ELTchat
Summary Wednesday 13th March 2013
So- you are teacher, looking for some on-line CPD (Continuous Professional Development)
Where do you start?
I would like to recommend #ELTchat, which
takes place on twitter each Wednesday at either 12.00GMT or 21.00 GMT. There you will find many English Language
Teaching professionals happily sharing knowledge and experience.
The
subject of this Wednesday evening’s discussion was ‘Essential/key tech
resources in a developing teacher’s toolbox- memberships, gadgets, training, equipment
etc. Recommendations for what to spend a personal resource budget on.’
Professional development can take many forms
- it doesn't really matter what we do as long as we do something, according to @theteacherjames.
As long as we can define what is needed and choose from the available options
we will be fine. But new teachers need a starting point, a way to access the
information and inform themselves about the scholarships and conferences which
could be open to them.
What
should be in a CPD toolbox?
1.
Social networking tools
We began by looking at twitter, and continued by looking
at other social media sites. These are an excellent way to build your own PLN (Professional Learning Network).
We agreed that it takes time and patience to
build your PLN if you want it to reflect your situational needs. A good place
to start would be to follow the participants of ELTchat itself.
Twitter can help you find answers
to professional questions in a very timely fashion.
Facebook was offered as another
social tool; perhaps the character limitations of twitter could be a deterrent
for some. Facebook offers the same PLN-building capabilities, and is also a
useful way to share photos and video clips.
The professional site Linked-In was also mentioned. As well as containing some extremely good
discussion forums aimed at teachers, it provides a great way to advertise
yourself, or find out what is available in the job market.
Depending on your wishes, there are some free
Nings
and Yahoo
groups worth investigating. And
don’t forget Google + J
2.
Blogs
Reading blogs written by others provides a
super learning opportunity, and commenting on them can be beneficial too. This
makes your ideas known to a wider
audience and gives you a shared sense of belonging. Of course, some teachers
prefer to write their own blogs and these can facilitate reflective practice,
as can any feedback from the commentators.
These are all great ways of networking with
similar-minded professionals, and one of the advantages is the equality shared
by all
participants in the group. No-one stands on ceremony!
3.
Conferences and webinars
Another benefit is that you will be made
aware of any upcoming conferences and webinars, both face-to-face and online. You
will find out about interesting articles and new approaches to teaching and
learning.
The above are all free resources, making our toolbox
a bargain in terms of cost versus effectiveness.
4.
Membership of a professional body
But there is also the option to take out a
membership subscription with IATEFL, an associate, or a similar, perhaps local,
professional body. It was pointed out that the cost is not always within the
reach of teachers in all countries, but fortunately there is free access to
many of their webinars. @Shaunwilden pointed out that the elt publishers often
run webinars too, and again, these are always advertised on whichever social media
platform you happen to use. The problem is
that there are so many opportunities around, it is necessary to control the
information overload and decide which webinars to attend.
5.
Online courses
In January and February the Electronic
Village Online (EVO) offers free
5-week courses on a variety of topics of interest. This is CPD of very high quality,
with an option to become a Webhead at the end of the programme. The Webheads
run a CPD workshop every Sunday throughout the year, as well as having a Yahoo
group, Wiki and a Ning.
There are also programmes which lead to CPD
such as the CertICT or CertIBET, but these are an expensive option when money
is limited.
6.
Journals
There are journals where a subscription is
necessary, such as ETP, MET and the ELTjournal. Signing up to the digital edition of ELgazette is free and
there are many other online journals which do not cost anything.
7.
Podcasts
ELTchat has a series of CPD podcasts available,
http://t.co/OfBOH9W3hX
It is also worth looking in the i-tunes U
collection for Open University podcasts. Just put English Language teaching
into the search bar and it offers some interesting material.
How do you manage the sheer
amount of material coming in your direction?
It would easily be possible to spend one’s
day reading blogs or catching up with favourite articles. As most of us have a
job to do as well, this means that we miss out on information, or would need to
spend every spare minute glued to our internet access.
@theteacherjames suggested that you need to develop
an understanding of what is relevant and useful to you, and what isn’t. It
takes time to develop your own filters and become selective. Skimming what is
available is fine, if you have the time to spare, but the key word must be ‘prioritise’!
A simple way to set aside material to read at
a later time is to favourite it on twitter. It is then saved awaiting your
convenience. James suggested emailing it
to yourself- as long as you have a policy of clearing out your account
regularly. @joannacre suggested flagging the messages to not forget or delete
them by mistake.
Personally, I like Google for bookmarking and
rationalising things I find and want to keep.
Some useful links
What is a Ning http://t.co/vIxItYIhfw
IATEFL BESIG Ning http://t.co/BNkY6MgACQ
EFL Classroom 2.0 http://t.co/kBsxfqDfHu
A list of highly recommended Blogs http://chiewpang.blogspot.com
I hope that anyone just starting
out will find our discussion helpful and will be pointed in the right
direction. Just remember that the ‘experts’ are just teachers like you, who
believe in sharing and will welcome you to #ELTchat any Wednesday you care to
join in. We don’t mind if you lurk for a while either