Yes, the session included technology, but the focus of the day was not on the technology, but implementing high impact, innovative teaching and learning strategies in order to build relationships between learners and the community, develop reflection and metacognition skills of learners and overall promote a lifetime of learning.
An intentional omission from this purpose was the use of the term 'student', as this would imply that the learning experience does not apply to teachers. Effective teachers share a love of learning, that is why teachers become teachers... therefore teachers should be involved in the whole learning philosophy that is promoted within the culture of the school.
This is not a new concept and is generally one that is agreed upon by most staff within a schools community. The question arises though, am I, as a teacher, sharing my learning experiences, my learning reflections, the skills that I use and continue to strive to develop, my vulnerability in learning new things, with my learning community in the same way that I would expect, strive for, or attempt to promote with the students that I teach?
Surely if I aim to foster these skills to learners then I should make my own use of these skills evident, to show that learning is a lifelong experience and that I am not just a teacher, but also a learner...
I have pondered this question before and how my use of technology can help forge relationships with others and develop a culture of collaboration and communication.
One of the solutions for promoting this culture, presented by George, was to narrow the focus of the technology use, in order for all learners, staff and students, to become confident in using a few methods. These were the use of:
- Blogs
- Google CloudShare
George, as the Division Principal for Parkland School Division, Canada, attributes the development of a learning culture within his school division, to the promotion of a blogging culture and the use of Twitter to compliment this. Google CloudShare also further promotes the culture of collaboration and communication. The use of these tools was an expectation for all within the community. Staff and students. It was not an opt in or opt out scenario, everybody actively participates.
To be honest, I have always been stand-offish towards Twitter. In fact, I only set up an account a few months ago in order to set up the #BethlehemCPD feed. Having attended this professional development and experienced the potential of Twitter as a tool for promoting reflective practice and collaboration I am now a convert!
By 'Twittering' during the day a constant stream of thought and learning was documented, which aided reflection at a later time. Including a collaborative hashtag also then aided in developing discussion. These two elements alone showed me the power 147 characters can harness.
Imagine using this in a classroom... Setting up a class hashtag such as #mrsummersIPT gives everyone in the class the opportunity to contribute and develop understanding, whilst opening further discussion. These Tweets can the be looked back on, in order to create a learning blog portfolio that shows deep reflective practice.... We could encourage students to create a Twitter account, encourage them to have their phones out in lessons, encourage them to continuously use them during the learning, then look back on them during a plenary...
I have used my Tweets and the Tweets of others to reflect back on my learnings in order to develop this very Blog post.
I have taken the opportunity to practice what I preach and that is why this blog has been redeveloped.
I am exposing my learning experiences, my reflective practice, my skills, my areas for development. Not only to myself or my colleagues, but also to the rest of my learning community, locally and globally.
My aim is to narrow my focus...
To increase collaboration and communication...
To show that I am a learner as well as a teacher....
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