As 2009 fades away I thought I’d reflect on some personal notable mentions of the year:
- I completed my teaching degree and began relief teaching ($$$).
- My youngest child started high school
- My second child completed high school
- My oldest child was sent to Afghanistan with the Australian Army (nail biting time)
- Mr Dem and I paid off our mortgage (hooray).
But perhaps the most noteworthy 2009 mention is: I discovered Twitter.
My PLN (Personal Learning Network)
I don’t watch a lot of TV but I heard about Twitter while watching one of my favourite drama series. Rachel Griffith’s character in Brothers and Sisters referred to Twitter during one episode. I looked over at Mr Dem and asked him, “What’s Twitter?” A nonchalant shrug was his reply. He hadn’t heard of it either.
Without delay I started to investigate this thing called ‘Twitter.’ It looked harmless so I decided to join. I started receiving random follow messages on my email almost straight away. I thought it was a bit creepy so I unjoined. A few days later I did some further investigation, read some blogs about Twitter & decided to join again. This time however, I was more informed and I did things a little differently. I filled out my bio, uploaded a photo of myself, posted a few education related tweets and then I started to follow other teachers via ‘we follow.’
Very quickly, some of the teachers I was following, began to follow me back. I began to develop my PLN. I started to learn from experienced teachers, Principals, authors, and ‘technology minded’ people from all around the world. I learned about Scribblar, Wordle, Prezi, Animoto and other Web 2.0 tools I had never heard of let alone how I might apply them in the classroom. I began to read the blogs of the members of my PLN. I read news articles that others had recommended. I asked questions. I received replies. I started conversations. I laughed, I cried, and slowly but surely the Twitter addiction set in.
I now wonder how I lived ‘BT’- (Before Twitter) and why I wasn’t alerted to the value of building a PLN at university. Because I am not a permanent teacher I don’t have the luxury of getting to know other teachers nor do I have access to professional development days. I’m the person other teachers call to supervise their class when they attend professional development days. So for me, my Twitter PLN is a support system that I can use to keep up to date with all things educational. I can voice my ideas, ask questions and get feedback from experienced teachers. I can learn from the experiences of others and I can be pointed to excellent resources.
Shelly Terrell recently posted on her blog- Teacher Reboot Camp -what her PLN means to her. She feels very close to her PLN and I have to agree with her. So, a heartfelt thankyou to my PLN. You share your life with me through your tweets and I have come to know you. Sometimes I eavesdrop on your conversations because I don’t have anything interesting or clever to add but I always learn from you. You motivate me, you inspire me, you pick me up when I am down, you even add words of encouragement on my blog, but most of all you make me want to be the best teacher I can be. Thankyou.
What a great introduction for any teacher not sure about joining Twitter. Thanks for your sharing Mrs Dem – i”ve learned from you too.
Thanks for your comment Stu. I learn so much from you. Love your tweets. You are well and truly a valued member of my PLN
Your contributions to various discussions using Twitter has been most welcome and once again highlights the benefits of using such a form of interaction as a means of professional development.
Now if I could just convince more of the other teachers at my school….
A great post!
Thanks Simon. I agree, Twitter seems to be an underutilized resource particularly with Australian teachers. I find Aussie teachers on Twitter are as scarce as hen’s teeth…or maybe I’m not looking in the right places. I am yet to meet (in person) one teacher that uses Twitter.
Loved this post! You describe my own pln journey too. I remember the casual teaching rollercoaster and appreciate how important it is to keep your learning up to date. Congrats on the milestones too and prayers for your son os.
Thanks Victoria. Since finishing uni I have been feeling lost. I was so busy studying etc and now…nothing. I’m enjoying the quiet time but I want to keep learning and I don’t want to become complacent. My Twitter friends keep me on my toes. I’m interested to hear about your PLN journey too.
G’day Mrs Dem,
Great post, but there are lots of Aussie teachers on twitter, myself included (tasteach on twitter). I was in your same position in January 2008, knowing nothing about blogs, wikis, twitter etc, but after 2 years building a PLN, my technology knowledge and use in the classroom has improved tremendously.
Pleased to meet you! Twitter is an amazing resource as long as you follow the right people. I can’t believe how little I knew about using technology in the classroom until I joined. I will look you up on Twitter. Thanks for your comment.
This is really excellent post. I think you really explain the importance of setting up your Twitter account correctly, as well as how to build a PLN. I have a new student teacher coming into my classroom in mid-January. I plan to share your blog with him. I agree with you. I too have learned so much from my PLN.
Wow you are going to share my blog with a student teacher!! I had better get posting then. Thanks Barbara, I’m blushing
Another great post Mrs Dem,
As you know I too discovered Twitter this year and now cannot imagine how I survived without it. If only I could persuade my fellow teachers to embrace it too but unfortunately I seem to be blessed to work with some (although not all) who stick firmly to the ways they have always known. With an ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ mentality. Enjoy your quiet time as all too soon I am sure you will be snapped up by a lucky school and then you will find yourself too busy to do much more than work, eat and sleep!
I plan to start my first blog soon- inspired by your posts. So keep it up
Thanks so much Henrietta. I can’t wait until you start a blog! Although my time in schools has been limited I am constantly amazed at the lack of enthusiasm for anything ‘tech-related.’ It all seems too hard for many teachers. My greatest wish at the moment is that I find full time employment because I so badly want my own class. -
Hi Mrs Dem,
I have found your blogs via twitter and henrietta who is my colleague so I am starting to build my own PLN. What an amazing journey we are on. I used to be the ICT teacher at my school and then switched to classroom teaching which I love although the trade off for me seems to have been a diminishing of my time for embracing so many new technologies – but I am back on track I think if only to try and keep up with henrietta. It will be a lucky school that gets you as a classroom teacher and I hope that happens soon for you. Good luck!
Hi Pru, I’m very pleased to meet you. Thankyou for your kind words. To have my own class is my greatest wish….one day I hope. It is difficult to keep up with all of the new technologies and changes in education. That’s one of the reasons I use Twitter. Welcome aboard and I look forward to sharing resources with you and learning from you.
Hi Mrs Dem
I’m trying to find you on twitter but not having very much luck. I am studying at Macquarie Uni to be a primary teacher in Sydney and am very pleased to see other Australian teachers using blogs/twitter and other web2.0 tools online to their advantage. May I ask what subject you focused on for your Honours Thesis? I am starting mine up this year and am looking to research some area of web2.0 and its applications in the classroom. From what I can see it is a very new area of research which both excites and scares me.
Thank you again, and I will keep an eye on your blog and input to the future of educational development.
Regards, Josh Aghion (@jpaghion)
Hi Josh,
Web 2.0 and its applications is a great topic to choose for your research. Go for it!! Define your question and then make use of the experiences of all of the great educators on Twitter.
I focussed on children’s experiences of bullying in the playground and what they think needs to be done to combat/prevent it. I found that their voices were missing in much of the research that I looked at.
[...] schools that have my name on their relief teaching list. I occupy myself on the Web with Twitter (see my previous post) and education blogs and try to keep myself enthused and excited about the wonderful world of [...]
[...] I learn a great deal about e-teaching from my Twitter PLN. [...]