Week 11: Being a Connected Educator
- Erica Lane
- Nov 6, 2015
- 2 min read
As a young adult, I traditionally used Twitter as a way to communicate with old friends from my hometown and my new friends at college. Most of my tweets were funny or about current events. The topic for C I 302 this week was being a connected educator. When I saw the information about twitter, I reflected for a minute. I realized that I turned to Twitter for information about current events. I can get information for experts as well as “average citizens” who are experiencing action first hand. Why would I not do the same to learn more about my future career?
This week, I watched a chat on Tweetdeck called #WhatIsSchool. I’m glad I chose this chat because it was not topic specific, so I got to see many different ideas that educational professionals had about what is school. I saw tweets referring to new Google tools, science standards, and encouraging confidence in students. The coolest thing I saw was a Google program that I had never heard about. It is called the Explorers Expedition Pioneer Program. This program sends Google workers to schools around the world to bring virtual adventures to students. These adventures take students to places that school buses can’t go—Under the sea, Mars, Mayan Ruins, Yosemite, etc.
I really like the Twitter chats. I learned so much from following just one. I plan on keeping #WhatIsSchool on my Tweetdeck and looking into adding more. I can definitely see myself participating in the future, especially when I am more experienced in the profession. It’s so important for educators to share their knowledge—there is so much to know and so much to learn! It would be silly for us not to share our knowledge. Twitter chats are great ways to learn new things by following certain professionals and hashtags that connect you to professional communities.
The important thing for educators on Twitter to remember is professionalism. It is important to be appropriate on social media. If you are sharing photos of students, you must make sure you have their permission. I would definitely recommend having a personal and professional social media profile so you can be sure to keep those two parts of your life separate.
Kommentare