Journal #2: Affinity Groups & Digg Reader Feed

source: http://gbcimaginate.com/?page_id=24

I joined an affinity group via Facebook called "We Are Teachers." We Are Teachers currently has just under 150k members who are in various stages of the teaching spectrum (instructional aides, substitute teachers, pre-service teachers, veteran teachers, first-year teachers etc.) and grade levels k-12. The group is very interactive and group moderators post regularly (often multiple times a day.) These posts include relevant articles, links to resources, and education/teacher-based humor in the form of comics/memes. They often ask for group members to weigh in on various issues affecting education. I hope to use this affinity group as a source of professional development and educator-to-educator collaboration. We Are Teachers can be found at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreTeachers

As for the Digg Reader, this past week, I kept forgetting that I had it! As I have never used Digg before, it is not one of the sites I visit on a daily basis and so I did not use it everyday. However, when I did use it, the experience was enjoyable. As of this point, I am following four RSS feeds. Of these, I followed two in class the day we set up our Digg Reader, just so that I could have some stock feeds. I was not 100% interested in these, and this became evident when I tried using my Digg Reader. The stuff I just wasn't that interested in, was mixed into the stuff that genuinely did pique my interest and it was a nuisance. This enabled me to see first-hand that Digg Reader is a great tool when you filter exactly what you want to see into it. It's like a magnet that pulls in material relevant to your interests. That said, it will take me a while to get used to using it.

Question 1) How can affinity groups help with professional development?

I think affinity groups can help with professional development in multiple ways. Members can network with eachother, collaborate in brainstorming new ideas, and give eachother advice with conflicts/dilemmas they may experience. Depending on what the affinity group does, this can go even further. The affinity group I follow posts links for helpful iphone apps, fun lesson plans etc. Affinity groups can easily help one develop professionally.

Question 2) Could Digg Reader be a useful tool for students?

I think Digg Reader could be a useful tool, especially for high school students. Say you were a history teacher and wanted students to keep up with current events in a specific field. You could easily have your students use Digg Reader and give them specific feeds to follow. I don't think this would be so useful for younger children as this may go beyond their computer skills and the functionality of Digg Reader is not necessary at that age.