Getting a “Handle” on Social Media

Week 30 - My sixth post for Applied Practice in Context:  Professional Online Social Networks 

I've written about my involvement with social networks before, especially with Twitter.  This latest post, to meet my post-grad requirements, outlines my use of a range of networks for professional learning, as well as giving you some great reasons to be involved yourself.

It can be tough for some educators in New Zealand.  Many of us live outside of the main cities and it’s a major effort, time-wise and cost-wise, to access the courses and workshops we see advertised on the web or in the Education Gazette. That’s why the online networks I engage with have become my “lifelong learning” lifeline.

Twitter 

I like being @mrs_hyde; she is embraced by a learning community which has similar values about teaching and learning. Literally; hugging and shrieking has become the norm for edutweeps who meet for the first time.  When we meet face to face, chances are we have discussed, assisted, debated, laughed and empathised with each other already.

I follow global educators on Twitter who share their own and others’ ideas and articles.  This provides me with a wealth of education readings about the latest pedagogy.  In addition, I can directly contact the experts who I would never feel I could approach in real life. I’ve had conversations with some of my education heroes like Steve Wheeler, Richard Gerver, Nigel Latta and Grant Lichtman. 

  

I’ve been able to engage in webinars, like last week’s discussion between Keri Facer and our Edchatnz star, Danielle Myburgh.  I read some of Keri’s work on futures thinking for my literature review and it was a bonus to hear her speak on the same topic.  This one was at 7.00pm on a Wednesday night; I’ve been known to sit up in my pyjamas to listen and contribute to a northern hemisphere webinar at 3am!

I’ve got a wealth of knowledge about other schools in New Zealand. My classroom really doesn’t have walls.  I feel like I am part of a virtual staffroom and know “who does what” in New Zealand: innovative learning environments, makerspace, Minecraft… This has led to school visits or online question and answer sessions.

I’m a regular participant in educator chats like #edchatnz, #aussieED and #ldrchatnz.  These Twitter chats are fast moving discussions between global educators.  Using Storify, and the hashtags, I curate these chats into slideshows to read later, save links and serve as evidence against the Practising Teacher Criteria. There’s usually a Devil’s Advocate - I’ve had a turn at that - to challenge our thinking.

I’ve used Twitter as my “lazyweb” to use the collective personal professional knowledge of others to quickly glean information. Or advice.  Other leaders on Twitter are great help mates.

Google+

While I’ve dabbled with Google+ in the past, I have put it to good use during my postgrad studies with MindLab. We share a community with our cohort, to share links, discuss assessments, ask questions and reflect on each others’ blogs.  I have two accounts: one is for school, one I keep separate.  In each one I have set up collections to curate readings I find on the internet. I am a member of other communities too: coding, Google Apps, Literacy, Minecraft. It’s been useful for setting up a study group community too, especially for our literature review.  

The Virtual Learning Network

I first started using this because I was the ICTPD facilitator for our cluster, and the VLN was the platform for sharing learning and recording evidence for our milestone reports.  I found that I could connect with other cluster facilitators and elearning experts for advice; what Melhuish calls “group genius”. I was one of the people who responded to her survey for her thesis:

“Two areas where participants felt the site most successfully met their needs were the ability to explore topical issues and being able to connect with other colleagues". (p.95)

I had my turn as guest speaker in webinars and enjoyed participating in forums.  My most active group is our #connectedrotorua group page.

Facebook

While my aim has been to keep Facebook for social interaction with family and friends, an addition last year meant that I changed my mind. Two teachers from Auckland began the NZ Teachers (Primary) group which has in turn spawned a number of other professional teacher groups.  These are great help sites for locating resources and creating discussion.

LinkedIn

Although I am a member and “link” with a range of professionals, I don’t venture into the discussions as I do on the other platforms.

Blogger

I love Blogger because I love writing. This is my reflective portfolio, where I make sense of the ideas from my discussions and readings. I tag my posts with the Practising (Registered) Teachers’ Criteria. I then use my other social networks to share my posts, using the hashtags #edchatnz, #edblognz and #MindLabED.  I encourage students to have blogs and share these using the #comments4kids hashtag. 

