The K-12 Online Conference has begun! I just saw the opening keynote by David Warlick, "Inventing the New Boundaries." Warlick dreams of the days when our classrooms are rid of the boundaries of classroom walls, textbooks, schedules bound by bells, etc. He realizes that classrooms need boundaries, but new boundaries that have yet to be invented. Warlick speaks of many things that I've been thinking about myself lately, due to my experiences in my own social learning network. Over the past year, I have learned so much from others, many of which I have never met face-to-face. We "meet" on Twitter, Ning, their blogs, my blog, Second Life, etc. We share experiences, resources, strategies, and challenges. Just this past week, I learned about Animoto and Ustream from folks in my personal learning network. I have met most of the people in my personal learning network by my participation in the Women of the Web 2.0 weekly webcasts, the Discovery Educator Network, and the Classroom 2.0 Ning network.
Our students have their own personal learning networks. They stay connected with blogs, IM, cell phones, online games, and text messaging. Warlick contents that much of what kids learn happens because they are connected. They ask others for help when they need it, and learn together. He states, "When they enter our classrooms, we cut off their connections, and this is an insult to our children."
There is much work to do.... 57% of teenagers are published authors of creative works - blogs, videos, photos, etc. What percentage of teachers and school administrators are published authors? This relates to a grant I'm writing for helping teachers develop their own social learning networks. I'll write about this soon!
Join the conversation! Take advantage of the learning opportunities by participating in the K-12 online conference!
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