It got me thinking about why I post as I am conscious that I am one of those people who occasionally posts photos taken from conference events as referred to in the article.

I think I have 2 main reasons for posting photos from a conference.   The first of these is to promote a discussion of a point raised at the event.    Conference events are largely one way, with the sage on the stage presenting their theories, opinions and thoughts.   As such there isn’t really an opportunity to spark up a discussion beyond the usually short Q&A at the end of each session.  By posting a photo to twitter you can seek to start a discussion or see how much agreement, via liking, exists as to the point.   The act of posting also pushes the point being raised to a wider audience, beyond that of the venue in which the event is being held.

The second reason I have for posting a picture from an event is as a record for myself.   Once I have posted it, it is logged within my twitter account for review later.   As such I can relocate points at a later stage where I need to plus I can also reflect on my previous thoughts and opinions based on what I posted as opposed to what I remember.    I am conscious after reading various books including Talebs, The Black Swan, of the potential falseness of memory, so being able to look back on my social media posts to ensure my recollections are correct is very helpful.

Some of the best events I have been to have involved the presenter making use of social media as a back channel to support a greater degree of two way communication however that is not for everyone.

I will continue posting comments and photos from events.   I will try to be as discreet as possible in doing so in order to avoid impacting on the experience of others attending such events however if you are sat behind or beside me and I am detracting from your experience please feel free to let me know.

We use it to get access to new ideas, resources and perspectives.   This is the very much about access to and consumption of content.    Social media provides access to a wealth of individuals and the content which they are sharing via social media sites such as twitter, pinterest, personal blogs, etc.

We use social media to curate content of linked topic areas or subjects.   Using sites such as Storify and Paper.Li we can gather content together and re-share with others.    This is particularly useful where a twitter chat or other event has occurred and we want to create a record of the various comments which were made via social media as part of the chat or event.   This is the start of producing our own content, albeit this new content being nothing more than a collection of content produced by others.

We use social media to share our ideas.   This is very much about producing our own original content and sharing with others.

The above three activities were those that came first to my mind however I have recently been also considering a fourth area, being how we engage with others content, the content which we have read.   Through social media we can comment in shortened form via twitter, however we can also comment in a longer more detailed format via blogs, linking back to the blogs of others to which we are referring.

For me social media now occupies a key place in my work and in my ongoing professional learning.    The challenges in hand are very much about getting more of the teachers who currently consume content, to begin contributing content so that the content available becomes more representative of the teachers working in schools all over the world.    The other main challenge is encouraging those teachers who haven’t engaged with social media at all, who therefore are missing out on a wealth of ideas and resources.

I look forward sharing with you!

The end of the 2^nd month of 2016 is fast approaching (plus I was struggling to think of something to write ) so I thought it was a good opportunity to once again touch base with progress towards meeting my new years resolutions.

1) To blog at least twice per month

I am doing very well with this one.   Twice per month equates to 24 posts across the whole year however as part of #29daysofwriting, this represents my 25^th post in Feb alone, thereby achieving my target after only 2 months.   I will however continue to try and achieve a minimum of 2 posts per month.

2) 1.9 tweets per day over the year

Point 5, and buffer in particular is helping here.   At this point I have tweeted 427 times in 2016 so far.   This equates to nearer to 7.6 tweets per day, or enough tweets for over 200 days, however after only 56 days.  Again, like point 1, I need keep up the momentum.

3) To achieve Google certified educator level 2 status

Haven’t done anything on this target lately mainly due to focusing on #29daysofwriting and #teacher5adaysketch.  I would like to think I will address this is March or April rather than leaving it too late in the year.

4) Read at least 1 book per month

Again, like point 3, have put this on hold in Feb.   Will start reading once more as soon as March begins.

5) To use tools like evernote and buffer to work smarter

Buffer has been key lately in maintaining a twitter presence while blogging, sketching and working.    Have sort of let Evernote use slip a little so need to get back into the habit of using it to keep my notes.

6) To get involved in twitter chats

Have been active in #sltchat and #mltchat is particular.   I do need to try and build on this.

7) To get involved in events and conferences

Attended BETT however can see plenty of chances in March for attending different events.

8) To experiment with video and youtube

Again, a point I haven’t progressed this month.

