This assignment seemed like an impossible task, but I think that what I’m trying to solve is quite the task to undertake. I know that I want to look more into my own professional development as well as providing resources to my fellow educators to get them excited to go to work every day. I think this is something that we all need to be thinking about as teachers, especially if we are feeling like we are ‘stuck’ and finding ourselves recycling our curriculum and activities every year. I am a strong believer of change and being innovative, I am just in search of answers on how to get other educators on the same mindset.
This is a resource that I am familiar with and have used in the past for learning about different Microsoft platforms. When I first started out my District job as a Tech Support Teacher I went through some of the basic badges and re-familiarized myself with Microsoft OneNote. I was not 100% confident in my skills and going through the courses boosted my confidence as well as taught me a few tricks that I was not aware of. I was also unfamiliar with Sway, and this was a great way to learn while doing. Whenever I went through one of these courses I always had the platform that I was learning about open so that I could do a real or mock project alongside. I am a very tactile learner and I will not absorb anything if I am not trying and troubleshooting on my own. I think this is what I really need to think about when transitioning my teaching to my students. They are going to learn by doing. I believe the last course that I took was on Minecraft education and completed all of the courses to obtain my badge. When my principal gave me the pilot project to spearhead, this was my only way of learning how to use this game.
What I have not taken advantage of is all of the other resources that this site gives educators. There are tons of courses here to keep you updated on the latest pedagogy. I have not visited this site since before my Mat Leave (January 2019) and even in a year an half it has evolved as a hub for teachers to keep up to date and do PRO-D whenever they want. I have had a few colleagues mention that they had just been told of this site recently, which is shocking, because I feel like all educators who use Microsoft and O365 in their district should be referring here on a weekly basis (in an ideal world when we have all of this abundance of time!).
Besides the courses themselves there are other links and pages that give you great ideas on how to use different tech in your classrooms and guiding the 21st century learner. I also see that they have #tweetmeets which is a concept that is still very knew to me. Especially after the world’s most recent conditions I think that this is a great way to connect with educators from all over. I think that having conversations with others is the greatest way that we can learn and become better educators. I also think that it’s important to have these connections with people outside of your scope (or school) because we can often get stuck in our daily routines, so it’s nice to have our eyes opened to something new every once in awhile.
The next resource that I want to start using again is TED Talks. When I was on my own and did not have a family, I used to start my day with a TED talk while eating my breakfast. Now that I have a family, it is not so simple to have time alone. What I need to start thinking is that this should be more of a priority in my life. Not only does it make me a better educator, but it just makes me a better person for thinking more critically about the world that we are living in.
When scrolling through some of the video topics I saw that there are different playlists. One in particular, ‘Re-imagining school’ caught my eye since this is the theme that we have started this course with through Will Richardson’s ‘Why School.’ I think that this is the area that I want to explore the most since this is what I am passionate about (at the moment). I want to learn more from like minded people and try to do something while I’m in the education system. I am hoping to get a job in the learning commons so that I can slowly open the eyes of my fellow educators.
This last resource that I was diving into seems like something massive to take on, but I think I am ready for it! I know that Twitter has been around for a long time, but I think it was just how it came about and what I was interested in at the time. I got Facebook when It came out (very reluctantly) when it was only available to University students. I remember sitting after Cheer practice with my teammates and they all convinced me that it was something that I needed to do. Well, almost 15 years later Facebook has evolved into so many things that I did not think I would be using it for!
While looking at who to follow I did not realize that most teachers that I have worked with in my district that are innovative with technology are on Twitter and constantly sharing their teaching philosophies and practices. I am also seeing a lot of administrators from my District on Twitter, constantly sharing pedagogy and highlights from their school, so it is a great way to stay locally connected even though I am only working out of one site. It is making me feel a little ‘out of it’ seeing so many people at the party, but better late than never, right?! The more I read and connect the more intrigued I get. I know that for my own mental health that I will need to limit my media time, just as everyone else does.
Works Cited:
Richardson, Will. Why School: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere. TED Conferences, 2012.
You have curated and annotated a good preliminary list of resources to help you with your reading and research. Your narrative and reflective tone draw the reader in. You are addressing many of the big ideas and key themes of this course in this post. You may want to explore some more traditional resources (books, articles) to compliment the foundation you are building.