The document discusses an educator's experience exploring various social media networks for professional use. It finds Edmodo and Twitter to be the most useful networks. Edmodo is endorsed for classroom use with students due to its user-friendly interface and district support. Twitter is valued for connecting with other educators. While tools like Moodle, Delicious and Pinterest provide ideas, the educator feels most comfortable initially using only Edmodo with students. Overall Edmodo and starting a Twitter account were successes, while determining appropriate networks for different audiences was a challenge.

1. Social Networks for Educators
JULIE HARTMAN
SUMMER 2014

2. Which tool have you found most useful?
For teaching purposes, I think that Edmodo will be most
useful. Our district supports using this network with students.
The tools are user friendly and easy to navigate. This network
can be used with other specialists in our school, including the
technology teacher. I think it could possibly be used at home
once students are comfortable with the layout. It could be used
for uploading files, literature responses, quizzes, or polls.
I found Twitter to be good for connecting with other educators.
I like the idea of being able to see what other colleagues find
useful. It is very easy to use and the short, limited posts make
it quick and easy to read through.
I also appreciated that Twitter allows you to connect the
different network accounts, such as Delicious and Pinterest.

3. Moodle and Online Learning
I liked learning through Moodle and using it to take an online
class. The numerous links sometimes feel confusing, but overall I
liked being able to explore different tools at my own pace while
creating the projects. As a second grade teacher, I’m not sure
how I would use Moodle itself, but do see the value in this tool
with older students, especially at the upper middle and high
school level.
With the other online learning tools, I found new ways to
network and share with other teachers. At this time I feel
comfortable using them as a professional, but am not sure that I
will use all of the tools with my students or parents this year. The
exception is Edmodo, as I will use this with my students this fall.
I think Twitter could be used for communicating with parents,
but would like more personal time with the tool.

4. Microblogging
Here is the link to my Twitter account. I was able to
connect with more teachers from my school. I could
see this as a way to communicate with parents by
having a separate Twitter account for updates from
my classroom.
https://twitter.com/hart2ndgrade

5. Social Bookmarking
I used the social bookmarking site, delicious.com. I
could see this being useful if colleagues on my
team all signed up for an account and we linked to
each other’s networks. Otherwise, this is a good
place to bookmark pages that are used at home and
work in a way that can easily be tagged for later
use. This could possibly be a tool used for parents
to access websites relevant to 2nd grade. Again I
like that it is linked to the Twitter account.
https://delicious.com/jahartman

6. Classroom 2.0 & Pinterest
Classroom 2.0 was my least favorite of the networks I joined. While I see
its value and understand its use, I feel Twitter is a more valuable tool. I
also feel that as an educator with a lot on my plate, Twitter gives
information in a faster way since it limits the user to a certain number of
characters. Classroom 2.0 has different features and options such as
blogging and wikis. However at this time I’m not ready to launch my own
class blog or wiki, so I’m not sure how much I will continue to participate
in Classroom 2.0. I also found that not many people responded to posts
or questions. This could be due to the time of year I am participating.
http://www.classroom20.com/profile/JulieHartman
Pinterest is a great bookmarking site for ideas. Honestly, I am not a
crafty person, so I’m not sure how many of the projects viewed will
actually come to fruition in my classroom. I do think it’s a great place to
start brainstorming for different ways to manage materials and activities
in an elementary classroom. For example, I found a new easy way to use
clothespins to track student homework. One thing I didn’t like was that
many of the ideas I liked were connected to a website that asks me to buy
something. http://www.pinterest.com/j_hartma/

7. Edmodo
I liked having time (outside of the school year) to learn about
Edmodo. It has many features for students of different ages.
I think for my 2nd grade class, I will try posting questions for
students to respond to. I would also like to use the file upload
feature for homework assignments.
We will be using iPads in the classroom this year so students can
use their Edmodo accounts in the classroom and at home. Edmodo
could be useful to have students respond to literature. Ipads can
circulate during the week until everyone has a chance to respond. In
this way class participation is increased.
The first step for this school year to use Edmodo will be to gather
parent permission forms for students to use an Edmodo account
through our school. After this, I will bring my class to the computer
lab to link accounts.
https://lmtsd.edmodo.com/home#/profile/45882973

8. Successes & Challenges
One success was starting with a Twitter account. I think it was an easy way
to jump into building a network. In addition, many other networks were
easily accessed and linked through the Twitter account.
Edmodo was also a success. Many other colleagues have mentioned using
Edmodo. I appreciated having the time to sit and learn about how Edmodo
could be used in the classroom. Now that my account is set up and I
connected with colleagues, I know who to go to if I need help!
A challenge in this course was understanding who the tools could be used
with. Some tools lend themselves to connecting with colleagues, others
may be better with parents or students. Being a teacher of 2nd grade, I feel
even with Edmodo, I will only be using the basics with my students.
Another challenge was exploring Classroom 2.0. Initially, I thought it could
be used with students, but now I have a better understanding that it is a
way to network with other professionals.
I’m looking forward to using Edmodo with my students, and exploring
Twitter further!