* Introduce yourself

Task Discussion

• 
  Sam   Aug. 10, 2012, 6:05 p.m.

  Hi All,

  My name is Sam Johnston. I am an educator in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I am an administrator, and I'm interested in integrating technology to enhance learning (for students and teachers). My goal for this summer has been to explore the resources available for developing my online PLC. I have taken the plunge with Twitter (@2sjohnston) going from longtime lurker/listener to active participant, and I am blown away by the level of discussion and the resources that are available by so many talented individuals. CE12 couldn't have come at a more opportune time. 

• 
  karen   Aug. 19, 2012, 7:09 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Sam   Aug. 10, 2012, 6:05 p.m.

  A belated welcome. We're glad you're here and are "connecting" with us. Moving from lurker to active participant is not always easy, but it is worth it!

• 
  Melissa Seifman   Aug. 10, 2012, 10:52 a.m.

  Hi everyone!

   

  I'm a vocational instructor that teaches programming and mobile applications to high school juniors and seniors in a scholarship eligible program. I also enjoy being a mentor to high school and college students at the AF Research Lab's Discovery center during the summer.  I'm a nerd.  I love finding new tools and innovative ways to catch my students' attention.  It's one of the reasons I'm heavily involved in OpenSim usage for education.  I am looking forward to meeting new connections and learning/sharing what I can

• 
  Tellio   Aug. 10, 2012, 11:43 a.m.
  In Reply To:   Melissa Seifman   Aug. 10, 2012, 10:52 a.m.

  I bet I learn more from you than you learn from me ;-) I want to add sims/badges to my composition and lit classes and would appreciate any resources you might have for me. On Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 9:53 AM, mseifman <
• 
  fboss   Aug. 8, 2012, 7:32 a.m.

  Hi All,

  I taught Art for 18 years in a post primary school in Dundalk, Ireland and now work in teacher Continuing Professional Development with the NCTE (www.ncte.ie - now itself a part of the Professional Development Service for Teachers in Ireland = www.pdst.ie )

  I also moderate the Irish online chat for educators called #edchatie on Twitter. It runs on Monday nights, 8.30-9.30pm (Irish time). If you're interested, please drop in and take part. The next one is the first of the school year and will take place on the 27th August.

• 
  Tellio   Aug. 10, 2012, 6:17 a.m.
  In Reply To:   fboss   Aug. 8, 2012, 7:32 a.m.

  Look forward to connecting with you there.  I really like 'edge' folk as John Seely Brown speaks of in his book The Power of Pull.  Here is Brown's partner in crime John Hagel in an interview that I have saved to Vialogues.  (If you haven't tried Vialogues, you should.  Pretty good way to connect asynchronously through a shared video.)  Hope to see you there and anyone else who wants to try out a tool very much on the edge yet moving toward the core all the time.

  The Video is about an hour.  Definitely watch the first 10-15 minutes as he outlines the book.  Maybe we could use this to crowdsource a viewer's guide to this provocative work. 

• 
  Tellio   Aug. 8, 2012, 6:26 a.m.

  Oops, I skipped the intro and jumped straight in so I am backtracking.  If you will forgive me,I am going to repurpose an introduction I have used before from Google Stories.  I teach at risk students at Western Kentucky University (comp and lit), I work with the WKU Writing Project as tech liaison, my wife and I raise sheep in the cave and karst country near Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.  Here's the 30-second version.

  http://youtu.be/Ro2TLpEnk9k

   

  If you want to have fun with this cool Google video tool, go here and go nuts.

• 
  wwbosworth   Aug. 6, 2012, 10:23 a.m.

  Hi I'm Wendy,
  I'm a sixth-grade teacher in Encinitas, California.  As a teacher-learner, teaching has become both my profession and hobby.  Since I have had an iPad ratio of 1:1 in my classroom this year, I have become even more addicted to developing best teaching practices in digital writing.  Mostly, I have come to realize that in today's plugged-in classrooms the teacher facilitates as opposed to dictates the learning.  It's all such an exciting adventure!

