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I went with Blogger, since that is the one I am most familiar with and helped teachers set up a Google account and then create and "decorate" their blog. Sometimes, especially with elementary teachers, we can't even begin until we are pleased with the look! :)
In addition to teachers & librarians, our diagnostician came to the session, wanting help not only with blogging, but also finding relevant blogs to follow. By searching topics and people, we were able to find blogs that would be beneficial. Some decided to add these to their blog page under "My Blog List" so that it was easy to follow.
There was a really good discussion about "audiences" for our blog and who we are targeting. We all agreed that our hope is that our school families are reading them, acknowledging though that more often it is other teachers & librarians. Everyone brainstormed ways to draw in our school families, and decided one way is to make sure there is more coverage of daily events with pictures! :)
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It was fun working with each other to create informative blogs for our students & families!
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I am passionate about sharing the benefits of establishing a PLN with colleagues and was excited about the opportunity to "hook" a few new people! :) We discussed the difference between using Facebook and Twitter, separating your personal and professional Twitter accounts, and connecting with people who will inspire and energize you! The professional learning opportunities that come up from following people on Twitter are fabulous! The weekly chats are plentiful! Just look at this Tweet for Jerry Blumengarten, who is an incredible asset to any PLN:
Weekly Twitter Educational Chat Schedule http://t.co/lsnhn5kNM9 Every day you can learn and share with a global audience.Webinars are often shared on Twitter, as well as conferences. And then there is the daily interaction between people who create, collaborate and share! This is the best place to personalize your professional learning! (see, I told you I was passionate about this! ;) )
— Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1) July 29, 2013
When everyone left, they had their account set up, people to follow, and had posted at least one tweet! Woohoo!
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Our next selection is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and we will meet in a few weeks for this discussion. This is another adult book, but as I have recently been reminded, teachers need to be READERS to teach READERS! :) We will work in children's books during the school year, but for the end of summer, this seems good! I'm taking it with me on my end of summer trip next week.
Edcamp Fort Worth was so awesome, it deserves its own post! More to come!
Happy Reading AND Happy Learning!
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