Day 26: What are your three favourite go-to sites for help/tips/resources in your teaching?
The volume of information and ideas for teachers is overwhelming. There are great books, videos, websites, courses, conferences and people to learn from. I spend a lot of time online sharing my ideas and resources and learning from others. Picking three sites wasn't actually that hard, as each of the three I describe below are filled with unlimited ideas and inspiration.
TED Talks - When I need inspiration, not just in teaching, but in life, TED Talks are always there. The ideas worth spreading that are shared certainly open up my mind creatively. When I heard of a principal that ends interviews with the question, "What is your favourite TED Talk?", I thought, that is someone I'd like to work for!
EduAllStar podcasts - Passionate educators talking about their craft never cease to inspire me. It feels like you're sitting down for a chat with an amazing mentor. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, these interviews always empower me.
Twitter - If you're not on twitter, you should be. Play a bit, give it some time and start to interact. I'll never look back. I don't know what I did before I became connected. I have met so many amazing people, been directed to so many incredible ideas, blogs and resources. By selecting great people to follow, twitter curates all the info out there on the web and customizes it just for me. The resources I get are incredible. The connections even better.
I cannot believe how much Twitter has changed the way I teach. I wish there was a way I could easily convey to non-connected teachers just how valuable these 140-character interactions are. What do you tell teachers when they say it's a waste of time or they don't have time for it?
ReplyDeleteHi Heather,
DeleteThanks for the comment.
I try to encourage people to spend some time on Twitter and I share with them some good, straight-forward resources to help them get started. It's a process, as I'm sure you know. I was a toe-dipper for a long time before I started seeking out people I admire, connecting with them and participating in edchats. Everyone has to do it at their own pace.
Some good twitter resources are located to the bottom of this page: http://language2life.blogspot.ca/p/resources.html