my peers in my PLN, but nothing beats seeing the excitement on a fellow educator’s face when they say, “My students LOVED this… it was so cool.”