Professional Development and Social Media

Social media is used globally for content creation, connection, sharing resources and information, promoting businesses, and almost anything else you can think of! Educators are using social media to observe, share, and support each other professionally. Rather than attending lectures and webinars, educators can share information online and learn from one another. Utilizing social media as a valuable resource for professional development allows teachers to find information that will directly improve their teaching strategies in ways that correlate to the needs of their students.

Through research on X (Twitter), I discovered the Right to Read Project page and blog. Their page supports professional development strategies for literacy development, while also relating to the struggles and stresses that educators face when teaching literacy in difficult educational systems. One blog post I pulled information from was, What Does Your Literacy Block Look Like? It Depends... The posting shared the benefits of creating a predictable classroom schedule that emphasizes literacy. The Literacy Block allotted time for literacy centers, vocabulary enrichment, small groups, independent reading, writing, and discussion. One aspect I particularly enjoyed was the intentionally planned cross-content implementation of literacy in science and social studies learning times. The posting provided data to support the benefits, as well as suggestions and recommendations to modify the schedule and instructional patterns to support individual student needs. To intentionally create a Literacy Block and effective, predictable classroom schedule information would be needed about the school routines and planned activities such as recess, lunch, and extracurriculars. The Right to Read Project blog and X page provide links to other postings with information related to teaching reading. Here is the link to check out their blog: righttoreadproject.com

Another blog page for teaching resources and support is Shake Up Learning. They make and sell products to support educators, as well as provide resources, advice, and links to other blogs. I pulled effective strategies to reduce feelings of stress and burnout in their article, Burnout to Balanced. The strategies included identifying 3-5 goals and breaking them down into realistic actions (think, how can you take steps to achieve this goal?). They also recommend doing intentional daily planning, simplifying and prioritizing certain tasks, and utilizing tools, technology, and resources to reduce stress. These strategies are practical approaches educators teaching any grade level can implement to support themselves. Additionally, these support strategies can be used to avoid burnout in any teaching subject. The blog post also offers additional resources and planners to implement the described methods. Given that this is supportive advice, I was satisfied with their recommendations to minimize burnout without exploring the products or searching for additional information. Their blog page is worth checking out, especially for the technology and tools to support students and reduce teacher stress. Here is the link to check out their blog: Beating Teacher Burnout: Strategies to Reset and Recharge | Shake Up Learning

I feel that if I spent more time exploring digital communities, I would be able to find educators whose goals for their students and overall character resemble mine. During my coursework through Indiana Wesleyan University, I have followed several pages that support children in the community, and provide instructional advice, and teaching tools. Being a part of a digital community is about finding resources and people that support your goals, especially from a professional standpoint. Using social media for professional development fits into my personal and professional life well because it is easy to access and through research, can be modified to suit my direct goals. However, face-to-face professional development still seems more beneficial for practices and guidance that are directly related to the school or center that you work for as this allows for colleagues to share information and relate to one another. The internet provides unlimited access to information and social media is proving to be an additional way to do that.

(3) Nevada (@learntogrowVada) / X