How important is the web 2.0 for your career in education?

A wee spot of fun last night wound up leading to some really rather interesting results... and one has to ask, given the almost sku-wiff nature of these, if these statistics are really only due to these people's presence on blogs, twitter and all-a-that?

And if it is, what does this mean today? Tomorrow?

Five years from now, or even... twenty years from now?


Watch this:

Graham Stanley = Blogger, Author
Graham Davies = Emeritus Professor of Computer Assisted Language Learning, Tweeter (protected)

Shelly Terrell = Prolific Tweeter, Social Media Consultant, Blogger
Nicky Hockly = Author, EdTech Consultant, Blogger

John Hughes = Blogger, Tweeter, Author
Paul Emmerson = Author, Website

Jason Renshaw = Blogger, Tweeter, Author
Mario Rinvolucri = Author

Jeremy Harmer = Author, Blogger, Tweeter
Earl Stevick = Author

Alex Case = Prolific blogger, Twitter-antagonist, Edu-journalist
Jeremy Harmer = Blogger, Tweeter, Author

Alan Maley = Author
Ken Wilson = Author, Singer, Actor, Blogger, Tweeter

Larry Ferlazzo = Prolific Blogger, Author, Tweeter
Scott Thornubry = Author, Blogger, Tweeter

Scott Thornbury = Author, Blogger, Tweeter
Stephen Krashen = Author

For those of you hitting this page who know who all of these people are, i.e. famous folks in the field of English Language Teaching, were the results shocking or to be expected?

Do you think that being easily found on Google is important to your career?  Today it really may be worth thinking about things like what your digital footprint is like, do you have any kind of social media presence, at all?  Do you currently feel it's a collossal waste of time?

If so you've probably little to worry about however if you're an educational professional who may be checked up on, you know - googled, then you never know... before that next conference someone may well be checking you out because, although your talk sounds good in the blurb, fact is no one really knows you, and as a result choices might now be made that may not have been made B.G...

Perhaps, after glancing at these results, there may be some things to consider:  like is it possible that  someone else may wind up getting that writing job - you know the one you wanted - and it was only because  nowadays they were more well known than you are?  Can they now pull in the bums on the chairs that you can't, because nowadays it seems you only belong to the last decade's group of DELTA students?  :-(

But please don't fuss and panic... all this social media stuff is actually, really, only a few years on and if you ever needed a really good reason to join/set aside some time to become active soon, this might be it, mightn't it!

Karenne

Useful links:

• ELT guide to Twitter
• ELT guide to LinkedIn
• ELT posts on edu-blogging 
• Stuff re Facebook

• Google Fight

•  A really funny posting by Luke Meddings on more or less the same subject but with a different angle.

• Guido Europeaantje's excellent webinar on joining and using Twitter, particularly for newbies.

Disclaimer:  The erratic nature of Google's ranking may well yield different results on different days in different countries.  Different keywords after names will affect search results... Do your own Google-Fight if you don't agree!

EFL Teacher Progress Check: adult language learners

Somewhere, in one of the training manuals I read a long time ago, I found the steps teachers go through on their way to becoming great instructors and I've got this posted up on my wall for reflection.

1. The unconscious incompetent
We do not know that we do not know. We're doing a crap job yet when the students don't learn, we blame them.

They simply aren't interested, we cry.
They have too many other obligations, we excuse.
It's not my fault.



2. The conscious incompetent

We know that what's occurring in our classes isn't working -that our students aren't getting it and that it probably has to do something with the way we're teaching... but we're not entirely sure how to fix the problems.

3. The unconscious competent

The students are learning! Whoohoo, the magic is occurring - they're reusing the vocabulary in context, their fluency is fantastic... but... er, how on earth did we get here??

Why this class and not the one after this one?

We're not able to put a finger on what it is that is, exactly, that's working so well.


4. The conscious competent

Through self-reflection and awareness of what and how we are teaching, we achieve a level of mastery in our teaching practice.

We know what works, what doesn't for each (or most) of our students and we're able to provide them with the keys to successful language learning.

