Technology - eep!

We live in a world where technology seems to move by the minute.  Every few weeks, something requires me to create an account at some website or other in order to access information, share my ideas, or otherwise make the most of the internet.  So it really only makes sense that future teachers create professional learning networks to help with learning how to teach.  At one level, it helps me to learn what technology is available.  I knew little about blogging and had never used RSS feeds or Twitter until this semester.  Now, I easily recognize the value of these sites in bringing technology into the classroom (although I am not completely sold on Twitter yet; we'll see how it goes).  Twitter and professional blogs have also swelled my list of useful websites to help with preparing extraordinary lessons or simply preparing ordinary graphic organizers.  At another level, my PLN has helped me to see "through the eyes of a teacher," so-to-speak.  Some of the professional blogs that I follow offer insight into teachers' lives, rookie mistakes, and simply the joys involved in teaching adolescents.  I look forward to one day having my own blog that qualifies as a "professional" viewpoint!  I thoroughly enjoy blogging and only wish I had more time to do so.  Timing has been my only noticeable problem so far, as I never seem to quite meet that 5pm on Saturday deadline for weekly posts.

I have subscribed to a variety of professional blogs:

• History Tech is one of my favorite blogs that I am reading.  Glen Wiebe posts a few times a week with links to websites that help with teaching history.  He also reviews the sites so that teachers can enter them with an expectation of what they will be able to do.
• Outside the Cave shares various thoughts from the perspective of Stephen Lazar, a social studies and English teacher in the Bronx.  He talks about what works, what does not work, and various difficulties related to teaching in an inner-city school.  His posts are sometimes heavily opinionated, but they also contain some deep insights that reflect true challenges in schools.
• So You Want to Teach is the blog of an experienced band teacher who is currently working with two first year teachers.  Through this interaction, he has reflected on what skills he sees as successful in teaching and what "rookie mistakes" he observes, especially in classroom management.
• The Scholastic Scribe still confuses me a bit.  Melissa posts often, but posts frequently relate to subjects other than education.  To that extent, I think it is an entertaining blog to read but not necessarily helpful as part of a PLN.
• Tween Teacher was a cute little blog that posted some intriguing thoughts about teaching and working with middle school students.  A few of Heather Wolpert-Gawron's posts leave me still pondering her questions a month later.  Unfortunately, she has not posted much in the past month.

I am also following 5 professional Twitter accounts:

• glennw98
• jdthomas7
• mooresclassroom
• mr_johansson
• TheSwish