Social Networks in my Workflow

The more I dig the more I find to expand my social network. It seems that the possibilities are endless when it comes to making connections. Previously, my social span was Facebook and of course lots of texting. But I realize that I am seriously limiting my social range and opportunities for growth.

In a few short weeks I have joined, followed, and commented on a variety of sites. My RSS reader has connected me to Blogs and newscasts that have increased my understanding of social media. I have proudly become a member of Twitter and "tweeted" successfully! I have also found my CEP classmates and followed each one in hopes of keeping up with course happenings. Twitter has also connected me to more, and more webpages that I continue to bookmark on Diigo. It initially seemed that all of these sources were building up into one big pile. Now I see them as strands that branch out and intertwine with one another. Just as some notice 6 degrees of separation between people, there is just that with technology. I am positive that I could start from one end of my RSS reader and get to the other with just a few clicks!

Now I am working on linking my new found personal connections with my professional life as a teacher. This is somewhat daunting since my first graders are not quite ready for the keys to navigate through most social media. Moreover, there are boundaries that I have with the parents of my students, so my personal Facebook account is not an open option. I am leaning more towards using Twitter to establish a foundation of social communication. I have started a Twitter account along with my co-workers in first grade. Through this account we are planning on tweeting throughout the day and providing classroom updates in real-time. Eventually we are hoping to pass this task off to students in class as a "job." I am really looking forward to using more aspects of social media as my Twitter experiment gets off the ground!