5 Educators and Why I Follow Them

The educators I chose to follow all come from diverse educational backgrounds and provide a unique viewpoint toward the education system. The first educator I followed was Jerry Blumengarten. I have read a lot of his tweets because of my chat observations and he makes some great points and provides a lot of helpful and applicable information. His insight is great and 50,000 followers can't be wrong! The second educator I chose to follow was Tom Whitlby, a MS/HS teacher of 34 years from Long Island, New York. His tweets contain mostly articles or links to his blog but the articles he posts are tremendous. They are very helpful and although I have only glanced at a few, the titles of the others look very interesting. I followed two other American male educators by the names of Steven W. Anderson and Bill Powers. They both post a lot like Whitlby in that many of their posts are either links to their blogs or different articles that look extremely helpful. Anderson posts Google Hangout sessions where he either talks about certain issues or discusses them with others. There is a lot that can be learned from these two. The final educator I followed is Melinda Crean who teaches 7th Grade in Perth, Australia. I though following her would be helpful because it would give me a different perspective on teaching and allow me to see how the education system works "down-under". She too posts links to articles and hold Google hangouts.

The five educators that I chose to follow have already provided me with enough blogs and articles to keep me at my computer for several years straight. Using the techniques they suggest and implementing some of their tactics in the classroom will help me become a better teacher (even if they don't work). It will give me some new things to try out and allow me to establish my own unique teaching style.

Education Based Twitter Chats

With my new found twitter account, I have observed two education based twitter chats for the last couple of weeks. The ones I have chose are #edchat led by Jerry Blumengarten and the New Teacher Chat. Both focus on a broad spectrum of educational topics. The #edchat clearly deals with more educational topics based on technology, whereas #ntchat deals with advising and mentoring new teachers. Both are extremely informative but can be difficult to follow. Some people choose to answer the questions via a reply while others just post using the hashtag. It can be super hardt to keep track. Most of the things that I found to be the most helpful were people just posting random articles and websites using the same hashtag. Today's #edchat was about how make sure students are "future ready". People posted a lot of different things ranging from vague, uplifiting answers like "being bold and having the courage to not accept anything less than remarkable to things like become "wise consumers" and "critical thinkers". I used this Bruce Lee quote to contribute to the discussion:

“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water."

I think this quote sums up the attitude we must instill upon students. While at first it may seem like a quote that inspires conformity, I think it reflects a trait that students will need to embrace in order to adapt to the inevitable changes they will face in their lifetime. 

Getting Familiar With Twitter

Way, way, way back in the day, I set up a Twitter account when the site was still in its infancy. It was much different back then and only a few celebrities were on it. I did it mainly out of curiosity and NO ONE I knew had a handle. Fast forward to 2011 when I made another Twitter. It had changed a lot since my first stint and it seemed like everyone I knew made a profile overnight. Since then, I have slowly weened myself off of the site. But now I've seen the benefits Twitter and other Social Media can have on education and am looking forward to putting my new account to good use. Unlike my first couple of accounts, I knew my handle now had to put forth a professional appearance and reflect my views on educational topics, so I went with the straightforward "@trentbrennan1". I chose to do a picture that was more informal because it would make future students see that I am in fact a person, not just a teacher. My background reflects my love for the outdoors and I would like other educators as well as my students to get to know a little bit about me through my profile

Education and Technology: My Philosophy

As an educator who uses technology in the classroom, it is my responsibility to make sure that every student is given the proper tools and support that he or she needs to succeed. By allowing students to explore new pathways of learning in the form of technology we can find new mediums in which educators can better convey content. New technology provides ways of connecting students with content that may have previously existed, thus giving educators means of reaching and teaching a much broader spectrum of students.

In recent years, communication with parents and community members has become stronger and more convenient than ever. E-mail was monumental and still remains one of the main sources today. But with new technology such as social media and educational sites (BlackBoard), communication is not only easier and faster, but it can also be constant. Giving parents and community members the ability to constantly check in on school and student progress remains one of the most important technological advances in education to date.