doug - off the record Recently, I wrote a series of posts about Professional Learning with Social Media. It was inspired by comments from @tk1ng about conversations that he had with young teachers during a summer Additional Qualifications course. I’m going to use this post to put them all together. I’m hoping that the totality of the comments makes sense and that, perhaps, at least one of Tim’s co-learners stumbles on this blog post and reconsiders. I absolutely read every comment that’s posted to this blog. But, one of the quotes in his reply made me think during my morning dog walk. At my recent AQ, the new teachers all said that they actively avoid web2.0 because it loses them credibility with the old-school admins hiring them, and they are terrified of one of their 20-something friends posting pictures that would get them fired. Two things leapt out at me. First of all, Tim and a bunch of teachers are taking Additional Qualification courses during the summer. But, the second part bothers me. Good stuff.
10 Ways You Can Use Social Media for Self-Education You probably think that social networks are for fun only. Sure, you can spend hours commenting on friend’ photos or participating in FB discussions. Social networks are definitely fun. Social media have revolutionized the education business. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Author info: Kimberly Lorenzo is an editor at the website which provides professional writing advice.
PD: How do educators get to know what they don’t know? SmartBlogs When it comes to education reform, there are in general two major camps, but there are also several variations of each. The first camp would like to blow up the system and start all over. The other camp wants to continue the status quo while working to change it in directions governed by whatever dominant force of change has the ear of the public at the time. I find my own inclinations falling somewhere between the two camps. It has long been my position that to be better educators, we need to be better learners. We need to examine the way we approach professional development in education. PD is offered by many schools in an annual or semiannual teacher workshop day. We need to change PD. Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby) is an adjunct professor of education at St.
8 Ideas, 10 Guides, And 17 Tools For A Better Professional Learning Network Personal learning networks are a great way for educators to get connected with learning opportunities, access professional development resources, and to build camaraderie with other education professionals. Although PLNs have been around for years, in recent years social media has made it possible for these networks to grow exponentially. Now, it’s possible to expand and connect your network around the world anytime, anywhere. But how exactly do you go about doing that? Check out our guide to growing your personal learning network with social media, full of more than 30 different tips, ideas, useful resources, and social media tools that can make it all possible. Tips & Ideas Get started developing your social media PLN with these tips and ideas for great ways to make use of social tools. Actively make ties: It’s not enough to just follow and read, you need to connect. Guides Tools & Resources Want to really make the most of your PLN?
21st Century PLNs for School Leaders cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by krossbow I have to admit that I was pretty excited to write my first post for the Edutopia group that has a great list of educators sharing some of their best practices. I wanted to share the piece in my own learning space, but you can see the original article posted on the Edutopia site. As many school administrators are enjoying their summer break, we all tend to think of ways that we can make our school better in the upcoming year. Often, I point school principals and district leaders to a powerful post by Will Richardson that helps us point the finger right at ourselves when we are looking to push our school ahead. “Meaningful change ain’t gonna happen for our kids if we’re not willing to invest in it for ourselves first. With that being said, I have spent the last few years focusing a great deal on my work as an instructional leader within my role as school-based principal, and now as division principal. 1) Start a Twitter Account Conclusion
Friending cats and following eggs: On social networks you ARE your photo On social networks, you ARE your photo. Your image is important! The photo you choose to represent you says a great deal about who you are as an individual. It is your personal brand. I love meeting people in person at conferences or cocktail parties and then connecting with them on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. But when somebody has an image that is not an actual photo of them, I hesitate and usually do not connect. Why are they hiding? The images in this post are all Facebook profiles of people who requested to become friends with me. Same thing happens on Twitter. There are many choices when it comes to an image to use: You can use a casual shot taken by a friend. This is a great option for many people. Always think: What does this photo say about me and my personal brand? You can have other people & things with you in the photo. Your child and/or boyfriend. Always think: What does this photo say about me and my personal brand? You can use a formal portrait.