- . -

While reaching no.4 is the goal of any great teacher, it also contains the added danger of slipping right on back down to step 1, especially if we're not actively involved in our professional development: conscientiously reading the latest methodology books and articles - attending workshops, taking part in webinars and going to conferences.

However, don't worry, this post isn't about lecturing you... my blog's not really about that - is simply my public journey into becoming a better language teacher and teacher trainer and sharing the stuff I learn with you along the way.

In fact, today, I'm going to show you that I am not The Perfect Teacher and despite 15 years on the job, still have areas to work on.

I chose one of my smaller groups, made up of two students who're not easy for me to teach - although we get on well - to give me feedback on my training and our lessons and I asked if we could film it.

I asked them if they'd not only be okay with us recording the session (cutting them out of the frame) but also if they'd be comfortable being completely honest.

They were.

These are my usual questions to language learners at the end of one course/ 'renew' start:

1. What was your overall impression of the course?
2. Did you think the course was appropriately designed for your needs?
3. In your opinion, how flexible or structured were our training sessions?
4. What were some of the lessons you learned most from?
5. Can you think of a lesson in particular that you really enjoyed ?
6. What key areas should we spend more time on improving in the next course?
7. What should I, as your language teacher, work on improving?
8. Do you have anything extra you would like to add?

How often do you get feedback on your progress as a teacher? How do you make sure you're meeting your students' needs? Do you have a standard set of questions you always ask? What are they?

How well do you handle criticism?

Are you embarrassed by praise?

Do you ask your students to reflect on the good stuff they learned and highlight particular things that you need to now focus on doing?

And finally, would you like to give me feedback on the way I ask for feedback, how could this be improved?


Useful links related to this posting:

• Learning to learn: vocabulary mind-mapping (the task M and V mentioned in the vid)
  

• BESIG conference
• IATEFL conference sponsorships available

• Tony Watt's very interesting discussion on the IATEFL forum list on teaching methods vs. teaching principles.
  

Best,
Karenne

The English Language Teacher's Guide To Twitter, tech tip #11

The other day I quickly posted up notes on how to best use Twitter in a couple of the ELT Yahoo!Groups I belong to and one community member wrote and said... er, why isn't this on your blog so we can find it again?


So, here it is:
(don't forget you can always print out my blog postings by scrolling down to the bottom and clicking on the eco-safe badge, you can also email it to other teachers who aren't yet on Twitter).

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a conversation that happens at the speed your fingertips can type. For educators, it's a community, a place to meet and form global relationships with other like-minded professionals in a ...virtual staffroom.

The basics

• visit Twitter and create a profile. You can use a "handle" or alternative name if you wish.
  

• load up a great pic, preferably of you smiling.

• use a nice background, either those provided by Twitter backgrounds, your company's logo or a great photograph -perhaps where you're from or a place you enjoy visiting.

• write a good 160 character description of yourself, include your interests and be sure that your relevant expertise in teaching is there - bios are incredibly important to those who have many followers, we want to know who you are and if we should make the connect.

Conversing with other tweachers

• to talk to someone on twitter use the @ sign in front of their name/handle at the start of the tweet (@kalinagoenglish blah, blah). Only they and the people you both share in common will see your message.
  

• if you are sharing something that you would like both the reader and the rest of your followers to see, enter a . or any text/symbol before the @name (hi @kalinagoenglish this is a gr8 link 2 materials from the BBC etc).

• if you would like to talk to someone privately put a D in front of the name no @ (i.e. D kalinagoenglish) or simply click on the word "message" on their home page. If you're using a client, click on the thing that looks like an envelope when you hover over the tweeter's picture. You can only do this if the person you follow is following you back.
  

• to share something from one tweeter to all of your followers, put an RT before the @name, this will spread the message on to the person's followers as well.

• think before you tweet ;-) sometimes you'll say things you didn't mean to or make spelling mistakes but don't worry about it. The time line's pretty quick and contrary to everything you read on the web, tweets disappear very quickly.
  

Managing the chaos

• the very best app (in my opinion) to manage life in Twitter is Tweetdeck. You can use this on your computer or on your phone. It's a free download and very easy to use. It also enables you to divide up your stream into different groups.

