Journal #2

I was not familiar with Digg Reader before taking this course.  I like the idea of being able to choose the news, blogs, etc. that I am most interested in.  I chose to subscribe to several kindergarten blogs because I often find resources on Pintrest that are pinned from various teacher blogs.  Digg Reader allows me to go directly to the kindergarten blogs rather than having to find a blog through Pintrest first.  I also chose to subscribe to ESPN and the San Diego Chargers to stay up to date on my favorite team!

I have not previously been a part of an affinity group or PNG.  I chose to join Edutopia because it seems to be updated quite often and has a large number of members.  I teach kindergarten so I like that I can search for videos, resources, and live chats for my grade level.

I also chose to create an Edmodo account because I have heard of Edmodo before and it was recommended to me by a colleague.  I like that Edmodo allows me to store my resources but I have not fully created my profile yet and I am not sure how much useful I will find the group.  At first glance it seems that it is almost like a Facebook for my class where I can post assignments and grades. I teach Kinder so I do not know if that aspect will appeal to me, but I will try it out and see!




Q1: How could Digg Reader be used as a resource in the classroom?

A1: I teach kindergarten so I honestly do not think that Digg would be a very good resource for my students because they are just learning their sounds, letters and how to read.  However I do think that Digg could be used with older students. Students love to use technology and I think they would be more interested in reading up on current events if it was via a technology device. If I taught upper grades I would allow my students to subscribe to Digg articles that pertain to our topics and news articles. The students could read the articles and then could present on a current event that they learned about.  I think it would be a creative way for students to keep on what is going on in their community and the world around them.

Q2: If districts had their own affinity groups for their educators would that a valuable resource for teachers?

I personally think it would be nice if my district had their own affinity group.  Every district is a little different and have their own goals and requirements and it would be nice to be able to connect with teachers that have resources and ideas specifically for me or my colleagues.  I also think that maybe then the affinity group could hold discussions and webinar training that would allow teachers to participate in professional development from home.  The issue I see with this is that for me I have found that many of the veteran teachers in my district do not have an interest in technology or learning new technology so I am not sure that the affinity group would be fully utilized.