So, when we first started this class and I saw the list of sites we were going to be using, I was really dreading having to sign up for everything and having all these new/different accounts. As we progress in class, I'm thinking....
1. I am enjoying most of these web 2.0 tools a lot more than I thought I was going to, and just might end up using them after class more than I thought I would (or at all)!
2. We really are starting to reach out and find ways to connect, and I hope I can continue to do this after class ends, when I don't have an assignment "to connect" each week.
3. Now that I'm learning all of these tools....I have to remember to check them! :-) I'm already getting better, and things like tags, subscriptions, and the RSS feed are helping a lot.
4. I find that as we sign up for new things, or I look forward to web 2.0 tools that I already use...I have been, and intend to continue, to sign up with a "uww/teacher" identity. You so often hear about teachers getting in trouble online, that I really want to avoid that. It's NOT that I do anything inappropriate elsewhere online in my personal life. I try to be extremely careful about that. Yet, I find myself wanting to keep personal and professional still separate here. I'm liking Delicious a lot so far, but I think that if I use it for personal bookmarks, I will end up with another account. Sure, kids end up knowing a fair amount about us and our interests/lives. Yet, even if it's something totally innocuous and innocent, I don't necessarily feel the need for them to know exactly which sites I bookmark and visit for fun.
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Your point number 4 was a big issue for me as well. I do not want my students joining my social networks and I worry about them finding me on things such as these all the time. For example many of my students asked my little sister to be their friend on Facebook simply because they searched my last name and only found her, they figured she was better than nothing.
ReplyDeleteI agree it is important to separate personal and professional identities. This is also something we want to teach to students. They need to know how to manage their online identities.
ReplyDeleteDoug Johnson did part of a webinar on Constructing New Learning Landscapes and talked about essential conditions. One thing he promoted was the need for networking guidelines for teachers, especially as many of us did not grow up in a networked environment. Take a look at Mankato School District's proposed guidelines: http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2009/8/20/networking-guidelines-revised.html