Presentation at Northeastern Illinois University

1. Social Media Tools for
Personalized Professional
Development
Lucy Gray
Northeastern I!inois University
October 25, 2012

2. Slides & Materials
http://www.lucygray.org

3. Practice Professional
Generosity

4. The Highly Connected Educator
http://connectededucators.org/

5. What is a PLN?
Wi! Richardson

6. What is social media?
“Online technologies and practices that people use to share
opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each
other.”
“Social media are works of user-created video, audio, text
or multimedia that are published and shared in a social
environment, such as a blog, wiki or video hosting site.”

7. Media and Tools
Photos Audio Video Bookmarks Information Networking
Flickr iTunes YouTube del.icio.us Twitter Facebook
Picasa Podomatic Teacher Tube Diigo Slideshare LinkedIn
iStockPhoto iPadio Vimeo StumbleUpon Scribd
Google+
Ning
Blogger Quora

8. Take charge of your own professional development and
model learning for co!eagues and students.
By developing a PLN, you can investigate best practices and
target your needs and interests.Anytime, anywhere.
Our students are networking and we need to understand the
spaces created by social media as we! as how to engage kids.
We need to see ourselves as curators and creators of content.
Why?

9. What’s your story?

10. My Story
2005 Became an Apple Distinguished Educator • Introduced to the joys of RSS
feeds and NetNewsWire • Attended my first ADE Institute (Alan November
presented and introduced podcasting, Skype,Technorati, Creative Commons to my
vocabulary) • Started blogging and exploring web-based apps
2000 Started Friday 5 list of educational resources • Began using Backflip to
organize bookmarks • Became an avid user of the ED TECH listserv among other
pre-Web 2.0 online • Attended NECC (now called ISTE), MACUL conferences
for the first time
Pre 2000 Attended Illinois Computing Educator events, Classroom Connect
conferences
1999 Started Technology in Education graduate program at National Louis
University

11. My Story
2006 Participated in Google focus group • Wrote global awareness curriculum for
Apple in Europe • Started blogging for Infinite Thinking Machine • Started
volunteering on ICE conference committee
2007 Helped with the Google Teachers Academy • Introduced to Facebook,
Twitter and Ning • Started the Global Education Collaborative
2008 Helped with Chicago GTA • Bought an iPhone • Visited Singapore
2009 and 2010 Served on NMC’s K12 Horizon Report Advisory Board • Starting
consulting work • Launched Global Education Conference •Travelled to Bahrain for
the Education Project Conference
2011 NMC’s K12 Horizon Report Advisory Board • CoSN’s Leadership for Mobile
Learning Initiative
2012 Visited Singapore again • Attending conferences in China and Germany •
Organizing the third annual Global Education Conference

12. The Point?
Personalized learning!
Others will have other sets of experiences. Your aha
moments should be different than mine.
Collaboration via technology has profoundly changed
my professional life and the way that I work.

13. Tried & True
Photos Audio Video Bookmarks Information Networking
Flickr iTunes YouTube del.icio.us Twitter Facebook
Diigo Slideshare LinkedIn
Scribd
Google+
Ning
Quora

14. Lucy’s Top 5
Microblo&ing using Twitter
Networking and community building via social networks
Reading weblogs organized by a newsreader
Discovering images and groups in Flickr
Finding and sharing resources via social bookmarking

15. Serendipity
the occurrence and development of events by
chance in a happy or beneficial way

16. Why Twitter?
Connect with others
Stay current in your areas of interest
Share and co!ect resources
Get spontaneous responses 'om your network
Directly access experts and we!-known people in your
field

17. Try Following...
https://twitter.com/mamante
http://twitter.com/specialkrb
http://twitter.com/paulawhite
http://twitter.com/teach42
http://twitter.com/dianeRavitch/
https://twitter.com/pbskids
http://twitter.com/liveclass20
https://twitter.com/EdSurge
http://twitter.com/HuffPostEdu
http://twitter.com/agoogleaday
https://twitter.com/#!/search/
edapps
Lucy’s mobile learning list
Lucy’s recommended list

18. Jerry Blumengarten

19. Why Social Networks?
Find a social network, Facebook page, or Google Plus page for every educational organization or
topic
Everyone’s on Facebook, so it’s easy to find resources there
Build customized social networking sites using various tools including Ning
Serves as a repository and archive for videos, audio, and text
Structure adds to community building
Ning
Keep your Ning public or private
Pearson is providing 'ee Ning Minis for educators
Alternatives to Ning

