Photo adapted from Flickr by kevindooley licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.
Lately, I have been reading about some exciting summer plans from my Personal Learning Network (PLN). The summer theme seems to be set in improving instructional techniques by learning to integrate technology effectively into the curriculum. Therefore, I will post a few of these ideas as well as a few that I will be doing this summer. Please share your summer development plans! These plans do not have to be focused on technology integration. These plans can also be focused on personal goals. For those who are still searching for some ideas on ways to be productive this summer, please enjoy these options!
Summer Programs
1. Webinars
My first goal is to attend several of the free webinars sponsored by Edublogs and Classroom 2.0. Attending a webinar is an interactive and fun process of learning how to use various technologies. So far, I have learned how to use html to improve my blog, met a famous author, and learned how to use other cool tools! Moreover, you meet some very wonderful people at the webinars. Below is a calendar of webinar events held by Edublogs and Classroom 2.0. For more information on the events, please visit the following sites:
2. Wiki Summer Camp
Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the first session of this summer camp for educators, which starts June 22nd and lasts till July 21st. However, the camp looks like a lot of fun! The camp will show you how to set-up a wikipage and use wikis for educational purposes. Register for the free camp by clicking on the title.
3. Moodle Web 2.0 Course
In order to learn more about Web 2.0 tools, I decided to take this free Moodle course. The course can be downloaded from this website, just click on the title.
4. Free online classes
Edufire is offering several free and reasonably priced classes. I put this as a link because some like the one I am teaching on using Twitter are free and open to teachers. Furthermore, you will find several classes on how to create great PowerPoint presentations, use various web tools, and more! Edufire is also great for personal development. I registered for free with Edufire just a few weeks ago and already I have learned how to conduct an online class, speak beginner Japanese phrases, and make a video tutorial. I plan on taking more language classes this summer and teaching some more classes as well!
5. Free e-books
I plan on taking advantage of this wonderful collection of free e-books. Already, I have downloaded Effective Teaching with Internet Technologies by Alan Pritchard.
Your boot camp challenge for this week:
Add your personal development ideas to this post. If you choose to use one of these ideas, please blog about the experience and I will connect this to my post. If you do not have a blog, then I would be happy to have you host your post here!