Taking My First Action Step with @Anchor

In my last post, I shared how I reached a standstill in my digital journey as an educator. Therefore, I listed some steps I'd like to take as a connected educator. (If you'd like to know more about "Action Steps," check out David Allen's Getting Things Done.) If one didn't notice, most of what I listed included methods that I myself could go beyond understanding/applying and move on to creating. Since then, a couple action steps have happened in ways I hadn't expected. I am excited(!), to say the least.

One that I've picked up on is a free podcasting app called Anchor where podcasts are able to be recorded and edited on-the-spot on your phone and can disappear after 24 hours if you so desire. But there's so much more to it! (I highly recommend you check out the site and app.) 

https://anchor.fm

Blogging with written words can be easier and safer than being part of different kinds of multimedia and social media production and interaction. Also, if I'm wanting my students to curate, design, make mistakes, and produce, then I should be an example. I got hooked on Anchor after a couple related events sparked my curiosity in various outlets as well as inspired me with the courage to go beyond my fears of being heard or seen within media. 

1) Don Wettrick, the transparent multimedia produced in his Innovation Class, and his StartEdUp podcast have encouraged me to be more open, incorporate others' voices, and move forward with telling one's story. After that, even going so as far as interacting on those platforms and being vulnerable in discussions of how to improve blows my mind. My brain is on rapid-fire when considering how to do this in China.

2) Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast. Before this though came an insight from Gladwell when inquired on why he was starting a podcast. "You think with your eyes and feel with your ears." Upon hearing that, I started a station on Anchor and quickly discovered how monotonous my voice was. It was then that it clicked in my head...I can express my passion, tones, and more through a podcast. Why was I limiting myself? Gladwell certainly doesn't. I get chills while still thinking and processing what I had just listened to. (How much I want for similar situations to have my listeners experience when contemplating education!)

anchor.fm/forthestudents

Starting off, there have been learning curves for sure. Nonetheless, it has been and will be worth it.

If you would like to listen to my For the Students Anchor podcast, check it out here, Favorite it, Share it, and let me know what questions and thoughts you have. Thanks!

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Next Steps for a Connected Educator

Though I’ve been connected on social media for a few years, I feel like there should be more to the network, the community, the redefinition of it…all of this has made me think about the next steps I could should take when utilizing it as well as technology and the place they have within the innovation I myself as a person and teacher should strive for.

To be honest, when it comes to social media, I’ve already started to utilize Feedly, Pinterest, Evernote, and Twitter into my own personal methods of professional development and collaboration (though Evernote is on its last leg). Feedly came within the last couple months off of a recommendation from Steven Anderson since I couldn’t find a quality app for Blogger on the App Store. I initially didn’t join Pinterest because I used to think it was only for recipes, decoration ideas, and wedding planning. Little did I know with such a naïve mind. It’s great for curating content while Evernote allows me to save the article then and there in various ways. (Side notes: Pinterest is now blocked in China as of a few weeks ago, Evernote is in Chinese on the local internet, and Twitter has been game-changing. Who would have thought any of those would have happened?)

What I have found is that simply joining these platforms is not enough in itself. Lurking is a decent first step, but to move forward one must learn how to partake, collaborate, and create when ready. Therefore, I joined ISTE’s #ETCoaches / Blogging Buddies a month or so back to obtain more interaction and communal growth. I would also like to start utilizing YouTube and possibly YouKu (China’s YouTube) more often along with the inclusion of more multimedia than just simply pictures within posts/sharing. Then there's live-streaming, whether it be Periscope or YouTube.

Some of these tools have Chinese versions (in-app or on the website), which I always check when browsing the App Store or web. It’s also been vital to check the Chinese App Store since there are some apps present or missing when compared to the American one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25275534@N00/8631695619

I’ve been using American platforms, but I’d like to take a step with Chinese ones as well. I’m still considering how to do this long-term, and that includes how to get the most out of WeChat, QQ, and Weibo (China’s Twitter). WeChat is the big one here, and it very well may have an effect on your internet. With that said, I don’t want to keep switching between what kind of internet or which social media I use because the students and colleagues I interact with on a daily basis usually surf a different one from the one I’ve been accustomed to. (If only there was a Chinese version of Buffer.)

How should I go about this? Which steps would you suggest or take in this situation?

What steps can you take to go outside your comfort zone and move forward in your journey as a connected educator?

Photo Credits: ePublicist

My Tech and Digital Journey as an Educator

When I think back on my tech/digital journey as a teacher, one word comes to mind.

Worthwhile.

http://tinyurl.com/y8n9ocg3

Though I’ve only been blogging since November 2014 (according to my Blogger history), I’ve read and interacted with educators on other blogs and sites previous to that. I didn’t want to put my words and thoughts on educational matters for the world to see just yet. (Little did I know how important collaboration outside of the walls could be!) Around 2010 or so, I knew there was a divide between what my peers in China and those in America could access. That didn’t play a hand in my waiting until 2014, but I now know that the divide is lessening because of growing ways Chinese locals can access foreign websites. Therefore, I’ve been more cognizant of what I write about because the audience over time has shifted somewhat. It was a global audience, but now it included students, teachers, and educators from places I once considered unlikely to connect with in digital ways.

Certainly, I’m ecstatic to hear and see the use of tools like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat by my students.¹ It helps me hope for a future where the students will not just consume media but will delve into curating information and creating innovative ways to better our world.

One of those ways educators and students worldwide could be doing that is through blogging.

Blogger, Twitter (since 2012), and other social media have been influential for me professionally. The following is a list of some ways they have impacted me (in no particular order, and certainly not limited to):

1) notice blind spots

2) seek others’ perspectives/advice

3) self-examine

4) keep the global community in mind

5) learn of novel topics, ideas, beliefs, or resources

What about you? Tell us about your tech/digital journey as an educator. How has it impacted you? Are you or another educator you know considering learning more about tech? How could sharing our stories shape us within our communities and allow us to move forward together in our honest examination of how we educate?