20. A Few Favorite Social Networks
Classroom 2.0
Future of Education
TeacherLibrarianNing
Independent School
Educators Network
The Global Education
Conference Network
EdTechTalk

21. Facebook Page Suggestions
iEARN USA
Speak Up
I!inois Computing
Educators
Common Sense Educators
Motion Math
Mind/Shi*

22. Google+ Page Suggestions
Google Science Fair
Google in Education
Edutopia
Larry Ferlazzo
Fred Delventhal
Kathy Schrock

23. Why Blogs?
Reflect on professional practice
Record ideas
Share resources
Engage in conversations with other professionals
Showcase best practices and examples
Inspire others

24. A Few Favorite Blogs
Langwitches
Always Learning
Weblo&-ed
Never Ending Search
Huffington Post Education
Teach Like it’s 2999
Multiple Pathways

25. Why Flickr?
Share and store photos
Create stuff with your
images
Organize photos using
tags
Join affinity groups
Geotag photos

26. A Few Flickr Favorites
Field Guide: Birds of the
World
Te! a Story in Five Frames
Classroom Displays
School Library Displays
AtrociousApostrophe’s
US National Parks
Popular Tags in Flickr
Interesting Things Calendar
Flickr Clock
The Commons
World Map
Flickr Toys
TheApp Garden

27. Why Social Bookmarking ?
Method of sharing and organizing online resources
Accessible 'om any internet connected computer
Subscribe to tags of interest
Fo!ow like-minded people and thought leaders through a
network

28. Delicious Favorites
People to add to your network
in Delicious:
http://delicious.com/
cchausis
http://delicious.com/
cnansen
http://delicious.com/brasst
Rachel Wente-Chaney’s You
Can Ca! Me Spoof Stack

29. Favorite Diigo Groups & Lists
Google in Education
Resources for Languages
Classroom 2.0
iPad, iPod, iPhone Users
Group
Leadership for Mobile
Learning
21st Century Stuff list

30. Worthy of a Mention
Document sharing
Scribd
Slideshare
Chat
Skype
iChatAV
Face Time

31. Organizing It All
Use a newsreader or news a&regator

32. Suggested Readers
Netvibes(Web)
Google Reader (Web)
NetNewsWire (Mac)
FeedDemon (Windows)
Flipboard (iOS and
Android)
Zite (iOS andAndroid)
Pulse (Web, iOS,
Android, Kindle)

33. Tips

34. Tip #1: Understand tags
Tags are simply keywords
determined by users:
#CE12
#globaled
#globaled 12
#tedxnyed
#edchat
#PBL
#biepbl
#4thchat
#isedchat
#globaled12

35. Tip #2: Follow thought leaders and
organizations in your field
Principal Chris
Lehmann
Librarian Joyce Valenza
Teacher Lisa Parisi
Tech Coordinator Silvia
Tolisano
Education historian
Diane Ravitch
Joan Ganz Cooney
Center

36. Chris Lehmann
Blog
Twitter
School web site
Apple in Education
Profile

37. Joyce Valenza
Blog
Twitter
Wiki

38. Lisa Parisi
Blog
Twitter
Co!aborations

39. Silvia Tolisano
Blog
Twitter
Slideshare presentations

40. Joan Ganz Cooney Center
Blog
Twitter
Web Site

41. Diane Ravitch
Blog
Twitter
Web Site

42. Tip #3: Leverage search
Create searches in Twitter for topics of interest and see what pops up
“Everyday Math”
“Steve Hargadon”
earthquake
NSTA
Fo!ow people found in these searches that seem to share your
interests

43. Tip #4: Select a handle
Create a common username to use in various online
communities
Establishes your digital footprint
Makes you recognizable across communities and
forums

44. Tip #5: Develop critical mass
You won’t be able to take advantage of the information
flowing through social media unless you fo!ow a
signifiant number of people
Don’t try to keep up
Utilize lists in Twitter

45. Taking Charge Guidelines
Pick ONE tool to meet a particular professional
development need or interest.
Rea!y learn that tool and develop confidence around it.
Utilize third party tools that enhance the functionality of
your tool of choice, i.e. browser bookmarklets.
Find an informal online mentor to help you on your PD
journey

46. Follow You, Follow Me
Lucy Gray
lucy@lucygrayconsulting.com
iChat, Skype, Flickr, delicious, Youtube etc: elemenous
Blog: http://www.lucygray.org