In our first video yesterday, we watched how learning is all about putting simple concepts together into more complex thinking.
When we consider what it means to be a connected learner, we can break it down into several components:
- Collecting information
- Connecting
- Curating
- Collaborating and Co-learning
- Creating and Remixing
- Sharing
Today we are going to focus on how we can efficiently gather information. Where can we go to find out what other educators are thinking and doing? How do we stay current with knowledge about learning?
Kristina B via Compfight cc
In Ontario, many educators deprivatize their practice and make their thinking and learning visible through blogging. You can find an extensive list of Ontario “edubloggers” (curated by Doug Peterson) here. As well, the left side of this page has links to school and system leader blogs in Ontario. The right side of this page has links to a number of Ontario educators who are leading learning by participating in connected learning through OSSEMOOC.
In your ten minutes of connecting today, take some time to read what other Ontario bloggers have written. How does their thinking align with yours? What new ideas have they shared? What is working/not working for them? What opportunities exist for further connection and collaboration?
We have suggested some Ontario bloggers below. In our resources section for today, you will find more links to other blogs of interest to educators, suggested collections, and some other thinking about the importance of blogging.
As you browse and read, consider following the blog to get automatic email updates when a new post arrives. Most blogs have a “follow” button or a place to subscribe.
If you like the blog, why not check out the blogs that the writer follows? There is often a link to this information on the website.
Is reading blogs already part of your daily routine? Please share your favourite blogs in the comments.
A Few Ontario Bloggers:
Sue Dunlop (Superintendent, HWDSB)
Brenda Sherry (Vice-Principal, UGDSB)
Paul McGuire (Principal, OCSB)
Brandon Grasley (Secondary Math/Computer ScienceTeacher/Lead, ADSB)
Julie Balen (Secondary English Teacher/Leader Wikwemikong Board of Education)
Aviva Dunsiger (Grade 1 Teacher, HWDSB)
Kim Figliomeni (Principal, SNCDSB)
Stacey Wallwin (TELT, SGDSB)
Katie Maenpaa (TELT, SNCDSB)
A Few Canadian bloggers:
George Couros (Division Principal, Parkland School Division, Alberta)
Kathy Cassidy (Grade 1 teacher, Author of Connected From The Start: Global Learning for the Primary Grades)
David Truss (Vice Principal of Coquitlam Open Learning & Lead Administrator of the Inquiry Hub at School District 43 (Coquitlam)) Update: Winner of the CEA Ken Spencer Award for Innovation, 2015
Dean Shareski (Community Manager for Discovery Education Canada)
Collaborative Blogging: Canadian Education Association
Resources:
Some other blogs of interest to educators:
Jackie Gerstein (USA)
Diane Ravitch (USA)
Langwitches (Sylvia Rosenthal Tolisano, USA)
Tom Whitby (USA)
Pernille Ripp (USA)
Further Resources:
Ontario edubloggers (on CourseHelp.ca)
Isolation is now a choice educators make
OSSEMOOC 
Thanks for the mention – that’s some elite company there!
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It is well-earned. Your blog pushes thinking in Ontario and acts as the “intentional interruption” for many educators.
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Agreed Brandon! Thanks OSSEMOOC! This gesture reminds me that I am not speaking to the void.
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Agreed Brandon! Thanks OSSEMOOC!! This gesture reminds me that I am not speaking to the void.
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So is there a blog equivalent to twitter’s “follow”? If I click RSS feed, and it doesn’t ask for my email, where do the notifications go? Now I want to keep up with some of the great blogs above, but don’t know the most efficient way to do so! Help?
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What a great question, Ruth! There are a few factors that influence whether or not you can follow a blog.
First, it depends on the platform being used. Most blogging platforms, like Blogger and WordPress, allow the owner of the blog to choose to display a way to follow the blog.
Secondly, the owner of the blog must choose to allow the blog to be followed.
Assuming that is the case, following the blog can look different on each site. Sometimes you have to look for it.
For example, on the Connected Principals site (http://connectedprincipals.com/), there is a very clear opportunity to subscribe by email (provided on the top right corner of the page).
It’s a bit trickier if you are choosing to follow by RSS feed. Without going into a lot of detail, the main idea is that sometimes this can go to your email, but sometimes you need a reader to aggregate the RSS feeds you are subscribing to. We will be covering this topic shortly in our daily “10 minuted to getting connected” series.
One simple RSS reader is Feedly (feedly.com) and this is available as a Google app in Chrome.
It’s also a great idea to connect with others and ask for help on how to follow a specific blog if it is challenging to do so. Even those who have been following blogs for years can find it challenging sometimes in specific situations, so it isn’t always because you are new to it. Building your PLN helps you to easily solve those questions.
Thanks for taking the time to ask questions and we look forward to continuing to learn with you.
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If you create a WordPress account (I recommend it!) then you get access to WordPress’s Reader service, which lets you follow blogs from WordPress and from other services.
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Thanks for the mention Donna, this s a true honour coming from you! I wish I was posting more, but it is very hard to do and maintain a school at the same time. I am trying now to come up with a post on innovation and the nature of the institution – trying to strike the right balance without being overly critical of educational institutions – a bit of a challenge. Thank-you for this series, I think now I am caught up to day 4. A Twitter chat would be something i would like to get involved in with this group!
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Thanks for taking the time to comment, Paul.
It’s always hard to find the time to share your thoughts. I try to use blogging as my note-taking strategy sometimes. My blog is just where I share my notes on what I am learning.
As for innovation and schools, this resource might be helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TZfWqao6uA
I think Will Richardson tries to honour the current structure while insisting big change is critical.
I also love @shareski’s thinking around the fact we have all those kids in one place every day. What’s the best thing we can do with that? He talks about it in this panel: https://fryed.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/futurelearning-students-wonder-what-school-could-be/
Hopefully those resources are helpful to your thinking.
Keep sharing!
Donna
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