Social media has added to my life because there are incredible people in my sphere of socializing.What you get out of your time engaged with social media is directly proportional to the number and kind of people you socialize with online.
I've seen teachers get on Twitter and follow no one and say,
“I don't get Twitter.”
That's because Twitter isn't solo. Find the people who are using Twitter, like Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1) and Angela Maiers (@angelamaiers), and you'll learn a lot from them.
If you don't get Google+ (and I don't really… yet, but I will) then follow people like Peter Vogel or Chris Porter who do.
If you don't understand Facebook, I've really found that Mari Smith has helped me get it. And in the last month or two, I've been enjoying my twice daily visits to Facebook. (5:45 am and 7 pm ;-)
These people help us understand how to have effective conversations.
Cool Teacher Conversations on Facebook
Over there on my fanpage, it has become a teacher conversation center. In fact, I've been thinking about renaming the page altogether. It isn't about me at all.It is really a place for people to talk about teaching. Now, I know that with the new settings people can follow me on Facebook without having to fan me, but I see my fan page as not about me but about the conversation.
Like a lot of you who blog out there, I cogitate on a subject long before it comes here to my blog. I think about it and ask questions on Twitter about it. But I'm finding that my best answers from real teachers tend to happen on Facebook. Whether we talk about a talkative class (like we are today) or the struggle to keep up with grading, I always find that great ideas are coming in.
Recent conversation about assessments. I keep coming back and learning more. |
“Do you want me to teach for this test or teach for their future?”
Lets ask ourselves these questions. I do think textbook companies should look at communities but right now I don't think they want to be in the business of linking up kids – I mean look at the headaches involved? The only way to do this is to create communities of practice undergirded by teachersourcing and community guidelines.
Conversation spaces will emerge but we have a long way to go. Let's start talking about it now.
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