LAI 590

I was very skeptical about the idea of a Twitter chat. I was unsure of what it would be like to connect with educators around the globe all through Twitter. I chose to attend the #seesawchat on Thursday, September 28. My school does not use Seesaw but it is a program that some of my friends use in their districts and I was curious to learn more. Family connections are incredibly important and often hard to make when there is a language barrier. Seesaw allows families to connect with students through online portfolios, newsletters, daily photos and videos, and so much more. The Twitter chat that I attended was organized into different questions. The moderator posted the questions about 10 minutes apart so there was time to chat with the others in the chat. The first question asked where we were from and what grade we teach. It was so neat to see people joining in my halfway around the world and also people who lived close by to me. Seeing the different subjects people taught was also ...

I had never heard of ePals until this module. When I first explored the site, I was amazed. I had no idea that a site that allows educators to connect and students to complete global projects like this, existed. My current classroom population is very diverse. ePals would give my students an opportunity to connect with students from their native country and learn more about their culture. My favorite project that I learned about is the Pen Pal Exchange. Last year my students were pen pals with a soldier in Kuwait, but it became difficult to send and receive mail. The ePals program connects students with other students their age around the globe. I would use this project in collaboration with my Step Up To Writing Assignments. My students work on writing all year long but never have the opportunity to apply it something unique and different. It is always the same few district approved assignments. I like the idea that the Pen Pal Exchange program would not only meet the Step Up To W...

The social networking site I chose to join is The Educator's PLN . The Educator's PLN, or Personal Learning Network, is a place for educators to come together and share sources, connections, videos, blogs, and discussions. It acts as a support network for educators. I chose this site because I really like the idea of collaboration and each person bringing something unique to the table. When I first joined The Educator's PLN, #Edchat. #Edchat is a place for educators to quite literally, chat with each other. It is a network of educators with similar questions, ideas, problems, etc. I followed the #Edchat discussions via my Twitter account. I plan to use The Educator's PLN as a place to gather new information and ideas, learn from my colleagues and connect with other educator's around the world. I also plan to stay connected with the #Edchat discussions. I find that the topics they cover are things that I often have questions about or need more clarification on.