Descriptive Stage
Where to start.... I'm a big fan of social media for professional development and for in my teaching but for the purposes of this entry I'm going to focus on social media in my professional development.
In 2012 I went to ULearn and was signed up to Twitter and the rest is history!
Twitter opened up a whole new world of education for me. I consider Twitter and the awesome PLN I have developed completely responsible for the path my career has taken in the past 6 years.
I went from a single cell, stuck in my classroom bubble, teacher to being exposed to a wide world of educational possibilities.
Through Twitter I have met a huge range of wonderful educators, been involved in great conversations and discussions and had many opportunities.
Twitter has lead me to presenting through TeachMeet: Science Capabilities; Mystery Science;
Being part of the organising committee for #scichatnz; Finding out about the Science Teaching Leadership Programme. It has also helped me find Educamps.
According to Whitaker, Zoul, & Casas (2015) Twitter has become the 'go-to' social media tool for many educators and I have to agree with them that Twitter has provided me with "the 3 C's - connection, collaboration and community".
Comparative Stage
I have explored other social media tools - Twitter lead me to being one of the first teachers to try out Pond; I am a member of several VLN groups and Facebook educator groups; however none give me the same community and collaboration that I find with my Twitter PLN. None of these other tools have lead me to meet people in real life, or have provided the community I was looking for, unlike Twitter. I have a network of educators across the country that I have met on several occasions now. Educators like Anne Kenneally - the person who got me into Twitter initially. I am slowly getting into the use of Google+ through Mindlab however it doesn't yet have the depth of connections I have via Twitter.
Critical Reflection
I'm not just raving about Twitter unbiasedly, it has really given me so many opportunities but I realise that it depends on how much effort you put in and it does take effort to be involved in the chats and connecting with others. Currently Twitter has less of a role in my professional development than it previously has - life is busy and I am now teaching in a collaborative environment and getting what I need from my colleagues. However I am still using it, for example I have recently started using Seesaw with my team and the #seesawchatnz group has given me so many resources, ideas and support.
I know it isn't for everyone and taking part in a Twitter chat does require a learning of a new type of literacy skill but I would highly recommend all teachers give it a go!
References
Whitaker, T., Zoul, J., & Casas, J. (2015). What connected educators do differently. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Where to start.... I'm a big fan of social media for professional development and for in my teaching but for the purposes of this entry I'm going to focus on social media in my professional development.
In 2012 I went to ULearn and was signed up to Twitter and the rest is history!
Twitter opened up a whole new world of education for me. I consider Twitter and the awesome PLN I have developed completely responsible for the path my career has taken in the past 6 years.
I went from a single cell, stuck in my classroom bubble, teacher to being exposed to a wide world of educational possibilities.
Through Twitter I have met a huge range of wonderful educators, been involved in great conversations and discussions and had many opportunities.
Twitter has lead me to presenting through TeachMeet: Science Capabilities; Mystery Science;
Being part of the organising committee for #scichatnz; Finding out about the Science Teaching Leadership Programme. It has also helped me find Educamps.
According to Whitaker, Zoul, & Casas (2015) Twitter has become the 'go-to' social media tool for many educators and I have to agree with them that Twitter has provided me with "the 3 C's - connection, collaboration and community".
Comparative Stage
I have explored other social media tools - Twitter lead me to being one of the first teachers to try out Pond; I am a member of several VLN groups and Facebook educator groups; however none give me the same community and collaboration that I find with my Twitter PLN. None of these other tools have lead me to meet people in real life, or have provided the community I was looking for, unlike Twitter. I have a network of educators across the country that I have met on several occasions now. Educators like Anne Kenneally - the person who got me into Twitter initially. I am slowly getting into the use of Google+ through Mindlab however it doesn't yet have the depth of connections I have via Twitter.
Critical Reflection
I'm not just raving about Twitter unbiasedly, it has really given me so many opportunities but I realise that it depends on how much effort you put in and it does take effort to be involved in the chats and connecting with others. Currently Twitter has less of a role in my professional development than it previously has - life is busy and I am now teaching in a collaborative environment and getting what I need from my colleagues. However I am still using it, for example I have recently started using Seesaw with my team and the #seesawchatnz group has given me so many resources, ideas and support.
I know it isn't for everyone and taking part in a Twitter chat does require a learning of a new type of literacy skill but I would highly recommend all teachers give it a go!
References
Whitaker, T., Zoul, J., & Casas, J. (2015). What connected educators do differently. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
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