Tweeting...

It’s almost the end of our October break. With my husband away and my daughter in and out doing her own thing, I’ve taken the opportunity to engage in a bit of personal professional development in the form of social networking.

Always one to pick up something new and give it a go, I don’t mind a bit of technology, but after creating my twitter account last year I couldn’t make it work for me. I just didn’t see how on earth I could begin talking to strangers over the Internet. So, like so many good things, I put it down and walked away. With a week in front of me, my shiny new iPad on my lap and no plans for anything else I decided that this was the week.

attribution

It’s been strangely comforting. A little weird at first, voyeuristic certainly, yet over the past few days I relaxed into it. Nervous about where and how to begin I read quite a few ’How To Twitter’ posts (sorry I have read so many blog posts in these last few days I would have no hope of finding them again to attribute) which all seemed to offer the same advice: find some people with similar interests to you and follow them. As I clicked and navigated my way around I found there were loads of teachers just like me! I realised, as I started flicking more and more through tweeters (is that what a twitter post is called?) and profiles and links to web sites or blogs that this was an opportunity for me to find like minded educators – not only find them, an opportunity to follow them and learn from them.

Always a little slow on the uptake I then found links and references to things called PLNs. Never big on acronyms I investigated a little further and realised just how ahead of the times my own realisation had been. Through all of my twittering I began to feel revitalised about my own teaching practises and develop so many new ideas and plans for learning opportunities for my students. I have been having lots fun these holidays thinking about work.

This week I embarked upon my own learning inquiry – perhaps stumbled is a little more accurate because I hadn’t gone out looking to begin an inquiry. I just wanted to see if Twitter could work for me. I realise of course this was an inquiry and for me a most valuable one at that. Sharing in the learning experiences of my students is not enough, I realise that I also need to learn in the ways I am expecting them to learn. Using technology is a big part of what I do in the classroom, finding new and innovative ways to express yourself is exciting. I believe that it’s this excitement that contributes to making learning fun. I need to do it too, not as a teacher, but as myself. This is how I will truly learn.

This week of fall break has been one of my most productive yet. I have made some new friends (is it appropriate to call people whom I follow or who follow me friends?). Friends whom I know will help me to understand more about education, about learning and about technology. Thank you to all of those who have let me follow them and especially thank you to those of you who now follow me. I sincerely look forward to the learning we will do together.