{"id":5005,"date":"2013-01-26T20:40:47","date_gmt":"2013-01-26T20:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltchat.org\/wordpress\/?p=5005"},"modified":"2013-01-26T20:40:47","modified_gmt":"2013-01-26T20:40:47","slug":"how-are-you-going-to-grow-this-year-eltchat-summary-09012013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/2013\/01\/26\/how-are-you-going-to-grow-this-year-eltchat-summary-09012013\/","title":{"rendered":"How are you going to grow this year? #ELTchat Summary 09\/01\/2013"},"content":{"rendered":"
This #ELTchat summary was contributed by Rose Bard and is reproduced here from her blog <\/span><\/a>with her kind permission<\/strong><\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/header>\n
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Image from http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/aypnrot<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019m so glad that I finally attended\u00a0\u00a0#ELTChat<\/a>\u00a0and also happy because the topic is related to Professional Development (PD) as it has been actually closely related to one of my new year resolution \u2013 to learn from and with other teachers online by engaging in honest and open dialogues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This #eltchat (chat transcrip<\/a>) took place on January 9th, 2013 \u2013 2nd chat. This is an attempt to capture what went on during the conversations.\u00a0<\/em>If I missed something, mixed up or made a mistake somehow, let me know. Thanks for the opportunity to contribute.<\/em><\/p>\n

New year celebrations are usually followed by New Year\u2019s resolutions for most of us. During this #ELTchat, we shared what we intend to do in order to enhance our PD. The topic was inspired by Vicky Loras’ \u00a0blog post\u00a0Professional Development for Now and the Future<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0that was, in turn, inspired by\u00a0Mike Griffin\u00a0post \u00a0Next Step(s) in Professional Development<\/a>\u00a0 came at the right time\u00a0 \u00a0as we often start the new year by making some new, and some not so new, decisions related to our personal and professional lives.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

So this is the new year and as\u00a0@shaznosel<\/strong>\u00a0pointed out, the post by\u00a0@vickyloras\u00a0<\/strong>was \u201ca simple but inspiring post”<\/em> which made her think: “time for change!\u201d<\/em> Many of the points in the post came up during our chat, if not all of them. Let\u2019s see what each #eltchatter said and what they are looking forward to in 2013.<\/p>\n

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@MarjorieRosenbe<\/strong>\u00a0noticed that having a bit of more free time helps when she is in the classroom. She has also been updating materials for her classes and looking more at diversifying instruction to reach all learners. Another point she made was about developing her learners\u2019 autonomy, something she is looking forward to developing with her students. As for PD, she stressed the importance of weekend webinars and chats like this as great contributers to her teaching development. As the discussion progressed to the point of learning something new for PD, she suggested that we could have a chat just to report on what we have learned and how that might have worked. That certainly would be an interesting chat!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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@vickyloras<\/strong>\u00a0said that she is going to observe and\u00a0be observed more this year. She feels it is a great way to learn and reflect. She said that for her, the feedback after the observation is so useful \u2013 looking at the points and reflecting as necessary. She also feels that the observer may see things that the observed may have not noticed.<\/p>\n

@Marisa_C\u00a0<\/strong>pointed out that it is useful to use checklists to guide the observation. She explained that we can always create our own too or involve our learners more in the process of reflection of what helps them learn \u2013 these are observers always available to us, as she pointed out.<\/p>\n

