Taming my fears for the road ahead...What is a PLN??

As I reviewed the future assignments and syllabus for this class there was one assignment that made me anxious but of my lack of knowledge. So this post sets out to discover the ins and outs of a Personal Learning Network.

I found an article that clearly establishes a Personal Learning Environment and a Personal Learning Network. For anyone who is like me and not familiar with these concepts the article is very informational and could provide some basic information prior to exploring PLNs in next week's coursework.

http://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/how-to-create-a-robust-and-meaningful-personal-learning-network-pln/

That article included several resources at the bottom which I explored. One of the resources discussed five things to do to develop a PLN which are listed in the article linked below.

http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/04/5-things-you-can-do-to-begin-developing.html

Now moving forward I am not intimidated by a PLN but I still have a long way to go before I'm a SME.

Enjoy the links, I found them very interesting.

My first Twitter Account!!

Previous to this class my experience with Twitter has primarily consisted of three situations:
1. Radio chats about what the celebrities have tweeted on the radio
2. NFL/ESPN stations comment about players during the games/drafts (I'm a competitive fantasy football player)
3. The tweets during the Bachelorette/Bachelor After the final rose ceremony

So I figure if Twitter has branched out into such a wide variety of genres why not explore the tool as an educational resource. This blog explains my Twitter path of exploration...

First, I have settled on MEGMEK34 for my user name. This username will be simple for me to remember and identify with as it is my maiden and married initials with my husband's college football number (believe it or not 10 years later it is still the easiest number for me to remember).

The Basics:
1. Tweet can include links
2. Tweet can only be 140 characters
3. You can choose individuals to follow

*I choose to follow Dr. Dennen, Tang, Shuang, Kathleen, and Shannon from this course (I found your usernames on the course blog) and for fun daniel tosh!*

The radio dispute about Alec Baldwin's wife tweeting at the funeral made me interested in researching how tweets can be scheduled, this is what I found:

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-free-ways-to-schedule-tweets/
http://chris.pirillo.com/how-do-you-schedule-posts-to-twitter/

My research also revealed that this situation was a result different time zone stamps, but I still thought it was interesting that tweets can be pre-scheduled. Has anyone every done this? What was the purpose?

Next stop, my first tweet on the course blog....

The road to my 1st Blog!

When tasked to create an electronic journal I was overwhelmed with all of the options online for this tool. I actually created two in the process of settling on using blogger. The first site I used was called simplesite.com which that several reviews on how user friendly the site was to create a free blog. The site was easy to navigate and create my blog but I do not think it allowed for all the blog capabilities need for class. So my search for the perfect blog site continued. 

Guided by Dr. Dennen's recommendation and an article on the 10 Best Blog Sites (which is listed below), I settled on blogger. Although, I initially felt the website was harder to navigate than simple site I like all the options for interaction. The article listed this resource as google supported which was a significant reason for why I choose this site over the others in the article. I am able to access my blog through google plus and can share immediate access to those in my google plus circles.

I am now excited to explore the blogging world, this exploration of the blogging world confirmed that I am a follower not a leader in this community as most of the blogging sites listed have been around since 2003/2004. I plan to use one of the other blog site and create a travel or cooking blog to increase my skill and experience in the blogging world.

http://savedelete.com/best-blog-sites-for-free-blogging.html

Week 1 Prompt Response

Week 1: What have been your prior experiences with social media and Web 2.0 technologies? Do you consider yourself a leader or follower in this realm, or something else altogether? Why? Also, discuss what you hope to get out of this class.

Starting this course my experience with social media and Web 2.0 technologies is limited to Facebook and I actually only got a smart phone last year. I signed up for a Pinterest account a year or two ago but quickly became frustrated and did not take the time to learn how to use it. I think my experience clearly identifies with a follower in this realm, but really I would classify myself as a novice. I am excited to take this class and overwhelmed because this is not my area of expertise. There have been several occasions where I looked into using a technologies such as Pinterest or Instagram and gave up because I couldn't even figure out where to start. 

There are several things I would like to get out of this class. First, I would like to be able to clearly define what Web 2.0 entails. Second, I want to familiarize myself with the available resources for this field (as I have already learned about several new programs in these first few days). Thirdly, I would like to be able to operate these tools and there educational purpose. In the process I hope to find a way to incorporate some of these tools into my profession since the CG has limited exposure in this realm due to security.