#Teacher5aday #connectEd Challenge
Maintaining healthy relationships with people you trust is important for your mental wellbeing and, thanks to a plethora of free online tools, it has never been easier to stay connectEd
Introducing the #Teacher5aday #connectEd Challenge
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives” – Robert John Meehan
Good teaching thrives when teachers work together, one of the simplest ways to connect during lockdown is via a Zoom, Teams or Google Hangouts call! Whether it’s help on classroom management, assistance with some classroom tech, support with a troublesome pupil, or you just fancy a chat, a simple call can help build relationships with your colleagues and also break the monotony of the #lockdown working day.
2. Join an education Facebook group
A great but often overlooked feature of Facebook is groups. Facebook groups are great for bringing communities together. They’re also another great way to connect with other educators.
To find out more, visit: https://www.teachwithict.com/facebook-groups1.html
3. Follow a teacher on Instagram
Instagram is a free photo-sharing platform which is rapidly gaining in popularity. Whilst not as big as other platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, Instagram is still a great tool for growing your PLN (Professional Learning Network) and finding inspiration for your classroom!
Like other social platforms, Instagram uses hashtags to help you easily find content. Popular education hashtags include: #T2T #TeachersOfInstagram #LoveTeaching #teachertribe #ProudTeacher #ITeachToo #TeachersFollowTeachers #Teachergram #WhyITeach #teacherlife #Education #teachertalk #teacherthings #teachertraining #teacherquotes
To find out more, visit: https://www.teachwithict.com/instagram.html
4. Create a Flipgrid community
In today’s world of disrupted routines and new classroom models, connecting on a personal level is more important than ever! Social emotional learning (SEL) can make a meaningful difference for you and your students. Flipgrid is a simple, free and accessible video discussion platform for educators, learners and families. With Flipgrid it’s easy to create a discussion and share it with your learning community.
To find out more, visit: https://blog.flipgrid.com/news/seltips
5. Collaborate on a Pinterest board
Pinterest is a visual bookmarking tool that enables you to ‘pin’ images from blogs/websites and collate them so as to make it easier to find later – great for finding and curating classroom resources. With Pinterest, you can upload, save, sort and manage your pins by categorising them (known as ‘boards’).
However, pinning is more fun when you do it together! Like other social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest allows you to send private messages to your friends! This allows you to collaborate with other educators to plan projects, swap ideas and share your best discoveries.
To find out more, visit: https://www.teachwithict.com/challenge-12.html
6. Follow a teacher on LinkedIn
Put simply, LinkedIn is a social network for professionals. Boasting more than 500 million members in 200 countries, LinkedIn is currently the world’s biggest professional network.
For years, professionals have been leveraging the power of LinkedIn to find new career opportunities and grow their professional network so it will come as no surprise that educators are flocking to the popular social network in order to grow their Professional Learning Network!
To find out more, visit: https://www.teachwithict.com/linkedin.html
7. Setup a WhatsApp education group
With over one billion users, it’s not surprising that many teachers are turning to WhatsApp to connect with their colleagues and wider PLN. Using WhatsApp, it’s easy to setup groups so, whether you wish to plan a lesson with a colleague, discuss the latest education trends or just fancy a chat, WhatsApp is the perfect platform for keeping in touch during lockdown!
8. Organise an education Google Meet
It can be easy to feel isolated when working from home, so try and schedule in video calls and check-ins with your colleagues, even if it’s just to have a tea and a chat.
Formerly, Google Hangouts, Google Meet is a free video-communication service developed by Google. Free Meet calls can only have a single host and up to 100 participants so it will not surprise you that many educators are using free tools like Google Meet and Zoom to check-in with colleagues or to continue their own Professional Development (PD). And, thanks to free tools such as Zoom and Google Meet, it has never been easier to connect with other educators or attend PD events without having to leave the comfort of your own home / classroom.
9. Create a virtual book club
Reading is great for the mind and can inspire wellness changes in you and those around you so why not start a book club with some friends or colleagues and setup a weekly call to share your reflections
10. Start a game club
There are loads of games you can play online that require no or little preparation / equipment! Whether it’s a quick game of Trivial Pursuit or a round of Pictionary or charades, virtual games can make for a perfect lunchtime escape or a break from those lockdown learning sessions!
11. Join an education Voxer group
‘Thank you' and 'Well done' are words we all love to hear however, how often do we hear the words 'You are amazing' or 'You make a difference’, especially from those we seek recognition from most? Wouldn't it be great if we all had a magic mirror that told us every day how amazing we are! Well, if like me you don't have a magic mirror, the next best thing is Voxer!
Voxer is a free messaging platform that lets you communicate with other users via text, images and voice recordings. What makes Voxer different from other messaging apps is its ‘walkie-talkie’ voice messaging feature which allow users to instantly record and send audio messages to other users via the app.
“I really like the idea of hearing someone’s voice, for me that is a game changer. You can really hear the passion behind their words.” – Elizabeth Merce (@emercedlearning).
