Tool #2

1. What are your thoughts about building an online education community and participating in a PLN?
I think that that building an online education community is a great way for students and teachers to participate in technology and to communicate with others. It is also a way of keeping up with current events worldwide. By participating in a PLN, I will gain insight and ideas from others. I will also be able to share working and successful activities in my classroom. I truly believe that "two heads are better than one"....learning from others can be a great resource!

2. What point stood out to you from the commenting advice?
By commenting, you show authors that you admire and appreciate their work. "Children have a need to converse and will improve their performance when people comment on their work." I have witnessed this many times in my classroom, students enjoy sharing their work with others and will become more comfortable at doing so when their peers and teacher admire them with compliments.

3. What five blogs did you select for your comments?

• Thornwood Music - commented on students reflcting by journaling...reinforces the importance of active participation
• One "Apple" Daily - commented on using the blog to post science experiment procedures
• SuperThorn3 - commented on creating wordle using content vocabulary
• Young World Tech - commented on using the word cloud to create word wall words in all content areas
• Jello's 11 Tools - commented that trying and using new ideas is like any "new found diet or working strategy", it's about sticking to it and seeing the results