Key features of social media that are beneficial for teaching and learning:

Ubiquitous personalised learning.  I love that I can organise where and when and how I want to learn. Social networks are always awake, even if it’s somewhere else in the world.

Multidisciplinary and cross sector.  I remember a time when secondary teachers and primary teachers kept to their corners. Now we are found in the same virtual staff rooms. Social media has helped to de-silo learning.

Equitable. Learning does not belong to those who are able to pay.  It is available to all.  Besides the free availability of googlable information, many structured courses are free. The Edchatnz Mooc is an example.

Ako. "Ako" means having a mutual teaching and learning relationship.  Wellburn and Eib (Veletsianos, 2016) talk about the different roles we can take in social media; at different times we can play the “expert, amateur, audience, author, learner, and educator” (p.65). Youtube is another example of this in action. 

Interactive and creative. Rather than just receiving content, we are expected not only to interact, but to make content.  

Authentic. Teachers are harnessing social media not only for their own learning but to engage students.  Students blog for real audiences who can provide feedback and feedforward in their comments. They are participating in quadblogging, and Twitter chats like #NZreadaloud and #kidschatnz. 

Key competencies.  Social media engages us in the competencies.  We must learn how to operate in each environment; they each have their own literacy.  Twitter, for example forces us to be succinct. Thinking, relating to others responsibly, managing self and participating and contributing with others are all encapsulated in these networks.

The vision of the New Zealand Curriculum is for “young people who will be confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners” (p.7). The “older” people need to model these attributes too.  Social networks provide a rich, attainable arena for professional discussion and development to enable this vision.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/marc_smith/4311427445 - cc license

Related Blog Posts

Having A PLN - https://dougpete.wordpress.com/2016/06/13/having-a-pln/

A Fly on the Wall of Virtual Learning - http://likeahoginmud.blogspot.co.nz/2015/03/a-fly-on-wall-of-virtual-learning.html

Species Twiducatus Edchatnz (No Birds Were Harmed in the Making Of This) - http://likeahoginmud.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/species-twiducatus-educhatnz-no-birds.html

Reporting and Interviews...subtitled "I wasn't going to tweet tonight." -http://likeahoginmud.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/reporting-and-interviewssubtitled-i.html

It's All About Connecting - #connectedrotorua - http://likeahoginmud.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/its-all-about-connecting.html

#Edchatnz - Speed Dating With Twiducators - http://likeahoginmud.blogspot.co.nz/2013/11/edchatnz-speed-dating-with-twiducators.html

Attwicted to Learning - http://likeahoginmud.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/attwicted.html

Using Microblogging: Twitter and Other Tools to Facilitate Teacher and Student Learning - http://likeahoginmud.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/using-microblogging-twitter-and-other.html

References

Joosten, T.( 2013. October 22). Pearson: Social Media for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/tjoosten/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-27456257?ref=http://professorjoosten.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/pearson-social-media-for-teaching-and.html

Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/8482/thesis.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

Silius, K., Miilumäki, T.,Huhtamäki, J.,Tebest, T., Meriläinen, J., & Pohjolainen, S.(2010). Students’ motivations for social media enhanced studying and learning. Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal, 2(1), 54-67. Retrieved from http://www.kmel-journal.org/ojs/index.php/online-publication/article/view/55/39

Veletsianos, G. ed. (2016). Emergence and Innovation in Digital Learning: Foundations and Applications. Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

A Fly on the Wall of Virtual Learning

"Beam me up Scotty!"

If only! I loved the idea that people could translocate instantly in space when I was 6 years old and still do now.

I've nearly achieved that dream virtually - though even with technology, I know I'm missing out on the full multi sensory, face to face experience.

Thanks to Kassey Downard, who is at the "Writing Effectively" conference, I've got to experience some of the magic.  Here are her notes which she tweeted out from Day 1 and 2:

Ungeeking the Geekery - #EducampRotovegas 21 February 2015

I love educamps. I loved this one the most. And not because I was one of the hosts and the convenor.

Several aspects stood out for me as we went through the agenda for the day: the welcome, introductions, smackdown and workshops.

