Last week the #AsiaED slow chat on Twitter, which was moderated by Simon Youd, discussed personalised professional development & professional learning (PD/PL) for teachers. This week Simon is continuing to moderate, but with a different approach, and has set the challenge of creating a post, video, or podcast reflecting on last week's chat.
By coincidence, it is now exactly 12 months since I started blogging, and so this is an ideal time for me to reflect on the impact blogging has had on my PD/PL over the last year, and whether it will continue to have an impact in the future. My original plan was to blog for a year, just to see if I could write and share my thoughts and reflections on a fairly regular basis. I've managed to do this, averaging over two posts per month on my blog. In addition to writing for my own blog, I've also written a number of guest blog posts for other sites, for example here. Contributing posts to community blogs, rather than just to my own, has resulted in some great feedback from teachers around the globe. Sites like BAM Radio Network'sEdWords blog,Innovate My School.com, and Pedagoo.org, are all great places to submit pieces to. A number of contributors to last week's #AsiaED chat mentioned the importance of creating content, rather than simply being passive consumers of content. This is something that is increasingly recognised as being important for our learners, so why not for us as educators too? I have found blogging to be a useful way to reflect on my practice - what works, what doesn't - and use these reflections to hopefully improve my practice moving forward.So, whilst it began as a bit of an experiment, I plan to continue blogging for the foreseeable future. Although writing blogs can be time-consuming, I've found I am getting slightly quicker at it. I was also concerned to begin with that I would find it difficult to find material to write about, and occasionally I do publish the odd photoblog! However, another important change for me this year was when, in May, I signed up to Twitter. Since then, interactions and conversations I have had on Twitter have provided inspiration for many of my blog posts, for example here. In fact, apart from when I studied for my Masters in Education, Twitter has provided me with the most useful PD/PL I have experienced since becoming a teacher. Education chats on Twitter, such as #DitchBook, #INZPirED, and of course #AsiaED, have proved particularly helpful. There are many educators using Twitter who are incredibly supportive and generous, both with their ideas and resources. So again, Twitter, which for me started out as something of an experiment, will continue to be one of my main go-to places for PD/PL. Other ways for personalising professional development obviously include attending relevant education conferences. In the last 18 months there have been a couple of useful conferences held locally that I've attended, and these have been helpful. I also gave a presentation at the recent Google in Education Summit here in Bangkok. So to summarise, I feel that blogging has helped with my professional development, by providing a concrete way with which to reflect on my teaching. Participating in Twitter education chats has also given me much to think about in terms of PD/PL, as well as a very supportive and helpful PLN. In the coming year I plan to continue blogging, both on my own site and for community blogs, as well as continuing to participate in Twitter education chats. I'd be interested to hear others' views on their most effective PD/PL...
I first heard about Hyperdocsa couple of months ago, but I hadn't got round to trying them out. However, last week's #DitchBook chat on Twitter, and this video, inspired me to give them a go. When I first heard about them, I thought Hyperdocs sounded a bit like digital worksheets, and placed the idea to one side. This is something I'm very wary of - simply replacing worksheets with digital, online versions of worksheets. However, Hyperdocs have the potential to do any number of things, and the possibilities they offer are really only limited by your imagination - or, by your students' imagination, since there is no reason for students not to create their own Hyperdocs! The concept of Hyperdocs was originated by three teachers, Lisa Highfill, Kelly Amick Hilton, and Sarah Landis. Here, Lisa and Kelly summarise what Hyperdocs can do:
A1:#HyperDocs are simple- Digital lesson plans that shift how you teach and Ss learn #ditchbook
But they are also much more than that, and they are not limited to Docs - they could be created in Slides, Forms, Maps, and so on. You can also embed videos, and include links to many other types of media or tools.
A1 A HyperDoc is more than an interactive worksheet; it's more like a quest or adventure! You can add ANY type of media/activity #ditchbook
As Matt Miller, author of Ditch That Textbook says, edtech is often limited to the substitution end of the SAMR model. However, Hyperdocs offer scope for augmentation, modification, and redefinition of traditional pedagogical approaches. Again, the possibilities here really depend on the desired learning outcomes, after all, the SAMR model is not a ladder, with redefinition as the ultimate goal for all lessons.
A2: Way different -- so much #edtech is stuck in substitution of SAMR. This kicks it up a notch! #ditchbook
Hyperdocs have the potential to be used with any grade level, and in any subject area. They can make learning purposeful and engaging, and learners can work at their own speed, which also offers a lot of scope for differentiation. I know that as a concept 21st Century Skills and the 'four Cs' - communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creation - are taking a beating in some circles. However, whatever the philosophy / terminology is preferred, these are undeniably important skills, and they are skills that are well served by Hyperdocs:
A3 #Hyperdocs allow students to create and collaborate all in one doc! We use the template created by @SARAHLANDIS! It's awesome! #Ditchbook
I've started creating some very basic Hyperdocs, which I don't feel currently do justice to the overall potential of this approach. However, here is a link to a range of Hyperdocs shared by participants in the DitchBook chat: Various Hyperdocs shared by the #DitchBook crew
This week I had the honour to guest moderate a Twitter education chat for the first time, with the #INZPirED community. What made this doubly special was that #INZPirED was the first ever Twitter Edu chat I participated in, back in May!
