Time, Twitter and Teamwork

Time, Twitter and Teamwork
I used to complain that I never had enough time. Then, like most everyone on the planet, I quickly found myself with an abundance of it but with a new paradigm to confront.  Online shopping was a waste of time with non-essential deliveries at a standstill, so I turned my attention instead to researching good teaching practice and reflecting on how that might look for my learners. (And quite frankly,  it seemed like a better option than scrubbing the watermarks off my shower screen). 
Early on in this process,  I read that I should think about creating a digital brand.  As teachers, we all have our perceptions of who we are in our face-to-face classroom teaching...so it made sense that I needed that personality to come through digitally - and I found that using Bitmojis. They eerily represent you for every imaginable situation, in avatar form.  It was a way of placing me on every piece of work even when I wasn’t in a Google Meet with my class.
I also fell in love with Twitter again and it quickly became my go to place to gather new ideas and information.  It was easy to curate ideas and to find educators on a similar journey. In particular, I found many American and Canadian teachers had been in the same position nearly two weeks longer and had been online reflecting about their unique classroom situations.  That is how, with a little help from some very digitally creative educators,  I saw that it was possible to transition to an online platform that represented me and who I am as a teacher.
Perhaps the most important part of this journey has been about sharing my successes and failures.  If other teachers are inspired by what I am doing and in turn adapt it for their particular circumstances it improves everyone’s approach to teaching and learning.  It seems to me, collaboration should be the cornerstone of education beyond Covid.  This will require innovation...the wellspring of collaboration...taking a gem of an idea and adapting it for the learners you know so well.  Today’s “chalkface” has changed and I think for the better!


Where can you find me making mistakes and trying to make it work?

Twitter   @CndChickNZ Blogger https://stmroom22020.blogspot.com/ 

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