I learned a familiar lesson about professional development – you don’t have to go far or pay much.
Today I grabbed the opportunity to join the Twitter stream #edchat, something I’ve wanted to do for a while. This regular Twitter discussion was created by Tom Whitby and Shelley Terrell. For me in Melbourne, Australia, #edchat takes place on a Wednesday morning so school interferes. This year I have Wednesdays devoted to my role as learning enhancement coordinator, and so I jumped into the #edchat stream for the first part of my morning, frantically trying to keep up with my racing #edchat Twitter column.
A more exciting and informative form of professional development you will be hard pressed to find. The topic was:
What are specific ways educators can incorporate Social Media as a tool for learning into content-driven curriculum?
Being the dymanic multi-tasker that I am, I started pulling out shared links which caught my interest and ended up with a very long list.
Using ipods to increase reading comprehension
We love you Japan. Messages from teachers and students around the world to Japan in crisis.
Social media revolution 2 (video)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng]
It’s not only about the technology
Embracing the reality of change
iLearn.org – Learning with the world, not just about it
Quick list of iPad resources for the classroom
When rethinking the school itself
Twitter for teachers (youtube)
8th graders creating the concept for an iphone game for learning Spanish
Links to many educational chats on Twitter by Cybraryman
Your students love social media and so can you
An easy, secure way to find, organise and share educational videos
Engaging students through communication and contact
C2C Twittup: bringing classrooms together via Twitter
100 helpful websites for new teachers
Critical thinking: problem-based learning, creative thinking by Cybraryman
Problem-based learning video by World Shaker
Social media and social networking links by Cybraryman
5 things in education we need a new name for
Facebook’s new anti-bullying tools create a culture of respect
Using the snap-block teacher tool in maths
Twitter for teachers on YouTube
The state of the flipped class model
Come together (post by Shelley Terrell)
Common Sense education programs
10 teaching questions to make you comfortably uncomfortable
Teacher uses Twitter in the classroom
30+ places to find Creative Commons media
Schools use digital tools to customise education
Education transformation through collaborative videos
Creating effective programs for gifted, low income urban students
Learning 2025: forging pathways to the future
National Science Teachers Association US
Make your videos compatible with all devices with the help of Vid.ly
In a transparent world, we’re always being observed
Do blogs develop content learning? (kids’ maths blog)
An Adoption Strategy for Digital Media in Schools Turning Great Individual Practice into the Norm
Well, that should keep me busy and fill out my curriculum-based wikis and Diigo bookmarks. AND I have new educators to follow on Twitter, more blogs to save into my Google Reader. I highly recommend the experience. Hope I get to do it again soon, but meanwhile the tweets are always there.