@shaznosel<\/strong>\u00a0complemented this comment by saying that observing is the best way to open to honest\/critical advice, and creating our own list is reflective action by itself and it is a good idea to have one for us and the students.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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@Marisa_C<\/strong>\u00a0said that a great way to develop professionally is by offering to do a free workshop for our colleagues and that is exactly what\u00a0@vmorgana<\/strong>\u00a0is doing this year! She is engaged in sharing with other teachers her knowledge on Literature, YLs and webtools. Her favorite suggestions from Vicky and Mike were point 9 (join conferences) and 10 (reflect, reflect, reflect). And she thinks that even though joining conferences can be expensive, it is also worthwhile.\u00a0@vickyloras<\/strong>\u00a0suggested for those interested in conferences to check out\u00a0\u00a0@seburnt\u2019s\u00a0<\/strong>blog<\/a>\u00a0where Tyson does an awesome job keeping it updated.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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@KerrCarolyn\u00a0<\/strong>has been reading Fanselow\u2019s book, and she is planning to video her lessons and do more self observation. She is also looking at more\u00a0\u00a0sustainable teaching practices : less paper, printing, stress and admin! She shared that she has been using the blog to keep a record of the summaries of her workshops and researches. She also thinks that writing summaries carries its own rewards and mentioned that #eltchat has a huge resource bank of ideas that has already been shared.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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@shaznosel<\/strong> \u2018s\u00a0new year resolution is to use her PLN more and not be afraid to ask, she also thinks that blogging is a great reflective diary but time is so limited and response is not as quick as on Twitter, but even though it is a great way to express ourselves.<\/p>\n

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We chatted about blogging and how beneficial it is for reflecting and sharing, also about twitter as a staffroom and chats as great tech resource for PD.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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@Noreen_Lam\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0goal is balancing skills better in the classroom when creating her own materials, also self-observation and other stuff.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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@Wiktor_K\u2019s\u00a0<\/strong>big goal is experimenting with technology \u2013 no 7 & 8 on Vicky \/ Michael\u2019s list \u2013 He got given some gadgets and said it would be a shame not to use! As for experimenting then, he shared one of those Tech tools he has been experimenting with –\u00a0http:\/\/t.co\/j5ZPQBUQ<\/a>\u00a0– for projects and collaboration, this one\u2019s free, minimal & awesome. He adds that the\u00a0best thing is, you can invite colleagues and work on stuff together, hassle-free.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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@Wiktor_K\u00a0also<\/strong> shared that he is \u201clearning something new\u201d \u00a0as suggested in Vicky\/ Michael\u2019s list. He is\u00a0learning 3 foreign languages, on a budget of 100 pounds each \u2013 and blogging it!\u00a0http:\/\/t.co\/vt9sbLR3<\/a>\u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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@cioccas<\/strong>\u00a0is doing workshop on PLNs at #CamTESOL in February with @worldteacher<\/strong>, signed up for EVO Podcasting course:\u00a0http:\/\/t.co\/n9FyWCUb<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 starting her PD year off well! She also thinks that helping and mentoring other teachers is good for PD \u2013 \u201cI learn as much as they do\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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As for me, @rosemerebard,<\/strong> my plan includes recording classes, reflecting, and asking other teachers to analyze the recordings. Reflection was always based on my perception of reality and after the Breaking Rules course at ItdI, I realized that not always what we say\/see is what really happened, then recording, I believe will give me and my students solid material for reflection. Another resolution for PD is definetely join chats like this one on twitter more often. and having a mentor to discuss and reflect on a regular basis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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@toulasklavou\u00a0<\/strong>posed a question:<\/p>\n

‘Why does it take so much effort to keep up with tech tools as it seems to be the only way to develop nowadays? Even though I know that it is not the only way to develop it seems the most right and being online is like having a 2nd life if not done properly, my problem is how to’<\/em><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/i>@hoprea<\/strong>\u00a0pointed out that “it seems to be the easier way to connect with like-minded people.”
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I understood though that what @<\/span>toulasklavou<\/strong>\u00a0was actually questioning was how to keep a balance between online development resources & connections without losing track of the offline aspect of life or creating two. I thought his question was pretty interesting, but I also think this is very much to do with the individual. Maybe this would be a good topic for a future chat and by listening to others we could learn how to?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I would love to hear more of her thoughts & feelings on this though.<\/p>\n

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@Marisa_C tweeted some questions & suggestions as follows :<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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