Network or Perish I know, a bit of a harsh title for this post but I got your attention… Seriously though, networking has for the most part always been important to being successful in whatever you pursue. I think technology though has significantly amplified the importance of networking. I believe that increasingly, in our rapidly evolving digital work and learning places, those that figure out and embrace the new forms of networking will succeed at what they do more so than those that don’t. If you’re not on the path to networking yet, maybe now’s the time to take the first step. Friday was my last day with Coquitlam School Board and Monday will be my first with Vancouver. I share my presentations on Slideshare. see more and more people joining, presenting themselves as professionals with their skills, experience, and interests. My blog has brought invitations my way to speak at conferences and to various other smaller audiences. are also my friends.
5 Reasons Educators Should Blog My daughter Abby (with the Mac) and my niece Ashley Once a week, a new to-do pops up on my productivity software client that alerts me that it’s time to do a blog entry. Most of the time I admire the line and proceed to complete a dozen other tasks that, if not completed, will affect my job performance. Yet, I am fully aware that I am a part-time Web 2.0 evangelist like many of you. Here are a few reasons why educators should blog: 1. I completed a very non-scientific experiment the last two weeks. 2. At the heart of Web 2.0 is collaboration; a chance to not simply shout one’s thoughts but be held accountable by colleagues via blog comments just below the post. 3. With the explosion of social media, a blog can be a portal for a social media aficionado. 4. Michael Hyatt, a former CEO of a publishing company, recently wrote Platform – Get Noticed in a Noisy World and I was privileged to be on his Launch Team, a group of 100 people who received the book in advance. 5.
Asking Questions In Social Media – Key To Building Relationships At the age of seventeen, my first mentor in business was Nic Knievel, Bob (or Evel Knievel’s) brother. Nic became like a second father to me and largely made me what I am today in business. The amount of respect I have for him, his sales ability and the many things he taught me can’t be easily outlined in a blog post. It was just too substantial. In honor of Nic, I would like to share something profound that he taught me, that is completely applicable in today’s social media marketing world. The point is that many of us don’t understand this sales philosophy. It is my belief that the proper formula for effective social media marketing is: Content leads to conversation, Conversation builds relationships and Relationships result in business or ROI. Here are some reminders that will help you build relationships through questions: 1) Don’t forget to ask questions that expand your conversations with your friends, fans and followers. 4) After asking the questions, listen and respond. Robert M.
Opening the Curtain on Lurking Act One. The scene is a large conference room. Laptops and iPads litter the tables that stretch from one end of the room to the other. Black power cords snake vine-like over and around the men and women in numerous chairs. They seem to wriggle out from the floor and the table legs and the leather attaché cases, in search of outlets. At rise, we meet our subject of interest, seated back left, third row. Act Two. With this, her eyes are opened and her approach to the role she plays in this ensemble is no longer self-centered, riddled with worry about sounding uninformed or being cast aside as useless. But, with newfound confidence and involvement comes newfound respect and, consequently, responsibility. And then suddenly it arrives. It’s me, Stephanie Our player is me: Stephanie, a second-year fourth grade teacher and novice player on the teacher-tech stage. At first, these questions were left unanswered. Aren’t those teachers smarter than I am? Finessing the fear factor Start small.
20 Ways To Improve Your Professional Learning Network In 2013 Networking is a prime form of 21st century learning. The world is much smaller thanks to technology. Learning is transforming into a globally collaborative enterprise. Just this month, a tech news article showcased how Harvard scientists are considering that “sharing discoveries is more efficient and honorable than patenting them.” As educators, we aim to be connected to advance our craft. Learning networks are based on the theory of connectivism, or learning from diverse social webs. What are some ways to grow your PLN and improve the quality of your interactions? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. You can bookmark a page in a “virtual” library or online archive, even PDFs or videos. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. PLNs are a powerful change agent. This is a cross-post from opencolleges.edu.au; image attribution flickr user worldeconomicforum