Walking the Talk

Lately I have forced myself to think through the reasons why I know that blogs and web2.0 tools are only the beginning of breaking down the barriers of classroom walls. At the same time I’ve been puzzling through the best way to talk to others about using twitter to develop a PLN.

It finally occurs to me the two are inter-related; obviously they are if you’re using twitter in the classroom with the students, but it took me a while to see how they are inter-related if twitter is used to develop one’s own PLN and if blogging and a host of web2.0 tools are used in the classroom with the students.
Attribution

Blogging and web2.0 apps work in the classroom because we (teachers) are in the business of guiding our students through a learning journey that will prepare them for their world. For the students of today this world is inextricably interlaced with technology, as I was reminded recently, a world in which they exist digitally even before they are born. Today’s students have never lived in a world without the Internet, mobile phones or TV and video content – except in school.

As I see it, here are some of the benefits to student blogging:
* Sharing thoughts, learning & ideas beyond classroom walls – building a community which celebrates student learning
* Collaborating and Connecting with other like-minded learners – local, regional & global
* Opportunities for feedback between peers, families, teachers – globally
* Bringing learning into conversations outside of school walls
* Dissolving the line between learning in the classroom and life (isn’t this how we become life-long learners?)
* Engaging students by using the tools they have never been without
* Providing opportunities for learners to customise and differentiate their own learning

As I see it, the list looks very similar when thinking of the reasons to promote the use of twitter in developing one’s personal learning network:
* Sharing thoughts, learning & ideas beyond school buildings – building a community which celebrates learning together
* Collaborating and Connecting with other like-minded learners – local, regional & global
* Opportunities for feedback between peers, staff and colleagues – globally past, present and future
* Continue conversations about learning outside of school walls
* Dissolving the line between learning at school and life (isn’t this how we become life-long learners?)
* Engaging colleagues by using the tools students have never been without
* Providing opportunities for learners to customise and differentiate their own learning

If I am to have an impact on how my students’ approach learning, rather than looking at what the technology does to support learning in the classroom, I as a teacher, need to think about the potential these technologies can have in supporting the learners through their own journeys. These journeys will continue when they leave the classroom each day and will continue when they move on from my classroom at the end of the school year.

Engaging in the technology myself is key to having any chance of understanding the potential it offers. Using the technology to develop my own understanding of learning both supports my understanding of the technology and the potential of the technology, all the while engaging me in my own learning journey. I am walking the talk, engaging myself in a similar learning experience I am asking my students to engage in.

How do you walk your learning talk?