¹ - It seems students are more into these than those my age, and I still don’t know why. I’m also looking into the “creepy treehouse” and reflecting on if/how it happens here.

photo credit: WanderingtheWorld (www.ChrisFord.com)

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“Mr. Scott, do you have Facebook?”

A student asked me this question as soon as class was done today, and it threw me for a loop. Not because I was surprised at his question, but because it had taken most of the school year to go by before any student inquired about American social media. This same student, last semester, started to share about VPNs with me. Sooner rather than later, he acquired one (for quite a cheap price, I might add). Last year, I had several 6^th graders who had VPNs and used them mainly, it seemed, to browse Instagram.

He then sought to know if I would connect with him if he were to add me as a friend. I explained the boundaries I consider vital between current students and teacher on American social media, how it could influence both sides, and how some distance is needed. What’s ironic is that I’m connected to almost every one of my students on Chinese social media such as WeChat or QQ. Chinese and American cultures and their rules vary while I’m still contemplating this aspect as well as how I can integrate the two. 

This question then led my thoughts to split off with curiosity.

1) How free is the internet that my students access and use? How will it affect their lives and education in a Chinese society?

2) How long will Chinese internet, controlled by the Great Firewall, last against students? As a Chinese colleague told me recently, college students are some of the biggest threats to national security.

3) Do I connect with this student on Facebook? Or am I truly setting myself up if I do this? Mind you, the student showed me how he connects to his VPN and then can check Twitter. (Maybe I should show him the power of Twitter as a teacher with my PLN?)

What do you think? 

(As for questions under 1 and 2, more of those thoughts shall be addressed when sharing my reflections on Zhao Yong’s book, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon?)

5 out of 5 Stars for The Relevant Educator

A few of the biggest ways a university could prepare a teacher is in keeping them updated on technology, pedagogy, and how to be relevant. What some schools lack could easily be found in The Relevant Educator by Steven Anderson & Tom Whitby. It is insightful for any 21st century educator wanting to be a game changer.

Being an ELT in China, I found this book to be filled with vital information related to the tech plan (possibly BYOD) that I'm starting up at our private Chinese school.  Though the Great Firewall has blocked Google, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, this book pushes me to find other methods of communication and teaching that Chinese and foreigner teachers alike can use (when we FTs are not on our VPNs, of course). 

With no Google, we have Bing and Baidu. No Twitter means using China's copycat Weibo. YouTube can be replaced with YouKu, Tudou, and a few other sites. Social media here also has WeChat and QQ while 人人 could possibly find its place in the circle. Whatever platform it takes for our admin, teachers, students, and stakeholders to embrace, Anderson and Whitby have guided me in a better direction in how to lead our community with relevance.

What about you? If you've read this book, what did you think? If not, have you read any of the Corwin CE Series?

(Since our school's head principal told me today she trusts me to begin an after-school technology club next semester, the next Corwin CE book I am devouring is Mark Barnes' Teaching the iStudent. More to come soon about this!)

A Spark Chat on QQ

My officemates could be the first to tell you that I'm big on integrating tech tools into my teaching as well as for our PLC at school in order for everyone to experience connected learning. These two men know that my longterm goal is to get them on Twitter, and it's only a matter of weeks or days. But in the meantime, I've been playing with various social media platforms on the China-side of the Firewall even if all of our foreign teachers (Ts not from China) have VPNs. Slowly we'll all learn how to use foreign internet for professional reasons too. :D

For an introduction to Twitter chats, I first suggested that we use an app called QQ. The guys agreed so we set up last night (Thursday) to have a spark chat from 6:30-6:45pm. Now, QQ is more of a chat/public posting app or website. The group chat feature is tolerable since there's no mentioning nor favoriting capabilities. You can mention others in WeChat, but it is also mostly convenient for devices. While one of the guys doesn't have a working smartphone, we went with QQ.

our group chat where we practiced mentions & hashtags

I'll be honest, and say that I was ecstatic about the spark chat. Earlier in the day, one of them suggested that we do a more personal topic because of all the professional interactions we have. (The other T and I agree though we both hinted at how we don't really have enough of that kind of talk.) I decided not to be too forceful with keeping it professional because a chat alone was a step. So we agreed to discuss: What is one thing you would share/do for a person new to China? This topic came to mind from a dialogue I had with Scott Capro, co-founder of #BFC530. This particular spark chat is amazing, and not every morning does it simply entail methods, management tips, or how to implement new ideas. It can hit on the heart and soul of an assortment of education issues.

So just like that, our #BSEFT (BaiShan Elementary Foreign Teacher) chat took off! Comments and questions started clicking almost as soon as we started. And before I knew it, one of them delivered our #micdrop to end it.

I decided in the midst of the chat a couple times to post screenshots of Stan's (one of my colleagues) comments on Twitter. I wanted to see what kind of response I would receive from a more global audience. It didn't take very long for the teamwork quote to get favorited and retweeted. When I passed this information on to him today, he was happy to help and then went on about his father's quotes. I simply re-emphasized how he made a global impact with just one line and one click whether or not it is a quote from our fathers or not (haha).

That's the power of social media. A spark chat on QQ with my PLC in China or a conversation with my PLN on Voxer from China to NJ and CO in the States. It's happening...worldwide collaboration. Anywhere, anytime, with anybody you choose. Thus, why I'm now reading Steven Anderson and Tom Whitby's The Relevant Educator. I would like the teachers at my school to experience the power that is on tap in the palm of one's hand.