For my online PLN experience, I participated in the FETC Virtual Leadership Summit: Leveraging Digital Learning on April 11th. I was able to view several sessions that shared many great technology applications and uses in education. Our campus iCoach was not on campus during the summit, but she was able to log in during the morning sessions, and we chatted as the speakers presented information. We shared ideas and excitement for the new web tools, Apple apps, and innovations that these experts shared. Some of the topics discussed were: "Technology Smackdown", "Walk the Talk: effective use of Technology", "iPads for Learning and Teaching", "Promising Technologies, Creativity & Teaching: 25 ideas", and "Super Secret Twitter Tips, Tricks, and Resources."
My favorite pieces of take-away information came from the "Technology Smackdown" session. I loved the web tools that John Kuglin shared. Some I had heard of before, like Popcorn Maker and Thinglink, which allow you to layer audio, video, web links, and text to make a very interactive product. One I had not heard about yet was knovio, which is an educational site that stores lessons made by other educators, and has an app that allows easy access for students. Flipping your classroom just became a little easier! One last one that I want to try is vialogue, which is like VoiceThread, but with video. It allows students to view a video and make a comment about it to encourage discussion of the topic right there.
I really enjoyed this format, and I have signed up for several other webinars through School Library Journal, edWeb, and Edudemic that I hope to view throghout the summer. What I enjoy most about virtual webinars and session like these, is that I can connect with actual experts in the area of technology and also with experts in my area of interest, books and libraries, and on my time and schedule since most are archived for later viewing.
