Twitter PD in Action

I am a huge Twitter fan.  I have blogged about it before but when I am put on the spot I always struggle to show just how often it helps me with my work.  So I thought I would look back through my tweets this month and choose the information I found that inspired conversations with teachers at my school or with other librarians.  I have had a busy month, so I haven't been on Twitter that much, but I still found the following gems:

MT @TeacherTuttle: project proposal plan for students to complete #geniushour. pic.twitter.com/rA8WG74PRV @abcchays @JhMarkotsis @RachelHarvey6
— Annemarie Hyde (@mrs_hyde) February 7, 2015

This retweet from Annemarie, a DP in Rotorua, was very timely as only the day before I had been discussing how the library could support one of our Year 6 teachers trying out genius hour.  She was pleased when I flicked this plan through for her to have a look at.

Why digital natives prefer reading in print. The Washington Post http://t.co/wvdC0JVXAB #tlchat #edchat #RU575
— Joyce Valenza (@joycevalenza) February 24, 2015

Earlier this week Joyce Valenza, an American teacher-librarian, tweeted a link to the above article.  Given the National Library in New Zealand is making cuts to its curriculum loan service, seeking to replace it with online resources, I shared this link with the NZ librarians' listserv.  It provoked a lot of discussion about what librarians were noticing about their students' preferences for print.  Some decided to send the article on to their English departments and others decided to create their own surveys of their students.

A1- Our Y8 Leadership Academy means our learners are actively involved in making a difference in our wider community #edchatnz
— Bridget Compton-Moen (@BridgetLCM) February 26, 2015

@MSimmsNZ Absolutely! http://t.co/pJQKUtP8oz Here's a wee bit of what the girls have blogged abt over past 2 yrs. We wrote our own handbk
— Bridget Compton-Moen (@BridgetLCM) February 26, 2015

This conversation illustrates the friendliness and helpfulness of the Twitter community.  I was having a flick through Twitter last night and there was an #edchatnz conversation going on about "developing students as actively involved members of our communities".  I noticed Bridget's tweet and because our Year 5/6 team leaders are starting their own leadership programme thought it would be worth asking if she had information she could share with me.  I was delighted with the information that has been shared on her class blog and I'm sure our team leaders will be too.  

I've followed Bridget on Twitter for a while but she is a teacher in Christchurch and I live in Hamilton.  The beauty of Twitter is that I can learn from the experiences of people like Bridget and Joyce and Annemarie, who aren't geographically close and who aren't doing exactly the same job as me.  It broadens my knowledge and exposes me to ideas that excite me.