Much of my professional growth as an educator has come from online collaboration and shared resources as well as face to face interactions at conferences. Although nothing beats a live face to face meetup, it isn’t always possible for people to connect in the same place at the same time. Work, kids soccer, vet appointments, hair cuts, you get the picture. Scheduling can be challenging to say the least. So, you can wait it out, keep rescheduling, or take advantage of some online tools and keep the momentum going. The convenience of using social media and other web tools to connect with a PLN to get answers to questions or share a new favorite tool whenever I want is truly powerful.
Twitter is my go to social network. With my busy schedule TwitterChats and Tweetdeck make the most sense to continue learning and growing as a professional. There are numerous chats related to what I am most interested in #EdChat, #LeadUpChat, #KidsCanCode and so many others. Even if I can’t make a scheduled event, I can always go through the chat to review what was shared or find new people to add to my PLN. Tweetdeck offers more convenience by organizing your data using filters. Whether you want to follow a specific person with their handle or use relevant hashtags, you are bound to find some great content.
Writing has never been my favorite past time. Add my own personal reflections to the mix, and the expectation that I will share my thoughts publicly and I’m ready to run and hide or find something else to do. For this reason, the Personal Reflection, Blogs and Portfolios module of this course was by far the most challenging for me. That said, it also offered me the most growth. It forced me out of my comfort zone and actually made me start a blog. Now I have written my fourth post. This is really something that I have wanted to do for a long time. Fingers crossed I keep it up.
As a Digital Learning Coach, online adjunct, and conference presenter, it is crucial that I stay informed of new digital tools and strategies to provide current and meaningful professional development (PD). Social media and other online tools provide an opportunity for PD anytime, anywhere, with just about anyone. I’m most excited to build my PLN and PLE and hope to participate in some new Twitter Chats. How lucky I am to have 24/7 access to so many other like-minded people that want to learn with me, and you.
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