Until this week, I've been using three different tools to supplement my professional learning community: Twitter, Google Groups, and a discussion board hosted my the National Association of Independent Schools. I'm sure I'll use these for the foreseeable future, but I think the landscape is going to change significantly with the launch of Google+ Communities. Google Groups and other online discussion boards have been around for decades and are certainly functional. But they've been around for decades and feel slow. The Twitter PLCs I belong to gather around hashtags. For example, once a month we meet on twitter using the hashtag #geniushour to discuss our 20% projects. 20% Time = Genius Hour. The problem with these hashtag meetups is that all of my followers who are not remotely interested in 20% time, or teaching for that matter, get flooded with completely irrelevant tweets. Google+ solves this problem because conversations can rally around specific topics. See how it works here.
Join these communities here. They're small right now, but I think they have a lot of potential.
Join these communities here. They're small right now, but I think they have a lot of potential.
I just joined a G+ community. Still learning the ropes...
ReplyDeleteHere's the metaphor that I've been using to explain Communities and Circles.
ReplyDeleteCircles=Private categories in an address book. [These people get Christmas presents, these get cards, and these get nothing (Camilla gets presents).]
Communities =Clubs. [All members know they're members, and they know who the other members are.]