Getting Started on Twitter - Hashtags and Who to Follow

It's so great to see so many great educators beginning their Twitter journey. I remember back to my beginning and not really knowing where to start, how to interact or who to follow. I feel like I have finally come to a point in the development of my online Professional Learning Network (PLN) that I can impart some good advice on how to make things work for you. I wanted this post to not only be a list of the top educators to follow on Twitter but I wanted to share how I developed my following and some great hashtags to follow.

Digital Sandbox Time - 10 Reasons to Give it a Go

I will often have ideas in mind for the use of a new or different app. It's always exciting to see what students can do with something new because even more ideas for its use can pop up. What can be a struggle though is trying to explicitly teach 20+ children how to use an app at the same time. It's a nightmare, as some students naturally take their time, some rush ahead and then don't know what to do, others just would rather explore it on their own. When this happens, students get stressed and confused and the teacher does too. This is why I like to have Digital Sandbox time when introducing something new.

Why Technology in Education is Important

Why would we use technology in education? This is a question I’ve been asked before and one I ponder over frequently. It’s easy to answer with, ‘we live in a society where technology reigns supreme, so we need to make sure our students are prepared for it’, but I think the answer goes much deeper than that. We need to think of what the technology allows us to do rather than the technology itself and where the technology allows the learning to go for our students.

In this blog post, I will explore the following reasons we need to be using technology in education:

·       Improving digital literacy skills and help our students to become multi-literate

·       Preparing students for the jobs of the future.

·       Engaging students

I will also look at examples of how Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, social media and Skype and the iPad have transformed learning.

A Reflection - My ADE 2019 Journey

2019 has been one of the busiest years of my teaching career. Even before the school year began, I was preparing for another year of study, getting my curriculum ready for Term 1 and preparing my children for their next year of school (including first year of High School for my daughter). Among all this, I knew the Apple Distinguished Educator (ADE) applications would soon be opening and so I was busy taking notes of what I would do. It was one of my professional goals for 2019 to become an ADE. 

When applications opened in January I was excited but didn’t get to work right away. In fact, I kept putting it off due to my busy schedule. School returned and I just couldn’t see how I would possibly have the time to put anything together