Connected Teaching 06/03/2013

A connected teacher is a teacher who is curious about the world, who has the desire to connect with people around the globe, and who is willing to change the way he/she teaches in order to meet the needs of the connected learner.

The benefits of using the various social media networks as a connected language teacher have amazed me. I had never thought that using these sites could add value to the learning experience. Using twitter, for example, as a way to practice the language with native speakers was a wonderful idea. I had been always seeking to find ways for my students to practice their conversational skills, but had never thought of using twitter as a tool to serve this purpose. Additionally, taking a look at all the files shared in the Arabic Language field, for example, through Diigo is a tool worth using. Facebook, of course, is the mother of all social media. I feel that it is cozy and welcoming. Continuing to use Facebook and advancing the way I'm using it to serve the learning needs of my students is vital.

The value of connecting with other teachers in social media networks would increase my knowledge on what is happening in classrooms around the world. Additionally, having the opportunity to ask questions and generating answers from different individuals from different societies is beneficial. It also increases my curiosity and empowers my professional development. Another important aspect, is bringing certain topics into consideration and really teasing my brain. The wonderful part is that you would get feedback, ideas, and update your information almost instantly.  

I am using Facebook at the time being. Hence, I really need to work on advancing the way I use it. I would also try to connect with language groups that share the same interest. Taking a close look at my students' needs and what I want them to achieve, I would choose twitter as a platform that would best fit their needs and my expectations. I loved the idea of experiencing the culture of the language, in addition to practicing speaking the language with native speakers through twitter. A nice aspect of that is that twitter will limit them to 140 characters which is not too much. This would encourage the students to participate as they would not be required to write much.

I have requested to join a group on Facebook called Learning Languages https://www.facebook.com/groups/298076033554629/
I would like to join this group as they seem active and have great ideas that I can implement on my page.

I am looking forward to become a professional connected teacher as well as a connected learner.

Thank you for feeling my read..