WOW! I cannot believe this is truly the mid-point in our semester! How fast the time does go when it seems that every minute, of every day is filled! When considering the development of my personal learning network thus far I think I am on the right track, although definitely not exceeding expectations. I have never been an online resident, more of a visitor (to quote the ideas of Dr. White and his continuum of internet users). Unfortunately, I do not find myself naturally using all of the resources connecting individuals and spreading ideas as a resident. For example, when I find something really interesting, I am much more inclined to share it with the person sitting next to me than immediately thinking to tweet it or write a blog post about it... this is something I am still working towards.
Although I have adopted blogging as a way to communicate my thoughts and ideas within my PLN, I do not find myself really enjoying it. As a child, and to this day, I don't really enjoy keeping a journal or diary. To me, blogging is very similar. However, I do understand the importance and necessity of writing about my thoughts and ideas as I cultivate a PLN. Because I don't necessarily enjoy blogging, or automatically find myself gravitating towards doing it, I do believe it is something I need to work on.
Thought of the moment: Maybe by creating more of a visual blog I would enjoy it more. At this point we have been provided with SO MANY incredible tools to exhibit ideas: dropcanvas, storify, edcanvas, etc. (Thank you Professor Heil!) Maybe if I tried out some of these as a way of blogging I would find it more enjoyable? I'll have to try it! (any suggestions?)
Within that same context, I do enjoy reading the blogs of my classmates and others. I love hearing about the new ideas people have and reading about their passions and reflections; especially those of my classmates. As I'm writing this I'm realizing how unfair it is to only enjoy others while not enjoying contributing my own. I think this returns to the idea of online residents and visitors and I am still closer to the visitor end of the continuum. I think I am doing a fair job of commenting and collaborating with others and the development of their PLN's, however, I do also see room for improvement.
Tweeting is something I need to work on. I have attempted to tweet things that are of interest to me and also have tried to tweet things that I think will be of interest to others. But I'm not sure if I'm really doing it right. It seems like tweeting has it's own language and it's own rules and I'm not sure if I am completely up to speed on full twitter etiquette. When do you retweet something vs replying to a tweet vs favoriting a tweet? How do you say thank you to someone for tweeting something to you? When retweeting something, is it bad to remove the @____? I am still working to develop my tweeting skills but do believe that it is something that I will learn by doing. (...any suggestions are also welcome)
I have really adopted the use of Learnist, which seems to fit my learning style of visually exciting as well as providing useful information. I have created multiple boards and recently connected one of them to my blog (thanks for the idea Bernice!) :)... and even wrote some code to make it look extra cool (thanks Professor Heil!) I plan to continue using Learnist as my way to organize a "library" of information. This platform is serving and will continue to serve as a place to read, archive, and grow my PLN.
Plan for the Future:
- Continue to use Learnist as my major platform to organize and archive information.
- Use other tools (edcanvas, .....) to attempt to make blogging more enjoyable - and in turn, increase my blogging habits.
- Continue to comment on my peers blogs with room for improvement about being more active.
- Use twitter more to get more comfortable (tweet at least 10 times/week)
- Explore more! Cultivating an exceptional PLN requires exploration - this is something I love to do in the world, hopefully I can translate this into the online world. This will also automatically lend itself to cultivating a PLN with more depth and diversity.
- Don't get overwhelmed by ALL that is out there! (continuously need to give myself this reminder)
I loved reading this blog and could relate to a lot of your points! (Especially your feelings re: Learnist and Twitter -- p.s. Thanks for the shout out!) Twitter still overwhelms me and while I tweet things out (is that even the correct lingo?), I'm really not sure who sees them or if my tweets are helpful. If I find a tweet that I like, I retweet it but maybe I should reply or favorite it? Also, it's hard for me to search for specific resources because hashtags seem to be random (too specific) and searching for words seems to be too broad! I end up sorting through tons of tweets. I would love some tutoring in this area as well.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of blogging through more visual means. The tools that you mentioned are awesome, however, I was a bit overwhelmed by them. Maybe you could give me a lesson :)!
Kitri,
ReplyDeleteI think you are definitely on the right track. I appreciate your thoughtful reflection and I know that you will create a robust PLN bu the end of the class! I am absolutely for the visual blog and would love to see how you could make this happen. If you have any questions about this, feel free to discuss it with me!
jeff