As an undergraduate student, I was
reluctant to interact with other educational professionals using digital tools.
I went to school, did what was asked by my professors, and went home to
complete my assignments – striving to be independent and creating my own ideas
and resources. I did not realize the plethora of resources available from
interacting with other professionals, both face to face and via digital resources.
However, as I began my first year of teaching, I realized the importance of
connecting with others, relying on the experience, knowledge, and resources
available to me at the click of a mouse. I
Upon this realization, I began to utilize digital tools to facilitate my learning. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Blogger are a few digital tools that are utilized in facilitating learning regarding educational practices. Not only do social networking websites like Facebook assist me in making my own connections, it is a great way to convey to students how to "connect" with others to increase opportunities to learn. My digital learning network has become a significant means of discovering new teaching ideas to incorporate into my instructional practices. Twitter provides me with access to others knowledgeable in the area of educational technology – people and resources I may have otherwise never encountered. Discussion boards, educational blogs, and wikis are abundant and I am able to follow key interests for me. Thanks to technology and digital learning, I have created a major network of connections to improve my abilities as an educator in the digital age.
Despite my constant activity on the
internet, researching and completing tasks for my educational endeavors, I have
not established any direct relationships with the other participants in my
learning network. Utilizing tools like Skype, Google Docs, and search engines
are great means of discovering answers to questions I may have. Becoming proficient in the use of these digital tools decreases my reluctance of using these resources in my own classroom instruction. Furthermore, demonstrating the possibilities of using technology to efficiently locate knowledge is key to engaging the digital learners I am now teaching. The
contacts/educational professionals I have interacted with during my graduate studies are also very resourceful. Learning
new knowledge, instructional implications, and teaching strategies are
available without leaving the comfort of my couch. Who could complain about
this?