• you don't have to follow every link the second you see it appear on the screen. From the Twitter home page, click on the star and then read it when you have time. If you're using Tweetdeck, hover over the tweet, click on the settings wheel, scroll down to the tweet and click on favorite.

Finding other like-minded teachers

• you can also scan through these lists on Twubs: #teachertuesday and #edchat to find those with similar interests.

• to recommend other people to the people that you follow/ are following you back in your PLN (Personal Learning Network), use the hashtag #teachertuesday on Tuesdays or #followfriday on Fridays.
  

• to show the whole Twitterverse that you are discussing something related to TEFL, use one of these hashtags: #tefl #esl #efl #elt #esp #businessenglish - this is also a great way to find other people to follow as you can save up to 10 searches on the twitter side bar. Obviously if you're a teacher of another subject use a relevant hashtag.

• as a general rule unless you're really, really only interested in talking to 10 people: follow your followers: try to limit yourself to those who are in the same niche area you are in. You can also follow people who have the same interests as you do - pop music, books or art. But be careful with social-networking "gurus" who tweet all day long filling your stream with miscellaneous information or the life-coaches who tweet nonsense and watch out the spammer p*rn-girls.
  

Understanding and unleashing the power of Twitter

• the fastest way to understand why millions of people, and now teacher-trainers, are recommending Twitter when, as a newbie, all you're seeing is chaos (that was me 6 months ago) is actually due to the quality of one's PLN.
  

• Twitter actually doesn't take on any shape until you follow and are followed by over 100 people. Once you reach that stage you will begin to connect and have fascinating and amusing conversations and you'll be able to access the Wisdom of the Crowd extremely quickly when you need to find information.

• Twitter, as an educator, is all about the sharing. Sharing knowledge, getting to know other global teachers and networking with them, informing them about the work you do, finding out about the experiences they have, telling everyone about articles, blog postings or new ways of thinking about teaching.

• you can repeat tweets which contain important links. As twitter is global and obviously on a 24 hour clock, some of your followers may miss it the first time round so you can RT stuff hours or days apart. For those who're using their phones and are on Twitter all day or perhaps are insomniacs, you can vary up the intro to the link.

Having excellent manners and fabulous net-i-quette.

• publicly or privately thank people when they RT your tweets - you don't have to do this all the time - however it doesn't hurt to be conscientious about doing it fairly regularly.

• likewise, when someone recommends you to their stream in #teachertuesday #tt #followfriday or #ff. Fairly rude if you never say thanks! btw, NEVER, ever use these hashtags to promote your own work or resources. Ever. We will hate you and possibly, probably, unfollow you.
  

• if you put a call-out to your stream asking for help with something, send out another tweet out a few hours or days later saying you appreciated their participation (or perhaps they won't help you again!)

• pay kindness back with kindness. Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.
  

Also, it is really important to note that an unbelievable amount about a person's character can be determined within those 140 characters you send out. So make a conscious effort to be the same nice person that you are in real life ;-).


The list of absolute "NO" goes:

• do not only talk about yourself /your company /your articles /your book/ your blog etc - no matter how passionate you are about these things. The general rule of thumb for this, if you're in business or you're on twitter for professional reasons, is: 1 about you and 4 about others/life/teaching and the questions of the universe.
  

• share the work of other people through RT'ing and communicate with other people about what they're doing: never put someone's name on something that they didn't tweet themselves.
  

• do not use a logo unless it is a very, very likeable one. No one wants to talk to an image. It's not rocket science: would you like to spend time talking with a poster or a roadside billboard? That would be seriously freaky, right? We can see your company's name at the bottom of your tweet or use it as your background - we'll notice you and respect you if you have a personal picture because it assures us that you're here to participate, not simply wanting to spam us.
  

General teachers don't have to worry about the above.

• do not use an automated feeder only. We, like, um can tell that you're not you and it totally turns people off. An exception to this might be Aniya, @TheEngTeacher (who came up with the concept of #teachertuesday - she uses Viigo to feed a constant stream of links on teaching, autism and smart-phone related issues). If you're on Twitter, then be on Twitter.
  

