Tool #2

Visit at least 5 blogs of fellow educators and comment to one of their posts.
I visited a bunch of blogs and tried to branch out of my school to touch base with other teachers working on 11 tools. I visited Susanna Johnston, Randy Adolph (a former teacher of mine), Suzanne Rodriguez, Cathy Roth, Theresa Trevino, and Amie Graves' blogs. I started some great conversations and got a few really great ideas. Most people very much farther along or finished already.


After completing the above, share you thoughts about building and participating in an online community and participating in a PLN. What points stood out to you from the commenting advice? Were you able to apply any of the advice in your comments? How did you feel about sharing your thoughts publicly? Was it different than when you're sharing your successes/challenges with your teammate?
I am very excited to participate in a PLN. As teachers, we need to share ideas as much as possible. There is so much that we can learn from one another. The commenting advice is great. It really makes you double check your thinking to make sure you are saying things the right way. You never want ANYTHING to come across as anything other than positive and thought provoking. You NEVER want to put someone down. We have to model this commenting with our students. I want me students to use commenting as a relaxed way for them to share their ideas- even if they are shy. It is different than just having a conversation with a colleague. It's in print and can be seen or shared with anyone. I think the important point about commenting was asking questions to get everyone thinking and responding.


Share the url or name of a website or social network that you plan to visit in the future. What does that site have to offer?
I plan to use Diigo as a tool with my students to steer them towards appropriate websites during reasearch. It will also help me to work with other teachers with Diigo accounts to discover some great websites out there.