During the infancy stages of Twitter no one would have ever guessed
that it, along with other social media platforms, would become the New Professional Development. It truly is the way to go for anyone to
personalize his or her own learning.
This professional development had two purposes: 1. To show
teachers how social media can influence their professional lives and 2. To show
teachers how it can influence their students learning.
Side note: Before planning the session I wanted to model the
use of new technology for teachers. I
decided to use Keynote presentation. Not only did I model the use of this
application for Macs, but I also, unintentionally, became an example of bombing
a presentation just after I showed a spoof on presentations by growinleaders.com (see below). If anything, I got there attention and they
realized learning comes out of struggle, especially if you are using technology.
Back to the New
Professional Development: I was able to walk teachers through a slideshare
called, Ten Reasons Why Teachers UseTwitter by Mike Paul, Teacher, EdTech Consultant, and CEO of
PikeMallTech.com. I actually found this
resource while participating in an #edchat.
It was an opportunity for me to show teachers how to use it to gain
resources and information pertinent to their work. Next, I shared some of my tweets with experts
in the field as a way to show how Twitter can build and strengthen
networks. It gives any teacher the
ability to engage in real discussions with real experts in any field from technology
to social studies to assessment. Twitter
is give and take. It allows you to take
resources but you should also share what you do so you are helping others.
Finally, if Twitter can enhance the work of a teacher then
it can do the same for students.
Students can tap into experts as they research, create partnerships with
organizations, meet other students with similar interests, and follow colleges
that may be of interest to them. These
are just some of the few ways it can make their educational experience
stronger.
Overall, the audience of teachers seemed excited and
scared. Teachers were excited to see a
new possibility with Twitter. Teachers
were scared because it was a world they were not too sure they were ready for
but they knew it is something they need to do so they can be relevant. Students need their teachers to be relevant,
to be on the same page as them when it comes to technology use.
A piece of good advice for beginners and gaining comfort
with social media such as Twitter from our principal is to try following a
field based on a hobby you enjoy. Taste
it first with something fun then take it to another level and begin
personalizing your growth.
Check out some of the learning on twitter by going to
#cmscharged.