Among the people who arrived were a lot of unfamiliar faces.

I love my tweep colleagues and many of us are now educamp groupies. We enjoy seeing each other

again. It's our tribe and it's like coming home.  It's also amazing to meet online friends face to face for the first time (hey there, Justine Hughes @cossie29 and Leonie Bennett @leonie_hastings).

One of our aims when Marnel van der Spuy @1MvdS and I thought we could do this three years ago, was to bring a professional learning opportunity to Rotorua that was available to all local teachers for no cost except their time. What struck us at the 2013 day was the lack of local teachers.  But it was so much fun and learning, with great connections made from around the compass.

So even more exciting were these new faces; newbies to educamp who came from as far away as Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Tauranga, Hamilton, Tirau, Tokoroa and south Waikato. And Rotorua. A lot of Rotorua teachers.  Hallelujah!

Everyone looked as if they were having a great time.

I'm conscious of that celebrity status that well known presenters get; the in people, the ones who have a reputation for having a lot of knowledge and are far too super geek to talk to. It's easy to feel like an imposter who doesn't know enough to share.  But the room embraced everyone.  It was made quite clear that nothing was dumb, everyone had something to offer and it was okay to sit back and absorb. When someone said she was only a BT, the crowd loudly disagreed with her label; similarly when some one else said she was "only a teacher aide".  Everyone had a place in the room.  And it showed as the smackdown extended through many slides as people gained confidence to share.

The range of workshops appealed to everyone.  Newbies joined Twitter. What was once pure geek is becoming mainstream. Hooray!

Thanks to Kimberly Baars @MissesArtech from Taupaki School for talking about Maker Culture; Diana Wilkes @DianaWilkes for her workshop on Teacher Dashboard at Ormiston School and Jo Makinson @JoMakinson for leading the group through Literacy Evolution which she started at Richmond School..

Now an established event that drew fifty people, Network for Learning through  Andy Schick @Andy_Schick stumped up for refreshments. Thanks folks!

And thanks to Juliet Revell @Juliet_Revell who demonstrated that it was possible to attend by GHO from Napier and Leanne Stubbing @fivefoot3 who watched from afar in Wellington and completed a Storify of the day.

The geekery was well and truly ungeeked. Good on you all. Welcome to twenty first century learning at last!

Reporting and Interviews...subtitled "I wasn't going to tweet tonight."

...but Karla Hull reminded me that #ptchatnz was on, and the topic is one that many educators are worried about.  How do we report well to our families about our students? What do they need to know? Want to know?

#Ptchatnz is the brainchild of Ngatea School and Principal Neil Fraser led me to it. On the first chat, I think Neil, Karla and I had more or less a three way conversation for the hour.  We advertised it; I wanted to help. We talked about it at Educamps and on other chats.

This third chat was sensational.  Karla designed great questions.  The tweets streamed down the screen!

What we need though, is more parent voice.  Many of our followers are teachers.

I will enjoy mulling over the tweets in the storified collection embedded below (thanks Karla).

Last word must go to parent Martin Partridge, from Hobsonville Point Primary School.

If we use too much jargon in our tweets then I imagine that our reports and interviews are similar. Thanks for the timely reminder.

Learnings and Future Learnings...from the #edchatnz conference

This is my fourth blog post about the #edchatnz conference; from what I've seen on the Tweetdeck streams, I'm not alone in my excitement.

In @ReidHPS's meme challenge, he asks us what we would have liked to attend.  We had to make choices and those choices involved missing people and sessions which have had an obvious impact on others.  So here are links to resources, presentations and #storified tweets which gather in the goodness.

I plan to come back here to read and reflect as there is not a hope that I can do it all right now.
Thanks #edchatnz tweeps who did all the work for this collection.  Special thanks to @chasingalyx who gathered all the links in her "Superpost of Resources."