  You can find me writing at bosworthsblog.blogspot.com
  or at https://twitter.com/wwbosworth

• 
  Paula Naugle   Aug. 5, 2012, 5:30 p.m.

  Hello Connected Educaotrs,

  I am glad to be here and getting to know the people in the group. I have been an online connected educator since 2009. I began with Nings and then moved on to Twitter, Facebook, Edmodo, and others. My teaching has been truly trahsformed because of the things I learn from my PLN members on a daily basis.

  I will contiunue to work trielessly in my building to help other teachers learn how powerful these connections can be. My hope for this month is to get several of the teachers at my school connected and starting to grow their PLN. 

  Fourth grade is where I do much of my learning, right alongside my 9 and 10 year old students. They see how I crave new learning experiences everyday. Hopefully, they will look back on me as a teacher who helped them discover their love of learning. 

• 
  Denise   Aug. 5, 2012, 8:42 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Paula Naugle   Aug. 5, 2012, 5:30 p.m.

  I love this, Paula! You are a leader for people like me who started later! Thanks!

• 
  Verena Roberts   Aug. 4, 2012, 6:44 p.m.

  Hello! I am Verena Roberts- Twitter @verenanz and I am a eLearning Consultant and the CEO with www.GlobalEd.ca.

  My biggest passion this summer was being the "Lead Detective" for #DigiFoot12 http://digifoot12.wikispaces.com/home

  It is a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) like course designed to offer anyone in k-12 an opportunity to learn more about digital footprints using social media. I have learned so much from facilitating and learning with my fellow #digifoot12 detectives!

  I see some of my fellow "detectives" have already joined this course! Hello!

  I'm loking forward to a great month of Connected Learning...I am also taking PLP's Connected Bookclub: http://connectededucators.org/cem/book-club/

  Looking forward to trying to focus and learn....

  Verena :)

   

• 
  karen   Aug. 6, 2012, 4:08 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Verena Roberts   Aug. 4, 2012, 6:44 p.m.

  Great to see you here, Verena!

• 
  rnehila   Aug. 4, 2012, 4:13 p.m.

  Hello!

  I am Robin and I teach 7/8 math in a small charter school in NJ. Since I am the only 7/8 math teacher in my school, I LOVE being connected to Twitter, blogs, online communities so I can learn and share from/with  other teachers.  I am also a 2nd career teacher, my first career being pretty much a stay at home mom!

  I look forward to learning more this month and meeting new people!

   

  ~Robin

  @Radical_Robin

  fliplearnshare.blogspot.com

• 
  Valerie Burton   Aug. 2, 2012, 9:34 p.m.

  http://youtu.be/LyvNF-Aw024

  I am @MsBisOnline (Ms. B. is Online) and I have a transparent life and classroom.  I tweet, post, Google hangout and blog regularly with my PLN and with my students. 

  Technology has made the world that was once vast and mysterious a place where students and educators can connect and collaborate regularly.

• 
  karen   Aug. 3, 2012, 6:51 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Valerie Burton   Aug. 2, 2012, 9:34 p.m.

  Great to see you hear, Valerie. I really enjoyed talking with you a bit the other night. Another star in my PLN galaxy!

  Love the video!

• 
  Valerie Burton   Aug. 3, 2012, 8:15 p.m.
  In Reply To:   karen   Aug. 3, 2012, 6:51 p.m.

  Thanks. Making the videos is one of my weaknesses.  Funny how small the world can be when we use technology to connect with one another.  We meet each other in lots of different places. 

• 
  Verena Roberts   Aug. 5, 2012, 2:34 a.m.
  In Reply To:   Valerie Burton   Aug. 2, 2012, 9:34 p.m.

  Valerie- I wil be starting a new position this fall and although I am "tech savvy" your video demonstrates that you have some skills- I really need to learn....Maybe we could chat sometime?

  Verena :)

• 
  Paula Naugle   Aug. 5, 2012, 5:32 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Valerie Burton   Aug. 2, 2012, 9:34 p.m.

