Internet for Educators Summary

Internet for Educators has been a valuable course that I have enjoyed very much this term. I've learnt many new things and expanded my Personal Learning Network in the process.

The most valuable thing I've taken from our Internet for Educators course is the importance of connecting our students with authentic learning outside the classroom. We are able to do this by using the technology that is available to us. The internet allows us to be in contact with people around the world and using tools such as Skype and blogs we are able to connect with people that may have the answers to our questions. There are millions of people worldwide that are more than happy to share their expertise and we need to tap into this resource.

I have created a Mindmeister Map that summarizes my learning in Internet for Educators. Mindmeister is neat program that allows you to create mind maps in an easy to use format. I will definitely consider using Mindmeister again.

Click on the link below to my mind map and let me know what you think.

Summative Project

Alec Couros

Today our class had the opportunity to listen to Alec Couros. Alec is a professor of educational technology and media at the University of Regina.

Alec spoke about the use of Personal Learning Networks (PLN's) to collaborate with people from all over the world. These networks allow teachers, students and parents to connect with people that they normally wouldn't have the opportunity to connect with. The most important aspect of this is the children having the opportunity to collaborate with other students and experts. Students are able to tap into the expertise of others in a way that makes the learning real and exciting. These things can be done through the use of Twitter, Youtube, Skype, Google Docs and many more.

Alec used a program called Elluminate to carry out his talk with us today. This is the first time I have seen Elluminate used and basically it is a program that allows a host to invite guests to join in on a discussion. The guest are able to message the host and other guest while the tutorial is taking place. This allows users to interact with each other and ask questions when needed. The host is also able to show tutorials and speak to them while others watch and interact. Overall I thought that this program would be good for teaching an online course.

Some other interesting sites and applications that Alec mentioned in his discussion that I would like to research further include Tweet Deck, Drop It To Me, Classroom 2.0 Ning, and Reddit.