After using twitter for over three months, I have learned how valuable the platform can be for getting connected to personal learning networks. Much of social media gets a bad rap for attention-hogging and flashy, amusing things that waste users' time. In my opinion, how you use it determines its worth. I follow a few of my favorite psychologists, philosophers, musicians, and orchestras. Their posts are more educational than distracting and I always find myself learning something new about the career I hope to have in the future. The downside is that I find it hard to think of things to tweet out, because the account is for a class. Therefore my posts have to be in some way related to the course to have any kind of coherence.
I loved using Wix though. I have used it to make a website for another class in the past so I had a decent grasp of the user interface already. Unlike blogger, you can drag and drop things around the page and really customize the design. The limit is your own imagination! I did learn how to embed a calendar that syncs to my Google calendar which will be extremely useful in future projects. When I am a college professor, it's something I will use to keep my studio connected to current projects and classes/masterclasses/concerts. I can also share resources to help my students practice so they can be as prepared as possible for every lesson. See some screenshots below, or visit my website by clicking HERE!
As we advance technology, the quality of life improves for everyone. I had a friend in high school who used assistive technology. He had autism, and his thoughts moved so quickly that his handwriting was unreadable. He had permission to use a laptop every day to take notes and write essays so that he could be on an even playing field with the rest of class. I have also seen videos about video games that have adapted controls for people who have disabilities that affect the use of their arms and fingers. The controllers are tailored to the parts of their body they do have control over so that they can play video games that they wouldn't be able to with a traditional controller. I can see myself needing certain adaptive technologies for students in a music class. One example I can think of is braille or enlarged sheet music for visually impaired, linked with devices that help them follow a conductor without being able to see them.
Have a safe and relaxing break everyone!
Social media does get distracting with memes and such. I think it's cool that you use it to follow philosophers and people you admire for more educational/learning reasons. Most people aren't like that!
ReplyDeleteI definitely have the same problem with knowing what to tweet. Its hard to come up with different tweets just about educational technology.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad Twitter is an educational and useful tool for you! I have found difficulty in finding who I should follow, and how it could be helpful to me. But, after seeing that you are growing your PLN, I am encouraged that it can be done!
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