  Hi Valerie, 

  It is great to see you here. Go JPPSS educators. We ROCK! Thanks for sharing your wonderful video, Hope the beginning of your new school year is a great one. 

• 
  apemak   Aug. 1, 2012, 7:54 p.m.

  Hello all,

  First of all, I do not have any pictures of myself on this computer so you will have to settle for Spock for now.

  I am a Technology Teacher for grades K-12 at a private school that serves approximately 250 students. 

  I enjoy searching and looking at my feeds for different ideas to use in my lab.  I am fortunate and also overwhelmed at times that I get to create my own curriculum so I can choose just about anything that I think the students will benefit from.

  In the lab we have used: Scratch, Logo, Gamestar Mechanic, kidblog, wikispaces, a lot of open source software: like tux paint and typing, gimp etc. There are many other resources that we have used but this is just off the top of my head now.

  I am really looking forward to seeing how other educators use technology!

  ~April

• 
  karen   Aug. 2, 2012, 2:54 p.m.
  In Reply To:   apemak   Aug. 1, 2012, 7:54 p.m.

  The image of Spock is a strong one! (You'll forever be associated with it in my mind. :)

  I love the tools you have mentioned here like Scratch and Gamestart Mechanic, as well as open source tools. Are you actively involved in the Scratch online community? Has it helped you? I'm just about to jump in...just trying to decide whether to wait until the madness of August is over or not.

• 
  apemak   Aug. 2, 2012, 4:14 p.m.
  In Reply To:   karen   Aug. 2, 2012, 2:54 p.m.

  We have an account were the students upload their games to the Scratch community.  You can check out some of the programs that students have made here.  They really enjoy seeing their projects online.

  I am not an active member but one of my favorite resources for planning is ScratchED.  There are so many resources on there.  I have found a greate unit plan on their that I use (and modify).  

  I have used (and really like) Simon Haughton's Blog for ideas other than scratch, but recently he has posted some Scratch lessons on their that I haven't had a chance to look at yet. 

  I hope you do get a chance to jump in...but I understand "August".

• 
  karen   July 31, 2012, 8:44 p.m.

  Hi, I'm Karen.

  I work with K-12 schools on curriculum, technology integration, and open resources. I'm also the organizer for the P2PU School of Ed and am very interested in NEW models for personalized learning for teachers. That's part of what's exciting to me about Connected Educator month.

  The extraordinary Kevin Hodgson (@dogtrax) inspired me with this great post, so I did a version for myself.

  (If you click through to Flickr for this, I've hyperlinked various parts of the image to the places mentioned and/or my profile there).

  

  After I made this diagram, I felt really gratified and happy about all my connections with various communitiies. Special shout-outs to P2PU, the National Writing Project, and DS106 for making my life so rich this year!

• 
  Denise   July 31, 2012, 8:58 p.m.
  In Reply To:   karen   July 31, 2012, 8:44 p.m.

  Karen, 

  I love your "connected me" graphic! I'm going to be inspired by Kevin and you both and try something like this! Very nice.

  Denise

• 
  Paul Oh   July 31, 2012, 9:04 p.m.
  In Reply To:   karen   July 31, 2012, 8:44 p.m.

  The Karen head on top of the stick figure is my favorite part of the diagram.

  And, yes, Kevin is extraordinary!

• 
  apemak   Aug. 1, 2012, 7:57 p.m.
  In Reply To:   karen   July 31, 2012, 8:44 p.m.

  I do like your graphic organizer!  I had my students make one similar to see where they go online, it was amazing to see there were some that couldn't put anything down and others that did not have enough space. 

• 
  Denise   July 30, 2012, 5:08 p.m.

  I'm Denise from Iowa, teaching in a small rural Catholic school. Being the only junior high teacher in my school, I love being connected to teachers like Sheri Edwards, who also teaches middle school language arts. 

  I love blogging, growing in my understanding and use of technology for enhancing student learning, and connecting with colleagues around the world.

