The Connected Educator Chapter 5

   Chapter 5 of The Connected Educator mainly focused on using tools to support connected learning. In the Our Stories section of this chapter, the author perfectly stated that "Tools should be used to
serve the learning" (Nussbaum-Beach). She then went into detail about specific tools that can be
helpful in any profession, especially education. These tools include tools for documenting and
archiving learning, tools for connecting and collaborating, tools for social networking, and tools for
extending learning in the classroom.

   As previously stated, the author began the chapter by talking about tools for documenting and
archiving learning. These tools are beneficial for keeping track of what you have found on the
internet. One such tool that the author describes is called social bookmarking. In the past, we would
bookmark useful websites through our web browsers. Now, websites such as Delicious and Diigo
make bookmarking resources a collaborative effort. I would personally utilize both of these tools. This is because you are able to connect and network with other educators who share your interests by
forming a personal learning network.

   The next set of tools that the author discussed are tools for connecting and collaborating. The main
tool for connecting and collaborating is blogs. Blogs as the author stated are a "great sources of ideas,
information, and experiences about learning, leading, and teaching" (Nussbaum-Beach). Blogs are
also a participatory medium where users welcome feedback and discussion. One blog that the author
talks about is Edublog. Edublog allows educators to communicate with students and parents. As a
future educator I would absolutely use this digital tool. This is because Edublog allows you to post
regular updates about assignments and offers links to online course materials so that students and
their parents can access all classroom information. Podcasts are also a useful tool for connecting and
collaborating. I would also utilize podcasts in my classroom because students are able to download
them and listen to them whenever they have time which is a valuable resource to have. The final tool
that the author discusses is Google Documents or Google Docs. This is a very beneficial digital tool
when it comes to collaboration because it is used for web-based document sharing. Since I have prior
experience with this tool, I would definitely incorporate it into my future classroom because it can be
accessed anywhere due to the fact that everything is saved in the cloud. Google Docs will make it so
that students can't blame an unfinished project on their partner not sending them the document.

   The author also discussed tools for social networking such as Classroom 2.0. She stated that "The
Classroom 2.0 is comprised of nearly fifty-eight thousand educators interested in using Web 2.0 in
education" (Nussbaum-Beach). This is the perfect tool to use in order to learn about and share ideas
about how to used Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. Finally, the author discussed tools for extending
learning in the classroom. She recommended the site TeacherTube because it is an online community
for sharing educational videos made by teachers for teachers. As a future teacher, I believe that this is
an excellent resource to extend learning in the classroom. This is because the instructional videos
posted on TeacherTube may allow you to expand your professional knowledge by learning from other
educators.

   The author concludes the chapter by providing tips on how to manage your online reputation. These
tips include:

 
   Overall, I found this chapter to be very informative and useful. I will definitely be using some of
the tools that I learned about in this chapter as well as utilizing the tips that the author provided to
manage my online reputation.