I also added a new target at the end of January:

9) To get fitter by increasing levels of exercise

Jan saw me managing 33 mins of exercise (and I only meaning wlaking) per day but sadly Feb has seen this drop to 30min.    I suppose I still have a few days to push this up a little if I try!

I would also now in Feb like to add a new item:

10) To sketch at least twice per month.

As part of #teacher5aday sketch I did 5 drawings in Feb.   I want to ensure that I continue doing the odd sketch.    Hopefully I can maintain the effort in March.

I would say Feb has seen some massive effort in some areas at the expense of others.  So March needs to see me even this out.

I have been a user of twitter for almost 4 years now although initially I just started to test the waters, finding little use for twitter at the time.   Some months later a colleague got me back on twitter mainly due to the enthusiasm he displayed with regards the potential twitter had to help educators develop professionally.

I haven’t looked back since then with my involvement and use of twitter steadily increasing.   My new years resolutions for this year included the intention to build on a 2015 average of around 1.9 tweets per day.   My regular involvement in #sltchat, #mltchat plus involvement in #teacher5adaysketch, #29daysofwriting, #hacktheclassroom and #appsharelive sees me currently having posted around 370 times across Jan and Feb so far which amounts to over 7 tweets per day.   I will admit that Buffer is playing a keep part in this as it allows me to schedule my regular tweets.

The question is why I am finding twitter so useful?

My first answer to this lies in the list of events above.    Without twitter I would have never came across #appsharelive or #hacktheclassroom to name but two events.   The events are also not limited to online events.   I found out about the up and coming #tmbmth16 event in Bournemouth via Twitter.

A second answer would be access to resources and ideas.   Educators are regularly posting about apps or teaching and learning approaches which they have tried or are planning.    #appsharelive for example provided me a list of 5 or 6 new apps in each of its 3 sessions to date.

I also find twitter allows me to engage with other educators who may share similar or different viewpoints and beliefs with regards education.   As such this leads to questioning and discussion allowing for reflection.    Only the other day via #29daysofwriting a person who I would consider a colleague even although we have never me, questioned a sweeping statement I had made.    This made me question my views and the statement I had made, which in reality had been a little sweeping.    Next time I will try to be more careful.

My final benefit relates to the social aspect in that via twitter I have access to teachers and educational staff like myself who are engaged in trying to continually improve and to collaborate and share.    I consider them colleagues!   Events like #teacher5adaysketch serve to strengthen this bond, to provide support when I need it and encourage balance.

I continue to enjoy using twitter and look forward to continuing to share ideas and thoughts with you.

Today will be a short posting as I am very much struggling to decide what I can actually write about.

I spent around 30 to 40mins yesterday involved in #mltchat and then subsequently #sltchat and I enjoyed both.   I found it fun and interesting to engage with others in discussion leadership among other topics.   It was useful to hear where others held views which were consistent with my own, or where others had ideas or thoughts which I found to augment my own ideas and thoughts.   It was equally useful to hear where others views were different or in disagreement with mine as it served as an opportunity to examine other viewpoints and perspectives possibly leading to changes in my own view.

Next week I look forward to the third instalment of #appsharelive.    I expect another session full of useful app ideas which can then be used in teaching and learning.   I expect that some of the apps will be ones I recognise and which I use as suggested, while some presenters will demonstrate new ways to use apps I am aware of already.   I also expect to see some new apps which I wasn’t previously aware of.

In both the above cases I have found ideas and tools through the use of technology to collaborate.    The question I find myself asking is how can I get more of my colleagues to engage in this collaboration?

If I create a blog will they read it?   If I send out an email will they read it?   If I arrange a meeting will they attend it?

Ultimately, how can I share the ideas and tools as wide as possible in my school so that others engage?

1: To blog at least twice per month:   So far for January I have managed 4 posts and during Feb my plan is to be involved in 29 days of writing.   As such I may actually exceed my target of 24 postings even before the end of the 2^nd month of the year assuming I manage 29 posts across Feb.   Even if I do manage 29 posts the challenge will then be to continue blogging in the knowledge that I have already achieved the yearly goal.

2.   1.9 tweets per day over the year: In January so far I have managed 200 tweets so this is significantly above the target of around 60 per month. I think buffer has been particularly useful in doing this as it has allowed me to set up my tweets for a couple of days ahead whenever I find myself with a little spare time (and that doesn’t happen that often).   I also think my increased engagement in twitter chats such as #satchat, #sltchat and #mltchat, to name but a few, has helped here.

