Professional Development: Hashtags and Twitter Chats

The fourth step of the course  about PLN is focussed on  Twitter. You can find the main information in the course online -https://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/pln-twitter-chats/. It is simple to follow educators and also to participate in chats online.


As I have said  many times  having an account on Twitter has helped me become a connected educator and now I follow educators and hashtags. I share ideas and when I find some news which might interest friends online  I share it.

 It is important to share ideas because sometimes educators do not find the time to search online and if you can rely on someone online , this is fine.
I have checked a lot of hashtags online and most of them provide lots of interesting connections and ideas to share in education. Ideally you can learn about almost anything and it is always free online.
Conferences, online conferences, prizes, news, free ebooks,...……………… here is my short video about some people I am following online who are used to  using hashtags: Sarah Thomas and Paula Naugle.
It is based on tonight's check and I am sure that I could have found more information , from links and also to  simple tips for people who feel  they are engaged.






In one blog post  Shelly Terrell suggested a list of specific  hashtags for my PLN : you can find it online

http://blog.esllibrary.com/2016/02/02/the-ultimate-hashtag-guide-for-english-language-teachers/

A good database has also been shared online by Kasey Bell:

https://shakeuplearning.com/blog/educational-hashtag-database/


This simple Padlet  describes how Twitter chats  have changed the way we work and connect with the others:

Why should Teachers use Twitter chats and hashtags? 

I think that we can find many  reasons:

- you can share ideas and learn from the others
- you can meet  new people who are like-minded and might be interested in working online with you too
- you meet new teachers and people who you might never meet but you become friends forever
- some chats are really engaging and provide the best of information from sources to conferences online you would have never learnt about in the daily papers. I have often downloaded the best of education guides which had been shared by some educators.
- educators and students can connect and use hashtags for sharing what they have done and for projects

I feel that in the USA  Twitter is more popular than in Europe, I would say that we have more politicians that use  Twitter in my country to spread ideas and also influence  people during the main elections.

What I like of Twitter is the simple way and the tools you can use: it is also good for educators who want to share content and important messages with their students!!                                                          
It would be nice to have more teachers in my school who use Twitter chats!

Professional Development : PLN and Twitter

The third step of the course is  about Twitter  and education.

You can find the link to the step here PLN and Twitter.

I had previously  described the importance of this social media. I would have never developed if I had not started following  Twitter.

Using Twitter is very simple: once you start following important educators and websites you will start to like posts, retweet posts and  post your tweets.

                                 Image  Credit : Edublogs 

Now I follow more than 900 people online and what I like is their way of  sharing ideas, presenting their works and also I like following some discussions online.

There are famous hashtags and also less famous ones, in general  I like  educational hashtags and also hashtags which are run by educators working in some Moocs. I love taking part in them.

Twitter can be a source of ideas as I can learn in a short time what  educators  and people are sharing.

Here are some  posts which I found today online :

  Sharing about documents in a conference  and finding free materials

Learning about a free ebook about one new webtools

Sharing about  events online and conferences 

Sharing  simple messages about the need of peace in the world

  I have used some hashtags when I did some Moocs and when I have time I also follow some  interesting hashtags.

The more I work online and follow Twitter and the more I meet new educators : in July I followed an online event and met  Tara Martin :  @TaraMartinEDU.

The experience of being a connected educator is now part of my mindset and I will continue learning.

Professional Development : PLN and connections

These are my reflections on the second step of the course  about  PLN. 
You can find more materials and references online if you  follow the link Making connections  which is starting point for the ideas and reflections I am sharing in this post.

Here is the picture that  summarizes the ways we can learn about ideas and how online groups and communities can help us  develop.

                                        Image credit : edublogs teacherchallenge.edublogs.org

Today educators can  learn together and support each other.
Since the age of social network started we have had the development of many online communities. Educators  have used social media and modern web tools for connecting and learning together.
I remember the first Moocs which I did about five years ago. It was something  new to me but  I learnt a lot as I was guided into a community of learners  and people  were living all over the world.
I was asked to do some simple things:

1. starting  to write a blog for sharing my new learning  experiences
2. sharing  ideas in some social networks like  Twitter and  FB
3. using  images and  modern tools for  summarizing what I had learnt online
4. following  webinars online on YouTube and  commenting what had been discussed online
5. writing a learning  diary 
6. becoming a part of a community like  Google+ or groups in  FB
7. starting collaborating online while using  virtual boards
8. sharing documents and  also publishing  something online for sharing what we had learnt 

I had not been trained to do this but I learnt while working on  my own and thanks to the support of great educators  I wanted to continue learning and also wrote about my online experience. This is how I started : I was guided by people who were involved in education.

Facebook  is not the social network which I prefer but most people I know have been on FB for years.
My favourite social network is  Twitter: I remember when I first learnt about it as  I was doing a webinar online and I had started following a community of educators  who wanted to share about  new ways of  working and experiencing education.  They taught me how to use Twitter , it was in 2014 and I continued working on line and sharing ideas, posting links and learning while using  hashtags.

