Be A Techie:) » Midwestband

Start Small for Developing Your PLN

Carol Broos — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:00:37 +0000

It was great connecting with newbies on the social networking scene at the Midwest Clinic; hopefully others will jump on the bandwagon and see how it will improve their teaching. It only takes one single step, that is how I started. My first step was delicious, then twitter, then…. the rest is history.
Let'Scommunicate

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Education web2.0 communication


I started out with a powerpoint presentation, then showed screenshots, and finally there was time for questions.
This year I am collaborating with teachers all over the world, and my first collaboration with my students is the Composer Collaboration Project. Currently,  I am working on an Abraham Lincoln project with a school in Florida (more details on a later date)
Social Networks have single-handedly has improved my teaching and created a PLN or  Personal Learning Network. For those who would like to see my entire presentation at Midwest Band Clinic click here



I just got back from Midwest Band Clinic. When I asked who had a Facebook account to the audience, about 10% raised their hand, when asked who had a twitter – three hands went up and delicious/diigo account got none, there were over 200 people in the audience! I knew I had to move slow and forget about the videos I was going to present.
It was like I was talking another language, so I went slow and tried to pepper the presentation with stories that they could relate to.
Story 1
You should have a Facebook account, even if you NEVER USE it. A couple of years ago, a group of high school students knowing that teachers are NOT connecting created Facebook accounts with their teacher’s name and picture. Then the real fun began, they started with fake meetings and sexual encounters. The administration got wind of the Facebook accounts and thought they were REAL. They were going to fire all the teachers. After some intervention, the teachers were able to convince the administration that the accounts were fake. BUT, it took Facebook over six months to completely delete all the postings.
Story 2
Have separate email accounts, don’t use your school account for personal matters. Enough said….
Story 3
Googling your name is now your resume. The more connected you are the better. One of my administrators wanted the IT department to call google and get something removed, my suggestion is to put so much up there, that the bad stuff is buried on pages 5 or 6.




Finally, the seven steps of getting connected 

Nickname, a name you will use for all your social networking.
Gmail
Have a short resume of three sentences and a picture ready to go
Fill out ALL Profiles when you start – I only follow people that are “like” me – teacher, musician, techie, etc.
Delicious and/or Diigo account
Twitter and/or Plurk account
Get a webpage or start a blog – either pbwiki, edublogs, or with a .mac account you have iweb.

Now you are developing your PLN, your own Personal Learning Network!



It’s all about bangs and harmony at the Midwest International Clinic Conference
Carol Broos — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:51:45 +0000
Friday started with a bang, a dynamic silent bang.  The snow came and came and came; I barely slept all night thinking “will I make it downtown on time for my presentation at 11:30?”  So, I got up at 4:45am to in order to make the 6:14am train out of Waukegan. After a shower, the phone rang at 5:30am and my school had a snow day, but not for me, I am going to THE Midwest Clinic.  I promptly got dressed and my husband drove me to the train as the snow was increasing at a record rate. Gladly, I made the train and off to “my people” at the Midwest Clinic.
Remarkably, the train was on time as we reached Ogilvie Transportation Center, I slowly trudged through the snowdrifts and flagged down a cab to the Chicago Hilton. Ever since I have left the academic world of Hughes Hall at Ohio State University I miss the sounds of music all around me. That was the first thing I noticed as I walked into the Chicago Hilton on Friday morning, the sound of scales, songs, and doodling around. I was with “my people.” AHHHHH….
The moment I got to my room to present, I met and connected with other musicians. That is the wonderful thing about musicians, we connect, we talk, and we experience the best about life, the personal relationship to collaborate and bond. You have to collaborate, how else would you perform with others?  I met up with some wonderful individuals that wanted to shift musicians into the web 2.0 world of social networking and sharing.
As I always do, I sit in the same room before I present, no matter what it is. First, I feel physically connected to the room and second, I have found some wonderful presentations due to this method. The presentation before me was concerning using the Elmo and the use of a big screen in a band room environment. It was an outstanding presentation by Joel Mason “Wasting Away in “Obsolete-A-Ville” – Changing Attitudes about Technology in the Instrumental Rehearsal Room. He showed ways of using an Elmo and a projector within band rehearsals, hopefully, other musicians will take the risk and use a variety of technology within their classroom.
My presentation concerning web 2.0 was the only presentation that really required internet. I had an AT&T internet card just in case the internet was not accessible at the conference AND I had done screen shots of all the websites. To my horror, I could not get my internet card to work within the room, on to plan B – get internet. I requested that I needed internet to the “tech” support for the room. They immediately came, with an ethernet cord in hand, noted that it would cost me $600 for the day. But, I told them I only needed it for an hour. “It doesn’t matter, it is $600 for the day and $200 every day after that.”  Needless to say, I did not pay; I would use screenshots for my presentations, Plan C. This is incredible that a conference doesn’t have internet access. The only flaw, the Hilton Chicago does not offer internet connections, so no internet.
Now onto my presentation. I always try to talk to the “early” attendees and find out how much they know about web 2.0, where they are teaching, because it makes me feel more connected to the audience if I talk so some of the attendees before I actually begin. It was a group of educators at the beginning of their “techie” career. I got the sense that many did not know much of what I was going to talk about and this was going to be a new experience they would experience. As soon as I asked the question “how many know what web 2.0 is?” and only ONE hand went up, I dramatically changed up my presentation to simple and easy, not expanding upon higher-level web 2.0 technologies. I did my presentation allowing for ten minutes of questions and five minutes of getting out early (everyone likes getting “out” early, it feels like you have won the lottery.)
I really enjoyed all the attendees that came up to talk to me that expressed an attitude that they would “try” one of the many things within web 2.0. I quickly packed up; I had one more errand to do before I caught the train home – tickets to Mary Poppins for my Christmas gifts. I always give the gift of theater. We, as music educators, must always support the arts. I quickly got to the train and began to process what an incredible snow day I had, compared to my students, parents, and fellow educators at my school had today. It was a long day, but I loved it. I wish I could have spent more time at other sessions, but given the weather it was not in the picture. This is my third time at Midwest and I love it every time. It is my Christmas gift to myself; I am with “my people,” with people who want to create and connect using a vast amount of harmony and of course, noise.
Finally, the twitter was extremely gracious to me and many have DM or emailed me how much they enjoyed the session.



Getting Ready for Midwest Band Clinic Presentation
Carol Broos — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:01:24 +0000
I am putting the final touches on my presentation at the Midwest Band Clinic in Chicago for Friday, December 19 at 11:30-12:30. I am really excited about this presenation because it combines everything I love: Performance, Music, and Technology.  I have presented “Let’s Communicate: 2.0″ a variety of times, but presenting to musicians gives me a rush.  Music is the glue in technology and using web 2.0 makes it ZOOM.  I will have a keynote, internet, and yes, (ugh) paper copies of all the web 2.0 programs I use. Hopefully, some audience members will set up websites, blogs, wikis, or just get connected to twitter, plurk, diigo, and/or delicious. Look for my reflection blog post later this week. I look forward to connecting with some of my twittermates at #midwestclinic.