3. achieve Google Certified Educator Level 2 status: Still haven’t progressed this one yet however there is plenty of time. Just need to get the appropriate practice with GAfE in, then book the exam.

4: read at least 1 book per month:  Am currently on my 4^th book for the month although 2 books had been partly read before I picked them up again in Jan.   Am enjoying getting the reading in and hope to manage 1.5 to 2 books per month.

5. To use tools such as Evernote and Buffer to allow me to work smarter: Buffer in particular is being of excellent use. Haven’t really made much use of Evernote lately however am making increasing use of the calendar in MS outlook to manage my time and meetings. Working Smarter will continue to be something I need to re-examine.

6. To get involved in twitter chats: Have had regular input in particular into #sltchat. Am also getting involved in #mltchat, with both chats being on my outlook calendar so I get reminders. I see further chats being added as the weeks progress.

7. To get involved in events and conferences: Have been loving #appsharelive and am looking forward to the next one in Feb. Went along to BETT however I didn’t find it that useful. I think I will need to plan the BETT event better should I decide to go to it.     So far in Jan I have also missed a couple of other events mainly due to personal commitments.   I would hope that I will be able to find the time for future events which may arise.

8. To experiment with video and YouTube: Haven’t managed to progress this yet however there is plenty of the year remaining so am ok at this point with the lack of progress here.

In addition to the 8 points I shared I have also subsequently identified an additional target which relates to fitness.   Sadly fitness is not something which I am particularly good at focussing.   I would say that it is a personal weakness for me.    Thankfully I managed to identify a simple and easy way to build on my fitness level without the need for me to attempt to change my daily routine too significantly.   Basically I am now logging my steps using my phone each day.    I am then trying to build of my daily number of steps and in doing so build on my fitness.   I hope that I may even get the point that a short jog is not out of the question.    The fact that I have identified a process I can actually engage in, in relation to fitness, is a positive step [ LOL! ] as far as I am concerned.   I consider it especially successful given the fact it is a personal weakness which I have previously been able to make little progress on.

Overall I would say it has been a good January for me in terms of my resolutions.    I now need to build on this and have an even better February.

I quickly found that I was finding more articles than I had time to read in the limited time I had managed to put aside to access twitter.   At this point I came across a number of twitter posts and through them blogs discussing how Evernote could be used.   So I started filing the tweets and blogs I found in the few minutes I managed to steal using Evernote so that I could then access them at a later stage when I had more time.

I have grown to be an avid fan of twitter and its potential to help teachers grow as professionals.    Personally twitter has allowed me to communicate with people I wouldn’t normally have been able to communicate with.   It has allowed me to access new creative ideas, which in turn has helped and encouraged me to be creative in my work.    Twitter has led me to work with others in sharing ideas, in discussing topics and in solving problems;  I have worked collaboratively.    It has also allowed me to see and discuss other viewpoints and ideas, often requiring a critical response.     Basically twitter has helped and encouraged me to use the 21^st century skills we often talk about in terms of students.

Twitter has supported me to develop my 21^st century skills and in doing so model for students the traits we wish them to develop.   It has also allowed me to access resources and ideas.

Tomorrow begins Connected Educator Month 2015 so I hope you will join me in sharing and in developing the teaching profession as a whole.     I also hope you will share and promote Connected Educator Month with those colleagues who have yet to experience the potential of twitter so that we can increase the number of educators sharing and collaborating to ensure  our students receive the best learning opportunities possible.

I look forward to connecting!

This need to collect extends beyond just physical items to teaching ideas and resources.   I feel the need to collect the good ones which I find.   For some time now I have been using twitter and reading a variety of educational blogs and websites, and as a result have found lots and lots of new ideas and resources.   As I have found more and more new ideas and resources there has been an increasing need to find an efficient way to store plus to collate these ideas and resources.   This has weighed on my mind.

Having just purchased a new tablet in the form of a Galaxy Tab S I appear to have found my solution in using both Pinterest and also EverNote.   I am not new to either of these two apps however up until recently my used has been rather limited.   Ever since getting the Tab I have found myself throwing the ideas I find straight into Pinterest and EverNote.    I have found myself using both Apps much more than I used to and have also started to learn more about effectively using the Apps to collate the materials which I have found.   This has made me consider the importance of collation in this world of ever increasing amounts of information.    We often want to quickly and easily find specific ideas or resources which we have previously encountered.   The internet will allow us to find similar items easily however as the amount of material on the internet increases it also becomes a little more difficult to find the specific items which we wish to find among the masses of other similar info.    Using something like Pinterest or EverNote allows me to collate together all the resources and ideas I find, and to tag them such that they are easy for me to find whenever I need them.

