HOW IT ALL STARTED
I was an eager young pup...
“This is an assignment for my Education Core Studies (ECS) 300 class called “Inquiry into Teaching and Learning”. I have decided to to the topic of Educational Technology, and am looking for how other educators have incorporated Technology in the classroom. To do this, I have created a Google Doc., in which anyone is free to add and discuss aboout the topic at hand. It is meant to be a collaboration of ideas/stories/opinions from educators from across the world. It is something that I hope everyone who partakes in, will benefit from. Here is the link (Technology in the Classroom Google Doc.), please feel free to add to it, and also, please spread the word about it! ” – Me, 2013
This all got rolling back in 2013, and to this day, I still can't believe the support it's gained. All I started with was an empty Google Doc., and a couple hundred Twitter followers...and now we're here. A large, collaborative document with advice/tips from educators across the world!
THE POWER OF TWITTER
It really is something, man.
I used the idea of using social media, or more specifically Twitter, just on the fact that I knew that is where it would get the most exposure. It would have the opportunity to be spread to Educators all around the world. To start, it was slow going trying to get my Google Doc out there, as I did not have many Followers on Twitter. In fact, in the first 2 weeks I had only one addition on it, from my good friend and intern partner...pretty much my university mom, so I wasn’t sure if it would ever take off!
Fortunately, I did personally know some people (@courosa, @shareski, @gcouros) with thousands of followers and I asked them to help me spread the word about it. As people starting adding to it, I started to gain more and more followers, so it was getting easier for me to spread the word myself. However, I still took advantage of using anyone who added to the document as a means of distributing the document. After someone had added, I thanked them and politely asked them if they would mind helping me get the word out about it, and people were more than willing to do so!
The awesome part about this is the diversity of the people that have added to it! I get to see the perspectives of Educators in many different parts of the world, and how education in different areas can be so different from what we know here.
A little bit about
THE PROJECT
Google Docs has been the backbone of my project. The fact that I can set the sharing options on the document so that anyone can add or edit the document has been the reason my project has been so successful. When fellow Educators can simply find the link and add their idea from wherever they may be, it saves me so much time. This, instead of manually and actively searching for these ideas from the web or from in person, then entering them myself. Since I was new to Google Docs, I often needed help trying to format or organize the document. I posted a comments asking for help, and the next day my problem was resolved by an Educator (@gduranceau) from Quebec! It’s just amazing the support I recieved while developing this document!
SOME STAND-OUTS
Much hard. Lots choices. Many Awesome.
EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES
I really like the post by @cybraryman1, where he says, “My Technology Integration page Tech Integration Web Page On that page I have links to ways to incorporate or embed technology in different subject areas. Here is a link to My Technology Pages.”
MISCELANEOUS WEBSITES
I chose a post from @randiklassen , where she says…”In my ECMP class our prof uses remind101.com at the beginning of the semester we all text-ed our numbers to this website and our prof can text us group messages if class in cancelled or we are meeting somewhere new. This is great because he does not actually have access to any ones number and he can not text anyone individually, so it is very safe.”
BLOGS
there were so many, but I picked one by @mrsdkreb, she says, “Once I joined the conversation with other educators on Twitter and through blogging, we found a wealth of opportunities in ed tech. Blogging has been an important way for us to share what we’ve done. Here is our class blog Krebs’ Class Blogs. Students have individual blogs on the side bar.”
GOOGLE DOCUMENTS
I decided on an idea from @plnaugle, where she says, “I use Google Docs for my lesson plans, study guides and tests. I have had my 4th graders make Google form surveys which I tweet out on Twitter so they get responses from all over the globe. They then use the data they collect to create graphs.”
SOCIAL MEDIA/NETWORKS
one stood out for me from @mraspinall. he explains, “If twitter is blocked, or you have younger students who cannot sign up (eg K-8), try twiducate.com (@twiducate) as an alternative. It is a teacher created, twitter-like network in which kids do NOT have to sign up, but instead are given a code and password. Not restricted to 140 chars you can embed youtube, schooltube, scrib etc. and have relavant conversations using a school friendly social media site.”
VIDEOS and SKYPE & VIDEO CONFERENCING
I'll go with the suggestion from @billymeinke, where he says, “Fellow graduate students and myself have used Google+ Hangouts to discuss projects, being able to work on a shared Google Doc in the same window with video feeds going on the side. Works very well, will be recommending to other educators and students for collaborative work. ”
WIKISPACES
I went with one from past ECS 300 students, “Check out this awesome resource for using Technology in Social Studies. We made this for our ECS 300 class during the Winter of 2011. It gives a solid overview of using games, Skype, movies, wikispaces, and a whole lot more! http://socialstudiestechnologyintegration.uregina.wikispaces.net/”
IN CONCLUSION
This thing was/is super cool
What I've learned in conducting this project is the unbelievable power that a Personal Learning Network (PLN) can have. I’ve realized that it is completely okay to reach out to fellow Educators for advice or help with almost anything I could ever need. The Project is a perfect example of this, because if I had not used Twitter and the unlimited supply of knowledge out there, I would still be on page one of my research project.
Using Social Media, as a teacher, is extremely important. This is because it is so easy to find lesson plans, management strategies, ideas of how to use technology in the classroom, etc. Something like Twitter makes life easier for Teachers who know how to use it... the problem is they are afraid to use Social Media simply because they are “scared of the unknown”. My advice to any (future) Educators is to give Social Media, like Twitter, a legitimate try. Realize the importance of having a successful PLN, and the infinite knowledge that is out there!