Alex's Superpost of Resources

Sonya's Listly of Reflections 

Anne Kenneally's #storify

Kimberley's #storify

Pam's #storify on SOLO

Anne Robertson's #storify

Simone's #storify on #kidsedchatnz

Karen's keynote on #storify

Alyx's #storify on the MP debate

Karen's #storify on Connected Educator Month

My #storify on Gamification

My #storify on Digital Literacy with @andrewcowie

My #storify on the inaugural f2f meeting of #Edubookchatnz


Lots of photos on the #Edchatnz community

Species Twiducatus Edchatnz (No Birds Were Harmed in the Making Of This)

Twiducatus Edchatnz

Appearance: 

Twitter birds come in all shapes and sizes and many coats, but like a combination of black and bright colours. The female is usually identified by its avatar; she normally takes selfies from above in order to minimise chin flesh.  The male usually takes selfies from below in order to maximise height and may well wear a hat to disguise early loss of feathers.

Also distinguishable by having a small coloured, backlit device appendages attached to hands and heads down; a risky business for this species, as it may walk into things.

Spectacled Twiducatus

Habitat:

Enjoys flocking in brightly coloured Modern Learning Environments, with coloured bean bags, stools and various multi-level furniture items.  If these are unavailable, is not adverse to meeting on virtual cloud spaces and can swim in fast-moving streams.

Favoured habitat of Twiducatus

Feeding Habits:

Feeds by diving in and out of streams where it follows other Twitter birds and consumes their links. Works cooperatively however, by ensuring stream is freshly supplied with new links.

Also found in cafes where eating procedure involves firstly tweeting photos of coffee froth and beautifully styled cake arrangements, in order to impress other twitter birds with success as a hunter and collector of delicious foodstuffs.

Noisy flock of Twiducatus feeding in early morning light.

Reproductive habit:

The twitter bird begins as an unhatched egg which is nurtured by more mature Twitter birds.  They help it to develop feathers and a suitable profile without which it will not survive; survival is dependent on being followed and following other Twitter birds.

Young of Twiducatus

The Twitter bird then goes through several stages before it is fully mature:

At the curious stage, the new Twitter bird is affectionately tagged as a "lurker" and is allowed to watch more mature members of the species feeding and resupplying the stream.  The most mature members of the species who are successful stream divers, are also affectionately tagged as "queen".

Language:

In flocks will hug and shriek.  Ordinarily it communicates with shortened text forms and hashtags. It cannot utter anything with more than 140 characters to ensure that communication is quick and that all members of the flock can utter a tweet in the chorus.

Committee Chorus

How to catch a Twitter bird:

Twitter birds are attracted by uttering abbreviations and by giving them brightly coloured and shiny tools.  GAFE, UDL and MLE are current favourites as are LCD screens especially if accompanied by smart phones. 3D printers, ipads and Chromebooks are equally successful in capturing their attention.

Global Flock Numbers - Is It At Risk?

Twitter bird numbers, especially the subspecies Twiducatus, which we have highlighted here, are currently undergoing a rapid expansion in numbers.  There is a possibility that similar species such as Snapshoticus, Instagraminfinitum and Facebookaddictus might subsume the species, but there is no indication of that at present as the Twiducatus is enjoying global growth; it can feed at any time of day or night and in any geographical area or climate, as long as wifi is present in the atmosphere.

Odd birds are all accepted by the flock, ensuring that the flock maintains variety and a wide range of ideas. 

It's All About Connecting - #connectedrotorua

We want these meetings to meet needs and wants. Twitter was suggested at the last meeting, so Twitter it was! (And I don't need to be asked twice.)

I think it's the MOST important arena for teachers to build their personal learning networks.  I've said it before - here's my post on being Attwicted to Learning.

It's harder to convince teachers of this however.  in spite of this, a dozen keen folk came out to find out why this is so.

