As a teacher, I’ve always felt that professional development and being a “life-long learner” are key to finding success and fulfillment in the field. I’ve felt lucky to have access to PD opportunities and support to pursue courses related to my job (like this one). Making the time can be challenging with work and personal commitments but the benefits are huge.
There are innumerable blogs, websites, networks, Twitter feeds, and Facebook groups a person can follow and participate in that deal with all facets of education. Personally I need things to be streamlined and specific so the idea of following dozens of blogs or feeds is overwhelming and frankly unappealing to me. After spending all day using computers at work, I’m not generally inclined to turn it on for more than fun at home. Through explorations for the course, I found two sites that I think are great starting points for someone like me, The Innovative Educator and Getting Smart. Both act as portals to all sorts of information, blogs, videos, discussions, and outside links.
Twitter is relatively new to me. I basically use it to grab news snippets. As I start to explore more, I see there are many discussions happening between educators, sharing new ideas and links. Life became somewhat easier when I discovered the List option on Twitter…it is amazing how a little organization makes things more manageable. Classroom 2.0 also looks to have great networking opportunities. There are groups and forums for all sorts of topics. Spending an hour searching You Tube or TED talks can also yield treasures. Allowing yourself even an hour per week to go exploring helps you find out what others are doing in education around the world.
After the course is through, I will likely continue to follow some of the Twitter feeds and I would like to spend more time looking at Classroom 2.0. I know I won’t keep up with many blogs, but they are all bookmarked for a rainy day. Within my school I want to try and collaborate and share more with my colleagues. It is an ongoing complaint that we don’t get enough time within our departments to meet. Once I have an arsenal of Web 2.0 tools, I’d like to share them with my colleagues, perhaps through a PD session or a Wiki.
The chart below nicely summarizes all the ways we can collaborate and work together to share information.
Creative Commons licensed image courtesy John Spencer – EdRethink
Clare, I like the diagram you included. As you mentioned in your post, most teachers lament the lack of time for collaboration. With these digital options, maybe some more collaboration will be able to take place. Ironically though, it does mean more time in front of a screen. There is still something to say for quality face to face meeting time.
Good blog post outlining some solid strategies to help you find, select and most importantly, filter all your information feeds to make sure you are getting only the most relevant and useful! Your diagram was interesting and the couple of links you’ve included are also useful tools for any educator.
Hi Clare,
I agree that it can be challenging to keep up with all the reading and blogs and sometimes it just isn’t realistic when there is so much reading for coursework that takes priority. (Last week I actually read a book out of interest, and it was so great! It had been too long!) I think tools like feedly really help because like you said, they are bookmarked for a rainy day! It is nice to have a place to compile resources online rather than having boxes of articles and text books that sit in bins uninterrupted for years. Thanks for your post!