Thanks to many educators I have met new connected educators like me: it is my world and where I find ideas about  topics for my lessons and also for  Learning about new  events online:




This is the great webinar I could see online dealing with Twitter: I became a connected educator thanks to Alice Keeler!

It was  Classroom 2.0 Live that helped me to learn about this  wonderful tool.

Click here to open this binder in a new window.




I had to learn more and then I continued my  CPD by doing  a Mooc with Coursera- https://www.coursera.org/  about  Web 2.0 Tools and later about  Digital Storytelling. I had to realize that I was not  tech-savvy and  I needed to improve my ICT and Digital Skills.


If you  want to be a connected educator you need to know not only the people who are sharing ideas , you need to work on your favourite sources of information and ideas.  I have found tips for collecting my favourite bookmarks and for example I like sharing what I like by using  My Pearltrees  or
My bookmarks on Pinterest

 Italianteacher

Here are some boards which I have collected online thanks to Pinterest:

Sharing implies that you  are part of a network and follow educators online . I am a follower of some boards on Pinterest and also I like following some educators on Pearltrees.   

I also like Slideshare and follow some educators who publish their slides and resources online : Shelly Terrell is my favourite one  as I have followed her  webinars on Fridays.  She stopped them in August but  she shared a lot of  her ideas in her  slides :  Shelly Terrell. They are worth checking!!

Blogging and Blogs and  WebsitesI have bookmarked a lot of blogs and I regularly receive some updates from them:when I meet interesting speakers I usually bookmark them by using  Pocket.
https://ditchthattextbook.com/https://alicekeeler.com/https://www.sarahjanethomas.com/https://www.controlaltachieve.com/http://bergman-udl.blogspot.com/https://www.strobeleducation.com/blog/http://nellie-deutsch.com/
Some websites which I like are the ones shared online by many educators
https://cybraryman.com/https://shakeuplearning.com/https://hyperdocs.co/
I have also started sharing ideas in my blogs: once you are connected you will start sharing ideas.I love also making presentations and I have worked on some websites to present my ideas or what I have learnt online. My online course about teaching and teachers is in my blog:  I worked online under the supervision of Shelly Terrell and a good team of educators who made me feel engaged!!Blog about the course The goalminded teacher 2018
My website about  a European Mooc on Europeana which I took in 2018:Europeana Mooc course 2018 
My website about  creating ebooks  which I curated in 2018: I shared what I had learnt while working on a course online and while  doing some interesting webinars  dealing with  ebooks.Creating and reading ebooks my website 
Connecting is crucial when you start but once you have become a member of a community or many communities you like sharing and becoming more active. This is often done in your free time but you cannot but continue doing it. You start working in a different way and work together with similar goal-minded teachers.

Professional Development : Building your PLN

This year I was  engaged as a teacher online and followed an interesting course  about blogging with students.
The course was part of a series of development  courses for educators which was offerred by  Edublogs.
Yesterday I got an e-mail from Kathleen Morris who had run the course and informed me about  some new  professional development challenges and I thought that I shoud start one right now.

I chose the one about  Building my  PLN, which is  a topic I am  familiar with and which I think is worth reflecting  on as teachers are life-long learners and need to rely on  a network of educators who can support them and  help them solve problems and  learn more.
If you need more information about the courses you can  get  access to them by following this link online  Free courses on Blogging and EdTech .

What is a  PLN?

If you search online you will find a lot of websites and hashtags that deal with this issue
http://www.shellyterrell.com/pln.html

http://teacherrebootcamp.com/resources/survivaltips/pln/

Sometimes when you work as an educator you need to rely on a network of  experts and communities online can be supportive and provide you with many  tips. This is true for educators who are new to the profession but also for the ones who have been teaching for years.

PLN  means  choosing what you are interested in and it implies that you are developing as a learner.
Educators in the  XXI century cannot but choose this path: you need to learn with the other and to share ideas.

Personally I found great people to follow online and this experience online helped me learn more and to deal with changes in the schools where I was teaching.  We wanted some innovations in teaching but most of us were reluctant to  try and find new  pathways into teaching.  I  started searching online and found people  like  Peggy George, Shelly Terrell and  Dr. Nellie Deutsch who really helped me learn more. I did some Moocs online, I started following some webinars online and I realized that I was not alone.

Among the many educators who are involved in communities online  I have  appreciated these webpages  by  Cybraryman who is  always  active online on Twitter : here you can find some important  links for your  professional  development.

https://cybraryman.com/pln.html

https://cybraryman.com/plnstars.html


Some blogs and websites are a source of information as they inform me on events, conferences and courses online :

http://nellie-deutsch.com/

Nellie Deutsch has been online and supporting  teachers who need to work in new virtual worlds and love learning . Her platforms on the Moodle are  offering a lot of  courses online for free

https://www.integrating-technology.org/


I have learnt a lot and I have been a learner in some EVO Sessions in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

In order to be active online you need to work online and be part of some learning communities:
I am a member of some  Google+ communities and  on Facebook too. Right now I am starting to use Google Classroom and I am experiment together with some other educators who will work with me online in 2019.