Knowing Alex Le Long had presented on Twitter at the NZATE conference in the holidays, I thought we would spread the love and get her to share her presentation.  Thanks Alex! it was very informal, with questions and clarifications as we went along.  Two new tweeps joined up and others enthused that they would start using it more.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Q5oTIOrh8v5MOm4mNW6quFi9GDmvm2wyiWiKzW20D34/edit#slide=id.p

We moved on to the topic of Blogging. as the discussion went that way, I talked about protocols and security:

• Don't forget that your school owns intellectual property completed in its name - so by inference - even student blogs.
• That means you need some identification and some pastoral control.
• Use the school name in some form in the URL so that they are easily found. we use "mokoia-int"
• Blogger settings allow you as teacher or administrator to both be an author and moderate either posts or comments or both. Suggest you get in there!
• Use first names, not surnames in titles and URLs and never identify a student with an individual portrait photo.
• Decide on the purpose of the blog.  Will it be to publish beautiful teacher-edited work, or is it rather evidence of learning? The latter is more real and helps with parent understanding about where their learner is at. Say this in the blog description which appears under the title.
• Use the word verification; there are unfortunately, too many spammers out there!
• Advertise! Use twitter to tell the world about the blog post. Get your network to RT (retweet). Your young blogger will need readers and commenters!

Marnel talked about her Kidblogs.  She teaches new entrants and Year 1.  Even young students can post with a teacher's help.  And parents love being able to share their child's learning at home.

Her children participate in Kidsedchatnz too, for which she is one of seven teacher facilitators. Make sure your children have real places to read and write, with real just in time audiences! 

Thanks everyone for another great evening of learning and sharing.  Next time - Friday 5 September, we'll discuss eportfolios, so bring your ideas, your questions - and a friend!

Connected Rotorua Twitter Handles:

@mrs_hyde    @1MvdS    @ariaporo22   @lynmartin  @suewintersnz  @NeedhamVicki  @nobiek59   @JakBBB

We're Going on a Road Trip - and Another Saturday of Learning

I love learning and I love meeting face to face with those educators who are now my friends.

Marnel Van der Spuy (@1MvdS), Alex Le Long (ariaporo22) and myself (@mrs_hyde) rose very early and faced the Saturday morning darkness, fog and traffic to head north to Educamp Auckland.  This year it was hosted by Western Heights Primary in Henderson.

What a full room greeted us! All the usual shrieks and hugs of course, as tweeps from Nelson (@allanahk), Hamilton (@barbs1, @teachernz, @annagerrit), Napier (@Juliet_Revell, @maloneynz) and my lovely Auckland friends - @CaroBush, @digitallearnin, @helenoftroy, @MeganCroll1) I've left out so many but you know who you are!) - got together.  We've met on Twitter, and as we share similar ideas and passions about learning, we get on incredibly well!

Finally set eyes on @ReidHns1, @missesartech - lots of new friends to make too.

The smackdown is always a great sharing of ideas, and @FionaGrant was very efficient with the buzzer.  I shared a number of slides too:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ykIWA6yayFzeT6JkEuIqJWhTk8rRq2fvHbCl8HyP4nk/edit#slide=id.g34d141707_044

Next off to the breakouts.  These are planned from post -it notes. participants choose what they would like to know more about and a timetable is created. 

First stop: Coding. The group decided to create a coding club for teachers in which to share progress on code.org as we upskill ourselves. This was chosen as a great site to start for teachers from all sectors. This Google+ community will also allow us to share other learnings, musings and resources about coding. Thanks to Lesley (@Lasampsonater)and Tanya (@tanya) for getting us going!

Next: Minecraft. Thanks to Mark McLay for allowing us to play on his networked app on the ipads. Had a lot of fun with the other participants! I'm going to get back to him about how he has set up Minecraft at his school.

The last breakout was with Fiona and Amy (@AmyMMcCauley) to discuss applying for the Google teacher academy. The deadline was on Thursday ...maybe next year?

A final giggle at the airport as we saw the Napier tweeps off, and it was back on the road, where ideas and pedagogy are well thrashed by the time we reach Rotorua later in the evening!

The Inaugural #eduigniterotovegas

Personalised Learning on #edchatnz

Wow - another twitter speed dating - should that be speed writing and reading - session.  Powerful and pithy!

My worries are that teachers forget that it's not about just following passions for students.  As teachers, facilitators and activators (thanks @digitallearnin), it is our job to know our students' needs and scaffold their next steps. "Standing on the side" does not mean standing at a distance. We stand close enough to motivate, question, and assist.

