Thursday, July 20, 2017

Teacher's Must be Lifelong Learners

Teachers value education and learning, its what we do!  If it is so important for students to earn
everyday, should it not also be important for teachers to learn everyday?  The world in changing and technology makes it so easy to learn.  Part of encouraging students to learn is to make sure that they know we are also learning.  How do we do that?  We are busy people. The best way to learn is what works for you.

Conferences, like Google Summit #edtechteam or METC etc are very traditional way of learning and works for many of us.  Sometimes I just need to get out of town and concentrate on learning and a great chance to network with other educators.  Check in to traditional conferences, some are a day or two while others are a week.  Some are local and others are hours away.  I think every educator needs to attend at least one national convention.

Another option is twitter.  My #PLN on twitter has been amazing!  I follow and have followers from 29 states and 9 different countries.  I have learned so much from chats with all these amazing educators.  They answer questions and help refill my bucket.  I participate in at least two education chats each week.

Maybe online learning that you have complete control of works better for you!  Pick a topic and search youtube for lectures, Ted talks or videos that you can learn from anyone in the world on the topic you need to earn.  I have used this method to teach me PhotoShop after that class was added to my schedule and I continue to use it keep me up-to-date when new versions come out.

The important thing is if you truly value learning, don't just preach it, do it.  Be a lifelong learner!