EdTech 543 - Social Network Learning - Twitter for Professional Development

Twitter for Professional Development

One of the main reasons for taking EdTech 543 - Social Network Learning - was to learn about the importance of social media and its impact on teaching and learning. So far I have learned that being connected has many positive implications to education. This post concentrates on the use of Twitter as Professional Development.

I am a rookie when it comes to using most social media, especially Twitter. I created a Tweetdeck and am now following five educational hashtags. I’m sure as I become more familiar with the use of Twitter I will add more hashtags to my learning environment. The hashtags I am currently following are the following:

1. #edchat
2. #edleadership
3. #PBL
4. #21stedchat
5. #edtech

Here is a screenshot of the hashtags I am now following:

I chose these hashtags from a list of educational resources that seem to be well used and fit my educational interests.  I am a huge fan of the redesign of schools, constructivist and connectivist ideas of education, the use of 21st Century skills in our education system and leadership.

What surprised me the most when adding the hashtags to my Tweetdeck were the amount of valuable tweets within seconds. I did not even have time to add another column to my Tweetdeck and there were over 20 new tweets from the previous hashtag. I can not believe all of the insight, resources, ideas and collaboration that is happening before my eyes.

Here are just three things I have gained from joining these hashtags. These all happened within minutes of adding these hashtags to my Tweetdeck.

1. I found an amazing resource. It’s all about the hashtag: 20 essential #EduChats for Teachers. This resources talks about essential #EduChats for Teachers. It discusses 20 different Twitter chats that can be followed including the times. I will be using this resource as part of a future EdTech assignment. I will be choosing chats and times from this list to explore the use of Twitter chats.
2. A second resource is a blog on What Students Say about PBL Outcomes.. I have just finished a course on Project Based Learning and am currently an advocate for this type of learning. I am pushing this notion in our school, but, at times, I have hit roadblocks with teachers. This article will lend a hand in this fight.
3. A great post on a class project completed via Hangouts. One student is in another place - could be anywhere around the world - and the class is engaged in her presentation. It is real time and all parties are involved in the presentation. Amazing how technology can be used. Something like this is so valuable in that I teach in a school with many ethnic variation and many times students are gone on holidays for up to two or three months. What a way to get the student involved in the classroom atmosphere from anywhere.

I am quite excited about the new era of professional development. Twitter - and other social media outlets - offer so much knowledge and expertise in education. The PD is immediate and can be accessed -  anywhere, anytime. Teachers must use this social media when learning new pedagogy in teaching and learning if they are to keep up with 21st Century education.