Summer of Learning 2.0- Week 2

I hope the activities of Week 1 have given you a taste for what web tools really have to offer.   The possibilities are only limited by your creativity, willingness to learn more each day and of course, time.

It's been great to learn a little about each of you from your blog posts and it's great o see you  commenting and sharing similar experiences with one another.

This week is about Google and building your professional learning network (PLN).  You will explore Google Apps for Education, Google Chrome, Google+ and Twitter.  Spending your exploration time completing a scavenger hunt will acquaint you with the many features of Google Apps for Education.  From there, you will get "under the hood" of your Google Chrome Browser.  Have fun with Google.  I'm "Giddy for Google" and I think it's contagious.

The second part of this week's work is about communication and making connections.  We learn best when we teach others, but we also learn more when we have a larger community of learners to pull from. This is where social media comes into play.

My use of social media for learning via Twitter, Facebook and Google+ has grown exponentially over the last three years.  I started as a "lurker" and have evolved into a more active tweeter, re-tweeter and share-er on all three social platforms.  Building my professional learning community online has allowed me to make stronger connections to these people in person.  Several of my online connections have even led to leadership positions in the EdTech community.

For our PLN exploration, we're focusing on Google+ and Twitter because these two networks are used  more for professional connections than Facebook, particularly in Education.  LinkedIn is another professional network, but it is more static, like an easily updated resume.  The dynamic properties of LinkedIn haven't taken off as profoundly as the other two, but it's still a good resource to have yourself "out there" with a web presence.

As we progress through the course, please remember to check off the activities on the tracking spreadsheet. Keep reading each other's posts.  You'll learn a lot from the reflections and comments shared via our Learning 2.0 blogging community.  Comment on at least three blogs each week and try to spread your comments around the class.

Link to Wiki Activity Page
Link to Tracking Spreadsheet

Several of you  have sought me out for some help via email this week, keep doing it.  If you need me, I'm just a click away.