• do not protect your updates. It makes you look secretive.

• never ever follow any link that says "get 100 followers" -these are spam bots that will take over your account. Get your 100+ followers slowly and patiently by earning your stream's respect. If you follow weirdos and pornstars we will be rather dubious of you.

• be very cautious of DMs from people you don't really know advertising weight-loss gain or videos you starred in - these tend to be from people whose accounts have been hijacked (usually because they themselves clicked on a dodgy link) and are worms.
  

• do not talk about coffee, in fact, try to limit trivia in general unless it's Sunday morning (!) or you've been on for a while and have now formed real friendships with the global teachers you're meeting, share good links to the articles you've read and enjoyed.
  

• never, ever talk about dogs if you're following Scott Thornbury! LOL, obviously, do not tell him I warned you.
  

  
Who to follow if you are an English language teacher:



http://tweepml.org/100-ELT-other-educators-to-follow-on-Twitter/
*if you're non ELT you can also search this site for other excellent lists of educators in your field

Update 24-11-10
The Tweeplm website (and list of educators to follow) is currently down while they update their site.  For the time being, a good way to find those in ELT would be to look at the list of folks I've marked as ELT

HERE

My handle on twitter is @kalinagoenglish - http://twitter.com/kalinagoenglish.

Oh, but before I sign off, just in case the above wasn't information overload already, here are links I've saved to help pave the way and get you up to speed:

http://delicious.com/KalinagoEnglish/on-twitter

I lk fwd to c'ing u in the Twitterverse!

Karenne

Useful links related to this posting:

• In the space of 140 characters
• Why twitter lists are a good idea
• Why I use HootSuite to manage Twitter-life
  
• Thoughts on online friendship
• How important is the web2.0 to your professional life?
• The Business of Twitter - a Business English lesson
• In the age of Twitter and Facebook what's happening to English?
• To twit or not to twitter
• Mashable Guide to Twitter
  

• Larry Ferlazzo's Guide to participating in live-chat sessions related to ELT.
• Guido Europeaantje's webinar on joining and using Twitter, particularly for newbies.
  
  

NOTE: this article, like most of the stuff I write is copyleft/licensed CC-ND-NC. This means that although it's totally free, it's also my intellectual property. Unlike copyrighted material, however, you can download it, pass it on, email it, print as a pdf, distribute it amongst your staff..etc, etc without notifying me. However if you'd like to use it in a commercial magazine, you should write and let me know the details. If you're a fellow blogger, no seriously, peeps - you can't copy the whole posting! Contact me and I'll let you know what to do.

IATEFL Scholarships 2010 - deadline 18 September 2009!!

Attending something like the IATEFL probably seems like one of those unreachable career objectives.

I mean, the cost of the flight, hotels, the conference itself..?

We're EFL teachers, money is not exactly a plenty, now is it?

Well, guess what - there are scholarships!

Who knew, huh?

This is the copy of the email I got today:

Please can you spread the word that there are scholarships available to participate at IATEFL's Annual International Conference and Exhibition in Harrogate, UK, in April 2010.

There are 16 scholarships available, all with the deadline of 18th September 2009 for applications to reach IATEFL.

Please refer people to our website at

Scholarships 2009

We hope to receive many applications this year.

With thanks and kind regards,

IATEFL Conference Organiser

I've had a look at what's on offer - basically, there are scholarships for non-members of IATEFL, many more for those who are members: scholarships aimed at teacher-trainers and trainees, first-time speaker awards, scholarships for new teachers(!), scholarships for those who teach with young learners, those who work on humanizing language teaching and much, much more.

So, want to develop your professional career in the field of English Language Teaching?

Head on over to their website and I'll see you in Harrogate.

Can't wait.

Best,
Karenne

p.s Plenary speakers next year include Tessa Woodward, Kieran Egan, Ema Ushioda and Jan Blake - keep posted on updated details on the conference here.

p.p.s. To see how fab it was last year (I watched it all online earlier this year... which is why am going next) check out the forum, photos, filmed keynote presentations etc here.