This got me thinking about another issue; lets consider that I do use Pinterest or EverNote to gather all the ideas and resources I like over a period of time.   This would be an excellent resource for me as an educator as the ideas would all be ideas I identify with and often would be things that I tried shortly after finding them.    My ability to recall ideas is limited in a way that computers are not, hence  you could consider the use of the internet and Pinterest or EverNote as an attempt to augment my mental capacities.   I would be able to recall ideas and resources I had found years ago without difficulty.    I may come to rely on this enhanced recollection ability.   The issue is that this excellent stored resource of my ideas and resources would exist only in the cloud.    As such the service provider such as Pinterest or EverNote could at any time change the service they offer or could even close the service altogether.   At this point this repository of my individual ideas may be lost.

So the question is how much should we rely on cloud based services in our lives and in our work?    I also wonder about young students who have been avid users of social media solutions; Have they considered that the total story of their life as presented in FaceBook or other sites, which they are proud of, may suddenly and without much warning cease to exist?     Or do students just not hoard the way I do as they can find anything they need via the internet, and could the increasing using of SnapChat be an indication as to this being the case?

I think there could be some good discussion points in the above, particularly where the issues are discussed with students.

Now a couple of teachers raised some issues with regards student behaviour and suggested that they had already exhausted their 26 available letters.   My response to this was to suggest that as a group of teachers, together we may be able to share ideas.   If each of us has 26 ideas, corresponding to the 26 letters in the alphabet, then there must be a high likelihood that as a group we will be able to collectively generate more than the 26 ideas which we can generate individually.   It was at this point I realised that “if plan A doesn’t work” quote is only the first part of the process.   The second part is if Plan A to Z fail, widen your pool of ideas.    So at this point we seek the advice of our immediate colleagues for more ideas.   I would suggest that this group of teachers would increase the available number of ideas however on reflection I would suggest that the increase would not be significant.   All teachers in the group are most likely working in the same school and as such will have a shared perception of the issue at hand.   As such they are likely to have approached the problem in similar manners meaning that the ideas generated will generally show high levels of similarity with only a small number of new ideas being generated by enlarging from an individual teacher to a group of teachers within the same school.   Enlarging the group further to encompass local schools or teachers still within easy communication, or geographical distance would result in still further ideas however again if teachers are within the same national educational context, curriculum context, etc, there are likely to be shared perceptions which again will limit the ideas which will become apparent.

Enter twitter.   Twitter allows teachers to contact and seek ideas from teachers across the world from totally different contexts.   This means that there is a higher likelihood of original ideas which may not have been considered among the groups previously discussed.    We have effectively widened our pool of ideas about as far as we can do.   Now this advantage does not come without some disadvantages, namely those with polarised beliefs as to the “truth” and “fact”.   Where people come from totally different contexts it is possible that one teachers “fact” may be another teachers “fiction”.   Some tweeps are a little too forceful with their expressions as to their “fact”.   This disadvantage, however, should be minimal as teachers are after all professionals and therefore should be able to have professional disagreements plus should be able to appreciate differing viewpoints and contexts which may exist.

Overall, twitter is not just about opening us up to more people and therefore more ideas, but about opening us up to ideas from totally different contexts.   It opens us up to ideas we may not have been able to arrive at ourselves given the paradigm within which we operate.    Access to these ideas may also in turn spark new ideas in us born out of the paradigm shift which may result from seeing a problem through a totally different viewpoint.

Recently I read a blog post entitled “Why teacher should connect” which echoes my feelings.    I also saw the below post on twitter (surprise, surprise) which sums up the reasoning behind why teachers should make use of social media such as twitter:

Another post I saw referred to the need for communication.

We are preparing students for a a globalised world where more and more people are migrating to work away from where they were born and grew up.    As such do we not need to start considering a globalised approach to education?    If we are going to consider such a globalised approach there is a need for discussion across the world and surely social media such as twitter provides just the tool needed to facilitate such discussion.

So, if you haven’t already, Get Connected!!