#mlearn14 - "They're Technologies of the Present - Not the Future"

I've paraphrased Stephen Lethbridge and he's quite right; too many folk talk about technologies and practices that are right here right now: social networks like Twitter, 3D printers, coding, mobile computers.  They talk about them like there is a choice to adopt or not to adopt.

It's imperative that we keep up because what is current now will be superceded before we can blink.

The First Post...for 2014, That Is. A Meme About Me, Me, Me!

I do feel like I've dragged my feet over this. It's a great idea, one which encourages us to reflect and share with folk who have become our confidentes over the last year or so.  It's an idea that I can see could work well with blogging in our school.  I have to say though, that it was lovely shutting down the laptop before Christmas and looking at my pile of books, videos and garden tools!

I do like writing though, and tweeting and talking...so thanks so much dear Marnel, who got me into this. Marnel - I absolutely treasure our conversations! Also Monika and Kimberley! That's what happens when everyone tags everyone else and you leave it for a few days. I'm going to start with Marnel's questions and see how I go. I may have to do meme x 3.

The blogging task includes:

Acknowledge the nominating blogger.  (Thank you for making me feel special ladies!)
Share 11 random facts about yourself. (That will be interesting to narrow it down.)
Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you. (Haven't peeked yet.)
List 11 bloggers. (Hmm - a challenge not to re-tag someone now!)
Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer, and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated.  Don't nominate a blogger who has nominated you. (I'm counting tweeting as blogging...it's also known as micro-blogging.)

11 Random Facts About Me:

1. My name is pronounced An-na-ma-ry. I was named after my German grandmother, Anna Maria, and my mother's Swiss au pair, Annemarie. I have no middle name because they knew it would be the bane of my life! It's a great name - I like a bit of history.
2. My maiden name was Tinga. I got married while I was at teachers' college; obviously thought about the nicknames...tingaling, stinker...
3. I was born in Christchurch, New Zealand and lived there for all but four of my first 21 years.
4. I'm a first generation Kiwi.
5. I lived in Jamaica from the age of six until I was ten and I played on the tourist rafts in Ocho Rios.
6. I used to be shy. I realised I admired people who weren't shy, so I changed! Yes people, honestly, my school reports said, "Annemarie does not contribute to class discussions."
7. I read science fiction from the age of eight. Andre Norton was the first author. I was fascinated by the possibilities.
8. I still love science fiction movies and was addicted to Star Trek. We had no TV when I was six, but ran down the drive to watch it at an old lady's house down the road in Ocho Rios. I was fascinated by all the moles on her neck...
9. When I like an author I read all the books.
10. I started off as a high school teacher of English and Art History.
11. I've run 7 half marathons and a 32 km, and plan to walk the Rotorua Half. Never done a marathon though and not really planning to.

With my little brother in Bishopdale, Christchurch. Love this photo!

My Answers to Marnel's Questions:

What inspires you?
- My twitter PLN is my major source of inspiration.  I love reading what others are doing because I then see the possibilities. Beautiful scenery inspires me. My mother's fortitude in overcoming her disabilities when she was alive. My children. My friends. My students. My teachers.

What are you reading now?
- I've got a pile of books that I grandly put on Twitter at the start of the holidays, many about education and leadership. So far I've read a novella by Monica McInerney, "Odd One Out," Kathy Reich's latest book "Bones of the Lost" and now I'm reading "Bridget Jones, Mad About the Boy," by Helen Fielding. All marshmallow stuff.  Glorious!

If you weren't a teacher, what would you do?
- Probably journalism. Though I just spent a lovely evening with friends solving Rotorua's economic problems and came up with a great tourism idea.

If you could change something about the education system, what would it be?
- Lots more money invested so that we weren't always fundraising for computers and other things. I do believe literacy and numeracy standards for entry to teaching should be higher. I wouldn't mind if it was a masters degree, because we need something to give us more kudos! It's tricky because I do realise that great teachers aren't always the most academically qualified.

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
- When I got out of my last jury duty. I try to do one big Christmas letter a year, but it's become electronic now. I realised that the only thing I was handwriting was the shopping list.  But I've now got an app for that...

