Personal+Learning+Networks

How can teachers keep up on the continuously changing world of technology, communicate and collaborate with peers around the world? They can create Personal Learning Networks (PLNs). PLNs are a great way for educators to take their professional development into their own hands. They can learn and explore information that is relevant to their subject. By using PLNs teachers can develop skills they need without any cost to themselves or the school district. It is a great way for educators to learn from experts and share their knowledge with others. Below are different tools that can be used to start a PLN of your own. The video below illustrated the positive effect a PLNs can have in the educational field.

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 Twitter

==== **[|Twitter] **  is a great way for educators to form communities of peers in their own fields and interest areas. It is a great way to quickly find answers to questions or to have stimulating conversations. Twitter can be a great tool to stay connected to professionals all around the world. And all of these resources and tools are available around the clock and without cost. ====  **Twitter learning Resources** **Twitter in Plain English** [] Short video introducing twitter

Article explaining the benefits twitter can have in education.
 * Twittering not Frittering** []

Free tools to make twitter a more effective communication resource.
 * PR 2.0: Twitter Tools for Community and Communications Professionals** []

Blogs and RSS Aggregators

Blogs are abundant. There are so many free sites to create blogs and many people jumping on the opportunity to share their opinions and knowledge. Blogs are a great tool to use to read and reflect on the ideas of educators and professionals. Educators can follow blogs pertaining to teaching philosophies, teaching theory, technology, subject matter or any category they desire. Blogs are a great way to directly get the information you want.  **Blog Resources **
 * [[image:edublog.png link="http://edublogs.org/"]] || [[image:blogger.png link="http://www.blogger.com"]] || [[image:wordpress.png link="http://wordpress.com/"]] ||

Blogs in Plain English [] Top 100 Educational Blogs []  [] [] [] []
 * Educational Blogs**

The best way to keep your blogs organized is used an RSS Aggregators. Aggregators keep all of your blogs in one place and let you know if a new blog has been posted. It keeps you from having to search each day for your blogs and see if a new blog has been posted. It also allows you to sort through the information and read what is important to you.

**RSS In Plain English** An introduction to the benefits and purposes of RSS Readers [] RSS Aggregators **
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 * [[image:bloglines.png link="http://bloglines.com"]] || [[image:netvibes.png link="http://netvibes.com"]] || [[image:pageflakes.png width="207" height="63" align="center" link="http://pageflakes.com"]] || [[image:reader1.png link="http://reader.google.com"]] ||

Social Bookmarking

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Social bookmarking is a great tool for teachers to share, manage, search and organize bookmarks of web resources. Resources can be tagged to catagorize and then shared with others. Teachers can share bookmarks with teachers in their building, in the district, and across the world. This means that resources being used by other teachers or professionals can be read and used by other teachers. You can also subscribe to tags such as "popular" or "reference" and have them sent to your RSS Reader. It allows teachers resources to grow and grow with less time spent aimlessly searching. Teachers can also access these bookmarks from computers anywhere. They don't have to worry about losing their bookmarks when there are computer malfunctions. This a great tool to collect, share, and discover new resources.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Social Bookmarking tools **


 * [[image:delicious.png link="http://del.icio.us"]] || [[image:digg.png link="http://digg.com/"]] || [[image:diigo.png link="http://www.diigo.com/"]] || [[image:reddit.png link="http://www.reddit.com/"]] ||

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">Wikipedia

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Wikipedia is a great way to find answers fast. If an educator has a question it can be quickly answers by using Wikipedia.


 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">YouTube **


 * [[image:youtube.png width="141" height="68" link="http://www.youtube.com"]] || [[image:teacher_tube.png]] ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">You Tube and Teacher Tube are an online resource where teachers and experts can share videos. Teacher Tube is a website only for educators. Teachers can upload their own lesson or they can watch other teachers and students at work. Teachers can watch videos on technology, lesson plans, teaching theory, how to, and any type of expert at work. The information on these resources is abundant. These are free resources to enhance knowledge.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">Atomic Learning

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Atomic learning Is an online professional development resource. It provides online tutorials to teach educators about different technology resources. Atomic Learning claims, "Technology training that moves you from “ How do I do that? ” to “ How do I apply that? ” It is a great way to learn from experts at your own speed and availability. Educators can watch these tutorials from their desk or in the comfort of their own home. Several of the tutorial are free, but individual and school licenses can be purchased.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">Video Conferencing


 * [[image:oovoo.png width="173" height="62" align="center" link="http://www.oovoo.com/"]] || [[image:skype.png width="169" height="96" link="http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home"]] ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Educators can video conference to connect to experts, other educators, and classrooms around the world for free using Skype or ooVo. Educators can watch others teachers teach certain lessons, collaborate face-to-face, and talk to experts in their field with one internet phone call. It is a great way to learn without traveling all around the world! Resources: ** 50 ways to use Skype in the classroom:[| http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/30/50-awesome-ways-to-use-skype-in-the-classroom/] 7 things you should know about... Skype:[] Skype in Education: [] Classroom 2.0: Skype in Education:[| http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/skype-in-education] Connections for K-12 Teaching & Learning Over Distance:[]
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<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">Podcast and Webinars

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Podcasts and Webinars are a great way to learn from educational radio episodes. Educators can watch and listen to these whenever it is convienent. They can find quick answers to educational questions or learn new ways to conduct lesson plans. The sites below are great resources for teachers to collect, learn, and explore. There vast amounts of information available. It is a great way from educators to expand their knowledge in a free and convenient way.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Resourses:
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[|iTunesU] ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Part of the iTunes Store, these podcasts feature free lectures, language lessons, audiobooks, and more, that you can enjoy on your computer or on the go. Explore educational audio and video files from top universities, museums and public media organizations from around the world.


 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">[|EPN Web] ** This site is jam packed with content to teach with and to explore issues of teaching and learning in the 21st Century.