I am immeasurably fortunate to be in the employ of a school with a thought leader as principal. Gradually, gently, @ugafrank has been pushing our faculty to utilize @Twitter to develop a PLN. Always one to try out new technology without a moment's thought, I created my account. Then I ignored it. The stream was overwhelming to me. The idea of NOT reading everything made no sense. Even now, when I check my feed, my brain envisions a fast-running Alaskan stream. Once in a while, my mind's eye sees a salmon jumping out of the water. Those are the tweets I 'catch.' I felt obligated to stick my head in the rushing waters to make sure I could see ALL the fish swimming against the current.
As I became more comfortable with how to use Twitter to my advantage as an educator, I found more and more benefits to my participation. I have made a wide variety of collegial contacts in my areas of expertise. I have been exposed to and begun using new software with and for my students. I utilized my PLN to access tutorials and how-to videos. I have generated hundreds of new ideas, shared many that have worked for me, and have gradually improved the learning and engagement happening in my classroom. I wish I could be granted a do-over with one particular class I had a few years ago, with the opportunity to run that class (pre-Twitter) the way I do now.
I learn more about global news. I read a wider variety of literature (both fiction and non-fiction), learning about books of interest from my followers and Tweeps I follow. I listen to more podcasts. I follow people who make me a better person, and I unfollow those who bring negativity into my stream. I am more reflective on my pedagogy. I have also become selective in how much time I spend on chats and 'stream fishing.' I just coined that term to mean the time I spend scrolling through my home feed at any given time. I also have won prizes while participating in Twitter-related events. I won't lie. That little rush of endorphins definitely made me want to keep participating.
I do think that today's constantly-changing-screen-view-world perceived in 15 to 20 minute bursts has made me distractible in a way I never was before. I am still an avid reader with a sustained focus my own children can't begin to match, but I do find my attention wandering more quickly than it used to. I do think short bytes of screen life, including Twitter fishing, has had an impact. This is decidedly not a benefit. But...it has made me cognizant that I cannot lecture and expect my students to retain all the information. I have to match their attention span with breaks in the action, so-to-speak.
Most surprisingly, though, is the realization that I have become a more critical thinker, if that's even possible. I am making new neural connections in the same way we hope our students will. As I am exposed to new information in a less categorical setting, my brain is cross-referencing information in a new way. Twitter has helped me to get out of the box of organized thinking and into the broad view that I want my students to have. Being able to see a wide swath of information at a time and drawing previously unforeseen relationships between ideas is what the 21st century learner must be able to do.
By choosing to follow a wide array of people on Twitter, carefully selected - tailored to my own personal interests and needs, I am engaging in my own continuing education, without the requisite assessments. By following people NOT in my field, who do NOT teach my subject matter or age group, I am exposing myself in a risk-free environment to new thoughts, topics and ideas.
It took me quite a while to get to this place with Twitter. Boy, what a nice view!
I learn more about global news. I read a wider variety of literature (both fiction and non-fiction), learning about books of interest from my followers and Tweeps I follow. I listen to more podcasts. I follow people who make me a better person, and I unfollow those who bring negativity into my stream. I am more reflective on my pedagogy. I have also become selective in how much time I spend on chats and 'stream fishing.' I just coined that term to mean the time I spend scrolling through my home feed at any given time. I also have won prizes while participating in Twitter-related events. I won't lie. That little rush of endorphins definitely made me want to keep participating.
I do think that today's constantly-changing-screen-view-world perceived in 15 to 20 minute bursts has made me distractible in a way I never was before. I am still an avid reader with a sustained focus my own children can't begin to match, but I do find my attention wandering more quickly than it used to. I do think short bytes of screen life, including Twitter fishing, has had an impact. This is decidedly not a benefit. But...it has made me cognizant that I cannot lecture and expect my students to retain all the information. I have to match their attention span with breaks in the action, so-to-speak.
Most surprisingly, though, is the realization that I have become a more critical thinker, if that's even possible. I am making new neural connections in the same way we hope our students will. As I am exposed to new information in a less categorical setting, my brain is cross-referencing information in a new way. Twitter has helped me to get out of the box of organized thinking and into the broad view that I want my students to have. Being able to see a wide swath of information at a time and drawing previously unforeseen relationships between ideas is what the 21st century learner must be able to do.
By choosing to follow a wide array of people on Twitter, carefully selected - tailored to my own personal interests and needs, I am engaging in my own continuing education, without the requisite assessments. By following people NOT in my field, who do NOT teach my subject matter or age group, I am exposing myself in a risk-free environment to new thoughts, topics and ideas.
It took me quite a while to get to this place with Twitter. Boy, what a nice view!
Enking, Leonora. Colca Canyon. N.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2015.