Connectivism

I have to start out by saying that I’m experiencing technical difficulties and wasn’t able to convert my mind map to jpeg format. I created a blog that showed my network of educator resources on the Internet. I broke it into 3 categories with the first being “Teaching Ideas,” then “Social Networking,” and finally “Educational Resources.” I referenced websites that gave access to lesson plans such as “Thinkfinity,” websites with teacher blogs such as “Teachers.net,” and resources with scholarly articles such as “ERIC.”

I have used some of the networks that I referenced in this assignment but not all of them. “Thinkfinity” has been a website specifically that has improved the way I teach because of the vast number of lesson plans and teaching ideas. I have learned a great deal about improving my own teaching through access to these websites.

The digital tools that are most helpful to my own learning are search engines, which allow me to find what I am looking for whether it is lesson plan ideas, or a scholarly article needed for a class assignment. I also enjoy using Power Point in order to create presentations for classes or to present to my students on a particular topic that I am teaching.

When I have questions, I use the Internet to find answers. We are so fortunate to be living in a digital age where information is accessible with the click of a button. If I have a question on any topic I can find websites and articles that will answer my questions quickly and effectively. I also use my coworkers as tools of reference because they have so many ideas and suggestions that come from experience and education.

Because I haven’t used all the resources on my learning network, it has only partially supported connectivism for me. This assignment has shown me that there are resources our there that I should be using to connect to other educators and professionals in this field in order to better my own teaching and learning. Through creating this network, I feel that I will begin to use these tools. Connectivism uses the vast network of resources and technology to improve connections within an organization. I also mean to use these resources in order to improve my connections to my profession. It might also help me to better network with the people I work with by exposing them to the tools and learning theories gained in this class.