Informal Learning

We all do it.Whether we realize it or not, we are learning

all the time. Chasing rabbit trails on Wikipedia Reality television (Deadliest Catch, Pawn Stars) Relationships

Our experiences shape us: The way we learn The way we teach The choices we make The way we live our lives

Informal LearningLearning because you want to, not because you have

to.Informal learning is full of choice. When you choose

to learn something: You’re engaged You find it relevant You’re much more likely to enjoy it More often than not, you really learn it

Don’t underestimate the power of choice in a classroom!

Tools for Learning

TEDRSS/Blogs

Twitter

TED Talks www.ted.com TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. Talks showcase innovative ideas, fascinating talents, jaw-dropping

inventions, and more. Resource: List of all TED Talks (Google Doc)

RSS/BlogsResource: RSS in Plain English (video)

Sitting down at your computer and looking for new stuff on the internet is the old, slow way.

The new, fast way is letting new material come to you. A reader offers you a home on the web: a single website that you

can visit to see updates from all your favorite sites in one place.I use Google Reader.

Pulse News is a pretty app for iPhones and Android. It syncs with Reader.

A lot happens between blog posts.

TwitterTwitter provides real-time conversation, news

updates, and more – all in 140 characters or less.The power of Twitter lies in its versatility and its

offering of choice.

“The kids love the Twitter.” – Anderson Cooper

Twitter VocabularyTweet A message sent from Twitter; no more than 140 characters.Hashtag # used to search for a specific topic. Searches ALL tweets.Follow To voluntarily add tweeters to your feed.Followers People who see your tweets.Unfollow To choose to remove a tweeter from your feed.Block To deny another tweeter access to your tweets.“Protect your Tweets” Restricts access to your tweets to tweeters

of your choosing. Tweets do not appear publicly.Mentions Preceded by the @ symbol; directs your tweet to specific

people.Reply To respond to someone’s tweet directly.DM Direct Message. To privately respond to someone’s tweet.RT Re-Tweet. Reposting someone else’s tweet to your network.

Vocabulary reposted with permission from Jon Orech (@jorech)

TwitterI tweeted my followers to ask for help with this presentation.

Here’s the first response I got.

This one followed a few minutes later.

I clicked on this hashtag…

…and Twitter responded by showing me all the tweets that used it.

People listed all kinds of reasons why they tweet.

TwitterResource: Why Tweet (Google Doc)

TwitterIt’s all about choice.It’s all about being intentional.How will YOU use it?