Social Networking for Teachers

I enjoyed watching the video Alan Levine-New Media Consortium. He discussed the importance of networking between colleagues and experimenting with new technologies. I think it is important to realize that he is correct with the statement that we need to give up on the idea that we will be able to keep up with technology. Instead, we should be willing to adjust and take the challenge of keep going regardless of how many difficulties we have. It is important to be willing to keep trying, even it it means re-learning things over again. We need to realize that we are not ever going to know everything about everything, especially in a constantly changing world. This is why networking with colleagues is so important. Emailing, blogging, and joining social networking are great ways to keep up with trends and changes.

This is why I joined the site Flipped Learning Network. The mission statement of the site is, "to provide educators with the knowledge, skills, and resources to successfully implement Flipped learning." Flipped learning is when direct instruction is moved from group teaching space to the individual learning environment. This means that class time is spent more productively because students are using higher order thinking. I think the site is providing a positive outlook on the classroom and providing resources for teachers to "flip" their own classrooms. I thinking that hearing from experienced teachers are a great way to build your own teaching repertoire. It is like the saying goes, two heads are better than one, but in this case its many more!