LIBE 477B- Inquiry Blog #2 – Looking forward at developing my Continuing Professional Development and building my Professional/Personal Learning Network

Well, this is kind of funny and I guess this is why you need to read ahead to know that is coming!  Since the beginning of this course and the reason that I’m taking this certificate is for this exact reason.  I am worried about keeping up with my own skills, pedagogy and professional development on my own.  I am worried that if I am not accountable, then I will not keep on top of it.  As mentioned in my first two blog posts of this course, this is going to be a large focus of my career moving forward.  I do not want to become one of those teachers that is trying to catch up, I want to be one of those teachers who are ahead of the game and exciting their fellow staff members about something new an innovative. 

I have mentioned diving deeper into the Twitter world, and I have literally done just that.  The other day while researching for my second blog post, an hour went by on Twitter that I did not even notice.  After reading some studies on Twitter and professional development I found that many share my point of view in which, “…the collaborative nature of social media provides broader networking capabilities to the faculty members, reaching colleagues who may not have otherwise been able to share their knowledge due to location or distance (Cahn et al. 2013; Donelan 2016; Gruzd et al. 2012; Vasily 2016). This collaboration can result in a much broader, yet refined, collective knowledge of the group, yielding greater insight into pedagogical strategies for the faculty members (Luo et al., 2020).“

I feel like this will help solve my problem of being stuck at one site and being able to find other educators that have the same values and passions that I do.  I have the access to network with so many other educators right at my fingertips.  As Darcy has mentioned since the beginning of this course it is important to build our PLN and continue with CPD in order to stay current with our pedagogical practices.  

Social Media: Making Connections Through Twitter

 Instead of flipping through my Facebook or Instagram, I could actually be connecting and sharing with other educators that have the same interests as me.  I think the thing that is holding me back the most is the negativity that I know can come from Twitter.  I know that the online world is not always the nicest, which is why I spend the majority of my social media time highlighting my dog and connecting with other dog owners in my area.  I feel safe with that online community because I find that most people that choose to have an active dog like mine have similar interests and philosophies.  They are also a little more compassionate since they have chosen to adopt or care for an animal.

Soooo, why don’t I think the same way about teachers?!  Isn’t that funny?  Teachers are compassionate and caring and spend their day with students all day long and would do anything for them.  This is all true.  There is a little bit of an ugly side though, and unfortunately I have seen it.  I do not like that I have seen and experienced this, but it is out there.  I have tried to push for more resources in my school and I got shut down.  I have tried to ask for simple things like Wifi in my room and got shut down.  I have tried to ask for classroom iPads and got shut down.  I have tried to help teachers learn new technology and tools and got shut down.  I have used innovative technology such as Minecraft in my classroom and have received eye rolls from fellow teachers and parents because it is seen as ‘gaming’ and not learning.  I have used iPads and laptops with students in innovative ways and it is seen as too much screen time.  So it’s really hard to get a win sometimes!

I think this is where this course helps me tremendously.  This course is going to make me accountable for taking that leap forward.  This course has already given me connections with educators outside my scope with new insights on pedagogy and professional development.  So my strategy is to really get over my own fear and dive into the deep end.  The connections that I am making here are my steps to get to the top of that diving board before I jump right in. 

It has been show that educators are, ‘generally favorable about the role of Twitter as a tool for CPD (Continuing Professional Development), primarily because it allowed for both synchronous and asynchronous engagement that fit with their schedules and addressed individual CPD needs  (Luo et al., 2020).’   I feel like this is the most important thing of all as a Mom with a career and a part time job.  The use of Twitter or social media  fits my schedule and needs.  Being active on social media will also open my eyes to other CPD opportunities such as virtual Pro-D’s (which I found many!), webinars, tweetmeets, links to conventions (I’ve always wanted to attend an ISTE convention but have yet to make it to one!), etc.  The list goes on.  I think that is the most important part of being connected on social media is to gain access to what other educators are most interested in and where these resources and information is coming from. 

Using Twitter effectively in education – with Alec Couros

I also feel like the best thing about connecting and growing through social media is the access, which is something we always talk about for our students, but it goes for us as educators as well, ‘ “…I don’t want to become complacent as a teacher, I want to get better avenues, which within my district is limited, whereas on Twitter [I can access information] any time (Richards et al., 2020).”

I am not a person or teacher that sits back and gets told what to do, so I know that I should be able to take any sort of criticism to anything that I may post or share.  I know that for the first part I am going to be more of an onlooker and use Twitter as a source of professional development to observe what others are doing.  Then, once I am more comfortable I can hopefully start to influence and connect with others and have meaningful conversations. 

And to my address my concerns at the beginning of this post.  Social medial does allow you to connect with like minded people who share the same teaching philosophies that you do.  As we have seen in this course, there are various points of view and I value that, however, if you are the only person at your site that has that value, it is sometimes seen as a brickwall blocking you from getting where you want to go.  Turning to social media helps with that sense of community and feeling that you are not alone: ‘[Twitter] brings a warm feeling, like you’re not alone in what you’re trying to do, and you’re being supported…if I have a bad day when I’m not feeling valued, I can always reach out to people and have a conversation . . . a lot of people on [Twitter] have gone through the same things that you’ve gone through (Richards et al., 2020).”

After doing some more research on this topic, I think this is my best source to stay current with my educational practices.  I can follow teachers and companies who share the same values that I do and be presented with different opportunities to grow and learn in the future.  I have already seen several virtual Pro-D’s that I would love to take part in, and the great thing is I can do it from home!