The topic I chose for the chat was 'How can getting out of the classroom benefit learners?' For the purposes of the chat, and to allow for Twitter's 140 character limit, we used the abbreviation EOTC (Education Outside The Classroom) during the chat.
There were many great thoughts and opinions around just how useful getting out of the classroom can be for learners, for example by creating active learning opportunities and reinforcing classroom learning.
#INZpirED. Hi Leonie, Hastings NZ. I use EOTC to reinforce learning or create it. Eg Inquiry on Surviving set up course for Ss to experience
Getting out of the classroom also gives those students who are sometimes a bit quiet in class the opportunity to become more engaged and gain more of a voice. I have observed this on field trips in the past, where a student who may have never asked a question in class will come up to me with a seemingly endless series of questions!
@Ajarn_Adam allows us to see Ss in a different light! Almost like draws some out of their shell #INZPirED
An important feature of education outside of the classroom is to provide students with ways to engage with authentic and real-life situations, helping to break down barriers between their classroom learning and the real world.
Hello #inzpired Laurie joining from Maple Ridge BC EOTC allows Ss to engage in authentic activities in real life situations.
A couple of very real concerns around the practicalities of getting out of the classroom were raised, such as issues around behaviour, transport, and disruption for other teachers. These are fair points, but ones which can be addressed. Behaviour requires the appropriate number of adult supervisors necessary for the grade level and specific needs of the learners involved - obviously resources may play a role in this. Transport, again, is a resources issue. Disruption for other teachers may occur, but as I mentioned during the chat, this is something that as teachers we have to expect. I may take my students out of other classes for a biology field trip to the zoo, while a few weeks later they may be off to the museum for a social studies trip. This is fine - the learning opportunities afforded by well-designed field trips can outweigh the slight loss of curriculum time.
@lauriemeston@rsehji#INZpirED.Thats why I do it but can be hard in a low decile sch wth behav probs & no support with transport
Technology can play a very useful role when it comes to learning outside of the classroom, and this was highlighted during the chat. For example, learners can use their phones for taking photos or videos, recording information, collaborating, and communicating.
Tech has played a massive part in rise of EOTC. Connectivity, communication and information at our fingertips 24/7. #INZPirED
I also pointed out that technology can be useful when field trips may not be practical due to issues of cost, safety, or geography, for example the use of virtual field trips.
.@DJCE57 Getting out of class may involve issues of cost, safety, geography - tech can help here #INZpirED
The entire Storify of the chat can be found embedded at the bottom of this page. The #INZPirED chat takes place on Twitter every Saturday at 9:30AM Bangkok time (GMT+07:00) - please feel free to join in! Thanks to Diana Engwa for inviting me to guest moderate and for putting the promo image together, to Ritu Sehji for compiling the Storify, to Sunny Thakral for making me have to think of another topic ;) and to the #INZPirED community.
A few months ago I came across a great idea, Blog Friday, described by one of my Twitter PLN, Rory Gallagher. Inspired by this, last week I started Blog Wednesday at my school. The basic premise is that every Wednesday I will circulate one of the many interesting educational blog posts from the blogosphere to my colleagues. I will attach a brief commentary, and seek thoughts and opinions from my colleagues. Blog Wednesday at my school
The aim of this initiative will be to circulate blogs that are positive, reflect good classroom / school practice, or more general student / teacher well-being, as well as blogs about broader professional development issues. Sometimes the post may be topical, for example we are having a digital citizenship week soon, so I will circulate a blog post relevant to that topic. Sometimes I may circulate a post that is controversial, while other times it may simply be a post that is of interest to some or all of my colleagues. I teach biology in an English-speaking program for Thai students. Therefore the first post I chose for Blog Wednesday was about something all of my colleagues could relate to, bilingual education, by Dr Matthew Lynch. The post outlines five important features that a bilingual education can afford learners, such as improving lifelong learning skills, breaking down international language barriers, and improving collaboration. Amongst colleagues who responded to this initiative the feedback was positive. There were a couple of teachers who spoke to me about the idea, and four who replied to my email. Of the four who emailed responses, two colleagues wrote at length about theoretical studies of bilingual education they were aware of, and drew parallels with their own experiences as parents of young bilingual children. Why blog as an educator? There are some great posts here by Amy Hollingsworth and here by Jessica Lifshitz which outline many reasons why blogging can be helpful for educators. Since I began this blog at the end of last year, I have personally found it to be an extremely useful way to reflect on and to develop my own practice as an educator. During that time I have also written various other posts for different blog sites, which is another great way to gain ideas from leading educators. I have collaborated with top UK ed-blogger Rachel Jonesfor her blog, been invited to post at BAM RadioNetwork EdWords blog by education author Rae Pica, contributed to InnovateMySchool.com, and even been quoted in The Guardian! I plan to continue blogging myself for the foreseeable future. I also aim to continue with the Blog Wednesday initiative for the rest of this semester and the next, through to the end of this school year. After that, maybe more of my colleagues will be blogging too!