  I'm excited to extend the conversation by participating in P2PU and other online communities. Thanks for this group.

  Denise Krebs

  @mrsdkrebs

• 
  algotruneman   July 30, 2012, 6:11 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Denise   July 30, 2012, 5:08 p.m.

  Denise,

  As the school's only junior high teacher, do you handle all of the subjects for students in grades 7 and 8?

  Wow! Sounds a little like my wife's first-year experience teaching in a rural school in Maine. 42 students in both grades 1 and 2.

  --Algot

• 
  Denise   July 30, 2012, 7:28 p.m.
  In Reply To:   algotruneman   July 30, 2012, 6:11 p.m.

  Thanks for asking, Algot. I should have clarified. The other teachers in my building are high school teachers who teach some of the junior highers. I teach both grades social studies and language arts and one science class. They go to high school classes for the rest. 

  That's why I like connecting with other teachers who are passionate about middle school education.

• 
  Penny Bentley   Aug. 4, 2012, 7:49 a.m.
  In Reply To:   Denise   July 30, 2012, 5:08 p.m.

  Hi Denise, great to bump into you here :) I' m really looking forward to all of the learning and sharing this month.

• 
  Denise   Aug. 5, 2012, 1:42 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Penny Bentley   Aug. 4, 2012, 7:49 a.m.

  Yes, thank you, Penny! You too. I am really extending my connections this month! :)

• 
  Sheri Edwards   July 30, 2012, 11:32 a.m.

  Greetings,

  I am a middle school language arts teacher in a very rural puplic school in Northcentral Washington State. Connections are important to bring the world into the classroom, worlds that my students may not experience.

  We've been to Tennessee and Anarctica via Skype; Tennesse to share cultures and Antarctica to learn science.

  We've blogged with students through Quadblogging.net and experienced sharing ideas with students around the world.

  Connected Educator Month is important to me because of the importance of access to information and people. My students live and learn in a rural community without many resources; connecting via the internet to relevant and valid information and to people who have expetise or similar issues creates an authentic learning experience for my students, experiences that they choose to find the answers.

  I look forward to learning from others how connections build community and build a platform for solving problems.

   

• 
  Paul Oh   July 29, 2012, 11:15 p.m.

  Hi everyone,

  I work for the National Writing Project, a partner in the Connected Educator Month effort.

  We have a bunch of interesting events planned for CEM. Check out our schedule and consider participating!

  I'm interested in CEM for a lot of reasons, not the least because I've benefited enormously from the power of social media as platforms for professional development. I'm especially interested in the way online personal learning networks and communities of practice are powered up by our face-to-face networks and CoPs (which are at the heart of NWP), and vice versa.

  As a side note, as I was preparing to leave work Friday, I got tweeted by a librarian in the Bay Area whom I've never met inviting me out to a Food Truck event in Oakland so that I could meet a mutual twitter friend who was in town from Charlottesville, VA. So not only does being a Connected Educator lead to greater knowledge building. For me, it also leads to greater friendship building and a more connected human experience.

  Looking forward to the monthlong conversation here (and beyond)!

• 
  karen   July 31, 2012, 8:48 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Paul Oh   July 29, 2012, 11:15 p.m.

  So true, Paul. Algot (who is also in this group) is someone I've known online for a while, and last year, we finally got to meet f2f. Being connected has led me to many new friendships!

• 
  Denise   Aug. 1, 2012, 5:02 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Paul Oh   July 29, 2012, 11:15 p.m.

  Paul,

  I love the quote that "[being a Connected Educator] leads to great friendship building and a more connected human experience." Beautiful! May I quote you at the CE12 webinar we are presenting on August 18 called "Extend the Conversation"? Thanks!

  Denise 

• 
  Trish Loeblein   July 25, 2012, 6:16 p.m.

