EdTech 543 Final Reflection

When I first registered for EdTech 543 Social Network Learning, I wasn't sure what to expect from the course. I am already a regular user of social media in my personal and professional lives but was hopeful that I could learn more ways to use social media with my students.  The class did not disappoint!  Some of the early modules that focused on establishing social media accounts, Twitter chats and webinars, communities of practice, and personal learning networks were things I was already familiar and comfortable with, but it was a nice overview and reminder of all the positive aspects of social media. In creating a plan for managing my digital footprint, my eyes were opened to many things I hadn't considered before such as the importance of claiming a domain in my name and creating a personal website, which I am currently working on and plan to have live this month.

The modules that focused on curation were interesting because this was the first time I'd really heard of curation in an educational context.  I found using Scoop.it to be a much more enjoyable way of doing research and collecting information than how I'd previously done it, and I think this could be used in my middle school classroom with students.  One of the ideas I'm most excited to implement in my classroom was gleaned from the curation of articles about ways others are using social media in their classrooms - I plan to have a student take photos each day create a collage that will be shared on social media using our class hashtag to share the learning that's taking place in my classroom with families and the world. 

Another aspect of this course that I found interesting was the creation of small groups (mini-PLNs) that we were to work with for projects.  It was nice to be able to share the workload among a group for some projects, but at times it was challenging due to the different time zones, work/life schedules, etc.  The use of social media helped minimize this, though. This isn't really something I'd need to worry about in my own classroom, but it did reaffirm the importance of collaborative work.

Regarding my blog use during this course, I would say that I met all of the requirements from the assignments (I'd give myself 75/75 as a grade).  I think the frequency in which blog posts were required was just right in this course - I have seen blogs be overused and students get tired of blogging about every little thing, but this course provided a good model for blog use and interaction that I will definitely keep in mind as I move forward with student blogs in my class this year. 

Overall, I would say this course exceeded my expectations and I'm leaving it with lots of great practical ideas that I plan to implement next week when my school year begins.  Integrating social media in new and exciting ways will increase student engagement and provide me with a whole new way to connect and interact with parents and the community.