Connecting with Ustream and Twitter at NCaect

Wow, I don’t know where to start with this one. I attended and presented at the North Carolina Association for Educational Communications & Technology (NCaect) Conference held a couple weeks ago in Concord, NC. Shift Happens: Gear Up With Technology, the theme for the conference was just that. Shift is happening and during this conference I certainly got geared up with technology as did others.

I have been exploring and/or participating with sites such as Skype, Twitter, EdTechTalk, and Ustream for the past year or so. I’ve used these sites mainly to create a professional learning network for myself and to make connections all over the world. What took place at the conference made me see the entire potential of these tools for networking, collaboration and authentic learning. A friend of mine who is on the NCaect board this year asked if I would be willing to Ustream the sessions I attended. I had tried to stream a conference session I conducted a couple months earlier. However, I wasn’t very successful. So, I thought this would be a great learning experience for me. What the heck, step outside the box girl and go for it.

Well, I am glad I did and it was an awesome experience! There were four of us streaming sessions we were attending. Using Skype, we tried to keep up with each other and who was attending which sessions so as to get as many as we could streamed. We used Twitter to alert those in cyberspace about which sessions we were streaming and providing direct links to the streaming channel. It was the activity in the Ustream chat room that was most interesting and authentic. There were people from Canada, Australia, and all over the United States viewing the sessions being streamed live and collaborating with each other on the topic being discussed. As I streamed my sessions and monitored the chat taking place, I was able to answer questions as well as disperse information from the participants in the chatroom to the presenter when needed. One session I streamed was David Warlick’s Personal Learning Network session. David also sent out a twitter message about his session and the link for the stream. Those that could, joined the chat. I’d say we had about 25 to 35 people to join us from all over. In another session David Warlick facilitated, he used Skype to connect with people who could share their expertise as well as being able to participate in the session along with those in the room. What a way to connect with others who bring multiple perspectives and share similar interests!

And, the beauty of a streaming site such as Ustream is that those streams are archived for later retrieval. So, those who couldn’t attend the conference or the live stream can always view the stream at their own convenience. I think these tools can have a huge impact on education.  What better way to connect with others and share ideas or content in real time.  And the best thing of all, these tools are free. The 21st century is about connecting, communicating, collaborating and creating content.  This was evident in the sessions I attended at the conference.

Seeking Out Professional Development

As an educator, I feel it is my responsibility to seek out professional development that will keep me well informed and ready to move to the next level. I actively seek out opportunities to challenge myself and stretch beyond my comfort zone. Good educators often reflect on what they are doing and how they can improve. I often ask myself, “What skills do I need to be able to fulfill my job responsibilities and those in the future?” After identifying these skills I aggressively pursue training and professional development opportunities to improve them. I seek out networking opportunities with other professionals with similar needs, goals, and interests. I often participate in online webcast sessions where I meet and discuss educational technology issues and best practices.

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I am a blogger. I read and comment on blogs weekly. Blogging allows me to read other’s ideas on innovative teaching practices and gives me a venue to share and get feedback on my own ideas. I twitter on a daily basis. With twitter, I have learned so much from so many. I search for twitters in instructional technology so that my network reflects my passion for teaching and integrating technology. Interesting web sites, emerging technologies, new software and friendly reminders are posted by twitters 24/7 for all in their network to see. Twitters answer the question, “What are you doing?” in 144 characters or less. My network includes other educators who seek to find ways to encourage and motivate teachers in integrating the latest technology to produce students who will be successful in the 21st century and beyond. I create wikis as the instructional format for my staff development for others. It allows me to upload documents and files that participants might need as well as creates an online document they can interact with as well. I subscribe to many podcasts that I listen to as I drive to and from trainings. Podcasts are a great way to listen to previously recorded trainings that you couldn’t attend.

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With the emergence of Web 2.0 tools, I can continue to be a learner, facilitator, collaborator, and a team player with educators all over the world. This is an exciting time for all of us in education. The ability of our students reaching well beyond the borders of a classroom is so evident in the many global projects happening as we speak. To me it’s not a choice to seek out my own professional development, it is my responsibility. As I like to say, I don’t want to be left behind.