Online PD - aka my Twitter Tale

Hmmmm... Where do I begin?
Online PD to me....can be described with one word Twitter!

I was looking for a class to connect with this year on a more regular basis than last year. I'll fully admit that I'm a picky girl. I was looking for someone that met some specific requirements:
1. share a similar tech vision
2. an effective communicator
3. a lifelong learner
4. patience to deal with me

Tough to fill, especially the last one, but my wonderful technology integrator - Mark Carls (@mcarls) - found just the right educator for me to connect with - on Twitter of course. It was Andrew Kauffman (@atkauffman) and after checking out his Tweets and class website, I was so impressed! I left some comments on his class VoiceThread, sent him an email, Mark sent him a Tweet..... I hoped the connection would come to fruition.

I can't say enough positive things about Andrew Kaufman and how working with him and his class has made such an amazing impact on myself as an educator and therefore my classroom. But, more on that later. One thing that I'd been toying with was the idea of using Twitter. Mark Carls always told me about how he'd send a question out to Twitter that I needed an answer to and I'd tease him about his "following," but when Andrew Kauffman, a second grade classroom teacher just like me, told me it was the best thing he's ever done in terms of Professional Development, I figured it was worth looking into further.

So, I started off very small with my brother. I asked him my questions, instead of Mark, because I was too embarrassed with my lack of knowledge about social networking. Usually I'm a totally upfront person, admiting my inadequacies, but I don't even have a Facebook page and my tech passion has been educational, not social. My cell is almost always dead in my purse. But, for a country girl looking for more for her already tech-infused classroom this was just what I needed next. My brother and I hadn't talked so much ever - he's a technology buff - and this was an effective way for us to communicate! I learned the basics and was ready to expand my Twitter usage beyond a sibling "conversation" and was determined to find educational connections, resources, and be a part of the educational conversation. 

Well, little did I know that I was actually developing a PLN. I didn't even know the term until at least a month into Twitter. But, I have learned SO much! Here are just of the few things that I'd highlight from my own learning adventure or online professional development:

1. Tech integration ideas - I've altered & implemented so much based on what others have shared - cacoo, linoit, progressive stories, and the list goes on & on + increased my idea base for favorites such as Glogster EDU & VoiceThread
2. Blogs - now I have a Google Reader &  am awed by the educators who are passionate about their profession
3. Edmodo - use for Enrichment with my second graders thanks to Jason Schrage (@oswego98) tweets of progress with his middle schoolers
4. Educator's Comments - votes, comments, & tweets of praise on the class projects have inspired my students
5. Becoming a Blogger - I have a lot that I've found success with in my class & now have a place to share beyond 140 characters
6. Skype - I've found so many classrooms willing to connect & share

I've totally went off on a tangent with this one! But, my Twitter PD has been so effective. The purpose of PD is to learn and implement in your classroom, right? Well, I've had the opportunity this year to broaden my learning community and make the strategies, tools, connections a reality in my classroom!

My superitendent, Kimberly Moritz, proposed a plan for our Professional Development next school year. We have giant pieces of paper posted in the offices to write down what topics we are interested in pursuing. I'm so thankful that she understands that educators' learning goals can differ and we are given the opportunity to make a choice. Yet, that's NEXT year. So much will change in education, especially regarding educational technology, between now and then. I can't even think of what to record on the group sheet, but I know that I'm going to continue learning, applying, refecting, sharing, growing, and am thankful that I finally grabbed my wings and started tweeting!

But, to answer one of Jason Schrage's questions from his
Crazy Idea for Online PD:

Question # 2. I really like your blog idea. I've enjoyed mine for highlighting what I've learned, applied, and refecting on it all. I think it would be an effective way to share with others in a format that is non-threatening. You can read and learn from your collegues and just be a consumer of information. One can comment and take the participation further. Better yet, one can try it out in their own classroom and learn from each others' successes and failures. I'll admit it'll be hard to share with ones collegues - it can be intimidating, you might wonder about how others will perceive you, you may think your ideas aren't ones to share. But, the most important thing I've learned on my adventure in learning on Twitter is that we are all educators looking to see our students succeed as learners. So, what better way to be the model and be the learners ourself.

Here's one example from this week of how my online PD has proved to be worth it:

1. Learned about Storybird on Twitter
2. Implemented it in my classroom
3. Wrote this Blog post - Storybird Surprises
4. Continue to receive feedback from others & learn....

I hope that our PD next school years turns out to be as beneficial for others as mine has been this year! 

Storybird Surprise

Interested? Karen Ditzler and I set up a collaborative Storybird project with a small group of students from Mrs. Plever's class in PA and a small group of students from my class in NY.  It was an amazing month of co-authoring a story using Storybird and Skype to connect.

innovative? We've enjoyed connecting with numerous other classrooms this school year.  More recently, I've been able to find connections for my students to work collaboratively in small groups.  It enables them to have more active participation in the project and me to act as the guide to encourage deeper conversations.  So, I was looking for someone to connect my reading group D with - Mattison, Matthew, Zachary, and Tiffany.  Karen was able to organize students from Mrs. Plever's class to join us.

First, we connected with Skype.  The students on both "ends" of the camera were excited to meet those who would be writing the story with them.  Karen shared her screen with us and we talked about what set of illustrations we should use for inspiration for our story.  The students finally agreed that Andy McNally's set included a good mix of characters and background design that would spark conversations while writing the book. 

Next, Mrs. Plever's group along with Mrs. Ditzler wrote the first two pages and then we "switched turns."  When you switch turns using Storybird you are able to write a note to your co-author and it sends them an email notifying them that it's their time to write.

After that, my group added two more pages with different illustrations from the set by Andy McNallly created and continued the story.  We switched back and forth so each group had three turns. 

Finally, it was time to wrap of the story and write a conclusion.  During our video Skype call, the students took turns reading the pages of the story each group had written and all worked together to choose the final illustrations and how the story would end.  The title was added, the story was published, tweets of the student success were shared, and then the experience just continued to create lasting impressions....

Here's the Storybird book on Group D's website.

Mr. Bobblehead's New Gadget and the Valentine's Surprise on Storybird

 

IMPACT?  Here are a collection of the tweets surrounding the fantastic Friday

 

It's neat to have someone re-tweet what your students have accomplished. So, thank you @Storybird and @Nat_Mich! I'm so proud of the student authors in my group and how they were creative, especially behind the scenes and off camera, but it's encouraging to them to see other educators who respond to their work that's posted on Twitter.  The groups worked together to write an amazing story or as @Storybird put it, a "tale about ice cream and love!"  Next, the illustrator, Andy McNally, gave a RT!  Then we started receiving email notices that educators were commenting on the Storybird website (see below the storybook).  Last, an educator sent me a Direct Message wanting more information on the project!  It was a fanastic Friday.

Impressed?  The students were in awe at this point and I'll admit so was I.  The illustrator's comment was very detailed in it's praise for the student authors.  We turned this into a class moment and I briefly shared with the rest of the class the amazing things that were happening as a result of the small group of students in our classroom.  One student said, "I wish I was in that group!"  We've been in contact with the illustrator via email.  So, now we are gooking forward to an orginal drawing by Andy McNally arriving in the mail! 

We will use Andy McNally's artwork as continued inspiration in our classroom to carry on on our learning adventure in room 40 while incorporating technology, writing, and collaboration into our curriculum!