Okay, this is the first "PLN" I have ever created, and I think that I will need to use it more before I can discuss it with competency. I used the service, "Scoop.it," and I am unsure whether or not the free version is going to be adequate. I selected Physical Education as my topic to follow and was able to publish a "scoop" based on a few stories that interested me as a Physical Educator. I chose to follow the resources I selected so that I can keep up on new stories in my field. The resources I followed today included a school that was awarded a $10,000.00, "Shape the State" grant to be used for physical education, and an article regarding allowing military personal to teach physical education with some restrictions in the State of California. I think that Scoop it will be a great resource to me once I get it all figured out.
I am excited to get started creating my PWP (personal web presence), and hope that I can complete my current Technology in Kinesiology class with something that I will be proud to share with my students. I think that a PWP is a great way to connect with parents, administration, school board members, community members, and students regarding who you are as an educator, and about your courses.
I found Physical Educator, Judson Sickler's PWP to be very professional and informative. I appreciate the way that Mr. Sickler introduces himself personally and professionally. He also has links to each of his grade levels that he teaches, as well as pertainent school and P.E. program information.
I have looked through Mr. Sickler's site, www.mrsicklerphysicaleducation.com, trying to find something to improve upon, and I really cannot, (check it out for yourself.) I found his page to be very informative and inspiring. I hope to create a page similar to his one day. I felt that the information that he provided was very clear and well-organized by the links at the top of his site. I think that he could literally hand students a piece of paper with his site address on it instead of a variety of different syllabi, grading sheets, and make-up opportunities. I am thoroughly impressed with how he seamlessly combined his teaching and coaching into one page. I think that Mr. Sickler wanted to represent himself professionally, but with a down-to-Earth feel. I felt as though I knew Mr. Sicker and his expectations as a professional after interacting with his site. If I could copy his site exactly, but gear it towards myself, I would. I am completely impressed by the amount of information on his site. I would like to copy how I was able to see all of the page options links at the top of each screen I visited. I also like how he had very clear titles for each link, and how it seemed as though his site is frequently updated. I feel that his site would be a very useful tool for students and parents. The internet is my primary way of accessing information. I rarely watch TV, and I do not subscribe to newspapers, so I find myself using the internet multiple times on a daily basis.
Generally, when I am interested in learning new things, they are health related, so I visit the American Heart Association Page, Centers for Disease Control, and American Academy of Pediatrics. I also check out my local newspaper if there is an event that I want to read about or find more information on. A guilty pleasure of mine is checking a local real estate site daily to see what has been listed that day. Even though I own a home, and do not plan on moving, I enjoy looking at houses and seeing the uniqueness in each one. Taking that to another level, I also follow do-it-your-selfers and designers, "Young House Love" to learn new techniques and see things that I could create myself. I am also able to find new and interesting information on facebook through the pages I follow such as Tobacco Free California and Runner's World. I think that the internet can be a place of great learning, but can also be a major deterrent from productivity. It is so easy to bounce from one site to the next and get distracted from the original thought or search. I feel that I am a hard-working professional person, but I can easily loose myself in facebook for thirty minutes. Being that it is very easy to have a social media page open at the same time that you can have pages open that you are trying to learn from can be a great distraction. I can only imagine how that conflict could feel to an adolescent. I think that the combinations of technology and learning is great. I am glad to be taking a course that is going to push me towards using more technology in my field. I still think that personal connection and brain power can be our best tools as learners, however, if there is technology that can help us to have been understanding and that can drive us to be better learners, I am game. Why not? The majority of my students and student athletes use twitter REGULARLY, so why not use it as a tool to send out reminders, post assignments, and update followers on what is happening in your classroom or with your team. I know that several of my colleagues use twitter for their classes and have found it to be quite successful. I think that as long as the focus stays professional and does not become a place to just chat or hang out with students, then it could be very productive.
After watching Marcus Buckingham's video and reflecting on my own career, I felt inspired about a new viewpoint of playing up and focusing on my strengths rather then spending time and energy on my weaknesses.
When standing back and looking at my strengths and acknowledging areas where I am in my element, I feel a sense of calm. I feel like I am in my "sweet spot" when managing my classes. I enjoy being observed by others when giving instruction or transitioning my classes to new activities. I feel that I excel at giving concise directions that specify my expectations and tell my students how they will be meeting those expectations for the period. I also feel that I am strong at connecting with students. I am fair and I genuinely care about the lives of the students I teach. I will try my hardest to connect with my students, even if it is just on a daily greeting basis. I like to think that my students know that I really care about them and their ability to succeed. In regards to areas that I feel totally out of my area of strengths, would be similar to that of Marcus Buckingham. I feel weak in the area of confrontation. I do not like disagreement, and I do not like uncomfortable environments that contain tension. When having to give negative feedback or having to deal with confrontation, I feel anxious and I physically break a sweat. I also feel unsure of myself in areas dealing with numbers that have practical applications, such as retirement calculations, refinancing our home, insurance, changes to taxes, and others. For example, my husband and I just signed up to buy a solar program for our home. As soon as we started discussing how we needed to adjust our taxes to be able to pay off one of the loans with our solar tax rebate, I was lost and referred to my husband. Numbers in real world scenarios can be difficult and stressful to me. I really liked this video and felt inspired afterwards by the things that I am strong at. I found Mr. Buckingham's perspective about how we focus time and attention to weakness by using the class grade example to be enlightening. I have always thought about improving my weaknesses, rather than adding to my strengths. Although I think that it is important for students to have struggle and seek improvement in all academic areas, I do think that it is equally important to highlight areas of strength and then play to those areas. Hello, my name is Natalie Welsh, and I am a Wife and Mother, Physical Educator, Coach, and Runner in that order. I live, teach, and recreate in beautiful Northern California. I am currently pursuing my Master's Degree in Kinesiology.
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AuthorNatalie Welsh |