Jenna Greene

Chapter 5 of The Connected Educator is all about learning which tools, and how to use them, help support connected learning. Put well by the authors is that “...tools are not helpful unless users understand the context in which tools can best improve learning” (Nussbaum-Beach and Ritter 74). And thus the chapter begins, with different examples of tools and summaries on how to use them. Nussbaum-Beach and Ritter provide all different tools for different areas of focus. These areas include tools for documenting and archiving learning, connecting and collaborating, social networking, and extending learning in the classroom. Documenting and archiving learning helps you keep track of information or things you’ve found helpful online, like social bookmarking (also known as tagging). Connecting and collaborating helps build your personal learning network using methods such as blogs, RSS readers, and microblogs, like Twitter. Following building up your personal learning network, sites l...

Chapter 2 of The Connected Educator focuses on connected learning communities and the roles they play and the importances they hold. In a connected learning community, there is a three-pronged approach to connect and collaborate, which leads to professional development. These three prongs are: 1) local community, 2) global network, and 3) bounded community. A local community is a professional learning community that has a face-to-face structure focused on student achievement. A global network is also a personal learning network, in which there is a diverse group of people connecting to achieve personal growth. A bounded community is a community of practice or inquiry that is made up of committed individuals with common interests who want to develop deeper connections in order to create systemic improvement (Nussbaum-Beach and Ritter 28). When working, especially to find creative solutions to problems, two minds is almost always better than one. “A driving force behind a com...