Since there are a lot of communities online  I have bookmarked them by using  Pinterest and also Symbaloo.
To be tech-savvy is important and people share what they feel is good for your  PLN: here is  the livebinder by an educator who has focussed on the Tools you need to rely on to build your  PLN:


Tools Click here to open this binder in a new window.



Click here to open this binder in a new window.



Here you can find my Symbaloo with some interesting links for some events or educators I love to follow:
https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/cpd2

I feel that there is not a good answer to describe PLN: it is related to the educator's interests and to the way he/she works in different learning communities. Most of us started by chance and now  we are working on many projects online. If you have your PLN you are a connected educator and a person who will try to establish connections with other educators and learn together. Your classes will benefit from these experiences.

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

MMVC18 My Reflections online

In the last three years I have  followed many virtual conferences online, among them there are  some run by  Dr. Nellie Deutsch. Each conference has been organized on the Moodle Platform and learners follow the webinars online and share ideas about the event.  Badges and certificartes are awarded if you reflect on some webinars.

I have been online in the last two weeks and seen some of the webinars I have really liked in this conference- MMVC18.

I have created some links online where I wrote about the speakers and their ideas.

The main topics are about  language teaching and also the use of technology in education.
Educators from all over the world  present their experiences and provide tips to old and new Teachers.


Here is the flipbook which I have just uploaded and showcases my reflections online:

Link online : http://online.fliphtml5.com/qdlj/cvga/


  I cannot but thank the great presenters who worked online from 3rd August to 5th August and Nellie Deutsch who worked nonstop for three days.

I will be online also next year, maybe from Ireland as I am going to spend some weeks there next year.

My Summer CPD Hive Summit 2018

Summer is time for CPD. I have just finished following the  online event  Hive Summit.
You will not  see any videos after 14th August since they will not be available anymore but a lot of educators from all over the world will have  listened to the  voices of educators who are  opening new pathways into education.

Link to the event webpage : https://hivesummit.org/


This is what I have been following online:  a  group of engaging educators ……………..not to mention the links and ideas they shared online

Key words for anyone who is feeling that educators need to rely on their professional development:

1. build relationships online
2. create interesting tasks
3. work with your learners so that  they can really see what you doing with them

Be  a passionate  teacher and  your learners  will become  passionate and  engaged!!

What people have shared online: pictures sketchnotes!  

Some takeaways from day 4 of the #HiveSummit with @TaraMartinEDU reminds us of how important it is to #BeReal. #HiveSketch #everyonecancreate #323learns #sketchnotes #growthmindset #tlap @mrmatera pic.twitter.com/Ty1WI726F8

— Stefanie Crawford (@MrsCford_tweets) 14 agosto 2018

All caught up on the #hivesummit sessions but am still working on #SparkSketch #HiveSketch of @Joe_Sanfelippo 's day 8. Here's my reflection on the awesome @sarahdateechur 's day 7. Gonna miss the #HiveSummit buzz after the 15th! #tlap #edumatch #TeacherMyth #xplap pic.twitter.com/aOzhns7hx6

— Lᴀᴜʀᴀ Sᴛᴇɪɴʙʀɪɴᴋ (@SteinbrinkLaura) 14 agosto 2018

So excited to share this one that I made a #sketcho. 😆 #HiveSummit was so fun to sketch. #HiveSketch #tlap #LeadLAP pic.twitter.com/GAjgmkgVss

— Monica Spillman, EDU (@mospillman) 11 agosto 2018

Always inspired and motivated by @sarahdateechur ...my PLN has been a huge help to me!! #hivesketch #HiveSummit pic.twitter.com/btmjYlTE1P

— Jessica Torres🦉 (@Owl_b_TorresEdu) 10 agosto 2018

#HiveSummit Day 8 Thanks @Joe_Sanfelippo and @mrmatera Loved today's message and your #HackingLeadership wheel - BUILD STAFF, BE INTENTIONAL AND OPEN DOORS! Here are some of my takeaways. #MiddieRising pic.twitter.com/mLZD3r8o9Q

— Peggy Brubaker (@Bruteachmiddie) 8 agosto 2018

I am looking forward to the next summit!! 

PBL

New Ways of Working at school


I have been fascinated by the new ways of working which can enhance learning: PBL is something that has changed the way educators are working now. Lots of experiences have been shared by educators and also students.

Watch these  videos which provide examples of  what we can do:

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING from New Tech Network on Vimeo.



PBL 2018: What is PBL? from Springfield Public Schools on Vimeo.

I also found some slides online describing it mean features:


Resources and useful materials online

Introduction to PBL    https://www.bie.org/images/uploads/general/20fa7d42c216e2ec171a212e97fd4a9e.pdf

Links

http://www.bie.org/  ( this is the main source of information for educators online)


For assessment and rubrics you can find more information here :

Click here to open this binder in a new window.