Android or iPad tablets? Why?
- I have an ipad. It is compatible with my iphone. I still believe there are more educational apps available on Apple. I've got used to these and now don't like my friends' Android phones. Habit?

What do you find hardest to teach your students?
- Attitudes and values. They come from different and sometimes conflicting backgrounds.  The role-modelling they experience at home is often the overwhelming influence.

What will you be doing differently this year?
- That's an interesting one. I think that I'm on a continuum of trying to improve my leadership practice, so I'm always reflecting and adjusting.

If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be and why did you choose this language?
- I grew up in the sixties and seventies, when parents from other cultures believed it was most important to be assimilated as New Zealanders.  So I don't speak Dutch, my father's first language.  His mother was German, so that language also appeals.

What is your favourite way to waste time?
- Make a coffee, sit in the sun on the deck with a book, chores forgotten (or done).
- Twitter away on Twitter.

What is your life motto?
- Currently: "Life gives you who you need, not who you want, to make you into the person you need to be."

I enjoyed that...so now it's your turn!  I tag you eleven:
My Taupaki friends:@stephen_tpk, @JJPurtonJones, @diana_prince_ww; my facilitator buddies: @AnneSturgess2, @barbs1, @leighhynes, @marykjam; and those Twismas Tweeters not already tagged to my knowledge: @AnnaGerrit, @ChambersJohanna, @MeganCroll1 and @MissDSciTeacher (should have been there).

My Eleven Questions for You:

1. What is your main personal goal for 2014?
2. Where was your most memorable holiday?
3. Which time in history would you like to be teleported to?
4. What is a tip you can share for relieving stress?
5. Who would rate as the most inspirational speaker you've listened to?
6. What are three things you believe you've got right in your teaching practice?
7. What was the best advice you were ever given?
8. What advice would you have given your younger self?
9. Did you always want to be a teacher?
10. What is the best book you read in 2013?
11. If you could describe yourself as a vegetable, which one would you be and why?

Make that coffee, open that laptop and get going!

#Edchatnz - Speed Dating With Twiducators

Every second Thursday I grab my phone, ipad or laptop and get ready for the speed date otherwise known as #edchatnz.

I don't miss this date if I can help it, as the topic is always one on top of a lot of educator's lists of what's hot right now. It is so good to get the feelings and experiences of educators across the sectors. It's definitely "turbo tweeting"; trying to keep up with the different conversations is nigh impossible and it's a necessity to find the time to go back and read what else has been going on.

The last #edchatnz was on BYOD. It was a rip-roarer and I got so much out of the conversation stream I was on. made me feel that it was definitely different strokes for different folks. We also looked at how best to bring our less confident teachers on board. A great sharing of ideas!

Thanks to Anne Robertson who talked about the power of this chat in her blog post :
 "The overwhelming theme that came through for me was the emphasis and focus on LEARNING.  We are all starting to get the message that PEDAGOGY has to drive the tools we use and not the other way round."

Anne used tagsexplorer to map the way the conversations moved; I had to laugh! I really get into it!

http://hawksey.info/tagsexplorer/?key=0AjEo0tIl0W-MdHoxRzhZbTBUaUtRUWMtQXU0clMwV3c&sheet=oaw

Thanks too to @MissDSciTeacher - Danielle Myburgh - who started this chat time going. It's become a feature of the NZ PLN.  

Here's my Storify - I still need to go back and mull over the ideas.

Attwicted to Learning

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moriza/126238642/

I had a laugh tonight going through a list of Twitter slang. I think I'm "attwicted"; but it's because I'm addicted to learning. And I like learning with others.

http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/Twitter_Dictionary_Guide.asp

Twitter has become my short read. Instead of the paper or the Listener on a Saturday morning, I'll lie in bed and go through the tweets. Usually the main news is highlighted by the media news accounts and interesting issues are retweeted and commented on by some of the people I follow. Another dimension is added: discussion with other tweeps. Most of the folk I follow are fellow educators, so a lot of articles and links to resources become subjects for conversations too.