  Hi,

  I am Trish Loeblein from  PhET Interactive Simulations. I am not a member of Facebook, a Blog, or Twitter, but spend my much of life on email, Google Docs, and evaluating contributions to the   PhET Teaching Ideas pages. However, I have been a member of ISTE for some time and have attended/presented/exhibited at Colorado and National conferences.  I also provide from my students and parents a robust website and a messaging service provided by my district to send emails to parents and students. 

  I enjoy working part-time as a teacher and part-time with PhET where I get to participate on sim development, writing teaching materials, and offering professional trainingt. I was at Evergreen HS for 18 years and am preparing to teach at my neighborhood school - Conifer HS. I haven't moved my website yet, but look forward to the challenge. In my science courses, we use technology regularly and over the span of 31 years, I have continued to enable my students to use tools that I think will help them be successful without losing sight of the content knowledge they need to survive as well. 

  I personally love online interactions like Skype, but still see the value of meetings where all contributors are in one room because the live interaction has less lag time and body launguage helps facilitate open discussion.

  I really enjoyed the course P2PU helped me provide in July and feel more comfortable with posting my information and comments for a more wide audience than I have previously.

  Trish

• 
  Penny Bentley   July 24, 2012, 9:27 p.m.

  Hello from Victoria, Australia.

  It's mid winter here but at the weekend it felt like spring was in the air when I came across this daffodil. 

  

  During the month of August I'm facilitating a series of webinars for the Australia e-Series  around the subject of connected education. This group gives me the perfect opportunity to connect with like minded people who I can share ideas with and learn from. 

  I also facilitate a group of mostly Australian educators on Facebook. It's called FacingIT  and we welcome international visitors to add richness to the conversations. You are welcome to drop in for a chat 

  I've been a secondary maths and science teacher for many years, have left classroom teaching behind but not my passion for teaching and learning. I'm particularly interested in mentoring and delivering professional development...many of my peers are struggling to integrate new ways of doing things into their teaching practice. 

  I look forward to what's ahead.

• 
  karen   July 31, 2012, 8:49 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Penny Bentley   July 24, 2012, 9:27 p.m.

  Thanks for the links, Penny, and welcome! Good stuff you're working on. :)

• 
  algotruneman   July 20, 2012, 4:18 p.m.

  I'm a retired teacher. I like to think I'm still allowed to call myself an educator. I have not abandoned the profession. I post comments at blogs, blog some myself about using Free/Libre Open Source Software and interact, mainly online, with peers (and with many whose kind mentoring continues to show me what a really effective connected educator looks like.)

  I'm a fan of Scratch, a way to get kids to do computational thinking.

  KDE is my support community for the computer I use.

  

  I live in New England where fall is a celebration of color.

  Personal Web site http://runeman.org

  Twitter @algotruneman

• 
  karen   July 20, 2012, 4:41 p.m.
  In Reply To:   algotruneman   July 20, 2012, 4:18 p.m.

  Hey, Algot. I don't think I knew you were a fan of Scratch (or maybe I forgot). We'll have to talk about this sometime. Anyway, glad to see you here!

• 
  algotruneman   July 20, 2012, 6:33 p.m.
  In Reply To:   karen   July 20, 2012, 4:41 p.m.

  Scratch is local (MIT) and I've had the chance to go to a couple of the meetup sessions.

  Made a short video about one of those sessions.

  http://scratched.media.mit.edu/stories/cant-catch-me

• 
  Paul Oh   July 31, 2012, 9:10 p.m.
  In Reply To:   algotruneman   July 20, 2012, 6:33 p.m.

  Karen and Algo,

  I'm currently working with colleagues from Indiana University who've put together a Systems Thinking three-book curriculum series. One book focuses on Scratch used for digital storytelling and civic engagement. Hoping the series, published by MIT Press, will be available by Spring!

• 
  apemak   Aug. 1, 2012, 7:46 p.m.
  In Reply To:   algotruneman   July 20, 2012, 4:18 p.m.

  I have used Scratch for the past two years in my 5-8th grade classes.  I loved it, they loved it!  It is a great learning experience for us.  I would definately recommend it to anyone who is thinking about trying it.