Sharing your experience and expertise through blogs or online videos is a great way to connect with other educators. When I first started blogging, I didn’t think anyone would be interested in what I had to say. For me, it seemed the perfect medium to chronicle my first year of teaching. So, as you can imagine, I was surprised when people started to post comments on my blog saying how they had enjoyed my post or how they had used my resources in their lessons. But, for me, the biggest surprise was the connections I made as a result of my blogging. Whether it’s a TikTok video, YouTube tutorial or blog post, sharing your knowledge and expertise with other educators will not only help you feel more connected but it’s also a great tool for reflection too!
To find out more, visit: https://www.teachwithict.com/blogging.html
13. Host or attend a virtual coffee edu meetup
CoffeeEdu (including PubPD) is a by-product of the ‘unconference’ model in that there is no real structure, no fees and no sponsored presentations. Instead, the focus is about expanding your PLN and providing an informal platform for educators to connect in person! Obviously, with lockdown restrictions, the thought of meeting up in a pub or a café may seem like a distant dream but there is nothing stopping you from joining or hosting a virtual coffee edu event instead.
To find out more about coffee edu, visit: http://coffeeedu.org/
Coffee roulette
A slight variation of coffee edu is ‘coffee roulette’! Use the universal love of caffeine as a way to connect with others. One day each week, pick a colleague (or work friend) at random for a virtual coffee break. Top tip: Keep your meetings short and set a max time limit (e.g. 20 mins) so that you don’t run of things to say!
14. Setup a wellbeing group
Thanks to free tools such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter etc., it has never been easier to setup ‘virtual’ groups for your friends and colleagues! Why not setup a ‘wellbeing group’ for your colleagues or start an online fitness challenge with your friends? A step challenge is the easiest fitness challenge to get everyone involved! It’s ideal for all fitness levels and encourages individuals to step away from their workspace.
15. Setup a PLN Team
16. Thank a teacher on Twitter
For many, Twitter is a powerful educational tool, not only because it allows educators to connect with other like-minded professionals but also because it provides them an opportunity to reflect and question their own teaching practice. One way to grow your online PLN (Professional Learning Network) via Twitter is to join in with regular ‘Twitter shout-outs’ such as #KindnessRipples (every Thursday) and #FFed (every Friday). By suggesting people to follow and by following other peoples’ suggestions, you will soon start to grow your virtual professional learning network.
To find out more about leveraging the power of Twitter for education, visit: https://www.teachwithict.com/twitter21.html
17. Host or join a staff virtual quiz night
What teacher doesn’t love a good quiz? Like games (see ‘start a game club) quizzes can be a great way to spend time with friends or colleagues while giving you something to focus on. Why not setup and host your own ‘virtual’ quiz night (or discuss the idea with colleagues)? Top tip: Take it in turns to come up with the questions so that it doesn’t become overwhelming or turn into a chore – you could even make it a rule that the winning team each week has to come up with the next round of questions.
18. Attend a virtual PD event
Whilst attending virtual PD sessions can provide you with a plethora of ideas and resources to help re-invigorate your teaching, I find, the highlight of any PD session (online or face-to-face) is the amazing people you meet!
To find out how to make the most of PD events (either virtual or face-to-face), visit: https://www.teachwithict.com/conferences.html
19. Join an Edmodo community
A great, but often overlooked, platform for connecting with other educators is Edmodo. Edmodo - edmodo.com - is a FREE 'Social Networking' environment for students, parents and teachers. It provides a safe and easy way for your class to connect and collaborate, share content, and access homework, grades and school notices. With so many educators already using Edmodo, it's not surprising that many teachers are using Edmodo for their Professional Development (PD) and to reach out to like-minded professionals. With the help of other Edmodo users, Kristina Holzweiss (aka The Laptop Lieberrian @lieberrian) has created a list of Edmodo PD groups to help get you started: List of Edmodo PD Groups
To find out more, visit: https://www.teachwithict.com/edmodopln.html
20. Join an education Twitter chat
One of the best places to pick up new ideas and find new people to follow is during education related Twitter chats. Twitter chats can be a fun but also powerful way to engage with other educators. Chats are also great for growing your PLN (Personal Learning Network).
To find out more, visit: https://www.teachwithict.com/twitter1.html
21. Join an education Ning (online community)
Ning is an online platform for people and organisations to create their own communities and social networks around specific topics/interests.
Whilst their popularity has waned over the past few years, with many educators favouring more popular tools such as Faceook, Twitter, Google+ etc, Nings should not be dismissed as a powerful tool growing your PLN (Professional Learning Network).
Popular education Nings:
- Classroom 2.0 (http://www.classroom20.com/) – A free community supported by network of over 66,000 educators from 188 countries with an interest in web 2.0 technologies and their impact on teaching & learning.
- The Educator’s PLN (http://edupln.ning.com/) - A Ning dedicated to the support of a Personal Learning Network for Educators. Featuring podcasts, discussion groups, videos and a plethora of resources, The Educator’s PLN is the perfect place to connect with other educators from around the globe.
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