I've also found that it's possible to become a source of news or even an editor. I've tweeted @melissa_stokes in the ad break of a news broadcast about an error and had her reply that she'd get it fixed!

Twitter has become my main source of learning and keeping up with what's going on in the world and especially the world of education. I curate what I find with Evernote - and I even occasionally go back to check out my cache. 

I take notes on Twitter. Yes, I could use a Google doc, but I love sharing the learning and waiting to see if an idea will be challenged or added to. Take the writing workshop I attended two weeks ago. An eminent and respected guru of writing, she stated that research proved boys' and girls' brains were wired differently. "Really?" I thought, "I wonder what that research is?" And I asked that question of the Twitterverse as I sat there and got an instant reaction:

I collate the notes I tweet using Storify, which has a great embed option to show the tweets as a slideshow. Useful if you want to flick quickly to a point. And that's another point: each idea must be encapsulated in a neat 140 character block. There's something satisfying about succeeding in turning an idea into a pithy epithet.

The associated link is like unwrapping a gift - the tweet gives a taster of the goodies you are going to find. And it is a gift. Twitter is free and Twiducators share their wares unselfishly. Just for the cost of your data.

Collaboration is a huge benefit of Twitter. I've learned to do #timelapse photography by sharing ideas with tweeps like @dakinane, which have then led to school collaborations across the country, like #nzschooltimelapse . Around the globe, educators are conversing at set times on a range of topics. Every second Thursday at 8.30pm, educators get together to talk on #edchatnz. Students can now connect on #kidsedchatnz on a Wednesday too.

I've had a lot of fun with Twitter. There was the day I decided to use it as a #lazyweb and asked for advice on processing feijoas. A #feijoafrenzy began, recipes, ideas, photos all shared amongst a great deal of bonhomie. My freezer was packed with feijoas and the day filled with a lot of shared laughter, even if it was by hashtag!  Seems I wasn't alone in enjoying the fruit.

Meeting tweeps face to face is amazing. You can go from a conversation online to meeting them f2f for the first time and continuing that conversation as if you'd been in the room together and old buddies. Funnily enough, we have a connection that goes further than a smartphone. The highlight of Ulearn13 for me was meeting up with so many of these "old buddies". I can now sit in a waiting room or even alone at a cafe and not feel friendless! (And sometimes the tweep gets to sit in the cafe too, rather than just at the end of the phone.)

I found out at Ulearn13 that it's not just connection, communication and collaboration...there's also a little bit of competitive tweeting possible, all in good fun.  Nothing like getting a hashtag trending...http://events.core-ed.org/ulearn/blog/techie-number-crunch

Hmmm - enough said about that!

Why is this all so important? Well for me it mean I'm already entering the future we are building with our children. The New Zealand Curriculum document, which has now been out since 2007, states:

NZ Curriculum, page 36

The last paragraph intrigues me as much as Captain Kirk's lines, "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man (one) has gone before." Now, six years after the document came out, I can see some of the new and different ways of learning.

I challenge you "to boldly go", to explore and find out for yourself.

Tweeting perhaps?
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSn6PcSs4tEXgPI7HkQ8hG_GnpeQna-a3P2yo54FrfNfpDFn_Zk

Using Microblogging: Twitter and Other Tools to Faciliate Teacher and Student Learning

http://www.vln.school.nz/pg/blog/read/430725/using-microblogging-in-the-classroom

On the site "Software for Learning" Simon Evans talks about Twitter and its powers for enriching teacher knowledge through linking with a large pool of other educators and experts.
He has embeded an Edtalk from Chris Betcher who reminds us that to dabble is not enough to sell the tool; " Twitter only becomes useful when you have scale."

I agree...I joined Twitter several years ago and then left it as my lesast useful tool.  I saw its power at Learning @ School in February, when I could discuss what I was hearing and seeing with others in the room; a great tool for someone like me who needs to reflect out loud!

I've also seen it as an effective way of publicising events, whether it be the latest word from a politician or getting people to look at the latest blog post (in many cases a good way of advertising your own wares!)

So get in there.  It forces you to be succinct as you only have a limited number of characters to use.

See you in Tweet land with the rest of we twits!