#tech4cpd

My college has been running professional learning communities for some time now and they've generally been productive and well-attended. I co-ordinate a PLC as a teaching and learning coach. Recently I have noticed many of my colleagues not attending due to excessive workloads. We also have a number of Associate Lecturer staff who, understandably, sometimes find it difficult to attend.

It strikes me that if our College is trying to use tech to make learning opportunities available any time, anywhere, surely we should apply this to our own CPD? Therefore as an experiment I have agreed with my colleagues to try running our PLC on Twitter using the hashtag #plcgsy.

If colleagues are not on Twitter I am asking them to set up an account and let me know their username. I will create a group and share it with them. If colleagues have a personal account on Twitter, I will ask them to set up a separate 'teacher' account. 

After that, I will send out regular reminders by email (email is the most commonly used communication tool between us at the moment) reminding colleagues to log on and share useful links and resources relating to teaching and learning including the hashtag #plcgsy. Let's see how it goes...

No, it's not a typo, I really do mean Staffrm!

Staffrm is the new professional network for educators passionate about their work. A vibrant and friendly community where you can connect with the teachers who inspire you around the things that you're interested in.To find out more check out http://staffrm.io. Staffrm is also on Twitter: @staffrm.

Here's the first of a number of useful resources I discovered at Bett 2015: TodaysMeet.

TodaysMeet is the premier backchannel chat platform for classroom teachers and learners. Designed for teachers, TodaysMeet takes great care to respect the needs and privacy of students while giving educators the tools for success.

Today was our first "Technology 4 Learning" INSET day at Guernsey College and it was facilitated by the Technology for Learning Task Force (of which I am a part!) 

The day got off to a great start with a 30 minute talk from the rather fabulous Adam Blackwood (on Twitter here) and then it took a workshop format. Attendees could choose 3 x 45 minute sessions out of 7. The sessions were run by Guernsey College staff and topics ranged from Technology 4 Discussion to Technology 4 CPD (my session). Then there was lunch and, after that, attendees could revisit any of the sessions that interested them on a drop-in/surgery basis to follow up on their learning and experiment a little.

So here I am, starting my session (apologies for the poor quality photo, I also think I might have my eyes shut)...

I introduced the objectives of the session using a Powtoon video:

After that, I went "old school" with a little Prezi which you can see here: Tech4CPD.

While planning this session, I asked myself "what would I like to get from this session if I was attending it?" I quickly realised the answer was "time" - as in, time to have a go at something. So I did a very brief introduction to 5 tools which can be used for CPD (Twitter, blogs, audio, video and Pinterest) then I directed everyone to my blog. All Tech4CPD posts are tagged "Tech4CPD" so I showed people to the content and got them reading, watching videos and playing. I asked them to choose one tool, and have a play. So people were pinning, tweeting, reading and watching... 

I was really pleased with how the session went. These 2 feedback comments made my day:

With regard to the TED Talks comment, one of my colleagues used his "play/exploration" time watching Ken Robinson TED Talks... I cannot think of a better tool for inspirational professional development. Ken makes me want to be a better teacher!

We rounded the day off with an extremely positive PLC (professional learning community) meeting where everyone shared their action plans from the day.

My final Tech 4 CPD topics are audio and video. I'm going to go out on a limb, and commit a major teaching faux pas, by assuming readers know what I mean by audio and video!

Sidebar: All of my teacher training students are now taking great pleasure in telling me that I should never assume anything and if you "assume" it makes an "ass" out of "u" and "me"... oh dear!

How can I use this tool?

From a CPD perspective I am referring to using audio and video as a way to consume online content to help you improve your teaching practice. 

Audio

I love consuming information through podcasts and audiobooks. The main reason for this is it leaves your hands free to do something else at the same time, for example cooking the dinner! It's fabulous multi-tasking. This article gives a great explanation of what a podcast is. There are thousands of education podcasts out there - you just need to search for them. The iTunes store is a good place to start, but there are other podcast directories. Podcasts are free to download. Be aware that the accuracy of the content, and indeed the sound quality, will vary as anyone can produce a podcast.  Some of the best podcasts I listen to are produced by enthusiastic amateurs. Often those produced by companies can be very commercial and salesy. 

Whereas podcasts are free, audiobooks often have a cost attached. I use Audible for my audiobooks as they offer a monthly subscription service which is really good value. Books, like podcasts, can be listened to on your mobile device. I am pleased to note that our local library has just started offering an audiobook borrowing system. This would definitely be worth exploring for education titles. Hopefully our College library will be in a position to do the same in the future. 

Video

Video is a great, often free, way to teach yourself how to do virtually anything, not least because it appeals to most learning preferences. With CPD in mind watching videos on You Tube or Vimeo is an effective way to learn new technical skills. Videos can be shared with our learners quickly and easily too by watching them in class or sharing through social media.

In both my personal and professional life, if I want to learn to do something, I search for a video on it. As with audio, the quality will always vary because these days it's a lot easier to produce a video and upload it to the Internet.  

Video is also useful for inspiring teachers. I've lost count of the number of incredible TED Talks I that have inspired me. I have posted below one of my favourites, and I also really recommend this link: TED Talks from Inspiring Teachers.

The RSA also has some inspiring talks that are worth exploring. I particularly enjoy their Animate series and one of my favourite videos is featured below. Coincidentally it is another Ken Robinson talk... other inspiring speakers are available, but I must confess to being something of a fangirl for Sir Ken!

A word of caution