WK 5 Social Networking

This week we were to read the chapter and discuss the PLN's we chose to belong to!  Since Facebook was the first ever social networking site I've belonged to, I would like to share some thoughts on how much it has changed into an excellent and yet overly abused PLN.  When I signed up for Facebook in 2005 it was strictly to keep in contact with college friends. At the time this was the main reason for FB and it couldn't even keep up with adding colleges!  I know mine was one of the last ones added and even then was difficult to create an account.   Now anyone with an email can be on Facebook and I feel it has lost it's PLN and Social Networking aspects. I now just keep Facebook to stay in contact with long distance relatives and some friends.  As an adult and educator FB no longer appeals to my needs.

Another PLN I love using is Pinterest! I've been a member for not too long and found out about Pinterest from my cousin who is a college professor.  He told me not only could I plan my life out haha but also connect with other teachers thorough their blogs, pins, and crafting ideas.  I find Pinterest to not just be a crafting and dream world site but an actual asset to educators.   I follow Teachers Notebook and they share so many resources to use in the classroom for all ages.  I follow other teacher friends who are always posting things for their classrooms which can sometimes help me in my classroom.  I follow We Are Teachers for when I need those inspirational quotes! Those are just a few. It is so easy to search and locate other teachers who are doing the same things you are.  I had a professor in my Undergrad always tell the class do not reinvent the wheel!  I had no idea what he was really saying until I started teaching and tired my first year to do it all myself and not get a lot of ideas or pro tables from the internet... Needles to say I never slept and that next year used Pinterest, TeachersPayTeachers and started to follow a ton of blogs to get more ideas. 

I signed up for edweb.  After taking the survey that ask you take after signing you up, it was fairly easy to navigate around the site.  I'm still leaning my way around and how to properly use it.  I will post back later when I can really review the site better!   Well I'm back and Edweb is excellent!  I love how there are articles, workshops being posted and well other educators on there who share in the same things I do!  It's an excellent tool right up there with Edmodo which I equally like due to some of the things edweb offers! There is a Mobil app for the site too, but you need to really use the full site inorder to see the full benefits of the site!